Oberservations and lessons from week 2

1. Many of the children look much younger than they really are due to malnutrition and poor health care. I met a girl selling passion fruit along the roadside who looked like she couldn’t have been more than four but she was nine!

2. I suppose it wouldn't be called a risk if it was easy. It was difficult to leave all my friends, my pets, my home, my job, esstenlally my life and move to a small village on the other side of the world. There are days that are very difficult but I have seen happiness, suffering, faithfulness, and hospitality in there truest form.

3. Who needs an MP3 player when you have the constant sound of birds, cows, goats, and children playing as your soundtrack. There is a women's group who practices their singing just behind my banda in the afternoons they are wonderful!

4. Fish out of water. Due to the cultural differences every day poses a new challenge. Just going to the market to buy skirts was an exercise in flexibility. I thought I could just go on my own but was told I needed to take one of the kids otherwise I'd get the Mzungu price. So Deuce, the 12 yr old who has been my helper went with me. Saturday is market day in Bigodi where people come to sell their wares. So there we were in a stall as I am trying on a skirt and I swear 15 people come to crowd around to watch the mzungu try on clothing!

5. 16 month olds make great teachers. Leon is the second youngest in the Tinka family and is learning to speak his native language, Rutoro. As he is learning so am I. I now know the words for dog, bird, eat, and drink. I do need to increase my vocaboly but it's a start. People here learn English when they go to school as a second language. There are two tribes where I live thus two native languages.

6. I'm beginning to have favorite foods. We don't eat much meat here at home and most of the foods were new to me. Most meals consits of a starchy staple and another vegtable or two. Meals are served outside typically on a mat on the ground. There is tea with every meal. I've discovered that I love warm cabbage salad, avocado salad, sesame sauce, groundnut sauce, Irish potatoes, and matoke (steamed bananas) is growing on me. I don't like millet bread - which is really more like a dough.

7. My headlamp is my new beast friend. Since we are right on the equator here in Uganda, it gets dark about 7:30pm and light about 7:30am. So my headlamp gets lots of use!

8. I don’t bathe after dark. See I bathe outside and I politely refuse to bath after dark. There are two many creepy crawlies who hang out where I bathe. In the last week, I have gotten much more efficient with my bathing and can now wash my hair using only two cups of water!

9. Evenings after dinner are wonderful. Often after dinner there is an improtu net ball game with the kids or the telling of traditional stories.

10. Incoming calls are free. I miss talking to people back home but it's fairly expensive for me to call. However, you can buy cheap calling cards online to call Uganda.

11. Kibale National Park is amazing. I have never seen such density and beauty in a forest till I went to KNP!