Today I spent the day at the sub-county's student music festival watching our local schools perform songs, speeches, traditional folk songs (with incorporated dramas) and instrumental performances. For anyone who has seen the movie 'War Dance' (and you should if you haven't), the competition I watched today is part of the regional competition that will culminate in Kampala. My local primary school had a really good showing and I'm rooting for them for vocals at least. The dancing will continue tomorrow and I should get some more great pics and maybe even a video or two. I really hope that one of the schools in my area will go on to the final rounds. They deserve it and are viewed as the underdogs in Uganda.
After being in the green, lush, fruit-filled, cool rolling hills of central and southern Uganda, I was a bit jealous of the PCVs that get to live in such a beautiful environment for two years. But after returning home, I remember why I'm here. The Acholi culure is so rich and complicated. It's easy to forget what has shaped a people, but every once in a while you get a reminder. It may be a song about negotiating bride price, or my busmate on the trip home pointing out the camp where she and or family lived for three years, or a boy's poem about how he felt when he was forced to kill innocent people during the war. It's easy to get wrapped up in day-to-day activities, but you can't take what you see for granted. I know there are a lot more stories to be told and I hope to be a good listener.
Great pictures Erin! I'm sure we'd all like to see video clips & especially hear them perform some music.
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