No weapon forged against me shall remain

My first purchase here: some shell earrings.


I also bought these sandals.


Right behind my dorm is Monkey Hill. Monkeys live there.


My friend Agatha who lives across the hall. She walked up to Monkey Hill with me.


This is me, on probably the first afternoon I left my hair down for any length of time.


The sun set as we walked back down Monkey Hill.


The view from the front porch of my dorm. To the right is Winfred Brown hall, to the left is Thelma Horsey, like a lounge/hangout-type deal, and straight down is Rachel Hal, one of the boys' dorms. The other boys' dorm, Florence, is below that.


Most of the USP on-campus girls.


Caroline with her soda bottle.


Our dance party in Thelma Horsey.


I never really know what to say, what I want people to know or what I want to remember about this time later on. I feel like I'll remember a lot, but I know that I probably won't. But there's so much going on, so much going through my head, so many things that are new or changing - it would take too much space and I don't have to patience to type out everything. I do write notes in my journal of things to include, so that I remember.
One of the side effects of my malaria medicine is vivid dreams. I was hoping to not have any of the negative side effects, but I've been having weird dreams for most of the last 5 or 6 nights. I have a lot of dreams every night and they're just...weird. They're a little closer to reality than my normal dreams so it generally takes me a little while to know that it's not real. The first night I had them, I had a dream that a tidal wave hit California. There was more to it, with escaping and some guys who I don't actually know dropped some sort of explosive into the ocean to start the tidal wave, but whatever. I woke up after it and later ha another dream that the tidal wave one was actually real. It's just bizarre.
I started my homestay on Saturday morning. I'm with Emily, who's from Maryland. She lives in the girls' dorm Sabiiti. Our house parents are Faith an Godfrey Bayinde. They have 5 kids, the oldest 4 are away in universities and the youngest is a 14-year old boy named Anok. There are a unch of kids in the neighborhood though and they really like Emily and I. They enjoy trying to teach us Lugandan and laughing when we try to say things. I wrote down a bunch of words in my journal. Our house does have electricity, but not running water. For our bathroom, we have a pit latrine. It's basically a hole in the ground. It's cement that we stand on and a rectangular hole in the ground that we squat over. It's very different. For our showers, they fill up a shallow basin/tub with water and take us out to the bathing room (like a stall with no door and 3 walls that go about up to my armpits). That's different also. I'm not sure what I think about my house parents. Faith just laughs at us a lot and Godfrey is pretty intimidating. I like the kids and one of their older sons Stanley was over yesterday and we talked with him for a while. We also got to talk to their oldest, Betty. She's an engineering major, like Emily. They were pretty cool. It was good to talk to someone here who's close to our own age. I am really glad that I'm with someone. I think I would be very overwhelmed if I was alone.
Our house is a few different buildings. The toilet/bathing room is separate - not far away, but not attached to the main house. Then there's the cooking house, and attached to that is what I think is where our parents sleep. In the main house, there's a living room, a dining room, the room where 2 girls, both named Faith, sleep (I don't know exactly how they're related but they're similar to maids, but are nieces or something), and our room. Our room has 1 really bright light bulb and no windows so it's really hot, all the time. Emily and I have to have mosquito nets. They basically look like a little tent that covers about the upper 2/3 of my body and they netting that drapes over to the end of my bed. Anok and another boy named David who lives there stay in a house across the street. Across the street, there's a bunch of banana trees and some chickens who wander around and a couple of pigs in cages.
We went to church yesterday and then sat around and rested alternately (which is basically what we did on Saturday too). I learned some clapping games from some of the girls, we played a board game for a while, and jumped rope. I had my camera out at one point and they all swarmed me. I put it away pretty quickly. Overall, it wasn't a bad weekend. I'm glad I'm with Emily - she's also in a relationship, so it's good to talk to her about different things. I don't know if I would have really gotten to talk to her if we weren't together in this. Someone nearby has a little baby named Eric and he's really cute. We liked holding him, but I think at some point he peed (they don't wear diapers), so that wasn't as awesome. I liked talking to Stanley and Betty, about Uganda and university and their government. It was really interesting. I like some of the kids too. I don't really like when they all crowd around us, but there are some really cute ones. Anok and David are funny. A couple of the younger kids (like 2 or 3) are really funny. They're scared of Emily and me, so they'll come up closer and wave at us and when we wave or say hi they laugh and run away. They like if I chase them, but not if I catch one of them. I am gad to be back at school. I think I might take a nap today. We don't have supper until about 9 or 10 and Emily and I basically go straight to sleep after that. I'll be glad to see other people from USP, other people my age and whatnot. I think that's all for today. There's a lot more I want to share, but maybe another day. Vaya con Dios.

Sometimes I fall, I slip

I feel like there's so much I want to share, so much that's happened since my last blog, which was only a couple days ago. I've journalled every day so far, but this also helps me keep up with what's going on, so I'll remember later. I think I'll start with today. I had class at 8:30 (Intro to Ugandan Politics, which I am really excited for by the way), then Faith and Action (less exciting; we discussed The Poisonwood Bible). Right after class, we all got on thebus and drove about an hour out to Kampala, the capital and largest city in Uganda. We stopped first at Garden City, which is basically a mall, so that a bunch of us could exchange money (I changed $200 for $388,000; it was intense) and then get lunch. I got lasagna, which wasn't too exciting and garlic bread, which was delicious. Then we met up and broke up into groups to do a tour. The first stop my group made was the National Theatre craft fair. 3 other girls from my group were just going to stop there and look around and meet back up with everyone at the mall when we had to go. I did so also and it was really cool. There was some awesome stuff and I'm going to get people some sweet presents. I only bought one today, because it seemed like the only thing that might not be there again. I did get ideas and decide on things for a lot of people though. I wish I could tell you, but sadly they also read this probably.
After we got back, Honors College was having a party-deal. We all went to Thelma Hall and first some people gave different opening messages then each of the USP students paired with a UCU student and introduced them. We shared names, ages, and status. I was with Viola, who's a second year social work major here. She's 22 and single. When I told her I was taken, she thought I meant engaged so that's what she said when she introduced me. I had to clarify that I just meant that I'm in a relationship. Taken sounds so much better than "in a relationship." I told them that she was available. We ate and then had a dance party. It was really, really fun. I like dancing and there aren't too many occasions when there are a bunch of people all dancing a little goofy, which is basically the only time I'll dance.
Now I'm in the lobby with a giant flying cockroach. I don't like it very much. I packed for my homestay already, which I leave for tomorrow morning, so my Internet access will be fairly limited for the next 2 weeks. Right after homestays, Honors College has a weekend retreat. I'm excited for that too. I'm excited for my homestay also. I hope my family has kids. I am planning on getting online (and on Yahoo Messenger) on Monday morning, February 2nd - which will be Sunday, February 1st probably around 9 pm in Arizona. If you can get on and would like to see and/or chat with me (I have a webcam), sign on then. My Yahoo name is dolphinfrk2002.
Some other things I wanted to tell you about:
-I think our group is planning on doing a rafting trip on the Nile and a safari (separately). I'm super excited for both.
-I washed my laundry for the first time in a bucket on Thursday. I got bad rug burn-type deal on 2 of my knuckles on my right hand. It burned when I used hand sanitizer yesterday.
-I spelled it wrong earlier: mzungo (mi-zoon-goo) means white person. There's also a word for black person: mudugavu.
-At dinner on Wednesday, the power was out. Someone at a table in front of me somewhere was watching Gilmore Girls (the pilot episode) on their laptop. It made me want to watch it too.
-There's a fairly steep driveway hill into our dorm area. I've fallen on it twice so far, which stinks because it gets my clothes dirty.
-Earlier this week, I was having dinner with a couple other USPers and a couple UCU students and, somewhat randomly, one of the guys from UCU said to me "You look like you like kids." I told him that I do in fact. It was cool.
-Another afternoon, I was sitting on the porch of the other girls dorm and a couple UCU girls were watching the son of a professor. He was about 2-3 and really white, rith red hair. He was really cute and I thought it was interesting that while the two of them would sometimes mimic the sounds he made, they didn't talk baby talk to him at all. They talked to him like he was an equal, like he was their age.
-I've taken a bunch of pictures, but I don't have the patience to put them all up. It takes forever for blogspot to download pictures. Maybe another day I'll put them up on photobucket if that's faster. My photobucket account name is GingerSnap180. You can check it out. I think that's all for this evening. Email me and I may reply occasionally. Vaya con Dios!

Our Trip into Mukonotown

Mukono is the nearest town, as I probably mentioned - about a 10-minute walk from UCU. The UCU students call in Mukono Town, because tehnically the whole area around it, the school and other places not in town, are also a part of Mukono. Our whole group (39 total) did a scavenger hunt through town and bought some emergency airtime (minutes) for our phones and other necessities. I bought the airtime, some laundry detergent, and toiler paper. Africans don't really use toilet paper so us Americans who would like some have to go down to the store and buy it by the roll. We also keep it in our room and carry it back and forth to the bathroom whenever we need to use it. There also isn't any soap in any of the bathrooms, so the hand sanitizer I brought is really coming in handy. I am glad that we have real toilets in our dorm though. A few of us from Honors College walked down to the other girls' dorm, Sabiiti, to visit the 5 USP girls staying there and their bathrooms are "squatters," basically a hole in the ground with a big silver plate-type deal over it to stand on and such. I took a bunch of pictures in town, so here you go.


That's a goat. We walked by a field with a couple of them standing around, like this one, and then some baby goats started jumping out of a tree in the field. I didn't catch any of the jumping goats, but I did get this one.


Some funky purple flowers.


A few boda boda drivers. The motorcycle/bikes they drive are called bodabodas. We are strictly forbidden from riding on them. They're dangerous.


I tried to get a picture of some of the houses and buildings on the hill because it looked pretty cool, but we were walking and we were across the street and cars and such were driving by, so I don't know how it turned out.


A supermarket. I don't think it's the one we actually went to though.


A giant tree across from the supermarket that we did go to.


An advertisement for MTN, the cell phone service provider we're using. I just thought it was amusing.


The street. The white girl is Nicole, who's in our group (you can probably assume that any white people in my pictures are a part of USP). The distance she is from the truck is about how close we were to any vehicles driving on the streets, or possibly closer. Also, notice the dirt road. That's the main street through Mukonotown.

Details and such, Day 3

This is the rooster that was in our lobby yesterday morning. It crowed from about 5-6 am. Big fun, huh?

It's early Monday morning, so it's still Sunday night in AZ. I start classes today. My class schedule, that I know so far is:
Faith and Action in the Ugandan Context: Monday, 2-2:55; Friday, 8:30-10:25
African Literature: Monday, 3;3:55; Wednesday, 2-3:55
Christian Ethics: Tuesday, 2-3:55
Introduction to the New Testament: Wednesday, 11-12:55
I also have a class called African Christianity and I don't know yet when that one is. Also, a couple of my classes also require small group meetings called tutorials and I don't know when those will be. And I have Community Worship (chapel) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12-1. That's basically my schedule. Some other random things I wanted to tell you all, in no particular order:
-There's a bird's nest in my window, outside the screen. There are also a lot of birds around our dorm and they're quite loud.
-My roommate and I each have a fairly short bunk bed set with a mosquito net draped over it. We both sleep on the bottom bunk, so we use he top bunks to put stuff on. It's pretty cool.
-Our showers only have cold water. Also, I have to shower every day because being gross and dirty isn't culturally acceptable. So every day I take a (hopefully) less than 5-minute freezing cold shower. It's fantastic.
-Mukono is the nearest town, it's about a 10-minute walk. I went down there yesterday with a bunch of the other USP students. It was pretty cool. Kampala is the capital and a big city. It's about an hour drive. We're going down there on Friday.
-My room has one outlet and it's pretty funky looking so we have to use an adapter to charge anything.
-There are big grasshopper bugs living in our bathroom. I've seen one both times I've showered so far and last night when I brushed my teeth too.
-The food here isn't too exciting. I've had rice and beans at every meal so far. It's not gross, and it's filling. We also had sweet potatoes with one meal and posho with a couple. I don't know how to describe posho. You might be able to look it up. It's basically flour and water mixed together It's really bland.
-A lot of th Ugandan students here are early risers, at about 5-6 am. The walls in our dorm are also very thin and a lot of things like doors and plumbing and such is very noisy.
-People here are really into football (aka soccer). There was a game on last night and everyone was in the cafeteria watching. Most of them are fans of Manchester United. I was in there for about 2 hours for dinner and Manchester scored 3 goals. I couldn't see the score on the screen at all, but that was my decision based on the cheering for aforementioned goals.
-The guys here are really friendly. The woman are too, but they're more reserved. The guys come and sit with us at a lot of them meals and they know a lot of the USP guys already. It's pretty cool. A couple of them walked to town with us yesterday and showed us around and such. They try really hard to learn our names and I don't think I really know any of theirs.
-Muzugno means white person in one of the languages here. I've heard it a few times. It's not really offensive, just a term for white people.
-The dirt here is red and it gets everywhere. My bag is already red on the bottom and so are a couple pairs of shoes that I've worn so far. I'm wearin a white short today and I hope it lasts.
-The conversion rate for money is about 1800 shillings to the dollar, so everything sounds really expensive but it's not.
-On my phone I can assign images to my contacts. it's really cool. Rusty's a spaceship. Charlotte's a cat. My mom is a woman face. I haven't added Becky yet but she's going to be a butterfly, I think. My dad is a man face with glasses.

I think that's all I have for now. I like it here so far, despite any complaining you may perceive above. I'm going to try and make it through today without a nap though. Wish me luck! Vaya con Dios.

Pictures, Day 1 and 2

Our room.


My roommate, Rochelle


Me, in my closet that I can;t open all the way because my bed's in the way


My dorm, from the bottom of our little hill, which is on top of a bigger hill with the other Honours College dorms


My dorm from closer.

Arrival

My plane got in at about 9 last night (the 9th). It took us a while to all get our luggage (there were 32 of us) and get out and into the bus. It was a 2-hour ride to UCU (my school). I got to my dorm, with all of my stuff, at about midnight and went to bed around 2. I unpacked and organized some of my stuff last night, but I still have a lot more to do. One of my eyes hurts a lot. Also, I sliced open my left index finger on my folder before I got on the plane in DC so that hurts too. It's hot here and humid.
My first flight was 2 days ago (the 8th). It left from DC at around 6:30 and was about 6.5 hours long. We had about 3 hours layover int eh Amsterdam airport. My second flight, from Amsterdam to Entebbe was about 8 hours long. I slept very little on either one. They did have a good selection of movies though. I watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (twice), the beginning of Nights in Rodanthe, Mamma Mia, 2 episodes of Scrubs, E True Hollywood Story on Heath Ledger, a TV special on The Dark Knight, and listened to the Juno soundtrack a couple times through. I read most of my book; I have less than 100 pages left. I watched the sun rise in the Amsterdam airport and set as we flew over Africa.
Today we've had a few orientation-type meetings, information about the school, about health and safety and such. We filled out some paperwork, I got a picture taken (in which I do not look good), we ate some food (chapatti (sp?), mango juice, bananas - for breakfast, and rice, beans, and posho for lunch). My dorm is called Josephine Tucker Hall. It's in Honours College, which is basically about 4 or 6 small dorm buildings where the honors students at the school live. There are 8-10 rooms on my hall, and 6 USE students including me, in the dorm. We also have a lobby/common area with a bunch of couches. My dorm building is the farthest away. Honours College is on a hill and Josephine Tucker is the farthest up the hill. I don't get Internet in my dorm, but I can get Wi-Fi from the closest girls dorm, which is where I am now.
I've received so much information today, I can't remember it all and I don't know what to write. I have part of my class schedule, but I don't feel like retrieving it currently. From what I remember, I have a class Tuesday morning from 10-11, on Wednesday and Thursday from 2-4, and on Friday morning. I also have tutorials, which aren't scheduled yet and sessions with all of the other USP students. I don't know when those are. I'm starting my 2-week homestay with a family in Mukono (the nearest town) next Saturday, so I'll be packing up and leaving in a week. It's weird to me that it's so early. I think I'm going to sign off for now. Everyone there is probably asleep already. It's 3:30 here, so it's about...1:30 am there. I miss you guys. I wish I could talk. Oh, I will have texting but I have to pay about 12 cents for each message. I think it's only messages I send. I probably won't be texting much. Okay, that is actually all. I'm going to go to my room. Maybe I'll take a nap for a little while. Or shower. Anyways, I will talk to you later. Vaya con Dios.

More pictures

Dumbo.


Plaque by Dumbo.


Flag in the Museum of American History.


Some of Julia Child's kitchen utensils. My mom wanted to show my dad that she doesn't actually own very many.


More kitchen utensils.


The Washington Monument.


And turn around...the United States Capitol.


The back of the Smithsonian Castle and the pretty gardens.

In less than 12 hours

My plane leaves tomorrow at about 6 pm. I have to be at the airport by 3 at the latest. Then I have about a 7-8 hour flight to Amsterdam and another down to Entebbe, in Uganda. My mom and I flew into Baltimore yesterday and have spent a little while in DC today. It was fun. We walked around, looked at some stuff, went to the American History Museum, took some pictures, bought some stuff and food. It was fun. My feet were a little sore. At the room, we ordered a cheese plate thru room service. It was pretty tasty. The cheese was a little funky, but I like cheese. I'm putting up my pictures from today. I like them. The next time I'm on here, I'll be in Uganda!


The plaque next to an African sculpture in the African Art Museum.


The sculpture.

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Replica of the front of the Smithsonian Castle. My dad likes castles.


For Charlotte.


A squirrel and some birds in front of the Air and Space Museum.

Travel Information

My flights:

January 6, 2009: Phoenix-Baltimore 7:05am-3:18pm

January 8, 2009: Washington DC-Amsterdam 6:00pm-7:30am

January 9, 2009: Amsterdam-Entebbe 11:00am-9:00pm


Coming Home: Entebbe-Amsterdam 10:20pm-5:50am (May 5/6th)

Amsterdam-Washington DC 10:55am-1:35p (May 6th)

Washington Dulles-Chicago Midway 5:40p-6:45p (May 6th)

Chicago Midway-Phoenix 8:55p-10:45p (May 6th)


So my flight time is over 24 hours each way, not including the probably around 4 hour flight back to Phoenix and a minimum 4 hour layover in DC. The actual flight time may be a little less, because the arrival/departure times are in local times and there's an 8 hour time difference from DC to Uganda. But even knocking off those hours, it's gonna be close to 16 hours flying. Fun, huh?

My Packing List

What to Bring
-USP Information Guide
-Backpack/small bag to use for weekend/day trips; large purse/beach bag
-Bible, devotional book, journal
-5-subject notebook
-textbooks: Compassion, The Poisonwood Bible, Primal Vision, and Mere Discipleship
-scissors
-masking tape and duct tape
-basic sewing kit (needles, thread, pins, seam ripper)

-headlamp/small flashlight; crank flashlight recommended
-Camera and batteries (Lithium)
-keychain LED light
-flash drive
-LAPTOP
-wireless capability, working/long-lasting battery, up to date virus protection, Microsoft Word
-Check power cord: Input 100-240V is OK; 100-120V – need to buy a converter

-Small gifts (unique items – with insignia of home state, something I made)
-Photo album (12-24 pages) and extras to give to host family and other friends
-750 mL water bottle (Nalgene)
-any medications (for stomach, cold, painkillers, etc)

-Toiletry/cleaning supplies:
-travel-size toiletries as well as regulars
-not too much sunscreen/insect repellent
-stain stick
-hand sanitizer
-anti-itch cream
-TAMPONS
-contacts, solution, extra glasses, copy of prescription
-soap dish
-any/all hair products (pony tails, headbands, bobby pins, hairspray, etc.)
-Febreeze
-Downy Wrinkle Release

-Clothing:
-Protection from sun (hats?)
-4 skirts (knee-length or longer)
-2 dresses (knee-length or longer, cover shoulders)
-4-6 tops/blouses
-3-4 casual tops (2 collared, 2 t-shirts)
-1 pair shorts
-1 pair nice jeans
-1 pair nice slacks
-athletic wear (t-shirt, sports bra, athletic capris/pants)
-2 pairs comfortable, versatile sandals (1 pair Teva/Chaco and 1 pair nicer/leather)
-1-2 pairs tennis shoes/hiking shoes or boots
-1 pair nice, closed toed shoes to go with skirts
-1 long-sleeved t-shirt
-1 sweatshirt or fleece
-1 nice sweater or cardigan (to wear with church/class clothes)
-underwear
-bathing suit and board shorts
-2 versatile slips (1 shorts slip)
-nice jewelry
-long, modest nightgown
-pajama shirt and pants
-1 rain jacket


Dress Code: loose fitting clothing, cover knees at all times; dress professionally

General: African or western dresses, or blouses with skirt or formal trousers (no jeans). Blouses should cover the shoulders; skirts should be knee-length or below. Formal trousers should be belted at the waist and extending to the ankles.

Formal: Formal attire, which includes African or western suits for men and women or busutis and other cultural dress, is appropriate for Sunday worship and for other formal occasions in the University calendar, e.g., graduation, induction, special assemblies with dignitaries. Student leaders should dress formally when representing the student body at official meetings or events. Formal attire may be worn in class or in the library at any time.

Casual: Students and staff may wear informal attire – e.g., T-shirts, sleeveless blouses, jeans, capris and sports caps – either in residence and dining halls or outside so long as this attire confirms to the General Guidelines. They will be permitted to wear casual attire in the library, classroom and halls all evenings and Saturdays


USP Dress Expectations
Normal Dress (class, church, other daily functions-this is the default level of dress for USP -- think young business intern or chic teacher attire): skirts that cover the knees when walking/standing; dressy/trendy, modest top; loose, light dressy slacks; dresses (especially for church/more formal occasions); comfortable dressy shoes/sandals. As long as they are dressy, pants.
What not to wear: sleeveless tops, Capri pants, tops that do not always cover stomach/midriff; jeans, shorts, plastic or casual flip-flops.

Casual Dress (travel, around campus on weekends, plane trip): Capri’s, nice pants or jeans, nice t-shirts or other tops.
What not to wear: Plastic flip-flops are used as shower shoes here and when worn in public are considered rude. If you bring a pair of flip-flop style sandals, be sure that they are nicer than a solid color, plastic, or foam type. For women, make sure that your pants are not tight.

In your dorm only: t-shirts (long, short sleeve), tank-tops, sweatpants or shorts, flip-flops, slippers.

Athletic Events: loose-fitting athletic pants or Capris, t-shirts, tennis shoes and sports bra. Basketball or board shorts to wear with your swimsuit.


Tips:
-White can look very nice, but it easily stains and is more difficult to wash. -Solid colors that mix & match well rather than items that only go with 1 other thing
-If material wrinkles easily, realize that ironing will be needed because a non-wrinkled appearance is essential. If you prefer less hassle, bring clothing less prone to wrinkle.
-Stains will need much ‘elbow-grease,’ avoid fabrics that stain easily (i.e. 100% cotton).
-Shoes that can be easily cleaned or that repel dirt.
-Quick drying materials are recommended.
-No matter what you bring (assuming it meets the standards of appropriate dress), you will soon adapt to a limited wardrobe and washing by hand.
-One formal cocktail dress for wedding or other formal event. You could also just plan to have something made from African fabric early in the semester.
-Bring matching suits (Women mainly wear skirt suits, but pant suits are acceptable)