June 19th 2007 7am Ntejeru

This morning I got up when the roosters started to crow. I went outside to use the latrine (I swear to God I had been holding it all night, I really didn't want to go out in the dark!). I saw Festus ho-ing in the garden, and Lydia and Julie were already washing clothes (like they had been up for hours). Apparently I had slept in. I'm trying to develop a routine, for my own sanity and so I don't forget to take my malaria medication. I get ready, have breakfast (which is ALWAYS a piece of bread with honey and a strong cup of instant coffee), and then take it before we walk to work.

June 19th ~ 7pm

Festus was teaching Joe and I Lugandan today. It is difficult because it is similar, but not at all like Swahili (Lugandan is to French as Swahili is to Spanish). The words in Lugandan are really hard to pronounce. For example, the word for water and poop are the same except you pronounce them differently:

MA wa ZEE=water
ma WA zee=shit
Good to know I think. ;)

Lugandan Vocabulary:

Thank you=Weh-bali
Thank you very much=weh-bali nyo
Yes=yeh
No-nedda
Excuse me=n-so-nee-wa
Over there (person)=uli
Over there (object)=yee-li
Here=wa-no
sit here=tula-wano
come here=yangu-wano
good morning=wa-su-ze-ot-ya?
good/okay=boo-loon-gi
how are you?=o-lee-ot-ya
good=yenli
your welcome=kali
My name is___=Nzee_____

Right not I am waiting for hot water for my bucket bath. My feet are so dusty you can see the stripes from the gaps in my sandals.
I feel like I have a not-so-thin layer of red dust all over me. It almost looks like a tan until I sweat and it smears off in places. Gross I know, but this is now my life.

It is a little bit difficult because it is easy to see the sexism and gender roles here. Festus definitely prefers Joe over me, and he kind of assumes that he is more capable than I am. Also when we get home, Festus will relax on the couch while Julie and Lydia cook, clean, and do laundry until dinner. I know it is just the culture, but it is hard to get used to. That is just how it is here, men above women.

We went to another funeral today. This time for the secondary school's headmaster's father. It was on the other side of town and pretty long, but it gave Erin and I a good chance to talk.

Other than that we just figured out what we will be doing the rest of the month (up until Joe leaves). We will be going to Kenya for a week the day after he leaves for some business thing, I'm super excited!

This is going to be a very long and busy month. Tomorrow we are doing a home visit for one of the AIDS patients we look after, his name is Bilinda. Erin says it is quite the hike and should take us about an hour to get there by foot.

I am also going to Mokono for the weekend to use the internet and shop. It should be nice-they have electricity and a fridge! :)

8 pm

It is completely dark out, so I am writing this by flashlight. I just took a bucket bath by flashlight too.
I waited too long to ask for hot water to be heated because Joe and I played cards after work. And then mom called!!! It was SOO good to hear from her.

It will be a week since I have left tomorrow, but it already seems like a lifetime since I left.

The girls (orphans) from the dormitory are singing and dancing outside, they can actually harmonize! It is really beautiful to watch.

I went out and sat with them. They were singing a lot of church songs (some in English/some in Lugandan). I actually knew some of the songs (deep and wide, father Abraham, if you're happy and you know it, ect.) So I sang with them, it was so much fun! :)

They also taught me a clapping rhythm name game, which was a lot of fun too and helped me learn their names (although it was super dark and I couldn't make out their faces..). But the ones I played with were Gracie, Cynthia, Sharon, Maggie, Dorothy, Rachel, and Jimmy.

It is really beautiful here at night. The kids cook their food over a fire and the moon and sky full of stars is their backdrop. It isn't enough to read or write, but it is enough to have fun and bond with the kids that live here. :)