Homestay!

Hello! So, I am now in my homestay. My family consists of my mom, Diane, as well as Marvin, who is older than me (he’s never really home). There is Wenie, who Diane adopted when her brother died. She only knows Luganda because she hasn’t started school yet. There is also Eddie who is 18 is my lifesaver. He talks nonstop and is really interested in what I like and the US etc. He is extremely smart; I think he knows more about US politics than I do. There is also Irene, the housekeeper who I share a room with her. She looks suspiciously young, I am quite curious about her. The house is on a dirt road in a village, and we have running water and sporadic electricity. There’s no hot water so we take bucket showers, which I have actually come to like. So efficient. There are a lot of little things that are so different about living here, which leads to a lot of awkward encounters. Like, I accidentally put my socks in the laundry that the housekeeper does, which is a huge no-no. Things have been interesting; last night my older brother stabbed someone outside the house and the police came...but don’t worry, it was because of some long standing issue and not anything that would involve me. On the bright side, Eddie loves the OC so we have been watching episodes on DVD. I really am busy all the time, by the time I take the taxi and get home and bucket shower and eat dinner and watch the OC, I’m dead...even though there are readings that I’m supposed to do. Oh well, we are here to live more than anything else.

By far the most overwhelming thing is transportation...I can’t even begin to explain the roads to you. They are just madness. There is more pothole than road. No lanes or speed limits or rules. Generally we take “taxis,” which are like really dilapidated minivans that everyone piles into and you hope they are going where you want them to and then you yell when you have to get off and you hope it’s the right place....and meanwhile you are the only white person ever so everyone is shouting “Muzungu muzungu!” Eddie has been coming which me to school so far, but this morning I made it all by myself! It is nice to have the support network of everyone on the trip so that we can vent to each other and figure stuff out.

In class we have guest lecturers come. Today one spoke about the health care system, which I’m very interested in, and in the afternoon we went to a rehabilitation center for malnourished children...really intense. That’s one of the places we can volunteer during our 6-week practicum. I’ve been thinking about what I want to do, perhaps looking at the health care available for refugees here in Uganda. We already have to be thinking about this even though it begins in around 6 weeks.

Well all right, that’s it for now, webala!