i'm still in uganda.

So everything I post now is drawn from mass emails. I hope if you are reading this and do not receive the mass emails, you are not offended. Don't be offended.



UGANDA: the latest developments

1. My job! I'll go more into detail. I was going to help with the poultry farm
thing... but it turns out that FSD's founder refuses to fund anything with
animals. Because she's a vegetarian. I mean, I guess I respect that... but
does vegetarianism really have to get in the way of helping poor African women
make a living? Honestly vegetarians. Honestly. So my project has shifted.
I'm going to be helping the organization organize their projects to try and get
more funding. I had thought it seemed like an okay idea, but as I've gotten
started... it's turned into a really good idea. They have no documentation
about anything they've already done. So I'll be running around, interviewing
people and taking pictures about past projects, helping them make
brochures,contact donors and grants, maybe make a blog. I also have been
helping teach some of their lessons, and I made a lesson plan for high
schoolers. I really like the people I work with though... it's a really small
organization, one room, but we take music breaks throughout the day. This
country is obsessed with Westlife. I don't understand it. I thought that band
broke up like 7 years ago. I do feel really fortunate with my work because some
other organizations have had really high expectations of the interns. Like my
friend Jon... on his first day, he was given a paper that addressed him as
"YOUR HONOR JONATHAN" and asked for his help in "addressing the problem of
poverty in Uganda, alleviating homelessess, and tapping into some American
celebrities to come visit the organization" among other things.

2. The other day I had the opportunity to go to a wedding. Just when I started
to feel like I was being given special treatment... which was awesome, because
I'm often awkwardly given way too many privelages here... I was invited to come
eat with the bride and groom. Then the tribal dancers came out. And had me
come dance with them. And then they put they native costume of the Buganda
kingdom, which is basically a tailfeather, on me. This was how I earned
respect in Uganda. I ended the night by being invited to the stage, as the
girl from the USA! and asked to give a speech. I was careful to mention my
love for Uganda and Obama. They love him here.

3. Some quotes from my host family:
"I would like to get into a rap battle with Fat Joe." -- Sam, my 12 year old
host brother

"You must pick out your clothing carefully, yes. You see, some color
combinations can be quite repulsive to the viewer." -- my host uncle

"I have watched the beauty pageants for many years, and I have concluded that
yes, a fat woman will never win the Miss America." -- my host uncle

"I took into account the high cost of living in America -- washing machines,
vehicles, groceries -- and I decided that no, $20,000 a month was not a
sufficient salary. So I have stayed in Uganda, unless they offer me more." --
my host uncle

"Is that Michael Jackson?" -- my host brother, watching a music video of Michael
Bolton

"I worked for a car company, back in 1984, that was when computers were
invented, I do research each day, about authors, and books, and Shakespeare is
often called England's greatest author." -- my crazy housemate Geoffry David
who I think is partially a genius

"Your face... very smart!" -- Hajat Sarah

"But I thought every American family had 3 guns? One they keep in the drawer in
the kitchen, one they keep under their pillow, and one in the closet in the
hall? That is how it always is in movies!" -- my supervisor at work

"These Amish cannot possibly exist!" -- my supervisor after I told her about
Amish people

4. So I've had some bad days, where I've desperately been missing French cheese
especially... for some reason. And there are days when I drop my entire fresh
roll of toilet paper down the latrine, days when we have matooke for dinner...
again, days when it takes someone 10 minutes to read one sentence because they
have so many dramatic pauses (example: a ugandan would read that phrase as "it
takes. someone. 10 minutes. to read... the what? (long pause) the... one
sentence. because they have so many... of... the what? (long dramatic
pause)... the dramatic pauses). But then there are days when I take my bucket
bath and the sun is rising right in front of me, and nights where I play soccer
outside with the kids, and days when I get home and my family treats me like
I've been gone for 8 years and not 8 hours. I hope all of you are having
wonderful summers, and I love you all :) Let me know how things are. My
nomadic ways have caused me to miss people a lot!

ciao
sula bulungi!
-- lisa