Graduation Celebration!

So let me see how to describe this... It was about 2 in the afternoon. Mathias and Hadijah from PROMETRA stopped by my apartment to pick me up for the graduation celebration. At this point, I experienced my first ride on a boda boda...Mathias, Hadijah, and I cruised the streets of Kampala, while weaving in and out of traffic on a little boda boda that could :) I should add here that Hadijah and I were both wearing skirts...good times...hehe! We made it to the ceremony safe and sound. Many people have told me that graduation celebrations are very grand here in Uganda. Well this celebration was even more than I expected! It was held at Martin's house (the graduate). A little tent was set up in his front-ish yard with everyone (like 40 or 50 people, not including all the children and bystanders) squeezed tightly underneath. So many people attended...family!!!, friends, friends of friends, etc. The first half of the celebration was filled with lots of talk...in Luganda. People stepped to the center to reminisce about Martin's childhood and years of transitioning into a man. Many people were recognized and thanked for their significant role in Martin's life over the past 20 or so years. Then came the congrats ...i.e. everyone! embraced Martin one-by-one in a big hug while handing over their gifts. Meanwhile lively music blarred in the background...i.e. a DJ was hired to keep the party up beat...he did his job! Then came the food...and lots of it...various Ugandan dishes. Shortly after...dun dun dun...the dancing music began!!! Like I said, the DJ knew how to keep the party going! People began to trickle onto the dance floor (just his yard) to dance the night away! At one point, African traditional songs played and people danced the traditional dance...simple but not all that easy might I add :) The dancing continued long into the night...children danced, elders danced, we all danced! Ugandans are quite lively and enjoy any chance to celebrate and be happy in the form of song and dance! It was a graduation celebration to remember! When the night...early morning...finally ended, Mathias delivered Hadijah and me back to our apartments to catch a few hours of shut-eye before Monday's work. So in short, the party was a blast...hehe!!!

Keep the spirit alive - Ann