These blogs are normally written when I have a spare hour or two of complete alone time, where I can reflect on the previous days with calmness and clarity. The lodge we stay at is full of twelve volunteers, two team leaders, two chefs, two groundsmen and a security guard. Two hours of complete alone time is therefore very hard to find. However, sitting in a hotel that is away from the lodge I have found myself with an abundance of time to write. In fact, four hours might be spoiling me a bit too much. I have travelled to a town called Kabale to meet my Dad and two of my Dad's friends who are called Stephen (my Dad is also called Stephen). The three Stephens and I will be working on a few sketches for our upcoming comedy show. Only Joking. My Dad travels to Uganda most years to work on architecture projects, so it's just such a coincidence that he is out here at the same time. A very nice coincidence. Most people should know by now that I used to live out here when I was younger, it's just my Dad who has kept his strong relations with the country. Uganda is full of surprises but for some reason it feels very normal that I am seeing my Dad. I guess Uganda has a very ingrained meaning to both of us and at some point we would meet out here.
I had to pause my blog for approximately half an hour as my driver picked me up and transported me to a nearby lake which goes by the name of Lake Bunyoni. If I said I was spoilt earlier, then now I am living a life of quiet luxury, drinking a beer (Tusker malt) sitting just off the surface of the lake looking across at the sun set. Let me paint a picture for you? I'm sure life is sometimes about moving around frantically, not thinking at all, sweating a lot, getting stressed for no reason... all to enjoy the pleasure of sitting down. Most people back in England sit down in front of the TV and watch needless American rubbish as my mum might say... However now I know sitting down can be a lot more rewarding. The views in Uganda allow your mind to be thoughtful in a non-reactive and undisturbed way, as if all the thoughts that enter your mind are unchallenged.
You realise how much of a life of comfort you lead back at home; really all necessities in life are provided, plus all the stuff you don't need are pretty much at your finger tip. What's made me happy out here is the simple friendly greetings you get from people, like it's no bother for them to go out of their way to make an effort with you. I guess in England we have created another life for ourselves that keeps us pre-occupied with phones and other 'necessities' which take us away from the present. I am guilty of this to an extent, and I don't want to change it, but you can certainly control it, otherwise the unhealthy habit of checking your phone for nothing will take over. I would often sit on a train in London, look around at a cabin full of people who in turn are all looking downward at a screen, possibly making a transfer bid for Lionel Messi on Football Manager. Is this a good thing that we have so much available? Well, it's up for debate! All this thought was provoked by having a few children come up to me and be absolutely fascinated by my phone. I'm going to come back to this blog as I am very hungry and my stomach is displeased. It's making noises quite similar to those a bull frog might make.
I'm going to reflect back to watching the Champions League on TV last night. Football is a real treat when you don't get to view it much out here. Honestly, watching Barcelona play is majestic. Ineasta, Neymar and Messi just glide past players like liquid motion. Luis Suarez eventually found a way to trickle through a very solid Atletico Madrid barrier. Barcelona v Atletico Madrid was on the TV in the hotel room as I waited for the Stephens to arrive, and I just think how simple a pleasure football gives to me. I'm clapping at a TV and shaking my head, muttering "did he just do that". Going around coaching people in places like Uganda, Mozambique, India and Israel with the name of Arsenal behind you, is a very fortunate position to be in. It’s not just me who loves football in this way. My belief in football has grown strong out here. You can take away the corruption for a second, forget about FIFA and concentrate purely on the ball, two goals and the opponents. The true meaning of the game lies in places like Kanungu, where football is football. People play with commitment and a freedom of expression that they might be too shy to show elsewhere. It's just a game and that's why it's so good. We just need parents who watch their kids on a Saturday to calm down a little.
Either side of my trip to Kabale this week I have been coaching in our last school and pretending I'm Luis Enrique coordinating the little Messi's of Kanungu. Kirima Parents Primary has been a lot of fun. During breaks away from the football, we sit up on a balcony overlooking the playground. On the ground are admiring children waving up at us, smiling and making us feel at ease within the world. I'm not sure whose view is better. They are fascinated by a few ordinary people from England. Our mere presence provokes such curiosity and excitement, and I've been told they see hope in us. I don't like that though. Then again we just look different and that probably provokes the simple interest they have. Coaching at our last school has been a pleasure and I never really thought I'd be saying that, when our first lesson included 73 kids! Your first reaction may be to panic, clam into a shell with feelings of stress and confusion. That partly happened, I'm not going to lie, however I found myself clambering out of the shell and embracing the positive energy the class were showing. In the end we were working off each other’s positivity. If you teach a class of kids with a mundane approach then you are running the risk of stealing their rightful enthusiasm and that would be almost criminal. Being here in Uganda really tests your coaching credentials. Constantly adapting to dodgy pitches, class sizes and probably the most challenging of all is the language barrier. You may ask a group if they understand you and they will all say yes. Don't fall into this trap. Demonstrations, demonstrations and more demonstrations... leave out the talking. You could almost do the lesson through a series of little drama performances. You CANNOT teach drama in a mundane way.
Let me fast forward a few days. I'm back in Kanungu after my time with the very engaging Stephens. To reflect, the time we all spent together was mainly discussing plans to get a project up and running on Lake Mutanda in Kisoro, a few hours’ drive from Kabale. We drove back to Kabale from Kisoro in the pitch black evening. I was very tired, the kind of tired you experience when you are very satisfied. I could have dozed off into a dreamy sleep at any minute. This was because the day had been a really good one. It involved lots of peace and appreciation of my surroundings whilst the older bunch were at work. It was like a teacher bringing their son to school, although I didn't need looking after. Before spending a good few hours on my own pondering lots of different things, me and my Dad took to the water and swam around the nearby island, home to many birds of different beauty. In the afternoon I was getting slightly restless with hunger. I had skipped lunch all together and waited for dinner to fill me up. Dinner satisfied me to the extent that I wanted more. I took one last look at Lake Mutanda before the tired journey home.
As I looked down I saw four kids playing by the lake side under the darkening sky. It made me smile to see how happy they were. They were young and mindless of any worries. It was like I was watching one of their favourite childhood memories being formed. Pictures like this are mine and they are the images that I will recall when I miss Uganda. It was a fine last image, including the islands of Lake Mutanda which now were simple dark blobs. Satisfied, we took the journey back to Kabale.
I've really lacked the will to finish this blog, partly because I have been writing it in such a jumbled up way. Now I'm well into my last week in Kanungu before a trip to Kampala for a few days, then eventually Entebbe to fly home. Time is flying, and right now my thoughts on Uganda are sporadically placed in my head and attached with varying emotions. You are exposed to so much just by being present in another country. I think It will take some quiet reflection to realise how much of an impact Uganda has had on me. Every day I'm exposed to the most incredible view, sunset and sunrise across the rolling rainforest hills that go all the way to Congo. But after three months, I miss Cambridge and all its homely charm. Time to go home.
Well now I'm back in Cambridge and i miss Uganda. It is all about perspective.
