This is my family! We were all in Richmond airport when I came home over Christmas, that's where the picture was taken.

Millet bread:

Wheata, Kalo, Atop, millet bread are all the same thing. I went to my neighbors house last night to watch him prepare it and then we ate it. Basically all it is is you take boiling water and add flour to that, then you mix it up and then you eat it, with either beans, greens, chicken or fish. We ate it with greens last night. You eat it with your hands, which is actually easier because it's so sticky that your hands can grab bites for you just right. We sat down in his house which is actually just one room... it had 4 chairs, a small table, a twin size bed and a bucket for water with plates all around. He poured water over my hands to wash them, then he served me. After serving me, he washed his own hands and served himself. We said a prayer and then began to eat. He told me that most visitors that come, he won't eat with them. He will feed them, then let them eat by themselves. I thought this was really weird, so I asked him why. He said that visitors will eat alone in case they choke or drop food on their shirt or something like that, then they won't be ashamed in front of him. haha, this was cracking me up, and I laughed at this, and he did too. It is just so different then my own culture that I had to laugh. He said he would eat with me though so I didn't have to eat by myself. hehe, funny.
After we ate, we had a long conversation about the state of Uganda, the way he lives his life, and just general conversation about the poverty, disease and lifestyle most Ugandans are living. It was interesting and he was telling me most everything I already think of most of the time, but hadn't heard from most Ugandans. He was saying that he doesn't usually talk about any of this out loud. I asked him what I could do to help with the bigger picture, and he told me to just be sure I make the people at home aware of all the corruption that does go on, and to offer donations wisely... to research the organizations they plan to donate to, and be cautious and follow through to be sure the money is actually used for what it was meant for. There was so much more he talked about and I will share eventually, but for now, I don't have time... internet money is fading away. Goodbye.

I am writing today, Monday, January 21, 2008 in Mbale Uganda. It's a nice day, the sun is shining, the town is busy, and the market was hopping earlier. I understand that the GIANTS are in the superbowl... very awesome.

Anyway, life here in Uganda is good... I have done many things since I have been back, and helping my friend Wesley pass out 8,000 mosquito nets was one of them. We were heros that day, and even though Wes did all of the work, I still felt heroic. He did a great job and we were all very proud for him, and if you would like to check it out, the website is here,http://www.againstmalaria.com/en/Distribution.aspx?DistributionID=231
As I have said in earlier blogs, mosquito nets save lives every day in Africa, so being a part of helping more families have the opportunity to have a mosquito net was pretty amazing.

The scary snake
A couple days ago I was talking to my Dad on the phone and I heard all this ruccus outside of my house... I didn't think much of it so I just continuted talking. The next morning my neighbor was like, come out here and look at this snake...
it was a 6 FOOT LONG snake! Holy crap, it was very scary! They were trying to kill it the night before and succeeded, but that was what the commotion was all about...
The snake had been around for a while and killed 20 of my neighbors hens! All they kept saying to me was, "can you imagine if it were in the bed with you?" I was like no, but now I will, thank you for putting the fear in me.
I posted a picture of it and as always the camera does no justice for the scaryness of the snake, but let me tell you, it was scary. Yellow and black it was... ooo, look out.

School is still not in session yet, so with some of my down time I planted some seeds, tomatoes and some herbs like basil and cilantro, the kids helped me hoe because they think I don't know how. We cleared out some of the tall grass even before I heard about the snake, so that was well done. I've been playing with my neighbors kids a lot, they come over and we draw, I show them some things they have never seen before like my solar shower... they thought that was really weird... I showed them my right hand pinky which I broke playing volleyball a few years ago and it's still messed up, they were cracking up at it. haha. They loved my painted nails, so I painted theirs, even the boys... hehe.. they loved that too.
It's funny all the things that may seem "normal" or "usual" to us that is totally foreign to them... for example, a microwave... most Ugandans I have talked to have never even heard of one and if you showed them, they would have no clue what it is... there are so many things like this that I never really usually think about...

I cleaned up our "computer lab"... I am putting this in quotes, because if you saw the "lab", it would not resemble a lab you are used to seeing... it's small, dirty, just a few chairs, and many other things about it that I want to help with. I was thinking we should get some flat screen monitors to cut down on the power and also some battery inverters because right now the power supply sucks so bad, but of course that costs money, that we "don't have". We have 25 computers and can turn on at most 4 all at once... it's insane and stupid... I'm trying to think of ideas on how to solve our problems... so if you have any, I would love to know. Thanks.

Sweet Virginia

I just got back from America! I lOve America, and especially Virginia, that's my home. It was funny how easy I fell back into the life I had before I came here to Uganda. Everyone said I would have culture shock going back home, but it all seemed normal. There were a few things that made me be like, woah. Some of the coolest things were when I first got off the plane... I brushed my teeth and drank water from the sink, weird, I saw McDonald's in the airport, and even though I hated that place, I definitely ate there immediately... um, internet is way faster than I ever remembered, holy crap. Beer on tap.
Christmas was awesome, I got to be with my family and see all my friends.
I do miss home now though... not sure if I would recommend visiting while away, because it's really hard to say goodbye twice. A little too hard. I thought I was alright for a little while there, but when it came to the last few minutes ... it was pretty dern hard.
I am actually not even really back, back because I am still in Kampala waiting to leave tomorrow back to my site in the village... ask me then how I feel. hehe... good luck Kristy.

Kenya
As you know, Kenya borders us here in Uganda. Recently there have been riots, killings, and a lot of madness because of the recent election. Kenya is so close to us that it feels like we are a part of some of the crazyness. There was an election for a new Kenyan President recently. Raila Odinga was running against the current president, President Mwai Kibaki. This Raila guy was beating President Kibaki by a pretty large margin initially, but the next day it showed a much smaller margin. There was a delayed announcement and unsureness of numbers and a possible recount, but it never happened. Only that a couple days later, it was announced that President Kibaki had won again. Kibaki was sworn in much earlier than normal, probably so there wasn't the possiblity of a recount or a chance for any questions. The people supporting Raila went crazy after the election announcement and began burning homes and shops of any Kibaki supporters or Kikuyu tribe members (the tribe of Kibaki). Since then, the retaliation of Kibaki's supporters has been on going as well, as each groups supporters basically killing each other.
This is effecting us here in Uganda by fuel shortages, sky-rocketing the prices, and since Uganda is land locked, Kenya is the direct route to the coast.

Spaz

Spaz: We just ate lunch at a restaurant in Kampala that is called Spurs. It's a chain restaurant, but we are somehow obsessed with it. I used to hate coffee, but now I like it. Weird.
There are funny things that people say here in Uganda... The other day I was drinking a coke and I only drank half. I gave the glass bottle back to a man, and he looked at me and said, "It has defeated you." ... meaning that the Coke-A-Cola Classic had just defeated me since I couldn't finish it. haha.
One time we were laughing and a taxi man pointed at us in our faces while talking to his friends and goes, "look, they are getting happy." ha... almost like we were monkeys at a zoo or something.

This week, I attended a presentation on ethics, given by 2 returned PCV's. One was in the Peace Corps in 1960's and the other in the 80's. It was amazing to hear their stories, and realize all the impacts they've made... most of the impacts were things they never realized until years later. One of the returned volunteers was telling us a story of how he went back to his village for the first time in 21 years, and when he went to a pond he had built, it was filled in, but there was a man that came up to him and said "welcome back my son" as if he had never even left.
I have actually heard stories like this before from people here in Uganda. I mention Peace Corps, and a few times, I have had people tell me things like, "yes... do you know John? He taught me math in 1965." They will know the exact year, the PCV's name, and everything about them. It is awesome to hear just small things like that...

I am going home for a quick visit to see my family and friends and for Christmas... this is just a shout out to you all, that man, I can't wait!

Happy delayed Thanksgiving
I was away from home for the first time, so I came to visit my friends Leira and Eric, and we had a nice dinner, and before we ate we said all the things we were thankful for... it was really nice.
We actually celebrated 2 days, and the second day we slaughtered a turkey. My friend cut the head off, but the little 5-10 year old boys that were standing around really helped us the most. It's funny how they knew exactly what they were doing, every step of the way. They helped us kill, pluck, and remove and cut up all the insides. Once again I'm thinking, man these kids are awesome. They are so smart. Really, if they were left on their own, they could grow their own food, prepar it, kill and eat their own meat, make just about anything and really survive completely on their own...it's pretty amazing.

I know Thanksgiving is now over, but really we can give thanks any time. My Mom is this amazing person and her Thanksgiving email to me reminded me of everything I have and everything we should all be thankful for. She says I can post parts of her email, so here goes, :

"well, I hope you have a good Thanksgiving...remember, Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what you have and where you are...so you can always celebrate that holiday...Especially where you are. You can just look around and have a million reasons to be thankful...share your gratitude by giving to someone else..You have so much to give...the neat thing about love is that the more you give it away, the more you have..it is endless and abundant...what a perfect thing...you are full of love. I love you more than all the turkeys that will be eaten tomorrow...now that's a lot."
Love,
Mom

CHOGM

CHOGM is the word of the year here in Uganda, and now it is finally here. Sometimes maybe I will be walking down the street and someone will say, "Are you ready for CHOGM?" I usually say yes. CHOGM is the https://www.chogm2007.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=168&Itemid=185, actually, there is all the information.
But really what it is, is that I think I have said the word CHOGM at least a hundred billion times this week.

I wrote this in an email to my family and friends back home, but I thought it would be good for anyone to see... so here it is.

How to work out like a Ugandan:

My neighbor tells me that there are no gyms in Uganda, not because of poverty, but because they naturally work out on a regular basis. Here are some of their work-out routines, and if you want to try, here's how you can work out like a Ugandan:

1. Take 20-30 mile bicycle rides daily, but add a cushion to the back and carry a 150 pound person or extra weight on the back.

2. Fill 2 large containers with water and carry one on top of your head, and one holding with your arm. If you have an infant around, carry them on your back.Actually, carry everything. Every single thing you use daily, carry that... maybe you are building a house, carry the bricks... you want fire wood? carry that, coal, what... carry it.

3. Walk or ride your bike everywhere... no matter how far. Leave your car behind.

4. Go out to your front or back yard and plow for at least 3 hours in the morning and at least 3 hours in the evening.

5. This doesn't pertain to working out, but to eating meat: Slaughter all your own meat, that being, cows, chickens, pigs, goats, whatever you choose to eat, kill it yourself... you will feel prouder once you have it served in front of you. (Hunters, you already do that... well done).

6. Don't use your water from the tap... walk to your neighbors (at least half a mile away) house and fill buckets, then carry them back to your house, then use that water.

Pretty much do everything you normally do, but eliminate any machines or technologies that help you usually...ha, I actually don't do many of these while I'm here, I'm usually the 150 pound person riding on the back, thinking man... Ugandans work hard, but just thought about it and wanted to give you some insight on their lives... hope you like.

In other news:

In case you want to marry me, let me let you know that you must pay the dowery of 100 cows for me and about half a million dollars, ha, sike, shillings. Here in Uganda if you want to marry someone, you have to pay the dowery. I was told a few days ago all about mine, so thought I would let everyone know. haha.

We are warriors fighting for peace

Dancing is fun. If you haven't danced lately, then you should.

This week has been alright. It's November, and that means it's cold at home. It is not cold here. Actually, it is really hot. The hottest times in Uganda occur in November- February or something close. Sometimes if I am sitting in a room, maybe I will be just sweating sitting there. I pretty much don't like it too much. The worst is when you are sleeping and it's hot. ooo boy, not fun.

Caning is a common practice in the schools here, although it is ILLEGAL, but like a lot of laws here, it is not enforced. I am going to try to do a workshop for the teachers, making them aware of the alternatives to caning and beating a child and how to impliment these alternatives. It makes me upset to see, even like I want to throw up. It is quite terrible. "If your only tool is a hammer, pretty soon all the world appears to be a nail"
There is an organization here in Uganda that is working on fighting Violence against women and children. Their website is raisingvoices.org

America is a dream to some, maybe a lot of people probably for so many reasons. Maybe for money, opportunities, studying, anything really, but sometimes I forget how lucky we are to have the things we have, live the life we live, and have all the opportunities layed out before us. They really are there, we just have to go after what we want. It's not the same for everyone else in the world. Being here does help me open my eye lids a little to see, but still... I will never really know what it's like because I am me, and this is my life.
So, recently one of my friends lost his 16 year old brother. I was sad for him, and we were talking about it... he said that he wished he had been in America, America you know. He said he wished he had been there with his brother, because they would have had the machines that could have saved him.

One thing I hate here is being treated like I am a Queen or something. It is insane! Really, they roll out the red carpet for me to walk on usually, and a lot of times I have a hard time coming to terms with this. It doesn't always happen, but when it does I'm like woah dude, it's alright. I actually really hate it, and it makes me really uncomfortable. Some examples are as follows, If I am stopping by a neighbors house to say hello, I have to have a seat, even if it is the very one they are sitting on, then they will sit on the floor. If I am in a meeting or gathering, burial, wedding, church, anything, I am usually ushered up to the front. I may not even know what's going on, but I will be introduced and given a golden plate to eat off of. Yesturday I was at a ceremony, and I just wanted to sit with some of my fellow teachers/friends, but I was actually not allowed to. They made me move to the front row because it would look bad on their part as the hosts of the ceremony. I want people to realize that I AM NOT BETTER than them! These situations makes it difficult to prove.

Well anyway, Happy November to everyone who reads this and even those that don't. ha. I love November at home, fall, woo, I love it, so live it up!
oh... and did you know that Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants. ? haha... random email from my Dad, but interesting anyway.