Count your many blessings name them one by one...

Oli Otya? Hello one and all, I am still alive and not looking like a red Muzungu as much!! Things are progressing well and am finding out that I am grateful for a number of things (in no particular order): 1. Aloe Vera, 2) mosquito nets, 3) French toast, 4) construction workers, 5) band aids/Neosporin, 6) stealthy security guards, 7) volunteers sharing similar feelings about pets, 8) phone calls from the States (you know who you are), 9) being in the future, 10) chicken and fish free taxis in America, 11) the invention of lying

Now let me explain…since the last time I wrote quite a bit has happened. I attempted at being a construction worker-hence my # 4 blessing-it didn’t go over too well. My group and I went to Liahona High School in Jinja to build an Adobe stove, these stoves help with directing smoke out of the kitchen and they use 1/3 the amount of wood. It was amazing to see the amount of smoke that lingers in the kitchens because of poor ventilation. To put it in perspective, I literally walked in and stood for approximately 2-3 minutes and had to walk out because my eyes and lungs stung! But these poor ladies stay in the smoke infested rooms for 8 hours at a time cooking; I can’t imagine what this does to their health. Anyway, being in Jinja was neat to say the least; it is where the source of the Nile River begins. So I am one of few Idahoans who have probably had the privilege of fetching water from the Nile River! Making the Adobe stove was hard stinkin’ work and not to include very, very dirty! We were covered in Adobe and mud by the end of the day. OH also, while I was there I ate a GRASSHOPPER!! You pull off its legs and wings and pop it in-it tastes like…popcorn.

I have been assigned to be project lead on four things this summer. I will be doing HIV/Aids and health outreaches in local schools, orphanages, and communities, I will be putting on health camps for the elderly, building hand washing stations, and putting on approximately 3-4 eye and dental community outreaches. I will also be shadowing in hospitals and putting on ‘field days’ in about 10 different troubled schools. So my work here is progressing well. Yesterday I spent a few hours in Lugazi meeting with and planning logistics for a few health projects with their Country Directors. This leads me to blessing # 10-the lady to the right of me in the taxi was holding a box of fish and the kid to the left of me had a bag of baby chickens by my feet. NOT MY STYLE OF CRUISIN’ ALONG! (Ps. When I say taxi, I mean an old, half broken down mini van that they pack anywhere from 15-25 people).

We have a lady named Edith who cooks for us everyday except on Sundays. So this last Sunday was my day to have dinner duty, we wanted something substantial that didn’t include rice and beans so we made French toast (blessing # 3), eggs, potatoes, and fruit salad!! So delicious.

My sunburn is coming along nicely to a tan, but blessing # 1, I am sure glad I brought aloe! I am currently rocking the best Chacos tan line in the house, each of you should be real proud! I am also leading the most proposal of marriage in our group to a total of three proposal, this leads to blessing # 11-I lie and tell them I am already married. Last night I fell asleep to two 3 in long grasshoppers flying around my room and I woke up to one dead on my mosquito net-blessing # 2 because that could’ve been dead on my face or something. I have two pretty nasty open blisters on the bottom of my feet-blessing # 5. Our land lady offered a puppy (blessing #7), quite a bit of us turned that adamantly down within 5 minutes (me being a large advocate-thank you Doug) However, we have decided to get chickens to eat named Breakfast, Lunch, and Supper and a goat to mow our lawn named Aberforth Wilberforce-best decisions yet!

I am still getting used to Ugandan time; we are 9 hours ahead (Mt. time) so I can assure you (M.) that the sun WILL come out tomorrow! Also, the people here have no clue of time management, you may have a meeting with someone at 10:00, but conveniently (supposed to be read with sarcasm) the meeting won’t begin till 11:00. Oph to touch on blessing #6, we have an awesome stealthy security guard named David. He lives in our guard house behind our house and he was formerly in the military. During the day he sits outside our house and watches for creepers and at night he puts on his uniform and massive gun and guards our house. He has a tendency of hiding behind corners and scaring us. He has become more like a friend than anything; he eats dinner and hangs out with us. He also looks for the creepy man in Mukono whom we call George Washington, he is literally CRAZY and tries to hug all of us-last time we saw him he was wearing a white wig and a drum from his dress…priceless.

The children are adorable as ever, they are constantly saying bye. I think it might be their way of saying hi, but we’ll be walking down the street and we’ll see kids running after us yelling, “Bye Muzungu, Bye Muzungu.” Also, the kids that look through our bushes learned a new phrase, they now yell to us, “Muzungus, Muzungus…come and playyyy.” It is the CUTEST thing ever!!

Okay this is the end for now, lots to share but I’ll cut it here. Oh and last but certainly not least, blessing # 8. I love getting phone calls and hearing how all of you are. Hope you’re enjoying the summer, I know my family is with the opening of boating season this last week-kinda jealous. Love and miss you all!

Ps. An unnumbered blessing, The Lion King, we watched it on Friday night…how many people can claim that they have actually watched The Lion King while being in AFRICA…