Cultural window...

The teachers and students at Upareni Elementary School, whom we supported with a generous amount of corn, beans, uniforms, and school supplies, decided to put on a cultural performance for us as a sign of gratitude. And they really put a lot of effort into it. Punctuality isn't exactly a strong point in Africa, and I would always love to be on time everywhere. But I'm not managing it at all, and I'm slowly getting used to the fact that time passes completely differently here, and obstacles change our plans every day. That day, we also planned to buy, weigh, bag, and deliver the last batch of corn and beans to the school in Upareni. Well, it wouldn't have been right if something hadn't gone wrong, and of course the corn wasn't ready. But a performance was scheduled to start at 12:00 at the school, and it was the last possible day before my departure when we could deliver the supplies to the school. Oh well, we just had to hope we'd figure it all out somehow, and we arrived to the school at the last minute. Over 500 students were waiting impatiently for us in the courtyard, and the actors and dancers couldn't wait to take the stage. I'd have been ashamed if we'd been late. A place of honor awaited us, a table set with a crisp white tablecloth and a view of all the children and the stage. The performance began with the sound of a drum, and the dancers took the stage, draped in kitenge and kanga, traditional African fabrics. They danced and sang several traditional dances and songs for us. This was followed by entertaining and educational performances reflecting the lives of the local people. And we laughed quite a lot during it. It was a wonderful experience. After the performance, we handed out uniforms to selected children, and of course we had to give out sweets to all the students at the school. The actors and dancers were rewarded a little more—after all, they had practiced hard. The teachers spent the afternoon selecting children for a nationwide school running competition, so we stayed at school a little longer. We had the chance to get to know the kids better and talk to them. And before they all ran off and the fastest ones were selected, the boda boda (a very popular local form of taxi—a motorcycle driver) managed to make three trips carrying 360 kg of corn. So in the end, everything turned out well. And we had to promise that their school would also get football jerseys, and that when we return next time, we'll organize a Longoi vs. Upareni match :D.