Leaving for the West

Howdy, so the bad news this week is that my computer hard drive decided to die for no reason (I swear, I didn't do anything to it...) and so now, unless I can fix it, which is looking doubtful, I brought my computer for nothing, and doing all my academic work from here on out is going to be really difficult. And I also hate that I need to be thinking about this when I should just be thinking about where I am.

So, besides that, this week went by pretty quickly. We've had some interesting site visits in class, like going to visit an AIDS project in the slums and talking to some women there. It still boggles my mind that so many people live on less than a dollar a day...definitely more easy to imagine in Uganda where stuff is amazingly cheap but still, that is not enough, especially for a single mother with multiple children who also is HIV positive. In another week when we get back from Rwanda, we begin out in-depth study, for which I chose the public health modal. We will be having importantish people come speak to us at the school of public health at Makerere University, and get to visit lots of places like sanitation facilities (sneakers required) and the ministry of health. In the meantime, we are going to western Uganda and to Rwanda, which I'm looking forward to. We will get to see the memorials and even an animal reserve (!), and there are also great crafts and jewelry and stuff so I will definitely have to do some shopping. We will also be in hotels, not homestays, so it will be easier to go out at night. I am also looking forward to not having to negotiate Kampala streets for a week. The other day a car INTENTIONALLY shoved me down the street, even though it was a jam and they couldn't go anywhere, I guess they just wanted to make a point.

Things at home are...ok. With Eddie gone, I make a point of talking and joking around with Wenie and the maid, but they can only understand me so much. And I was really hoping to form some sort of relationship with my hostmom but she is rarely home, and when she is, she is literally in her room the whole time. She doesn't even eat dinner. I wonder what is up....like if she understands that hosting me should be more than just giving me a room, or maybe she is depressed...I don't know. Sunday we have a project due that is a map of our village and a write-up about important places and transactions in the village, and she is supposed to take me around to show me, and I told her this so hopefully she follows through and it will force her to spend time with me....

Yesterday I stopped off at a huge grocery store which was like the first establishment that reminded me of something in the US....I even found chips ahoy cookies! Mmm. Today for Luganda class we went to the market to "practice" our market vocab... I bought the most delicious mango ever and a rolex, which is the bread, chipate, with a fried egg rolled up inside...BEST thing ever. Ok well that is all for now, despite computer disasters and antisocial hostmothers things are good, still loving the people in my group, and looking forward to Rwanda!