This is a special time of the week on campus—laughter, leisure, and a transformation that usually leaves many surprised. To some campus girls, this is the time to switch from students to ‘wives’ in activities that blend tradition with modern life. It is an amazing transformation that unfolds at times, thereby developing these real-life examples:
Cooking Up a Storm
Meet Sarah, a third-year student in Journalism and Mass Communication. During the week, she’s shuttling among lectures, the library, and study groups. But on Friday evenings, Sarah’s tiny hostel kitchen transforms into a culinary studio. She loves to cook and often invites friends over to share a home-cooked meal, usually touting her culinary skills with traditional Ugandan dishes such as matoke and groundnut sauce. “Cooking relaxes me, and it’s a way to connect with my roots,” she says, as the aroma of her food fills the corridor and attracts neighbors and friends alike.
Playing House
There’s also Lydia, a first-year student in Social Sciences. She spends her weekends at her boyfriend’s apartment. They share the chores—Lydia cleans, organizes, and at times even does his laundry. “It feels good to create a home-like ambience,” she says, “plus it’s a break from campus life, a sort of rehearsal for the future.” And after all, her boyfriend works part-time, so he appreciates that. Besides, they feel they are both sharing at least something.
Visiting Boyfriends and Husbands
Annet often goes out of the campus to visit her fiancé, a recent graduate who’s working in the city. With Annet, weekends are used for grocery shopping, cooking, and trying to get everything in readiness to last through the coming week. “It’s a mini-trial in marriage,” she says. “I get to experience what it would be like to live together and support each other,” Annet says. For her, this weekend will make them draw closer and have a glimpse of what married life will be.
Girls Gone Social
Not all the changes experienced are within the home. Some girls, like Brenda, turn into social butterflies over the weekend. Brenda would go out with her boyfriend, probably with his friends, out on socials, or even having fun with Kampala’s nightlife. “I’m all about academics,” she explains, “but on weekends, I get to loose and live a bit more. “It’s a balance.” Over the weekends, Brenda can often be found on dinner dates, clubbing, or at community events where she interacts and connects with people.
An Agriculture student, Mary spends her weekends at her family home, about an hour’s drive from campus. Here, she plays traditional roles such as mingling with her mother in the house chores, cooking for the family, and sometimes even tending the small family garden. “It’s important to stay grounded,” Mary reflects. “Weekends remind me of where I come from and what’s important in life.” Her family, of course, values her time at home, as they enjoy her company and additional help.
Husbands Found in Bars
In a twist of modern romance, some campus girls, like Esther, meet their significant others in more places one would hardly imagine. Esther met her now-husband in one of the popular bars near the campus. What started out as chilling out in the weekends turned into serious dating. Now, Esther is married and with a new home and has to attend campus. “It was unexpected,” she admits. “But sometimes, the best things happen when you least expect them.” Now, their weekends are a mix of study groups and running their new life together.
However, for most college girls, the transformation they undergo for the weekend means juggling between traditional expectations and modern realities. It is a moment for the practice of life skills, nurturing relationships, and a short break away from the academic grind. Such vignettes of real living should remind one of an important universal verity: Though the roles be change, the essence of connection, care, and community never get lost.
Whether they’re in the kitchen cooking, cleaning, socializing, or seeing friends, campus girls are the epitome of a mix between tradition and modernity, reaping the most from their weekends and getting ready for the future with all the grace and adaptability one could hope for.
