Bread and Butter

My sister and I can, on occasion, share the same mind.

“Natalie. I think it would be fun if my kids and your kids were pen pals,” Melanie had said to me a couple of months ago.

“Yes! That is so great! I had envisioned forming a partnership with teachers in America and developing a lesson plan about African culture that included the kids communicating with one another.”

And so a couple of months ago my sister Melanie, a school psychologist with LA Unified School District, printed pictures of my African babies and made presentations about them to some of the classrooms at her elementary school. I, in turn, told my kids they now had friends in America that would be writing to them.

The children’s reaction to one another thus far has been slightly surprising and certainly comical. My kids’ faces lit up when they learned they had new friends from the enigmatic land of Obama and streets of gold; they were excited, but in their reserved Buganda way. From my sister’s description, however, the American schoolchildren are absolutely thrilled and intrigued by their new African friends; my little Ugandan orphans have unexpectedly become superstars at an elementary school in Watts.

“They come up and ask me about your kids all the time and want to know when they are getting their letters! They ask every time they see me!” Melanie told me about her schoolchildren. “I made my first presentation ten days ago to one class and when I went back yesterday, they remembered everything I told them. They are so interested. They keep asking all kinds of questions.”

I received the first set of letters from the Americans a few weeks ago. I began reading them at the quiet internet café in Lugazi during a lazy afternoon; I soon began receiving curious stares from other users sitting behind out-dated, massive monitors in response to my outbursts of laughter. The Americans’ letters were filled with phrasing and questions only designed by the mind of a child.

My sister’s description of the second-grade class’ reaction was equally amusing, as well as poignant and eye-opening:

“Although I didn’t write these questions down the kids wanted to know why Sylvia had short hair and why people in Africa don’t have shoes. We talked about money and food and this led into an interesting conversation about how the students at our school waste their food during lunch time. It was very interesting to see their expressions change. Before I came in the kids were bouncing off the walls. And then we started talking and they were so interested, and their expressions became very serious. They want to see more pictures so I’m bringing in the poster board we used for Rachel’s fundraiser.”

I collected the American letters to my children and organized a meeting with me, the kids and a translator, and began capturing my kids’ responses. Some words were lost in translation, sometimes my kids would go on long tangents; it was taking longer than expected, and my schedule was full. A few weeks had passed and my kids and I still hadn’t finished our letters.

“Natalie. I know you are busy, but my kid are still waiting for their letters and keep asking about them,” Melanie had written to me in an email last week.

Sorry, I’ve been busy, but here they are.

Below are the best of the exchanges between the Africans and Americans. The American letters are written first, and my kids’ responses are bolded with my explanations and notes to my sister parenthetically written.

Best of Sylvia (paired with a second-grade class)

Rebecca- How do you buy a tooth brush?

My Mama Muzungu and Mama Ester buy me toothbrushes now. We didn’t use toothbrushes in the village. We didn’t brush our teeth.

Jaidyn- How do you get on a roller coaster (The teacher asks him if he thinks they have roller coasters, he says ‘yes’, and she says maybe they don’t so what can he ask Sylvia instead…) Do you have roller coasters?

I don’t know what roller coasters are.

Daniel- How many languages do you speak?

I know one language. I know Luganda. I am learning English.

Carlos- How do you get food?

If I get money, I buy food.

Mariani-How did your mom die? (Do the kids talk about their mother? Maybe a good opportunity to talk to Sylvia about it, and the other kids. The class was also very curious about how they live on their own without an adult so this may be something she could talk about too.)

My Mummy died of malaria. (The mother actually died of AIDS, but Sylvia and Rachel don’t understand.)

Alex- How do you grow food?

I use to grow sweet potatoes and bananas. For a sweet potato, you dig a heap of soil and take sweet potato stems and then push them in the soil and you cover them and they grow. To grow a banana, you dig a hole two feet deep and put in fertilizer then the banana sucker in it and cover with soil. I don’t grow anything now. (May want to explain that they don’t grow anything now that we’ve taken them out of the village.)

Adriana- Do you have cars?

No we don’t have cars. We just foot to school.

Nicole- What kind of food do you eat?

When I lived in the village I ate beans and vegetables and pohso. Now I eat rice, meat, posho, beans, matoke, sweet potatoes and fish. My favorites are fish, meat and rice. (When they lived in the village they grew their own food, which the children helped grow. In fact, the children weren’t going to school because they didn’t have money and they were needed to work their land. Also, matoke is a dish native to Uganda made of boiled unripe plantains and posho is a spongy white dish made of maize flour.)

David- Do you have a lot of friends?

I have a lot of friends. My friends are Peanut, Melie, and Nalwadda . At school I have friends Odoconyero and Sheppard.

Virgina- How do you get money?

Sometimes my auntie gives me money for breakfast at school. My uncle Godrey use to give me shillings, but now a-days not so much. (Right now they have money to buy clothes, food, shelter and go to school unlike before because of the donations I have received. Before their father paid for the few items they owned with the surplus crops he sold at market. Although, of course, he wasn’t buying much because the kids didn’t have shoes, had just a couple of clothes, hardly ate, didn’t go to school, to the hospital, etc.)

Eric- Do you guys celebrate Halloween in Africa?

We don’t celebrate Halloween. I didn’t hear of Halloween until now.

Daniel- How is your behavior in school?

I have good behavior. I share with my friends and I greet my teachers and aunties. I kneel and ask “how are you?” (In Uganda children, and occasionally adults, will greet their elders by genuflecting before them and sometimes holding their hand.)

Jose- How do you make friends?

I stick on them and just befriend some of them. (This is hilarious!)

Rebecca- What kind of chairs do you sit in at school?

We sit on small benches. We call them desks. (There are usually at least one hundred kids in a class and they sit cramped on long benches next to one another.)

Adriana- How do you get to school?

We walk to school.

Alex- How do you play with your brother?

We play hide and seek and sometimes football (soccer).

Jaidyn-How do you celebrate Jesus?

We celebrate Jesus on Christmas Day.

Erick- Does it snow on Christmas?

It never snows in Uganda. (It lies on the Equator.)

Alexandra- How do you buy shoes?

We never had shoes until when Mama Muzungu came and now she buys us shoes at the market on Wednesdays with Mama Ester. I like the ones she bought me recently cause they are so easy to wear I don’t have to tie them. (May want to explain that muzungu means “white person” in Africa and that she calls me and Ester her “mamas” out of respect as many children call caretakers that aren’t actually their mothers “mama,” or “mommy.” Also may want to tell them that most Ugandans don’t buy items at regular stores, but at open air markets. Also, I just bought her shoes that Velcro, which I am sure she had never seen before so doesn’t know what to call them.)

Andres- Do you have to take the baby (Rachel) to school?

We walk with her to school. (Rachel isn’t really a baby – she’s 4 and is in nursery school – kind of like preschool in US.)

Evelyn- How do you celebrate Christmas?

We go to church and then eat good food like meat and chicken.

(Incidentally, I recently asked the kids if they ever ate meat before in the village and they said only on Christmas. Also, the meat here is different in Uganda in that it’s a huge slab of cow they just cut in any old way for you; it’s not nice pieces of meat like in the US. It costs about $2.50 a kilo, which is enough to feed a family.)

Best of Agnes (paired with a fifth grade class)

Dear Agnus,

My name is Porsha Harrell and I am ten. I’m in the 5^th grade and I want to know about you. I have one brother and one sister. There name is Trevon and Ijan. I am in football, basketball, and volleyball. I watch TV. I like Disney channel and BET. My favorite show is The Game and That so Raven.

I have saw you before in a picture. I will send you a picture if you want me to, just tell me. Is Uganda fun to you? Do you have a brother or sister? How many kids do your mom have? When you send me a letter tell me about yourself.

Your Friend,

Porsha

Please send a picture. Uganda is fun. I have one brother and four sisters. I like playing with my friends a lot. I love my sisters and brother so much. Most of the time I am reading or in books.

Dear Agnus,

I like riding my scooter down a big hill. Also I like doing tricks on my scooter. Then I started to like sports. I am ten years-old. I am a boy and my name is Justin. What about you? How old are you? What do you like to do?

How are your brothers and sisters doing? I hope you don’t get sick. Do you have a lot of animals? Do you like animals? Are you active?

Your Friend,

Justin

I am sixteen years old. I like studying and playing. My brothers and sisters are doing well. We don’t have animals. I like animals. Yes, I am active. Do you like animals? What do you like to do?

Dear Agnus,

“Hello”, my name is Ricky Sebastian.

I am 10 years old. I like school because I want to get a good job. Then I would like to go to college and be a basketball player. My favorite subject is Math because I am good at it and I like drawing and coloring and play basketball, videogames, and I am sometimes lazy or I watch TV.

Do you have colleges? Do you guys have something to play? Do you have a favorite sport? Do you have any plans for schools? Do you like schools? Are there colleges in Uganda? What do you like? What is your favorite color? What is your favorite sport? Do you have any friends? How many sisters do you have? How many brothers do you have?

Sincerely,

Ricky Sebastian

After Senior Four, there are colleges and you can go to college. Yes, we play football and netball. My favorite sport is running and netball. My favorite color is red. I want to go up to university. Yes, my friends are Birungi, Lillian and Brenda. I have three sisters and one brother. Thank you for being my friend and for writing.

Best of Richard (paired with a special day class - ages vary)

Since the letters sent to Richard were identical, Richard sent the following message to his friends:

My leg is feeling better. I love basketball and school. I love all of you because you are my friends. I feel good when you send me messages and I would like a photo of you. Uganda is interesting because it has water sources, a wet and dry season, and you see wild animals like monkeys in the village. I like to garden. I want to study up to the university so that I can get a good job so I can look after my parents. I want to be a lawyer. My favorite meal is rice, chicken and matoke. Matoke is special cooked bananas that are only in Uganda. I like to play football, but I can’t play because of my leg. When my leg is better I want to play again. I love all of you very much and thank you for the interesting messages and I hope they keep up. God bless you.

Best of Rachel (paired with a kindergarten class)

Because of her age, Rachel sent the following message to her class:

I like to play with my sisters and my brother Richard and my Mommy Natalie. My sisters are Sylvia, Beatrice, Agnes. I like to jump.

Best of Beatrice (paired with a fourth grade class)

Dear Beatrice,

Hi Beatrice I am a boy. My name is Marco Vargas. I am 9 years old. I love to play basketball. I like Pokeman. That is my number one thing I like. I collect Pokemon toys, cards, books, and I play it with my friends. I have a brother and a sister. My best friend is Anthony he is going to write to you. He is in my class. I love the color red. I also like lions, monkeys, and sharks. Have fun Beatrice, good bye.

Sincerely,

Marco Vargas

PS. I will like writing to you.

My favorite color is red too. I fear lions, and I like monkeys and there were some small ones in my village we would make fun of. I like you Vargas and want to talk to you again.

6) Dear Beatrice,

Hi my name is Jayzon. I like sports. I am 10 years old. So I like to play games and watch TV and I also like to be nice to people. I collect seashells at the beach. The most thing I really like to do is play with my dogs teddy and princess, they are good dogs they only bite if hold their nose. My favorite food is tacos with water. Water helps my body get strong muscles. I love to eat. I don’t like to eat a lot of junk food. My question was what happened to your parents?

Sincerely,

Jayzon

In fact, I like all the same things as you. I like playing with dogs that don’t bite, but won’t touch dogs on the nose. I like eating, but they don’t have tacos in Africa. But I think I would like eating a taco. (After I explained it to her.) I like to drink water and drink it 3-5 times a day. My mom died. My mom was taken to the hospital and had no help and died. My dad is a gardener in the village. He plants tomatoes. (May want to explain that the father is incapable of taking care of them because he is ill and too poor.)

7) Dear Beatrice,

My name is Jeff Garcia and I’m nine years old on November. I’m going to be ten and I’m the only son in family. I don’t have brothers or sisters so is only me and my mom. Where your dad and mom? I don’t have a dad because they were divorce and I hope you have a good day.

Sincerely,

Jeff

In November I will be 11 years old. There are four girls and one boy in my family. My mom died and my dad is in the village. I have a good dad, but he isn’t able to afford the things we need. I am sorry you are missing your dad.

8) Dear Beatrice,

My name is Joshua Castro. I am 10 years old. I like to play soccer, basket ball, kick ball, and baseball. Here in United States it’s fun. What do you do in Uganda? Do you play? Can you walk? Do you see wild animals?

Sincerely,

Josue Castro

I like basketball, but I don’t get to play it because there is no ball. I go to school, do chores at home and play. Yes, I can walk. I have seen a lion and elephant in the zoo. I see pussycats, cows, monkeys, rabbits and big snakes in the village. (She didn’t go the zoo until last month when I paid for the kids to go on their school trip to Entebbe, which is a three hour drive from Lugazi. I actually don’t think the kids had ever been anywhere besides Lugazi and their village before.)

9) Dear Beatrice,

Hi Beatrice my name is Jasmine Cartagena. I am nine years old. My favorite game is tetherball. Tetherball is a pole and a ball and you have to hit the ball. Your life seems interesting to me Beatrice. I have some questions to ask you. What is it in Uganda? What grade are you in? Would you like to live here? Can’t wait to hear from you. Please write back. J

Sincerely,

Jasmine Cartagena

I have never seen tetherball. I like your character. I want to sing you a song “Bread and Butter.” It means you are my bread and butter. Uganda is beautiful. What makes it beautiful is it has music and wild animals. Yes, I would like to live in America. America is very interesting to me. Everyone is happy and has fun. (Beatrice actually sang this song in Luganda as we were talking about Jasmine. The song is one kids here sing about their friends.)