KENTINA!!

So if you don’t recall, last time I was here there was a baby who was born to Laubin and Susan. When they introduced her to me they asked me what the female form of Kent was….without really thinking I said “Kentina?” jokingly. But they decided that was what they wanted to call her. Now in Uganda often children will be given a nickname which they are known by for the first 3-4 months of their life until the parents can get to know the baby and give them a proper name. Examples include: Korea who is actually Bryan but looked like a Korean when he was born; Cham Wi-ray is Charles which means he wasn’t born in his home area, Soke is Charity which means cry and that is all she did when she was a baby, etc. So when I heard that they were calling their baby Kentina I just assumed that it would be a nickname, something to remember me by. Well in about November 2008 I started to get phone calls from Laubin telling me that they wanted to baptize Kentina (not in a Christian sense but in an official naming sense) and that I needed to come and give my blessings or consent I guess. I explained that it wasn’t really a name but that if they wanted to use it they could and they had my blessings and anything else they needed from me! He told me that they wanted to use the name but I really needed to come and baptize her. I thought maybe my refusal to come and baptize this little girl would save her from such a name but it appears she is stuck with my made up name. I must admit I am a little flattered, it’s not everyday someone names a baby after you.


So on one of my first days back, Laubin took me to her pre-school class. I walked in the backyard and seriously there must have been about 40 kids who called out “MUZUNGU,” and came rushing over to me. They all grabbed on to my legs and started to pet my arms (they love my armhair here), just staring up at me in awe. I really wish I had my camera as it was quite a site to see. So here I am standing there huge grin on my face and looking down at all these children just trying to figure out which one is Kentina. Thinking “That one has Laubin’s eyes,” or “Oh Susan’s lips,” then I turn to Laubin and ask with great aniticipation “So which one is Kentina?” He laughs and points to one of two children who are crying off to the side, terrified of the Munzungu. Ha ha ha! Here I was so sure she would be the one who was right next to me just vying for her namesake’s attention. Needless to say she takes after her father (whom Laubin claims is me and says that I should be paying child support) and is absolutely beautiful. She didn’t take much time to warm up to me and is now almost as much of a pest as her real father is. She is so funny and has quite the sense of humor, did I mention she was beautiful?

I taught her how to stick out her tongue...I'm such a good influence!