An update of life in the land of milk and honey

Okay, first off I have to tell a funny story that all of you who really know me will appreciate before I forget... the other day I was just hanging out with a few of my coworkers in the health center and they were talking about how the volunteer, Jen, who had just visited me was pretty quiet. I made the comment that she isn't really so quiet, she just doesn't talk as much as I do. The reply to this was as follows, " by the way, when you're not around, Sarah, you find that the place here is very quiet." in other words, even in Uganda, where I don't even know the language I have a reputation for talking a lot. Excellent...

So, how has life been around here? Well, internet has proved to be my arch nemesis, but let's not focus on that.... things at my site have been really great. I feel like I have made some real friends, not just "people I work with" and my house is really starting to feel like a home... I even had a couch made... long story short the fabric that I was holding in my hand and pointing to as the fabric that I wanted somehow got misinterpreted to mean a velour type fabric that roughly resembles what I would imagine Charlie Brown's shirt to look like on acid. And the worst part is I actually love it.

Things have really begun to settle down though. I went to a primary school a few weeks back. I thought that I was just going to get a tour of the place and meet the head teacher but there ended up being an assembly in my honor with all the children attending and so I had to through together an impromptu speech (I've gotten very good at these) and then I let the kids ask me a bunch of questions just about anything. It was actually really neat. Most of their questions were about farming and agriculture in America because that is really the only life they know... I got a series of questions that somehow went like this... "do you have cows in America?".. "yes" "do you have chickens in America?" "yes" "do you have maize in America?" "yes" ... and on and on. (my answers were more in depth than just "yes" but you get the picture) One kid even asked me "what are the cash crops of America" he was about 9 years old and I was totally surprised by that one. The kids also just thought it was hilarious that I only have 1 sister (most of the families here consist of 9-14 kids on average) and they also died laughing when I tried to describe sunscreen to them. After the Q & A session was over I talked with the headmistress (a really awesome nun) and I am going to start teaching "health science" to all the P6 and P7 students next year... the term starts in Feb. so I'll definitely be writing more on that later.

What else... I Diana and I went to visit an herbal medicine man a few weeks ago. So amazing. He just picks all his ingredients from the surrounding areas and then boils them down to make some all sorts of concoctions. We also went to a hot spring in the area and bathed with about 30 Ugandans mostly dressed only in their birthday suits.. haha bad joke. (Diana and I however felt like 3rd graders with our one- piece suits and knee length wraps). the whole weekend was really neat and we are planning to go back when the med man goed to one of the National Parks where he collects various types of barks.

Another really neat experience I had was helping harvest this seasons bean crop. I spent an entire morning out picking bean stalks and then carrying them in banana-leaf-bound bundles on my head up to the courtyard area where we laid them out to dry and then later beat with sticks to release the dry beans from within their pods. I have never been so completely covered in sweat and dirt in my life and I felt like I was a living National Geographic picture with the bundles on my head. It definitely made me appreciate the food I eat eeveryday a lot more. Speaking of food, I also have recently become a pro at peeling green bananas for ebitokye and pounding peanuts into the powder they use for a thick peanut sauce. I also did something with millet but I never really got a clear answer as to what exactly I was accomplishing because, to me, the millet grains looked exactly the same pre and post grinding. but whatever it was everyone was very pleased with my work and kept commenting on how I know how to cook.

Well, I have a million other stories but they will just have to wait until next time... thanks to everyone who continues to write me letters/ comments on my post/ whatever... you can't imagine how much it means to me. It really helps me stay positive and motivated.

P.S. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!