sep 14

Alright-Sorry that last message was slightly hurried, and probably made no sense whatsoever…Also, my spelling and grammar is crazy because half of the internet cafes that I go to have half Arabic keyboards, which make figuring out what the heck I am doing interesting…But yea.My birthday- (Monday), well my host family forgot…so there was nothing special at home. The people in the program and I were all planning on finally going out and testing the Ugandan nightlife this weekend (it is our third weekend here after all!!) But our academic director said that means we are trying to run away and disclude ourselves from our host families…so I am slightly upset, because I need a little bit of a break from the home stay routine. (Side note: Wednesday my group brought me a chocolate cake…it wasn't really what any of us thought was delicious…but it was a fun experience!!) Here I wake up at 6:30 AM (yea, many of you will be shocked by that disclosure..) and go to school by 8, and don't get home until around 8 or so. I have really long days, and am consistently tired, even though I typically go to bed at around 10:30 or 11 at the latest (yea, another shocker, Sharon going to bed before 1 am?!? WHAT?!?) I walk all over the city here, which is really good, because my diet is almost all starch (rice, mashed bananas, breads…whoo)
Yesterday was crazy. The public transportation system (called taxis,but they are public) went on strike. The government wants to install govenators and so the taxi drivers went crazy. I sat around my host mothers shop until late ate at night so I could get a ride with her and my host dad…I honestly should have just fought for a "taxi" in the taxi pit, it would've been faster…That's Edem Jimbos idea of African time for you baby! Saturday I made the maid let me help cook lunch…I was doing well,chopping vegetables and such; we were going to have pasta, which is a
treat here haha. Then they pulled out a liver…cow liver I think, as it was too big to be from a goat. I got to chop that up. After I was done with that my hands were so bloody, I had to refrain from gagging. We fried it up, and I even tried it (another wow for Sharon). I wont lie, psychologically I couldn't deal with it, so when my host dad showed up unexpectedly, I was happy to hand over my meat for re-proportioning purposes. Another "oddity" that I will be trying soon is grasshoppers. The rainy season is starting soon, and we will be infested with them in November. They are a delicacy here, so I figure I didn't come here to be a crazy American, and the point is learning…so, down the hatch!!

One of my new favorite past times is watching Nigerian movies. It sounds odd…but it's the only visual stimulation I receive without having to process. They are all very corny, and parts where the rest of my host family is practically crying I have to cramp my mouth up terribly so I don't bust out laughing. A continuing theme throughout all of the movies is poisoning…it seems that's the thing to do in Nigeria. However, they slightly amuse me, so I find it ok!

Something I have yet to participate in here is the music. I passively listen to it on the radio, but my host father said that Uganda is a major destination in Africa for musicians because people here will actually go and see concerts. And let me tell you, I think there is a new CD release party every week here…maybe this weekend. If any of you want to listen to a cool Uganda artist, look for Bebe Cool! Haha, then we can all be listening to the same crazy stuff. Also, the rainy season is coming/ on the verge of being here. It has rained a bit, and is cool in the mornings (when I get up at 6 am and take my freezing cold showers haha). But let me tell you, when the rain does come…all hell is going to break loose…the amount of mud…lets just say I need to go shoe shopping for something more sturdy than old navy sandals…\n",1]

In about a month I have to move into "my own" apartment…so I went apartment shopping yesterday with my friend Sara. We found two nice ones, one bedrooms. Then we asked some random man on a street corner if he knew of any apartments to let. That's when we found the most amazing place EVER! Five bedrooms, one bathroom, and a bitty kitchen, but its above a restaurant where if we should stay there we get 10% off meals, they give us two eggs, homemade bread and milk in the morning, and the gentlemen who own the place were amazing! We should be able to rent the whole place out for 300 apiece for six weeks…yes!!

During the same time I will be living in the apartment I will be working with a non-governmental organization here. Today I went to talk to people at the Ugandan Human Rights Commission, UNHCR, the Red Cross, and the African Centre for the treatment and rehabilitation of torture victims. It was a long day. My cabbie couldn't find UNHCR, the Torture Victims center and the commission for human rights weren't in need of anyone, so as of today the Red Cross seems most promising. I had to walk around Kampala in heels. I will never complain about heels in America again. The sidewalks…and by sidewalks I mean sketchy dirt paths with some occasional crappy asphalt poured over it…yea it was fun, and my feet LOVE me…

Yesterday I went to a slum area in Kampala. We went to see how traditional family settings are being changed by the AIDS virus. Elders….very old men and women whose life story of poverty and hardship are written on their beautiful wrinkled faces…must take care of their grandchildren. The average life expectancy in Uganda is 47 years. I cant imagine that…Sometimes it is hard to be here, and to think of all that I have, and to see the absolute squalor others live in. In Uganda the poor aren't seperated from the rich like they are in America…the poor are very visible, and could be living right next door to someone who owns a car.

I am going to babble about politics now, so I am sorry, these are just my beliefs, if you disagree that is cool…I am sitting in Uganda, a country that has had a civil war raging for 20 years. I am surround by unstable states. The Sudan was under a civil war for thirty years, and is even known the home to mass turmoil, and has the largest refugee/ internally displaced population in the world. The DRC (Congo) has not known peace since the end of Lumumba in the 1960s…Rwanda was the home to mass genocide in 1994; 800,000 people killed in 100 days, a slaughter five times faster than the Nazi's in WWII. And yet it took only six weeks for the UN and the west to push for a end to the Lebanon issue. Does anyone see that as crazy? It makes me really upset actually. I know many of you know little to nothing about Africa…but does that mean we shouldn't care about the humanity here? I am not asking anyone to be an international peace keeper…but SERIOUSLY.

Sexuality is a big issue here…it is hardcore illegal. One can be jailed for 18 years for pure heresy. We have three gays in my group alone. Yet it is acceptable for men as well as women to hold hands here; it is a sign of friendship and respect. The newspapers here are very graphic, and daily carry stories concerning mob violence. One day a mentally ill man was found eating a human arm. He was beaten severely and the police had to take him into protective custody, the newspaper showed the man, bloody, with the arm in front of him. Yesterday there was a story from Kenya concerning mob justice; a man had tried to steal a motorcycle and people caught him and burned him alive. The paper showed a picture of the still smoldering, charred corpse.

Also, there is birdflu in Sudan. I am not very worried about it, yet, and have heard no warnings about Uganda…granted I would probably not understand them, as my Luganda is not improving. Also…my family is slacking…I have gotten two pieces of mail here, and BOTH were from the fabulous Gina Sammarco!! C\'mon!! haha, I am joking…sort of.
Thanks to Leslie and Libby for the e-cards.
Barry-Still no pictures, sorry…also can u get Mikes e-mail for me again, it hasn't worked at all since I got here…
Jared- you need to read the "Great Influenza" its all about medicine and such…actually anyone interested in early 20th century history should…Dr. Symonds, I assume you already have!

Anyways I am going to go! I leave for Rwanda in 3 days! Wish me luck, and sorry this is so long!!