homestay in mukono

hey guys....sorry its been so long since i've written. i'm pretty busy here trying to figure out how to do homework, spending time with friends (and now family), and making plans for the summer. ok....so lemme tell you bout those things quickly (before lunch which like all meals on campus is only served for 1 hour and then tough luck).

soo....homework is interesting. access to books and computers is limited, which i already mentioned....im starting to get used to using the library and sharing books, but i haven't had to write any papers yet so that isn't really an issue. i can feel some stressful moments coming up soon though. :-p

friends here are interesting. boys are super easy to make friends with. they're outgoing and funny (and cute ow ow). girls are a bit more shy and so making friends with them takes a bit of work (and we all know that i have problems with people who aren't super nice to me....yes, i admit it. i dont know how to handle people who dont just love me loudly and proudly as soon as they meet me....everyone should, darn it!)....so yeah....i'm pressing through the awkwardness and making friends with some girls. (our intern says it's worth it....the girls are the amazing friends). i'm starting to see that that's true. if you tell someone you'll visit....and don't....you're in huge trouble. if you have work to do, but a friend stops by to visit....you visit. if your friend is carrying something....you help. if your friend has to walk somewhere....you walk with them. if your friend needs you....you're there for them. now....don't get me wrong....i'm not saying my friends at home wouldn't do most of these things....my friends are amazing. i AM learning though that i am not the best friend. i often escape to the library to do work so that i wont be "distracted" by my roommates.....haha.....if you know my roommates you can understand this. ;-)....butt really....how stupid? they are amazing people and now that i'm apart from them i can't believe that i missed out on that time with them....and im even more sorry that when i was with them (or other friends) i worried about the things i had to do. spending time with friends should be on the top of your list of things to do.....not an afterthought. guys.....i miss you all and love you so much. i get a lil teary eyed (yes, yes....stone cold jess meigel gets teary) when i read your notes....and its not because im all that homesick or because i hate it here, but because i love you all so much.....i hope you know that.

mmmm....so yeah.....this past weekend i started my homestay. im in a lil village outside of mukono. i live w/ my mom, dad (james!), and 4 sisters (millie 10, sarah 12, winnie 16, and flavia 17), brother (graceon 8), and cousin (modesto 13....butt looks about 9). they are amazing people. they are so welcoming and loving. my dad told me about my tribe (baganda) and clan (monkey....haha....go figure) and gave me an african name--nasalli. (whatdaya think ganja?) it doesn't mean anything, but its a name that brings great honor.

sooo....we are supposed to just do everything they do. saturday morning they woke me up @ the butt crack of dawn to do chores. i washed dishes and laundry (by hand, mind you). they tried to teach me to do it correctly (bending at the waiste, back straight....not squatting).....i thought i was flexible....i was wrong. then i helped my cook.....peeling with a giant knife is not the same as using a peeler....why didn't you teach me how to do that, mom?! my sisters and mom are crazy good at their work...they do it so fast and efficiently. they told me they start doing chores really young. when they're @ boarding school they peel their own food and wash their own clothes (oh....just about everyone goes to boarding school here....they're the best schools....all but 2 of my siblings go.....and most of the UCU students ive asked said they went to one.

hmmm....my house is very nice. i sleep on a triple bunk (and yes....i've banged my head @ least twice). i won't whine about our beeson room anymore. my dad works with digital cameras and camcorders so we have a computer, and a tv, and a dvd player--which is weird.....considering we don't have running water or toilets. so on sunday (after id swept, mopped, and gone to church--which is a whole other entry ill save for later) i went to a job w/ my dad.

we packed in a car 6 of us to drive to kampala. my dad insisted that i sit in the front while 3 adults crammed in my back w/ my sister. that was experience number 1 of my being super uncomfortable. i want to say that dad was treating my specially because im a guest.....but last night my sisters told me it is a great honor for them to be hosting a muzungu (white person). i HATE that i get preferential treatment because im white. they are amazing people....who work so hard....why should they treat me specially because i happened to grow up in the richest country in the world?

bah....anyway.....the service we went to was called a "first visit." the whole time i thought i was going to an introduction (a piece of a very long marriage tradition), but it turned out i was wrong. the ceremony was when a father was claiming an illegitimate child as an official child. this totally blew my mind.....such things are kept on the dl in the states....we don't throw parties and get families together. im still trying to understand this part of african culture. the father also has 2 wives and lots of children.

i couldn't figure out the purpose of the ceremony since the dad was already supporting his son....my dad told me it was so that he could start treating him like a son (he can now cane him....yes, child abuse and spouse abuse is perfectly legal here. they also beat kids @ school on a regular basis....all my friends said they were canned for various reasons....talking performing poorly, etc). yeah.....

so that was quite the experience. first of all.....the ceremony was LONG....there is NO WAY americans would do such a thing.....simply because we all have add from watching too much tv (hahaha....yay for being a comm major). secondly....what a strange thing to get together formally about. third....i was the only muzungu there (white person, remember? you can't forget here.....everyone on the street calls me that. especially the men and lil kids.....(its reminiscent of gringa from costa rica, remember guys?) umm....so yeah. that was a first. i felt out of place. have you ever felt that way because of your skin color? if not....you should try it. you'll learn something about yourself and your world.....i won't give that away to you. fourth....we had AMAZING food. most of it was what we have @ every meal--rice, beans, poscho, and matooke....but we also had tons of different kids of meat and yummy sauces and salads and even dessert! woot! we also had lots of soda (which is a bit expensive here). i drank like 3 bottles of fanta and 2 waters. hahaha. i was about to burst @ the end of the day.

i also got to talk to my dad's coworker and beautiful electronics student (who is born again....dad ONLY works with people who are) who supports himself and his mom as he goes to university in kampala. O:-)

one thing that makes me uncomfortable about my family is that my camera is nicer than my dad's....and he's so proud of it. i don't have the heart to show them mine. they think im rich enough as it is. :-/

my family is amazing though. i love them so much. i will prolly go home as soon as i get some work done so i can spend time with them. they are teaching me luganda and how to respect my elders (we get on our knees....yeah....it's weird and kinda uncomfortable, but really cool too. )

ummmm....summer plans are still up in the air. i have salva's number so im gonna try and call him as soon as i can buy some air time (cell phones are commong here and they're all pay as you go)...i also am trying to hook up with an assembly of god project in rwanda this summer (my friend andrew also wants to do it. he's awesome....a 3rd year law student who loves Jesus and talks like he's from the ghetto). i got another contact today too....so hopefully i will get to stay at least for a while this summer. i haven't heard back from my travel agent though....so keep it in your prayers.

ooooh.....i almost forgot to tell you that we went for a retreat in entebbe last weekend. we stayed in a convent and we got to swim in lake victoria and go to a game reserve....i saw lions and zebras and monkeys.... oh my! the swimming was beautiful and so much fun! i tried to teach some of my african friends how to float....hahah....that was quite the experience. :-) yay for lifeguarding (miss you jack and jordo and burt). speaking of which....such a career doesn't exist here.....jobs are scarce. they can't believe i get paid for such a position.

mmm....ok, this is just scratching the surface of everything, but this post is getting kinda long and i am starving so off i go. love y'all. enjoy the occasionally beautiful weather there (i hear it got in the 60s....grrr you frickers....figures. at least it hasn't snowed here yet, PTL). i love you all SOOOOO much! you're in my prayers! (renee how did foot go???)

xoxoxo

hiiiii

sorry its been so long since i've posted. there isn't really a computer lab on campus....although one is being added in my dorm! speaking of my new dorm....i'm in! its huge and there are lots of girls to get to know! i am excited because the students i was staying w/ before have interacted w/ americans before and now i am meeting students who have never really spent time w/ americans before....so it is really cool. they all think i'm crazy....go figure :-p

ummm....interesting things of note:

--the power goes out at least every other night....try doing your homework by flashlight! it really does make me appreciate electricity....although the kids here are so much better @ just hanging out....we sit around and talk a lot....i LOVE it!!!

--this is the dry season....that means water shortage....that means conservation. wow....i didn't think id become such an environmentalist here!

--books are expensive....there is no such thing as going to the ridiculously overpriced bookstore....we have to beg, borrow, steal (aka go to the library and photocopy) EVERYTHING....i will certainly not take all the books sitting on my shelf for granted when i get home.

--they have overnight prayer meetings here all the time....i can't wait to go to one! woot!

--it takes 1/2 to load roberts email....next time you see someone from ITS give them a hug....they do a darn good job!

--i start my service project next week!! i can't wait! :-) i also get to live with a host family next week. i will likely have a huge family and no electricity! its gonna be great!

ok....i only have 2 minutes left. gotta run! love you all!!!! MWAH!!!!

:-)

thank you all so much for the emails and comments. i love you and i am so blessed by you!

i am so overwhelmed (in a good way) being here. sometimes i just stop in my tracks because a flower catches my eye or i see a huge bird. i've been climbing to the top of monkey hill everynight and watching the sunset before dinner. i can't describe to you how breathtaking it is. i cried the first night....for those of you who know me....yeah its intense.

i cried today too. we had our USP class today (ok....quick note. school here is not as organized as at home. people weren't registered on the first day and the timetable wasn't even done. i might have classes tomorrow though!). the rest of the classes didn't meet because it's a national holiday. anyway.....yeah. we talked about all the work we'd have to do for the semester and then we started talking about the possible service projects. i was so overwhelmed. there were so many i wanted to get involved with....working with a sex ed program that empowers women women, swimming with special ed kids, hanging out w/ street kids, spending time w/ kids at orphanages....there was just so much. i think i've decided what my first choice is. i want to work with a program called "reach out." i will have to drive to kampala....but i will get to work with AIDS patients and their families. i might get to do medical stuff and/or teach kids whose parents are sick. i am so excited (cassie!! i want to talk to you soooooo bad!!!)

ummm....we went to visit a dr. today. he told us the 7 ways not to die in uganda. hahaha. it was awesome. he was pretty funny. lemme see if i can remember:

1. don't get in a mutatu (like a mini bus....driven mostly by guys who are on a lot of drugs)
2. careful who you go out w/ (murder is the leading killer of foreigners.....mostly jealous boy/girlfriends)
3. if you're sick....go to bed (don't be a hero)
4. if you get diarrhea....just take these lil pills
5. if you get ben hertsia don't panic.....just take your horse pills
6. don't have sex
7. if you do have sex....get an HIV test (oh man 6 and 7 were funny, im not gonna lie....but i wont describe it because it was a bit frank)

he also told us that we probably wont get malaria and not to listen to anyone who tells us we have it, because that's just what they call all sickness here.

oh my goodness!!! i talked to a boy from rwanda yesterday. he told me i could stay at his church and work for the summer. i also heard back from a man named salva dut who works in northern uganda....we are probably going to meet in kampala soon to talk about the summer. please pray for funding and planning to work out so i can stay!!!

ok....i gotta run. im on a stolen lap top (maybe i shoulda brought mine....you were right AS ALWAYS dad) love you all! xoxoxo

safe and sound :-)

hi everyone! i just wanted to let you all know that after 2 days of traveling i arrived safely in uganda.

i was verrrrrrrrry nervous, but once i joined the other USP students in washington, d.c., i started to feel much more comfortable. the plane rides were long and i couldn't sleep (way too excited and nervous), but everything went smoothly. we had a long layover in england and we had a the opportunity to tour all over london. it was a lot of fun and i will try and write more about that later.

once we got to uganda christian university (UCU) they just let us do whatever. a lot of people slept, but i went visiting (shocking, i know). the people are very friendly. some are just as nervous about talking to me as i am about talking to them! (which is easy to forget)

i am spending the weekend with a UCU student originally from kenya named adalynn. she is so nice and was gracious to let me stay with her until my room is ready. i am very lucky because i am the only person who is staying with a UCU student. the vice chancelor (president) said this school is growing faster than it can build buildings! they are just about done with a new dorm that will house 400 students--that is where i am going to live! UCU now has about 4000 students, so it is a bit bigger than roberts (it grew from about 250 10 years ago). PS....thank you kacy for praying for a Ugandan to help me!!!! :-D

the weather is absolutely gorgeous (around 80 and fairly dry). the UCU students complain that it is too hot! haha....i'm loving it for now.....maybe that will wear off. at night it gets cooler (maybe 65). the ugandans all put on sweaters! it is so funny to me. :-)

i saw a monkey on my way to class today.

last night i had an awesome talk with one of the UCU students about their government. they are very open about talking to us....which is awesome.

i crashed at about 10:30 and then woke up a little after midnight thinking it was morning (i heard people outside talking). adalynn must have thought i was crazy. i untucked my mosquito net and started getting ready before i realized what time it was. haha....jet lag is FUN. i am a bit tired....nerves and excitement have been keeping me up for like the last week. adrenaline is keeping me awake now. this is all so exciting.

food is pretty good....im enjoying the rice and beans. water is a little harder. the bottled stuff is ok, but our drinking water tastes like chlorine and it is gonna take some getting used to.

oop....i have to go. we're meeting for dinner soon and i have to find the group. love you and miss you all!

bry....i am 8 hours ahead of y'all!!!