For some, going back to boarding school after the holidays wasn’t easy. You first had to look for your uniform, textbooks, and school bags not to mention the endless shopping list containing detergent, toothpaste, drinking chocolate …the list went on and on.
It was not only about the long shopping lists; it was also about the regrets that overwhelmed you when going back to school. As you lay on the double-decker, you’d miss friends that you promised to visit but did not. Sometimes it was the juicy nyama choma you left on a plate back home and now that you’re eating Githeri in school. Those memories always came back to haunt you.
Boarding school conjures up different memories to different people. If you were raised in the city and went to a school in shags, you must have encountered the culture shock of having to go the river to fetch water or even encountered students speaking in their mother tongue.
For others, it was showering with cold water and eating Githeri and Ugali for lunch and supper respectively not to mention getting homesick. But a highlight of any boarding school was funky.
To attend a funky, you had to bring your A-game. If you attended a boy’s boarding school, you had to brush up on your slang, you had to walk with a bounce, and then there was the little matter of the deo-spray that was passed on from one student to another which unfortunately made all the students smell the same. You could literally identify some high schools by the fragrance. Washing the uniform with Toss Lavender would have been more ideal.
During the funky, your school uniform had to look crisp and clean. Any dirty uniform was and still is a major turn-off. You can tell the character of a student just by the look of their uniform. A dirty uniform can easily be translated to mean negligent and undisciplined student, the converse is also true. To clean those tough stains, the best detergent was and still is Toss Blue. It’s tough on dirt and gentle on the student budget.
Some funky was not complete without a fashion gala, which meant washing the shirt, blouse, sweater, trousers, shorts, and socks so that you stood out. And this is where Toss Yellow came in. If you wanted to look your best, then Toss did the trick.
Too bad we can’t go back in time, but we can clean up (pun intended) the future. If you have any regrets about the school you went to, life has a way of giving us second chances.
Make the best of the opportunities you have now.
Tell us more about your high school memories in the comment section.
