"I sweated into a shadow"

Hey!

So its been about a week since my last post and I thought I would give a quick update on whats been going on. I had to do a reading for class about culture shock the other day and it had this quote in it about sweating into a shadow and I thought it was so funny and so true. It is so hot here during the day and we have to walk pretty much everywhere...uphill on unstable rocky sidewalks.

Anyway we finished up orientation type stuff last week and last Saturday we went to the Sezibwa Falls and Jinja, where the source of the nile is. It was so beautiful. While at the nile we were getting a lecture about homestays and in some trees near us there were monkeys playing around. Everyone of course stopped listening to the speaker to look at the monkeys yet she still continued to talk like nothing was going on. But how cool is that just monkeys chillin in the trees!

On Sunday I met my homestay family. I was told it would be a big family but the two kids that are still in school are at boarding school but there are two older ones who are in Univeristy. So far with the program we have been staying at a really nice place, going to nice plays to eat...living the good life. So I was hoping with the homestay I would get to experience typical Ugandan life and maybe even rough it a little.

Thats not the case. My family has a really nice home, indoor plumbing and everything. The also have a maid and there home is in this gated compound. The parents run a hotel or 2 and have 2 stores and next week a couple of them are going to Dubai for a busniess trip.

One of the other things I had hoped for is that my homestay family would be like a family. When I was in Renk, Sudan even if it was just for a few days I felt like a part of the family. The since of community between friends and family members was what I enjoyed most about bing in Sudan because it stood in such a contrast to what I am used to back home and was one of the reasons I was so excited to come back to Africa.

Unfortunately my family is never home and works till late at night so I have yet to find the sense of community that I was hoping for. But the made Joyce is really nice but she only speaks Luganda so I've started to try and teach her English while she helps me with my Lugandan. Its kinda cool!

On another note to some of my Happening/Episcopal friends I went to All Saints Cathedral here last Sunday (its Anglican) and it happend to be the Youth Sunday service and the sang Prince of Peace! It was so much fun to be able to sing along with them.

Ok thats all have to go to class. Hope everything is going well!