Mazungu

In Kampala for the day and decided to hit up the internet cafe. We got permission to stay here for the weekend so it seems that we may get to live a normal life for 2 days... one that includes electricity and running water. First things first we went to Owino, which is a huge clothes market in central Kampala. I think it is basically where clothes get sent after they don't get sold at Goodwill in the States, but you can actually find some decent stuff there! I got a few shirts because my clothes are not going to hold up much longer with how often I am wearing them and the fact that I am hand washing them/ sun-drying them.

We took our language mock-tests this week which are supposed to prepare us for our real test in 5 weeks. By the time our intensive language training is finished we are supposed to be at an intermediate-low level of speaking, which equals talking for thirty minutes about whatever it is we can say. Right now, I am at novice-high, which is encouraging considering it is only one step below intermediate-low, but that step seems to be a rather high one. I guess we will see in the coming weeks.

I finally got a bike, which excites me even more than when I got my tri-bike in the states. This bike has only one gear, but is very nice by Ugandan standards. The roads on the other hand are the hard part. None of them are paved, and not only that but they are not gravel but a mix of red-clay and gravel. When they said "must be able to ride long distances over rough terrain" I laughed at the rough-terrain part. I mean, how rough could the terrain be really?? Well, my friends, let me tell you a little something about rough terrain.... we dont have it in the states. My sic bones have never hurt this bad in my entire life. You know in the states when you see Mormons riding their bikes together, and you make a note that it is strange and that they really don't need to be wearing those obnoxious helmets. Well, thats exactly what I look like here. We travel in pairs, with helmets that are whiter than anything in this whole country. Add on to that the fact that women don't ride bikes in Uganda because they think it is unpure, and we are a sight for sore eyes. The kids scream Mazungu as we ride, which means white person and we have named the road up to my house mazungu alley because there are so many kids that chase us as we ride. The reason I ride my bike is because not only is a FANTASTIC workout, but it also cuts my travel time in half. Its amazing how long it takes to do anything or go anywhere when you have to walk there. Be thankful for your car, for your paved roads, for your stoplights. Be thankful for your 21 speed bikes, your trails and your scooters for god sakes. Be thankful.

I got letters in the mail the other day and freaked out. It was so nice to hear about home. Even a little snippit of news is more than I get here, so it was amazing to read about what is happening the in the states and in the world in general. Send me mail. ha.

I am continuing being a vegetarian here. Its interesting for those who do eat meat because no one was ever taught how to properly butcher a cow in this country. They end up hacking the cow into 20 pieces, with each peice being full of bone, and rib, and gut and meat. Sounds appetizing I know. And after having seen a motorcycle drive by with five live chickens tied to each handlebar, I re-dedicated myself as a strict vegetarian. ha. The next day I saw the way they keep the chickens at the market, which I assume is somewhat similar to the way they keep them in the states, crammed 20 to a small cage, with each bird pecking the other ones eyes out and half of them featherless because they are sick or dying. Yes, I think I will stay vegetarian and enjoy the fact that I can cut pineapples off of the trees in my backyard and pick avacados the size of pumpkins from my garden.

So now I have got to be going. Hope life is good for everyone. I miss you all a ton.