Nursery graduation

Graduation (also called commencement), in the academic sense, is the ceremony of conferring an academic certificate, diploma, or degree to students (graduands). Graduation takes place at all levels of education, right from the lowest level (nursery) to the highest level.

The last two days (Thursday and Friday) have been graduation days here in Arua. As is the norm with all graduations, the air was filled with anticipation, excitement and joy among the parents, teachers and pupils/students alike. From what I've observed, the most excitement is usually among the nursery school pupils.

In the two days of graduation, I've seen two sets of nursery schools proudly march with their graduands from a central location in town (Christ The King Church) to their respective schools. Both sets were accompanied by police officers and a youthful marching band -- they were colorful. One of these nursery schools happens to be in my work neighborhood. Here are some pictures taken from the office balcony.

The school van that took the graduands to the marching starting point.

The Springs Nursery/Primary School graduands march to school for a graduation ceremony at their school, accompanied by well-wishers and parents.

The band leader artfully spins his staff. A police officer (to his right in florescent green) was present to keep law and order.

The band members playing the marching music.

All marching in: The young graduands marching their way to school as the teachers (in the background) keep them marching in unison.

Some of the parents that accompanied the graduands on the march.

The procession slowly makes its way to the ceremony venue.

Tis the merry season!

It is that time of the year when multi-coloured string lights hang on shop windows, and on live trees on streets, and even on house, bars, or café patios. If you live in the city or large town, chances are that this time of year is when department stores and large supermarket chains stream classic Boney M "season songs" and many more from overhead speaker systems.

This is the season for Christmas! Ah Christmas - the time when Christians and non-Christians alike take some time off from their hectic lives to make merry. The time when people gather as families or with loved ones to share sheer joy.

Most importantly this is the time when Santa Clause (Father Christmas) rides his sleigh into town (surprisingly in the still of the night) bearing gift items on children's wishlists - but only for boys and girls who have been good. So I was told as a kid. 

On cue, this time of year my taste buds yearn for something local. By this I mean local menus, from foods such as njiki-njiki (fresh sesame source), osobi, dry meat in idi (sesame paste) and porridge seasoned with iti (tamarind fruits) to local brew (kpete). I guess it's a Pavlovian effect.

So this is the time when I get to retreat away from the glaring lights of the city. I like the quiet and tranquility of the "home" life - my ancestral or tribal place - the place I truly call home! I often enjoy listening to the history lesson from my elders on our family's lineage or on our numerous family relations. Sometimes I'm told stories about myself when I was a child, things which I don't remember from way back then. Most times they sound like music to my ears. Such tales are often told after sunset. Other times I use the "free" time to reflect on how the year has been for me, and how I can improve as a person so as to make myself and all the people who are dear to me better. 

In short, I love this time of year and always look forward to it.

Some images from an earlier Christmas.

Children on the way to a community festival pass by a homestead.

How time flies by: the lady in this picture is my cousin, and she baby-sat me as a kid many many years ago... bless her heart!

This little fellow was my neighbour; he came to visit whenever he could. 

On the way to get some local brew on Christmas eve.

Not my cup of tea

What a morning! Oh, it's a Monday morning lest I forget. I often wonder why Monday mornings are generally dull for me. Could it be because of the weekend hibernation? Perhaps. As a matter of fact Monday is my least favorite day of the week. And this particular Monday feels no different.

To begin with, I didn't feel like getting out of bed this morning. Physically I felt all beat up - a result of domestic chores all weekend long! Anyway, after the usual morning routine and a cup of tea, I dragged myself to the office. Despite the workload on my desk, the first hour-and-a half felt like ages for I was in a daze - like a zombie. Usually a cup of tea brightens me up, but this morning I needed two more cups of tea just to shake the cobwebs off my brain. By the time I was up and running it was already mid-morning!

Only a few people I know love Mondays. So it doesn't seem to affect me alone after all. Through trial and error I discovered that morning stretches or skipping (jump rope) exercises do me wonders. Unfortunately, I wasn't up to the morning exercises this morning. I guess that partly explains why my morning was so hazy!

Roadside sights

As a frequent traveler, I've come across sights and scenes that are often amazing and interesting in equal measure. Here is a collection (pictorial) of a few.

Harvesting grass. Women and girls transport their grass harvest home, which will be used for roofing their houses. This harvest is done in the dry season when the grass is fully grown and the its drying process has began. 

The coke side of life. A large coca cola-shaped kiosk stands next to other make-shift sheds along a busy highway. Such sights are common in Uganda, and provide travelers with water or other refreshing beverages while on the go.

Roadside venders interacting with travelers aboard a bus hoping to interest them (travelers) in their merchandise. The good range from food items to art pieces and stools. 

A lady stands next to her stock of grinding stones and pots that are on sale. The grinding stones are used for grinding grains while the pots are often used for holding drinking water, cooking , or serving local brew. 

A cluster of mangoes hanging on a tree trunk along the roadside. The mangoes ended up in a polyethylene bag and came with us. 

Buying more mangoes.

A women's group sell shea butter oil (in those plastic bottles on the tables). The oil is got from the shea nut tree, which is common in the West Nile region.

Pick-up truck transports cargo from a farm to town.

Women selling their vegetables at a roadside market.

Fishermen casting their nets on the River Nile in Pakwach. 

Crunchy grasshoppers

We're so getting this again...right? I used to hate these things, until I discovered a recipe (if you can call the simple addition of onions that!). Today, I saw vendors adding spices and all sorts of veggies. Me thinks that is stretching it. It kinda kills the taste, completely. So, here goes the crunchy little delectables.

This post is graciously shared from The tamarind tree shade

Moving house

Remember the fairy tale story of Goldilocks and The Three Bears? If you don't, find it at the end of this post.

The significance of the story is that some people like their stuff (be it a house, car, etc) large, others like theirs middle-sized, and others like theirs small. Admittedly, size is relative but others like their stuff just right, just like Miss Goldilocks!

We recently moved from one apartment to another. The apartment that we moved away from is a one bed-roomed one. It had its own advantages which we exploited to the fullest. For instance, it was small and cozy, and the size made moping and dusting manageable. However, over time the size became a disadvantage - small kitchen, small bathroom.

We've been on the look out for a bigger apartment, specifically two bed-roomed, for the last four months or so. As luck would have it, we found one (more like it found us) with precisely the  exact features we had looked for. On inspection of the apartment, we decided right away that it looked and felt just right. Naturally, we were excited!

Stuff everywhere in this room! With a busy work week it will take a while for some of these to find their rightful places.

Now, the thing about moving is the packing and unpacking. On the day that we moved, a big part of the day was spent packing and by ferrying the packages from the "old apartment" to the "new one". By the time we were done ferrying the last items to the new place, it was already dusk, and fatigue had set in. In our bid to move in the same day, we placed things according to their respective categories; kitchen things were all placed in the kitchen, bedroom things went to the bedrooms, etc. As I post this, most things are still lying everywhere in their respective rooms.

Taking shape! The living room was one of the rooms that we set up first.

And finally the living room was transformed to this...

Some art pieces to brighten up the room.

Now that looks...fabulous!

And a little toast to go with a job well done!

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The Story of Goldilocks and The Three Bears

There was once a little girl named Goldilocks, who went for a walk in the woods. Soon, she came upon a house. In the house lived three bears - Papa bear, Mama bear and Little bear. Each bear had its own porridge bowl, chair, and bed. Papa bear was large and liked his porridge hot, his chair hard, and his bed firm. Mama bear was middle-sized and like her porridge cold, her chair soft, and her bed soft. Little bear was small and liked his porridge warm, his chair small, and his bed comfortable. The three bears were taking a walk in the woods while their porridge cooled when Goldilocks came upon their house. She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl, but it was too hot. So, she tasted the second bowl of porridge, but it was too cold. Then she tasted the last bowl of porridge, and found it just right! So, she ate it all. After she'd had her fill Goldilocks decided she was feeling tired. She walked into the living room where she saw three chairs. She sat in the first chair to rest her feet. She found the chair too big. She sat in the second chair, and found it too big, too. So she tried out the last and smallest chair. She found it just right. But just as she settled down into it to rest, it broke into pieces! Goldilocks was very tired by this time, so she went upstairs to the bedroom. She lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard. Then she lay in the second bed, but it was too soft. Then she lay down in the third bed and it was just right. Goldilocks fell asleep.

As she slept, the three bears came home. "Someone's been eating my porridge", growled the Papa bear. "Someone's been eating my porridge", said the Mama bear. "Someone's been eating my porridge and they ate it all up!" cried the Little bear. "Someone's been sitting in my chair," growled the Papa bear. "Someone's been sitting in my chair", said the Mama bear. "Someone's been sitting in my chair and they've broken it all to pieces," cried the Little bear. They decided to look around some more and when they got upstairs to the bedroom, Papa bear growled, "Someone's been sleeping in my bed". "Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too" said the Mama bear. "Someone's been sleeping in my bed and she's still there!" exclaimed Little bear.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears. She screamed, "Help! Help!" And she jumped up and ran out of the room, out of the house, and away into the forest. And she didn't returned to the home of the three bears again.