Week 14 | Uganda

Just want to let you all know, that those of you who are experiencing all the snow and cold weather that I'm here soaking up the warm weather for you. :)  I hit my 3 month mark on Wednesday, hard to believe its been this long already, but it fits. It doesn't seem like its been longer or shorter. But I have a friend joining me in just 2 days! And I'm so excited! It will be nice to have a familiar face from home. I think once you hit the 3 month mark you stop missing the things from home less. Beside your people. But I have noticed that I don't crave certain foods or places as much anymore. But one thing that I have missed is the convenience of things, such as when you've had a long day and would rather just run into town and grab some take-out or pizza rather than coming home and cooking dinner. Or when your out of something you just can't run into the store and grab what you need. Or some air conditioning. Village life has no such luxuries. But it's defiantly wonderful in its own way and I wouldn't trade my time here for anything. Such experiences are good for ones soul and stretch you in ways you'd never think.   

A view on the walk to school. If you look closely in the center of the photo you can see the school building. All lush and green . And were walking because the road is very slippery to drive on from all the rain. And all the ruts. But here is a story for you. Last Sunday we walked to church and after church we could see it was going to rain soon. And it was going to be hard and long. So whatever my mind was thinking I don't know. But Eli and I choose to walk home when it had just started sprinkling. We get no more than 50 feet from church and it down pours. So hard. And its a good mile and a half walk. Literally so soaked. I'd never been so wet. (Except maybe once, in the DR, on a horse, in the rain.) I could not help but just laugh the whole entire way home. It was all just to funny and there's not much you can do when your already wet and in the rain. All the villagers sitting on their verandas were I'm sure thinking what ever in the world was the 'muzungu' doing out walking in the rain. It was quite a feat getting beat down on by the rain, trying to walk fast- but not to fast so you wouldn't slip and going through puddles and streams of rushing water along the path. This is one time I can actually say I did get cold. And it was kind of fun to put on long-sleeve and curl up and drink some tea after I dried up. :)

Showed the girls how to wear their hankie as a headband so we could "match". 

This little cutie was just hanging out watching her mom weed the garden. Her mom is one of the very very young mothers around in the village and must have been 12 or 13 when she was born. 

"My freeend" One of the staff members at Suubi, Miriam. 

Oh my, my favorite little guy, David. He is such a little stinker. I was walking home one evening with his and his mom, Mama Bridget. He kept poking his mom with a stick and then run ahead and she'd chase after him, it was just all so funny. Even tho his mom can speak only a couple words in English and I a couple in Luganda she's just one of my favorite people and is always laughing about something. It can sure lighten you mood. And sometimes I'll just say something funny so I can listen to her laugh. 

When someone wants you to take their picture, you do just that. 

This is some of the common food I eat this side. Boiled matooke (plantain), and steamed collard greens. 

One other activity we did this week was go to our neighbors house to send them our condolences as the husband has passed away due to getting hit by a bus while he was on a boda boda. This happens way to often. But anyway none of us really wanted to go because these neighbors of ours are just different and spend most of their time quarreling with the other neighbors. Which is funny most the time, but quite unnecessary. But we new we had to go because if we didn't soon the whole village would be talking about us and why the fenced in neighbors with the nice house didn't visit them. Here when one passes away it a whole deal. For several days the home where the person had died will have an outdoor tent set up so people can come. People spend the nights at their house for days in a row to show their respects and that they care. And if you don't show up they will think that you don't care, and if someday one of your family members or you pass away they won't come to your burial either. So you go and greet the family and just sit there for a while and be there with them. This just shows them that you care and that you're sorry. And at nights when people go to sleep, they place the deceased person in the middle of the room and everyone sleeps around them. Its very interesting. So there's your cultural lesson about Africa for the day.