The tortoise and the... trumpet?

Yesterday was such a cool day that I needed to throw up a quick post to tell you about it.

Down in the ESC the day started more or less like any other.  Then an American woman dropped by as she was taking her tortoise out for a walk.  Odd?  She came in and started chatting, and Samson and I crouched down to check the tortoise out.  It was all hidden in it’s shell for the first few minutes.  Then it’s head emerged, and Samson FLIPPED!  I’m not sure what he thought was happening - maybe he thought it was a rock that suddenly sprouted a head and legs?  Maybe he’s never seen a tortoise before?  Either way, Samson was not impressed!  So I wasn’t sure what to expect when Tatiana and David wandered over - but they loved it.  David kept trying to hold it, and Tatiana wandered around, crouched down with her thumb in her mouth, following the tortoise wherever it went for the better part of 20 minutes.  Tatiana - the girl who has trouble focusing on anything for more than 5 minutes.  It was really neat to watch!  One of those things that you would never anticipate happening (how often does someone wander into your workplace with a tortoise?) but was such a cool addition to the day.

Then, that evening, I went with my friend Robert to the Miracle Centre - the house where the Bakouli Boys live and practice.  The Bakouli Boys I mentioned briefly a while back - but just to refresh your memory, it’s a group run by a man named Abey.  He takes kids off the street, teaches them to play instruments, and they as a group perform all over the country.  I talked with Abey for a while last night, and it was so awesome to see the passion that he has for these boys.  He says that he essentially runs an orphanage but he refuses to call it that because he wants these boys to grow up as part of a family, and to empower them with skills that will allow them to earn what they need to pay for their education (Primary & Secondary school both cost money here - a big reason that many of the children aren’t educated).  He wants to teach them that they have value, and that they don’t need to be dependent on other people, or on handouts.

After chatting with Abey, I went and sat on the stoop with Robert while we watched the boys practice.  It was a circle of kids all with brass instruments playing these awesome tunes, all with the backdrop of a setting sun and a marsh full of birds in the background.  It was one of those moments that I tried to really set in my mind - one of those moments where I just feel so blessed to be able to be there and share it with these kids.

Following this, Robert & I went back to his family’s house.  His mom made me African tea and casava, and we sat around with the whole family in this itty bitty little living room while Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers played in the background (I had heard that Ugandans love these two, but didn’t believe it until last night), and Robert tried to teach me to play the trumpet while everyone cheered me on... and laughed.  

SO COOL.

                                

Now off to the islands!!  Talk soon :)

xoxo