Thanksgiving

Wednesday night Manny and I decided to stay at the dorms on campus, so we did. I awoke to countless mosquito bites (nets are useful) when my alarm went off at 5:30. Why would my alarm go off at 5:30 on Thanksgiving? To run a half marathon of course. It was one part ambition but mostly the idea of being really hungry come the evening feast that led me to running 53 laps around the UCU track under a blood red dawn sky. Running was a good experiential primer to the amazing day ahead.
I went to a couple of classes before heading up to one of our teachers homes to cook dessert with Holly and Dean (Holly goes to Loma, Dean is her boyfriend that goes to Westmont). We made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Our teachers name is Gwynn, it was really nice to just lounge around her house reading, cooking, and eating cookie dough.
When the cookies were finished we all headed down to the football field for American football. The game was good fun for sure, but more running was not so much fun, OK maybe it was in a sick way it was. Five o'clock rolled around and we went up to Mark's (he is the program director) house to meet up all USPers, Ex-pats, missionaries, and friends. There were Americans, Canadians, British, Ugandans, and an Ethiopian there. We were about eighty in total. We all sat under giant trees infested with monkeys and ate the staples of our normal Thanksgiving meals. We even had turkey that was grilled on a BBQ oddly enough. Regardless it was tasty. After the main course we ravished the tables full of student made desserts. I had two full plates of various sweets.
As if the night could have gotten any better we still had one more surprise. A projector was set up and we all watched A Charlie Brown Christmas on the side of Mark's house.
After the movie the IMME students jumped into Vincent's van to be taken home. I sat there on my way back to Momma Idah's house and for the first time realized that I will miss a lot of people come December 15 when most of the students leave. Also, that I will miss Uganda come December 29. It was a very good day. Amen.