Mariya Putwa, Grade 11
UWCEA (Arusha)
Something a lot of people at my school have adored is the fact that we have a shopping centre connected to our campus, making it extremely easy to sneak away for a quick break from our constant existence at school. However, the path to this place is irregular, unpaved, narrow, and on rainy days- infinitely long. The path passes through both of the school’s playing fields, and circuits around a large, weird hole that we call the “snake” pit; a ditch that has rightfully earned its name.
I vividly remember going to this shopping centre- “Sable Square”, or as we called it “Sables”, to buy a bar of chocolate or stock up on my friend’s favorite apple soda- Sparletta. Sparletta is a cold sparkly drink that shines a golden yellow, it brings back memories of summer days in Arusha. My roommate and I would always go on Coke runs, said drink being her oxygen on some days. I’d slip on my comfiest slippers, but remember all the thorns, sand and bugs that vastly covered the narrow path before choosing to go with a pair of sneakers. Conversations would range from petty gossip to discourses on life, love and our stories behind what we were doing here. Coming from similar backgrounds, my roommate and I would often ponder on how we got where we were today, somehow, the sun would always be setting as we walked to the gate. It felt pleasantly close.
However, we always forgot the key to the gate that separated Sables from our campus. We’d end up walking the whole way only to find the small red gate locked, a large bolt slammed right into the middle of its belly. I couldn’t even begin to count the number of exasperated sighs that would leave my mouth everytime this would happen. But, true to the UWC spirit, there was always someone who’d pick up the call and come give us the key. In a way, it seemed like we were in a life or death adventure; a battleship ready to crash with no lifeboat for the passengers to fall into; or a princess on the verge of falling to her death before a prince/princess saves her. But sometimes, we’d jump the gate. I remember being extremely apprehensive of this method that my friend seemed to be casually expressing, his constant repetitive idea which I found quite annoying. We did end up jumping the gate, after a lot of embarrassing screams and laughter, but were immediately caught in a lie by three teachers who coincidentally happened to be there at the same time.
My walks with various people often contemplated our existence, frequently edging on the precipice of existentialism and a whole other midlife crisis. Along this lengthy and somewhat tortuous path, both tears and fights have been shared. Arguments that have been resolved all in a trip made to Sables, or friendships that have collapsed along the prickly thorns that neatly adorned the surrounding vegetation. I remember the cold strangling wind that would carry my hair as we ran to make it out the gate before it closed by 7 pm, my cheeks hurting from the wide smile that stretched across my face, giggles echoing across the starry night and empty field. We’d always stumble when one of the motion-activated floodlights would turn on, making it feel like a dramatic prison break straight out of Netflix. But it added to how we felt, like main characters, feeling life wrap around us in the most wholesome and comforting way possible- keeping us safe from the chilly night that dared to absorb us.
It still surprises me how a rough and trodden path held memories that I would always remember, that despite all its flaws, remained a necessary path that unmasked mysteries that we kept hidden in our hearts.
I vividly remember going to this shopping centre- “Sable Square”, or as we called it “Sables”, to buy a bar of chocolate or stock up on my friend’s favorite apple soda- Sparletta. Sparletta is a cold sparkly drink that shines a golden yellow, it brings back memories of summer days in Arusha. My roommate and I would always go on Coke runs, said drink being her oxygen on some days. I’d slip on my comfiest slippers, but remember all the thorns, sand and bugs that vastly covered the narrow path before choosing to go with a pair of sneakers. Conversations would range from petty gossip to discourses on life, love and our stories behind what we were doing here. Coming from similar backgrounds, my roommate and I would often ponder on how we got where we were today, somehow, the sun would always be setting as we walked to the gate. It felt pleasantly close.
However, we always forgot the key to the gate that separated Sables from our campus. We’d end up walking the whole way only to find the small red gate locked, a large bolt slammed right into the middle of its belly. I couldn’t even begin to count the number of exasperated sighs that would leave my mouth everytime this would happen. But, true to the UWC spirit, there was always someone who’d pick up the call and come give us the key. In a way, it seemed like we were in a life or death adventure; a battleship ready to crash with no lifeboat for the passengers to fall into; or a princess on the verge of falling to her death before a prince/princess saves her. But sometimes, we’d jump the gate. I remember being extremely apprehensive of this method that my friend seemed to be casually expressing, his constant repetitive idea which I found quite annoying. We did end up jumping the gate, after a lot of embarrassing screams and laughter, but were immediately caught in a lie by three teachers who coincidentally happened to be there at the same time.
My walks with various people often contemplated our existence, frequently edging on the precipice of existentialism and a whole other midlife crisis. Along this lengthy and somewhat tortuous path, both tears and fights have been shared. Arguments that have been resolved all in a trip made to Sables, or friendships that have collapsed along the prickly thorns that neatly adorned the surrounding vegetation. I remember the cold strangling wind that would carry my hair as we ran to make it out the gate before it closed by 7 pm, my cheeks hurting from the wide smile that stretched across my face, giggles echoing across the starry night and empty field. We’d always stumble when one of the motion-activated floodlights would turn on, making it feel like a dramatic prison break straight out of Netflix. But it added to how we felt, like main characters, feeling life wrap around us in the most wholesome and comforting way possible- keeping us safe from the chilly night that dared to absorb us.
It still surprises me how a rough and trodden path held memories that I would always remember, that despite all its flaws, remained a necessary path that unmasked mysteries that we kept hidden in our hearts.
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