Solomon Grandy, walked on Monday, rode on Tuesday, motored on Wednesday... and so on.
As for Mich and I, we walked on Monday, walked on Tuesday, uh!.. we are still walking.
Dallas is a very beautiful city and we love to take our time to sip in the fresh air, chase squirrels, watch turtles and ducks swim and many other things. But... there is always a but, and we need to know what the but is there for, well Dallas is not exactly a walkable city as compared with good ol Philly.
If you want to get to the road side or to the backyard, you can walk all you want because after that it just is not possible. Shops, church, entertainment, parks are a long way away. Majority of the Texans drive, there is however a small percentage that take the bus and it's interesting that most people don't even know that Dallas has public transport.
Mich and I have had to walk to lots of places, ( I must commend the young man because he takes it in stride, never a complaint, just make sure you have some snack handy or can drop into a fast food place for a drink or something). We gets lots of people looking at us from out of their cars probably wondering why I chose not to use the car today or thinking that I'm doing exercise and have decided to enrol my son on the program as a morale booster, the only problem is most times we are not dressed like we are going jogging or brisk walking.
When asking for directions never take the "it's just round the corner, or it's only 10 minutes a way" thing lightly because it isn't, you'll get burned out walking there and probably give up half way the journey.
Once Sam and I were looking at a map for directions to a hospital and on the map it looked near, so I thought I would walk but Sam said, 'it certainly looks near but you might want to take the bus' (thank God for a submissive spirit that day). I took the bus and man! the distance was like from Wandegeya to Lugogo.
Jun 29, 2007
Jun 22, 2007
Kitante Primary School Circa the 1980's
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| Kitante Primary School Emblem: Child between two parents |
Kitante Primary School anthem:
"There's a school near the museum by the road side,
Oh come to the school of the world
No school is so dear to your child
Kitante is the best in the world.
Oh come come come come
Come to the school by the road side
Oh come to the school of the world
No school is so dear to your child
Kitante is the best in the world "
The children sang loud when it came to the chorus: "Oh come come come come COME to the school by the road side" - even those who didn't know the song well knew this part.
School prayer:
"Look at me Oh God
As my heart silent all
To you all I turn
For all the sins that I have committed
I beg to be forgiven
Where I have been good I ask to be encouraged ..."
Can somebody please remind me of the rest of the prayer, its been a long time since you know.
School Motto: The Struggle Continues for Better Horizons
Head Master: Mr. A.D.Ssozi: The man with the pipe, he had it everywhere he went.
It was great just listening to him talk he sounded very unique, you see, he spoke the queens English with a British accent. Very smart and sophisticated man, rode a classy motorbike and was an avid tennis player.
He knew all the children in the school, no matter where he met them, he smiled and waved.
Head Mistress: Ms. Sajaryabende (R.I.P): Tough lady.
Gate Keeper: Mzee Kato: (I know some of you didn't meet him. He was at the gate between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning).
Head Master: Mr. A.D.Ssozi: The man with the pipe, he had it everywhere he went.
It was great just listening to him talk he sounded very unique, you see, he spoke the queens English with a British accent. Very smart and sophisticated man, rode a classy motorbike and was an avid tennis player.
He knew all the children in the school, no matter where he met them, he smiled and waved.
Head Mistress: Ms. Sajaryabende (R.I.P): Tough lady.
Gate Keeper: Mzee Kato: (I know some of you didn't meet him. He was at the gate between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning).
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| Gate to Kitante Primary School. Mr Kato spent his time inside the little house |
Kitante Primary was a very special school. By P7 I was able to remember all the children in the school (by face) even the ones in P1 at the time, no kidding. To date Sam thinks there was something weird about the school because many times I meet people and when he asks how I know them I tell him we were in the same primary school.
OK, I'll start at the beginning and tell you a little bit about my school. Just like the anthem says, it was a school near the museum by the road side and it had classes from P1 to P7. It was well known for its good academic performance and was the envy of the other primary schools around Kampala.
We were the only school with an amphitheater, the neatest kids, most well-behaved and brilliant.
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| Kitante Primary School amphitheater |
P1 and P2 classes, were referred to as "lower school" and indeed they were lower school.
Apart from the fact that the children were the youngest, their classes were also at a lower level compared to the rest of the school. They had their own assembly meetings every morning and their own little waiting shed which often had crying faces and scattered property lying around. In the excitement of playing after class and the anxiety to get home, bags, sweaters, shoes, containers got left behind. Luckily one would be able to claim them back in the "lost property" department at the head masters office.
Classes 3 to 7, were referred to as "upper school", the distance between lower and upper school was quite a stretch and the most important offices, the headmasters office, the disciplinary room, the bursar's office and the amphitheater stood between them. Looking back it seems to have been built that way because moving from P2 to P3 was like the long walk to maturity, once you crossed over it was clear that you had made much progress in life.
It was only when you got to P3 and the classes after that certain names became extremely important.
Apart from the fact that the children were the youngest, their classes were also at a lower level compared to the rest of the school. They had their own assembly meetings every morning and their own little waiting shed which often had crying faces and scattered property lying around. In the excitement of playing after class and the anxiety to get home, bags, sweaters, shoes, containers got left behind. Luckily one would be able to claim them back in the "lost property" department at the head masters office.
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| Lower school play ground |
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| Lower school waiting shade |
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| A view of lower school; Classes 1 and 2 |
Classes 3 to 7, were referred to as "upper school", the distance between lower and upper school was quite a stretch and the most important offices, the headmasters office, the disciplinary room, the bursar's office and the amphitheater stood between them. Looking back it seems to have been built that way because moving from P2 to P3 was like the long walk to maturity, once you crossed over it was clear that you had made much progress in life.
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| Children in class: P3M |
It was only when you got to P3 and the classes after that certain names became extremely important.
In my day the names that made childrens' blood stop were:-
Mr. Makeeri: P5 maths teacher, just one stroke from his cane would make your back side feel like it was on fire, so you didn't want to get into his bad books. Even the naughty boys who put on "bullet proof" (double shorts) or those who tried fixing books in their shorts would feel the strokes of his cane like they weren't putting on any clothes.
Mr. Mugumya: P5 geometry teacher, he was new in the school but you didn't want to mess with him, please do your homework, pay careful attention in his geometry class and you will be okay.
Mr. Semakula: P5 Geography teacher, you better be a good pupil. He was left handed and there was just something different about the way he caned, you would not forget for a long time.
Mr. Mugumya: P5 geometry teacher, he was new in the school but you didn't want to mess with him, please do your homework, pay careful attention in his geometry class and you will be okay.
Mr. Semakula: P5 Geography teacher, you better be a good pupil. He was left handed and there was just something different about the way he caned, you would not forget for a long time.
Then there was Mr. Sebujega: P6 Math teacher, I heard a story about how he once fixed a boy into one of the pigeon holes (these were small box like sections where we kept our schoolbags). That story alone was enough to make you think straight, you have no idea what such a story would do to any one in a lower class. Children in P6 and P7 appeared the biggest in the school, so by the time one could fit in a pigeon hole, chances that you would fit a pigeon hole were greatly increased.
I never got to know if these stories were true because thankfully I got them second hand from friends and family who had gone before.
One other teacher whom you would prefer that he didn't so much as look in your direction was Mr. Tibuhoire: P7 English and Maths teacher, he was just bad news. If you didn't perform well in his class and you were asked to go to the science room, it would be between you and God, just pray that you score above the pass mark, otherwise life would get very complicated.
I'm beginning to think primary school teachers had a special calling from birth because, these names are rare, I haven't met any other people in my life with these names.
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| Kitante Primary School Administration block: First murals I ever saw |
On the whole I have good memories of my primary school days, the only times my stomach hurt and I felt like I was running a fever where when I took home the wrong homework book and there was work to be handed in the next day, or when the math numbers were a bit hard and I had left gaps. It was very important that we all did our homework and completed it, if not the consequences were pretty clear, you didn't have to stir up your imagination too much.
They say 'Work without play makes Jack a dull boy" so we had times for sports and games, this was a time we all looked forward to, I certainly did.
I will not forget this one time in P2 when I forgot my sports uniform at home and we were going to do P.E (physical education) that day. I could swear Ihad packed my uniform, well at least it was washed and ironed. When it was time to change, I literally turned my bag inside out and there was no uniform. Then the sports teacher insisted that those who didn't have their P.E shorts would have to run in their underwear, I couldn't believe it was happening to me. To make matters worse we were going to do a brief cross country run, the route was out through the main gate, passed the museum, down via the headmasters home and back, or something like that.This was absolute misery for me, the boys in my class were going to see me and there were all these people walking on the streets who kept looking and commenting. It's not like I was the only one who had forgotten my P.E shorts but damn! it was the first time it was happening to me. I cried the entire journey and lets just say I was never in such a situation again.
Because I was in P3 and still a bit unsure of who to hang with my parents thought it wise that I had lunch with my big brother Simon. As it happened Simon and I never spoke to each other at school, we would plan where to meet for lunch before we left home. When the bell rang for lunch I would wait for him and his friend at the corner of the amphitheater, then we would eat and go. Now, Simon's friend liked the fried rice that we carried and I liked his rice because it was different.
One time I asked Simon to ask his friend (whose name I will not disclose until I get permission) if we could exchange dishes, I would eat his rice and he would eat mine. It worked out pretty well, his friend had a blue long flask and mine was red, so we would meet exchange containers, eat, give them back when we were through and that was it. I never really spoke to Simon's friend by the way, and for some reason the whole exchange thing was short lived can't remember why. Picture this, several years later I meet Simons friend because we end up working at the same company, and now am wondering whether he recalls any of this.
To explain the "no talking" thing between Simon, his friend and I, it's very simple, they were boys and I was a girl. Boys talking to girls and the reverse was a no no, and all this happened when you crossed over from lower school to upper school, there was just something strange about the transition.
In P1 and P2 everything was okay, when you got to P3 boys started to look weird or something so we stopped talking to each other. Girls couldn't sit in boys chairs, a boy couldn't stand next to a girl or touch anything that belonged to a girl, if he did he would immediately go and wash his hands because they had apparently gotten contaminated in the process. Then when we got to around P6 third term, and P7, girls didn't think boys were from hell any more and the boys suddenly realized they had been missing out on something and so "cooperation" begun, that was the life.
I haven't told you about how organized the school was, every time the bell sounded for assembly children would run as fast as they could to the assembly ground to avoid being caught as late comers. We were addressed by the teacher on duty after which we would say the school prayer and match to our classes. We stood according to our classes, boys made one line and girls made one line, then when it was time to go, boys and girls would hold hands and head to their classes. Now in lower school this was very simple, you held hands until you got to the classroom door and sometimes the boy whose hand you held would walk with you to your desk.
In upper school there was total chaos when it came to holding hands, for the most part people tried all sorts of ways to avoid it; Hold hands until you pass the teacher and prefects then let go, pretend to hold hands, just make sure your skin doesn't exactly touch mine, you could do this all the way to class or drop it as soon as the coast was clear. The other options were to hold the little finger, that way the whole hand doesn't get contaminated, or better still get a small stick so both of you can hold either end of it.
Most of these scenarios occurred when the you didn't like the person whom you were paired up with and even if you did, you didn't want to risk being teased by your classmates for holding hands all the way, so even when you wanted to hold hands you had to pretend that you didn't.
To explain the "no talking" thing between Simon, his friend and I, it's very simple, they were boys and I was a girl. Boys talking to girls and the reverse was a no no, and all this happened when you crossed over from lower school to upper school, there was just something strange about the transition.
In P1 and P2 everything was okay, when you got to P3 boys started to look weird or something so we stopped talking to each other. Girls couldn't sit in boys chairs, a boy couldn't stand next to a girl or touch anything that belonged to a girl, if he did he would immediately go and wash his hands because they had apparently gotten contaminated in the process. Then when we got to around P6 third term, and P7, girls didn't think boys were from hell any more and the boys suddenly realized they had been missing out on something and so "cooperation" begun, that was the life.
I haven't told you about how organized the school was, every time the bell sounded for assembly children would run as fast as they could to the assembly ground to avoid being caught as late comers. We were addressed by the teacher on duty after which we would say the school prayer and match to our classes. We stood according to our classes, boys made one line and girls made one line, then when it was time to go, boys and girls would hold hands and head to their classes. Now in lower school this was very simple, you held hands until you got to the classroom door and sometimes the boy whose hand you held would walk with you to your desk.
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| Kitante Primary School Sports Field |
In upper school there was total chaos when it came to holding hands, for the most part people tried all sorts of ways to avoid it; Hold hands until you pass the teacher and prefects then let go, pretend to hold hands, just make sure your skin doesn't exactly touch mine, you could do this all the way to class or drop it as soon as the coast was clear. The other options were to hold the little finger, that way the whole hand doesn't get contaminated, or better still get a small stick so both of you can hold either end of it.
Most of these scenarios occurred when the you didn't like the person whom you were paired up with and even if you did, you didn't want to risk being teased by your classmates for holding hands all the way, so even when you wanted to hold hands you had to pretend that you didn't.
That's about all the drama I can recall, on a more serious note I'll talk about the "class days". Every serious school sets apart days when parents can come to class and see how their children are performing and also get time to talk with the class teacher. This was a good day for some children and not so good for others, the reasons varied. The major one depending on your performance in class and your relationship with the teacher. Other kids were not too happy about the day because they thought their parents would embarrass them either by the way they dressed or the means of transport they used to come, but as you may guess these were issues that older children in upper school had to contend with.
One function that all children looked forward to was the end of year class party. People were moving on to the next class, there was going to be lots of biscuits, bread, cake and soda and that was the one day you could show all your friends your snazzy dresses.
My other brother was looking forward to his P6 end of year party, he had performed real well in class and he was feeling all grown up now, so he came up with a brilliant idea.
My dad had recently come back from one of his many travels and he had got himself some nice boots, so my brother figured they could talk man to man. One evening he approached my dad and asked if he could borrow his boots for the Christmas/end of year party ..." WHAT?!!!, You are not serious,... but you children! you must be joking, eh?! you must be really joking! ..." then he peered at him from over the rim of his reading glasses. I don't quite remember the rest of the conversation but I know my bro attended the party in his own shoes.
Hehehe, now I can actually tell Mich about the good ol days, and indeed they were priceless.
Jun 21, 2007
My Birthday
Friends and family,
Thanks for all the bath-day and birthday wishes that came my way today.
The international phone calls, emails short messages and the beautiful flower picked for me by Mich.
You made my day.
Age is just a number right?
Jun 13, 2007
Watoto in Dallas
Last week Juliana invited us to attend a Watoto concert, we were definitely thrilled.
Sam knew that would make my day because I almost always know at least one or two people on tour with the children.
We also knew that Mich would certainly be happy seeing as he lives and breaths Watoto, he is crazy about those kids and their stories.
The one thing we didn't do was tell Juliana that we knew the Watoto.
It took her by surprise especially when we met the team and were all excited about seeing each other again.
Mich watched the concert so intently, he didn't move an inch until we were invited to join in and dance. It was so much fun and a nice way to start our time in Dallas.
It's amazing how many Ugandans are in this place, I thought we were notorious for keeping "African time" but 30 minutes to the show the front rows were filled with Ugandans speaking Luganda.
That must have looked very interesting to the rest of the folks.
Jun 12, 2007
Jun 11, 2007
Finding a church
It will be a week on Wednesday since we have been in Dallas so I can't say we have had a full week here since our trip to Memphis.
Today is Sunday, well in effect Monday but... anyway the one thing we were praying about was finding a church.
When we were in Dallas earlier this year Sam noted a church that wasn't too far from the rail line and suggested that we try it out. I honestly don't know how he knew it was a church because just looking out at it from the train window one would never figure that out. It's hidden, in the same area with shopping malls and it has no visible sign but it is a church.
When we got to the parking lot, wow! plenty of cars parked, service was already in session (we thought they would start at 10am, they start at 9:30am). We were ushered in by a very nice old man, he told us service schedule, luckily we were just in time for the sermon so he took us to 2nd floor and showed us into the sanctuary.
Ho! I was just wowed, the place was very posh, (by my standards), it was kind of like what visitors from the village or our of town would experience when they walked into KPC and there was "heavens gates and hells flames" or "a Christmas cantata", very spectacular!. Ok, maybe I have exaggerated but how else would you imagine what I'm describing?.
We got in just in time for the special song, it sounded really good the message of the song was very loaded. I didn't get it the first time but thankfully I had a second chance to listen to it and lets just say the message was deep, I think the title was 'I dare you to move' something about leaving comfort zones.
Mich came with us and I was impressed by how he sat through the sermon with out a fuss, maybe he too was marvelling at the two screens that showed whomever was at the pulpit, the wonderful music and the illustrations during the sermon.
Just in case you are beginning to think I'm too carnal the sermon was on preaching the Gospel, getting out of our comfort zones and sharing Gods Word with the people around us. The sermon was from Luke 5 where Jesus calls Peter and the disciples to become fishers of men.
Service was just an hour long so we decided to stay for worship in the next service and had Mich try out Sunday school.
We had a wonderful time, stayed through to the end and had to drug Mich out of Sunday school because he didn't want to leave, even after all the other kids were gone.
First time visitors had a chance to meet up with the Pastor and when we told him we were originally from Uganda he said he had a Ugandan on staff, small world I tell you.
In conclusion, I think I can safely say that we have found a bible believing church to attend while we are in Dallas, its called Fellowship Bible Church Dallas and if you are interested you can have a look at their website on http://www.fellowshipdallas.org/
Today is Sunday, well in effect Monday but... anyway the one thing we were praying about was finding a church.
When we were in Dallas earlier this year Sam noted a church that wasn't too far from the rail line and suggested that we try it out. I honestly don't know how he knew it was a church because just looking out at it from the train window one would never figure that out. It's hidden, in the same area with shopping malls and it has no visible sign but it is a church.
When we got to the parking lot, wow! plenty of cars parked, service was already in session (we thought they would start at 10am, they start at 9:30am). We were ushered in by a very nice old man, he told us service schedule, luckily we were just in time for the sermon so he took us to 2nd floor and showed us into the sanctuary.
Ho! I was just wowed, the place was very posh, (by my standards), it was kind of like what visitors from the village or our of town would experience when they walked into KPC and there was "heavens gates and hells flames" or "a Christmas cantata", very spectacular!. Ok, maybe I have exaggerated but how else would you imagine what I'm describing?.
We got in just in time for the special song, it sounded really good the message of the song was very loaded. I didn't get it the first time but thankfully I had a second chance to listen to it and lets just say the message was deep, I think the title was 'I dare you to move' something about leaving comfort zones.
Mich came with us and I was impressed by how he sat through the sermon with out a fuss, maybe he too was marvelling at the two screens that showed whomever was at the pulpit, the wonderful music and the illustrations during the sermon.
Just in case you are beginning to think I'm too carnal the sermon was on preaching the Gospel, getting out of our comfort zones and sharing Gods Word with the people around us. The sermon was from Luke 5 where Jesus calls Peter and the disciples to become fishers of men.
Service was just an hour long so we decided to stay for worship in the next service and had Mich try out Sunday school.
We had a wonderful time, stayed through to the end and had to drug Mich out of Sunday school because he didn't want to leave, even after all the other kids were gone.
First time visitors had a chance to meet up with the Pastor and when we told him we were originally from Uganda he said he had a Ugandan on staff, small world I tell you.
In conclusion, I think I can safely say that we have found a bible believing church to attend while we are in Dallas, its called Fellowship Bible Church Dallas and if you are interested you can have a look at their website on http://www.fellowshipdallas.org/
Jun 7, 2007
Dallas, Memphis, here we come.
I'm sure some of you have been holding your breath to hear all the interesting stories that life has had to offer us with a shift to Dallas and all.
Well, I'll start from the beginning, brace yourselves because this is going to be a really long posting.
Anyway so May 30th we pack all our belongings, (it's amazing how much stuff we picked up in just over 10 months of being in Philly), we put everything in storage because we figured it wouldn't make sense holding down two apartments, especially with the expense. God was so good that my navigator friends Brent and Diane came over to help us with the shift, Diane took care of Mich, Sam and Brent were carrying the stuff and I was getting rid of the small things that were lying around.
We had thought we would spend the night in an empty house on the floor or something ( I don't exactly know how that was going to work) but anyway that was the plan because our flight the next day was at 9:45 am so we needed to have left home by about 7:00am. Brent and Diane decided to host us for the night that was fantastic, they offered to take us to the airport too.
We got to Dallas about 1pm, rented a car and headed to a motel where we spent the night and the next day headed to our apartment at The Village Complex because that is where the guys we are renting furniture from where going to deliver stuff.
By about 3pm we were settled in and started packing the few things we would need for our trip to Memphis. Mich by this point was already loving the Dallas, large spaces of grass to run in and generally free space and fresh air, he was really excited.
Saturday morning we started our journey to Memphis, which I will officially call Sam's village/home, you will know why in a short while. It took us about 7 hours to get there with a few stops on the way to stretch our legs and stuff, very smooth ride on these fantastic roads. As soon as we crossed from Arkansas (which by the way is pronounced Arkinso, for those of you who didn't know) in to Memphis, they was a huge grin on Sam's face as if to say "home sweet home", he couldn't stop talking, telling me the routes he would take to work, where he lived, which part of the city looked more beautiful, all these memories came flooding back to him and that was nice. I was glad it was also a good way to celebrate his birthday and our anniversary, he really has a special bond with the city.
We were hosted by Jim and Barbara Pendleton, the family that he was attached to while he was a student at U of Memphis. They are a wonderful couple, have three children who have pretty much left home except for Melody who still lives with them but has a life of her own, (she is 23 by the way). Lovely home, with a dog and a cat and no prizes for guessing who was most thrilled and scared at the same time. Mich was so happy to spend time at the Pendletons because apart from the dog and the cat that kept running after him and him following them, they had a large garden where he spent time inspecting the flower and the insects.
We decided that we would visit the church Sam used to pray at, Covenant Community Church, we didn't think we would get any of the oldies seeing as the Steve the Pastor we knew has moved on. From the moment we arrived in the parking lot to the time we left the church, Sam kept bumping into people he knew, almost giving them heart attacks (anti some of them are not very young), anyway it was a wonderful experience. Even the new Pastor, whom we had never met recalled being told about this young man who was a member of the church but had returned to Uganda. I guess he remembered because Steve Noblett the pastor back then had made two trips to Uganda purposely to follow up on Sam, (I'm sure some of you either met him while he was in UG or heard about him).
We certainly contacted Steve and his wife Victoria and had dinner with them on Sunday, that was really exciting! I met Steve when he came to Uganda so we were already friends, I was meeting Victoria for the first time and Steve and Victoria were seeing Mich for the first time, there was a lot to celebrate. Both the Pendletons and the Nobletts treated Sam like a son who had traveled away from home and was coming back with a new family, that was interesting.
Mich was really having the time of his life, the least he did was help Steve water his entire garden, which wasn't small by any means and of course by the end of it there was more water on Mich than there was on some plants but it was all fun.
Monday, the 5th of June, we took a tour, went by the University walked through the campus, drove through town to the apartments that Sam had lived in, the places he had worked, had lunch and had some time to relax in the gardens before heading to the Zoo. Jim took time off work and he and his family gave us a tour of the Zoo, that was nice especially for Mich who was learning about all these animals and insects. After about two hours we were quite exhausted and decided to call it a day at around 5pm. We however had to meet one of Sam's good friends for dinner at 6:30pm, driving time and all would only give us enough time to get there so we decided not to go home before.
So we met up with Greg and his wife Valerie and their son Joshua who is almost three years old, well at least everyone had someone to talk to. By about 8:00pm we were through and I thought it would be a great time to head straight to bed because I was feeling really spent.
We got back to Dallas this evening and have about a week before Sam begins his internship.
Well, I'll start from the beginning, brace yourselves because this is going to be a really long posting.
Anyway so May 30th we pack all our belongings, (it's amazing how much stuff we picked up in just over 10 months of being in Philly), we put everything in storage because we figured it wouldn't make sense holding down two apartments, especially with the expense. God was so good that my navigator friends Brent and Diane came over to help us with the shift, Diane took care of Mich, Sam and Brent were carrying the stuff and I was getting rid of the small things that were lying around.
We had thought we would spend the night in an empty house on the floor or something ( I don't exactly know how that was going to work) but anyway that was the plan because our flight the next day was at 9:45 am so we needed to have left home by about 7:00am. Brent and Diane decided to host us for the night that was fantastic, they offered to take us to the airport too.
We got to Dallas about 1pm, rented a car and headed to a motel where we spent the night and the next day headed to our apartment at The Village Complex because that is where the guys we are renting furniture from where going to deliver stuff.
By about 3pm we were settled in and started packing the few things we would need for our trip to Memphis. Mich by this point was already loving the Dallas, large spaces of grass to run in and generally free space and fresh air, he was really excited.
Saturday morning we started our journey to Memphis, which I will officially call Sam's village/home, you will know why in a short while. It took us about 7 hours to get there with a few stops on the way to stretch our legs and stuff, very smooth ride on these fantastic roads. As soon as we crossed from Arkansas (which by the way is pronounced Arkinso, for those of you who didn't know) in to Memphis, they was a huge grin on Sam's face as if to say "home sweet home", he couldn't stop talking, telling me the routes he would take to work, where he lived, which part of the city looked more beautiful, all these memories came flooding back to him and that was nice. I was glad it was also a good way to celebrate his birthday and our anniversary, he really has a special bond with the city.
We were hosted by Jim and Barbara Pendleton, the family that he was attached to while he was a student at U of Memphis. They are a wonderful couple, have three children who have pretty much left home except for Melody who still lives with them but has a life of her own, (she is 23 by the way). Lovely home, with a dog and a cat and no prizes for guessing who was most thrilled and scared at the same time. Mich was so happy to spend time at the Pendletons because apart from the dog and the cat that kept running after him and him following them, they had a large garden where he spent time inspecting the flower and the insects.
We decided that we would visit the church Sam used to pray at, Covenant Community Church, we didn't think we would get any of the oldies seeing as the Steve the Pastor we knew has moved on. From the moment we arrived in the parking lot to the time we left the church, Sam kept bumping into people he knew, almost giving them heart attacks (anti some of them are not very young), anyway it was a wonderful experience. Even the new Pastor, whom we had never met recalled being told about this young man who was a member of the church but had returned to Uganda. I guess he remembered because Steve Noblett the pastor back then had made two trips to Uganda purposely to follow up on Sam, (I'm sure some of you either met him while he was in UG or heard about him).
We certainly contacted Steve and his wife Victoria and had dinner with them on Sunday, that was really exciting! I met Steve when he came to Uganda so we were already friends, I was meeting Victoria for the first time and Steve and Victoria were seeing Mich for the first time, there was a lot to celebrate. Both the Pendletons and the Nobletts treated Sam like a son who had traveled away from home and was coming back with a new family, that was interesting.
Mich was really having the time of his life, the least he did was help Steve water his entire garden, which wasn't small by any means and of course by the end of it there was more water on Mich than there was on some plants but it was all fun.
Monday, the 5th of June, we took a tour, went by the University walked through the campus, drove through town to the apartments that Sam had lived in, the places he had worked, had lunch and had some time to relax in the gardens before heading to the Zoo. Jim took time off work and he and his family gave us a tour of the Zoo, that was nice especially for Mich who was learning about all these animals and insects. After about two hours we were quite exhausted and decided to call it a day at around 5pm. We however had to meet one of Sam's good friends for dinner at 6:30pm, driving time and all would only give us enough time to get there so we decided not to go home before.
So we met up with Greg and his wife Valerie and their son Joshua who is almost three years old, well at least everyone had someone to talk to. By about 8:00pm we were through and I thought it would be a great time to head straight to bed because I was feeling really spent.
We got back to Dallas this evening and have about a week before Sam begins his internship.
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