So the students (and teachers!)
were lucky because not only did we have a Wednesday holiday for Id,
but we suspended school for the following Friday! Friday, September
9, is the feast day of our patron, St. Peter Claver. All classes and
normal activities were cancelled to make way for a day of celebrating
our school. Those of us from town got to sleep in a little bit (1
whole hour!) and caught the bus at 8am instead of 7am. The students'
normal schedule during the week is 6:30am Mass followed by breakfast
(ugi – a kind of porridge), school assembly, and then classes
commence at 8am. This particular Friday the students took their
porridge later than usual, had a few hours of practice for the
entertainment part of the day, chai around 10am as usual (chai is
usually tea with bread, or fried dough balls (mandazi), or fried
tortillas (chipati)).
Around 11am we moved all the chairs
in our multi-purpose hall (truly multi-purpose because the students
take their meals there, and did their practice there, AND we have
Mass there) and started Mass. Our students can sometimes get a
little high-school-ish (slouching, not singing, etc), but Fr. Sossy
was sure to call them out on it and ask for a better effort. When
they all sing together, it truly is magical. I wish they could
realize that.
It's always neat to share
afternoons like this with my students. Mass is a special space for
people of East Africa. People of all faiths take “Let us pray”
very seriously. Fr. Marty likes to joke that if there is chaos
ensuing because of whatever issue, you could yell out “let us
pray!” to our students and heads would bow and silence would
follow. So being able to experience Mass with them is wonderful.
After Mass, the students started
the “entertainment” segment – I find this funny because they
just entertain themselves! There were no guests besides a few extra
Jesuits and us teachers, but that's okay. I was highly entertained! I
love love love seeing the students perform. Some of them create
choreographed dances, some sing songs, others make up poem/songs
about the school, and one group made a great skit about St. Peter
Claver. I pretty much smile profusely and laugh every other minute
throughout the whole thing. It's great seeing them open up and be
fun, especially the ones I think are quiet! Who knew a little bit of
music could change some of them completely!
The best part of the day for the
students (and obviously me too!) was our special day lunch – fried
chicken and chips (fried potatoes) and katchumbali (onion/tomato
salad). Delicious! Sean, David, and I are now planning our own
dancing segment for the next talent show. We'll see if that happens!
Oh PS – A new volunteer joined us
at SPCHS. His name is Roland and he's from England. I think he's 28?
and he's teaching math. I like him a lot. He reminds me of my big
brother, John :). Can't get better than that, right?!
