YOLO

Yolo defined as “you only live once” (for those old folks who may not know the term) has been our house motto over the past week.  I have been living in Africa for over a month now and let’s just say my limits have been tested and daily, I find myself out of my comfort zone in some shape or form.

We have now integrated fulltime ministry into our class schedule which means every Tuesday afternoon and all day Thursday, our groups rotate through various ministries.  This Thursday the Central team bussed to the south part of Kampala to Retrack, a transition home for street boys ages 6 to 17.  The boys live in Retrack for four to six months where they are given responsibilities in their assigned homes, go to school, and maintain their own personal gardens, in which the money they earn is theirs to keep when they finish at Retrack.  The boys are taught life skills and trained in how to make good choices and decisions independently from their families.  Under a large gazebo, we had the privilege of having the boys sing and dance for us.  We then taught the boys a lesson (mostly in Luganda), sang with them, and taught a memory verse.  Random side note: As I went to the washroom at Retrack, I was surprised by a lizard trapped in the sink!  As a token of their appreciation, the boys at Retrack thanked us with some sugarcane.   They hacked it into a bunch of foot length pieces as a treat for us on the way back to the church.  I was the source of entertainment for my friends Andrew, Sunday, and Lillian as I painfully attempted to rip off the outer layer of the sugar cane with my teeth.   The time it took me to eat one piece of sugar cane my friend Andrew ate two, (meanwhile my friend Emmanuel was secretly devouring eight).  

Another YOLO moment would have to be the whole Valentine’s Day experience in Africa.  My week started off with a surprise picnic for our house by Natalie, Jack and Thomas, complete with artistic watermelon, fancy dessert, awesome music (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros!), everyone dressed up and a scavenger hunt around our yard.   It was a fun time for our little family to celebrate together.  My housemates are simply the BEST!  On Valentine’s Day, all of us girls were very taken aback by the very sweet surprise planned by our male classmates.  We also were informed by our course coordinators that our class had been asked to usher the church’s extravagant red carpet Valentine’s dinner and dance at this elegant hotel.  It was a mad rush as all of us girls had one afternoon to find black or red dresses and the guys to find shirts, ties, and pants for the event in the streets of Kampala.  The day of the dinner, we were given about 45 minutes to get ready at school before we headed over to the hotel.  Now you can only imagine thirty girls getting all dolled up in a conference room, cramming around mirrors, swapping make-up, ironing clothes, and doing each others’ hair in the space of 45 minutes.  Not an easy feat.  What a gong show but my oh my were we ever a good-looking class that night!  I was assigned the task of greeting people as they walked down the red carpet into the beautifully decorated room.  It was the fanciest thing I had ever been to with all the rose petals, live jazz music, lavish gowns, and elaborate decorations.  I have never celebrated Valentine’s Day to that extreme and probably never will experience it with the same excessiveness ever again. Not really my style...

And then there was dance class… Every Friday afternoon, our class is given dance lessons of various types of dance.  Many of my Ugandan friends were ecstatic for our dance lessons while the internationals were mostly dreading the day.  With the help and much patience of my friend Moses, I learned the style of dancehall, a genre of Jamaican pop music. Let’s just say I am forever grateful for my Zumba classes, and days of ballroom club.  SO OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE!!

I don’t even know where to begin or how this even came about but on Saturday night, Natalie had this idea that she wanted to pierce the top of her ear Parent Trap style.  Since apples are too expensive, we used frozen watermelon to numb her ear instead.   We googled how to properly sterilize and how to do piercings at home.   It was a family bonding moment for us all watching Thomas pierce Natalie’s and then Callie’s ears with a safety pin.  Those brave souls! 

So yes, there are many new experiences coming my way.  The best advice I could give to anyone when trying new things would be to be the loudest person laughing at yourself! 

Peace and love