Final (Packed) Day, Final In-Country Post!

Reporting from the airport in Entebbe, about 1.5 hours before departure.
My last day (yesterday--the internet wasn't being friendly last night) was pretty jam-packed and phenomenal.  I made my way around the Mbale-Nabugoye area saying last goodbyes, gathering stories I'd heard but hadn't gotten a chance to record, and even some new ones! It was certainly a great way to end my trip, though it was (and is) still hard to leave an entire community, with no way of knowing if and when I will return.
My first stop was a meeting with Mr. Satte, the SK deputy headmaster, in Mbale, where we discussed final thoughts on my teaching and useful improvements that can be made in English at school as well as other struggles of SK.  I have always been impressed by his dedication to the school, and I'm hoping to keep in touch with him as to see what great things he continues to do there.  After meeting for a while in town, he showed me his home, where I met his family and heard a little about the area (the slum of Namattara) before heading back to the Hill.  Back at Nabugoye, I followed a quick lunch with a final visit to Hadassah, where Aaron and the students of P6 and 7 had prepared a really sweet (musical) goodbye/thank you ceremony.  While last year our AJWS group was privy to many such ceremonies, which I am guessing are somewhat of a cultural staple at this point, it was especially meaningful for me having been here on my own.  They sang in Hebrew and in English, and afterwards I addressed them briefly, thanking them for having me and reminding them to keep reading!
From Hadassah I made my way to Nangalo, where I did not find J.J. but got to spend a few hours with Zilpah, one of his adopted children and one of the students I'd become close with at SK.  She taught me some of the Lugandan psalms sung at services--which I can sort of-ish sing now--and told me the story of how she came to live with J.J. following the deaths of her parents.  She also introduced me to J.J's neighbor and step-mom, Mama Deborah, who is mother to Aaron, Rabbi Gershom, Seth and Athalia.  Quite a firecracker (within moments of our meeting, she told me she could find me a husband, cracking up all the while), she's lived in Nangolo her whole life, and still digs in her gardens harvesting coffee and beans.
From Nangalo I made my final sojourn back to Nabugoye, where I wasted little time--I happened upon Jacobo from the northern area of Apace, and I was able to record the story of his village.  While I'd gotten a shorter version a few Shabbats ago (as recounted in the blog) it was pretty cool to hear the story in its entirety--the religious progression of reading the bible, the search for Jews in Kenya and Uganda with some Messianics thrown in on the way, and the hoops that were jumped through when they finally found the Abayudaya. (I'll try to put up the more detailed story when I'm home and I've played it back!)
I then took my last opportunity to sit down with Alex (from Ghana) and record the history he has gathered so far of the Ghana Jews. (See previous post for the story.)  Their community is especially fascinating as it is likely there are Jews, or at least those affected by Jews a long while ago, among its members.
After a full day of running around, talking and listening, it was finally time to pull out of denial--and pack. I managed a couple of hours of sleep before loading up the car and beginning the 4 hour drive to Entebbe with Isaac.
It's certainly been an amazing ride here. While I'm not sure what the future holds for all that I've learned (I am, for several reasons, rethinking my original plan), I can already appreciate the amazing impact it has had, and will have, on me.

Thank you for cyber-joining me here, and don't be a stranger--I'm not sure I'll post daily when I get back, but I'll definitely update often on tidbits I learn from re-listening to my records, project ideas, etc.

But for now--shalom Uganda!