I never knew Nando's tastes that good!

Its amazing how much happens in one week! We went into Kampala on Friday to drop off Renato and meet with Uganda Crafts (an NGO that is going to help us sell the stuff the women's group is making). Our first stop was Nando's where I ate a chicken pita (with CHEESE) and fries and had an ice cream cone for desert. I have a love/hate relationship with Kampala. It has all the ammenitites you could ask for, but it is by far the most chaotic city I've been to.

After lunch, we met with Betty and Kakende from Uganda Crafts. They have a little store where they sell some of the crafts right on site and I couldn't stop myself from buying a couple really cute cards and a scarf so that I could tie it on my head like a real Muganda! The meeting was very successful and we decided that we will have them come to Kyetume in 2 weeks time to train the ladies. Training takes 6 full days, and the women will learn not only how to make baskets, but also how they can go about finding other ways of selling their crafts and how to keep track of their costs and profits. After they finish the training, Uganda Crafts will be able to give them orders to fill and they will get paid for each basket they make! This is an awesome opportunity for the women; for many of them it will be the first time they will be able to make their own money!

We spent the night in Kampala in the most beautiful area ever! We were a 2 minute drive from Lake Victoria and Fred's cousin Frank found us a guest house just a few houses away from his. When we arrived, he had tons of luxurious food waiting for us (hard boiled eggs, fruit, avocado, fried chicken, sugar cane). We were treated like kings and queens! We watched some music videos (mostly Boney M - and no one knew who they were except me) and drank some wine and got ready to go out that night! Capitol Pub was bumpin...we had some drinks, played some pool and danced a lot. The club was in a building with an open-air center where the dance floor was. So far the 2 clubs I've been to in Uganda have both been bigger and better than any club I've been to in Vancouver...although I don't know if that's saying much...sorry Tonic :P

Coming back to Masaka wasn't exactly easy...it's a totally different world here. We left Fred in Kampala to rest for a few days (probably the first days off he's gotten in months) and Daniel and I got back on Saturday afternoon. We went straight to the women's empowerment meeting and gave our talk on women's health. The women showed me how to tie the scarf I bought on my head, and were really excited that I wanted to wear it like them. On the way back we found the shedded skin of a cobra which we kept and I got to hold a baby chick that was just one day old! Its those kinds of things that make it really easy living in the village.
We are back at school this week, although today is a public holiday! It is the end of Ramadan and last night someone (still not sure who) declared it a public holiday in Uganda. I always thought those things were decided ahead of time, but apparently not! I am going to use the day to finish a bunch of chores...like doing laundry, cleaning up my room and of course lesson planning. Next weekend we are going to head to Deo and Zaitun's (two sibling orphans) to help them dig! I am really looking forward to that. Its a huge learning experience and eye opener to participate in the daily lives of the people here. The kids especially have gone through so much in their lives and yet they are the most resilient people I have met in my life. They are genuinely happy, even with the little they have.

Last night I had my first real feelings of being homesick. It was all brought on by some nasty termites that keep trying to build their house right outside my room. Everything about it gives me the heeby jeebies and makes me itchy all over. I think Jjajja is going to buy some chemicals to get rid of them. I feel really bad being grossed out by something so petty, but I really can't help it. Maybe in time I will just get used to them, as I have to spiders, geckos and all the other creepy crawlies in my room. I'm also really frustrated with the school system here and don't know how to approach the millions of problems with it. If any of you...especially all the teachers have any advice...please please let me know! Can't believe its been a month since I've been here and almost 3 months since I've been home. I can't remember what its like to smell good and look nice. That's mostly why I have avoided posting too many pics...but I will put a couple up for your enjoyment :) Miss you all soooo much!

Missy
xoxo