Wave Your Flag

An air of excitement spread through Kampala on Friday as the start of the World Cup drew closer and closer. In the office, Nick and I worked on a logic model for the Spirit of Uganda Tour. Narrowing down on the final outputs and outcomes of the tour was difficult because it acts as such a transformative experience for the children. Luckly, after some colorful/productive exchanges, we were able to finish a draft - a great feeling!

Early in the day, we mapped out our plans. We would leave the office, quickly stop at the market, prepare food at Agnes' home, and then go to her friend Brenda's home to watch the opening ceremony and first game at 5:30. Our execution seemed flawless at first. After rushing through the market to get mango, tomato, onions, and avocado, we stormed into Agnes' home. I was in charge of slicing the tomatoes and basil. Nick assisted by slicing tomatoes and cutting the cheese for the salad. Rose cut onions, and Agnes made the guacamole. Suddenly, Agnes' phone rang. I heard her say, "Oh no. Your kidding me. I thought . . ." It was Brenda. We had based our plans on a false premise. The game had already begun, and we had missed the opening ceremony. With feelings of slight failure, we finished our food preparations and headed over to Brenda's at halftime. Simon, Peter, Alex, and Francis joined us. Fortunately, after the game, the opening ceremony and Thursday night concert was repeated. This made Agnes happy. When K'Naan performed "Wavin' Flag," we all went crazy. Great song!

Brenda added to the trend of Agnes having cool friends. She is the only person in the country with a business that runs parties. Earlier in the day, she had been in charge of MTN's World Cup kick-off party in Kampala. She gave Nick and I "Africa United" jerseys, which are really cool.

Saturday was calm. After relaxing and running some errands, we went with Richard to watch the England-USA game at the Kansaga Pool Joint. Kansaga is the neighborhood we live in. The place was dark and big. In the back room, there was a giant screen with a projector set up. Seats with people filled the room. About half the crowd was for England and half made the right choice to cheer for the USA. Richard had told us before the game that he would be upset if the USA won because football (soccer) is our 5th or 6th most popular sport. I can understand his sentiment, and at the end of the night, a draw (though a win would have been better) seemed fair and good enough against the hardest team in the USA's group.

On Sunday, we went to the children's home for lunch. Aunt Justine cooked a delicious meal of fish, matoke, cabbage, rice, and beef stew. The company was great as always. We ended the night at Agnes' watching Australia get shut out by Germany. She prepared African tea for me, which is like Chai. It was really tasty, and better than the Chai I get at Starbucks.

- Feldman