Life on the Bus

Editor's Note: Here is another post from Teacher Winnie on the road with Spirit of Uganda.

Traveling on our tour bus is a time for bonding for all of us. This includes our 22 performers, the three staff volunteers — Pat, the company manager; Aunt Alexis, the Founder and CEO of Empower African Children; and Fred, our very kind driver.

Usually, we get onto the bus every 5-8 days and move to the next city or state, which means we spend a lot of time on the bus. We have traveled through 14 states already in about six weeks!

  Sometimes we have had to board the bus as early as 6:00 a.m., especially if we have a long way to go. This means getting up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready to load the bus. When we get onto the bus early for a nine hours drive, we usually start off with our daily devotional — Starting Your Day Right — and then some children sleep for the first two hours. We have these really beautiful blankets that were made for us by The Malouf family. They keep us warm before the bus heats up. Each one of us has a unique blanket.

On the bus, there are a range of activities that take place. Some children will read novels as others catch up with their school work. Then there is usually a game of cards spearheaded by Peter Kasule (our artistic director) and David Kasata (the dance trainer and Peter’s assistant). They usually have so much fun, judging from all the laughter and teasing that we can all hear from the middle of the bus. It is really heart-warming when our youngest members — Miriam and Phyllis — play cards against Peter and David. They enjoy themselves immensely, and let me tell you, those guys never let the girls win. (Actually, sometimes, little Miriam and Phyllis do win the game.) Many times we just talk about the previous shows or tours and tell each other funny stories.

I especially love the bathroom breaks because it is a chance to get out and stretch a little. Sometimes the boys get a football and kick the ball around until we are ready to go. One of our fondest memories on the road so far is passing over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was magnificent. We got out of the bus and took lots of pictures. Going through Iowa and Kansas was amazing too. I remember looking out of the window and I could see a sea of white. Snow covered almost everything. The trees stood bare and black but I still thought the contrast of tall bare trees against a backdrop of white was absolutely gorgeous! Some trees were actually white, and seemed to sparkle in the day light. It was enchanting. I had never seen snow in real life so this was really special for me. Even now, in Pennsylvania, we see snow on the sidewalks and it seems to have been there for awhile. It’s grey and dirty, but I can’t stop looking at it. I can’t wait for it to snow again.

We are very fond of our bus because it brings us together in so many ways. And because it is wrapped with our pictures and logo, we feel like we own it! On the road, it is home sweet home.

Comments

[Rhita]

Sarah you are really good at this.(writing about the tour)You have a very beautiful bus!!!If Faith wrote the poem,she is real good!!!People who have seen your shows say they a very very good.