Prom-tastic

Last Saturday, I attended a senior prom in the bush of Africa, as a very under-dressed guest of honor. I know that is quite a statement, so let me back up a bit.

I had planned to attend Christ School’s Candidates Party, to show support to the S4 and S6 students, as they took a day off before the onslaught of standardized examinations. I had never been around for one before so I didn’t know exactly what to expect. After asking a few sources, it sounded like the students dressed up a bit, there were some speeches, and food. Michael, my teammate, was preparing a 30 minute talk to encourage the students and I planned on just being present for the fun.

Well, this is Uganda so the festivities got off to a later start than planned. By about 4 hours. And Michael had plans to travel to Fort Portal before dark. So, he was unable to attend. The few other team members in district had other plans. So, I went to the party and looked forward to talking to some students and teachers. It had been a busy day so I hoped I could “make an appearance” and head back home.

I arrived and sat in the back corner, hoping to draw little attention to myself and being able to make an exit without causing disruption. Within 2 minutes of sitting down, the student emcee let everyone know that “Madame Christine” has arrived and needed to say a few words. I quickly spewed out a few greetings on behalf of WHM and wished them the best on their exams and sat down. Not too bad. For the next half hour, I enjoyed the cross-cultural experience of a prom.

The students were incredibly decked out in fancy dresses and stiletto heels or suits and ties. I realized I had never seen many of the girls with jewelry before and could barely recognize a few. There were a lot of pairs of sunglasses going around and even some clear faux reading glasses—to look studious, I suppose. A lot of the party was student-run, including the emcees. Quite a few students performed raps and sang along to popular songs in front of everyone. One of my favorite aspects was Mr. and Miss Party—the Ugandan equivalent of a prom king and queen. I never figured out exactly if they were “elected” by their peers or not but they had a special head table and got to cut the cake amidst much celebration.

I went around to some of the tables, snapping photos of students in their finery. I listened to some of the speeches prepared by the teachers and administration. I felt horribly under-dressed in my sweat-soaked Saturday attire. After the headmaster arrived, he wanted me to sit next to him, closer to the front. I protested but eventually gave in. It was around this time that I started to feel concerned as I heard the words “guest of honor” connected to my name several times. When did this happen?!

I immediately began to sweat as I realized that the guest of honor always has to share a speech. I had nothing prepared. I explicitly told this to at least three people in charge. I could be the guest of honor but wouldn’t be able to give a speech. Yikes! Eventually, I found out that Michael was slated to be the guest of honor but because he didn’t show, the role shifted to me. As I tried to quickly come up with something to say, the moment passed and I took a deep breath. Then, it was announced that I had nothing prepared but the headmaster would speak on my behalf! So, the headmaster stood up, I stood up, and he spoke for me. A strange experience but I didn’t have to give a speech!

The evening ended with food—the students receive posho (a starch) and beans every day. So this feast of goat meat, chicken, rice, cabbage, and potatoes was fabulous! Thankfully I didn’t get a huge portion despite being the guest of honor and I was able to enjoy the food. As I went to leave, every student wanted a photo with me. I enjoyed getting some with the students I knew (and many I didn’t). As I left the school grounds, I was thankful for the staff at CSB, seeing the students have a fun time, and hopeful that they will impact this place in a great way in the future.