Pineapple Completes Me

On Tuesday there was a huge holiday called Martyrs Day. It is a day remembering 23 Christians who were martyred because they refused to work on Sundays. People make a pilgrimage to this memorial from all over the world (like we’re talking other African countries, Asia, etc.) For days we kept seeing people trekking along the road trying to make it for the celebrations. Everyone celebrates this day and so all of Uganda basically shuts down, so there wasn’t much work for us to do. We decided to join in the pilgrimage and visit the memorial sites. Our driver (Abdul) came bright and early at 7 and we headed to Namugongo. Our taxi was such a piece of crap, it was hilarious. The sliding door didn’t really shut unless you locked it (and even then it wasn’t really shut). When we went over a speed bump our muffler fell off (and it sounded like the entire bottom of the car fell off). Nothing could stop Abdul, he hopped right out and shoved it back on then we were back on our way. We had to park kinda far and walk to the first memorial site. There was so many people and I was loving it. A huge band came down the road and they were going to town. They had all sorts of booths and choirs and fun such things. I totally felt like I was at Liberty Park for the 24th of July celebration and it was way too fun! One booth was selling marriage licenses and wedding bands. We got so excited and all bought ourselves some real nice wedding bands (mine is the thumb with the two black bracelets on it and that purple striped purse on the side is my new purse, isn't is SO cute!). We saw where the martyrs were buried and then we went on to the second memorial site (the catholic one). Walking there was so ridiculous, it was pretty far and real hot. I have NEVER seen so many people in my life, as I walked with along that road. I felt like the entire planet was gathered on that street with us. There was all sorts of people selling fun crafts and goodies along the street as we walked by. Of course I bought some maize. Then much to my excitement some of us found a man selling pineapples for 300 shillings (they usually cost 1,000) and he even peeled and cut them for you. We all each bought one and went to town chowing down like piggies. We each ate an entire pineapple like an apple. A huge crowd of Africans crowded around us to watch us eat, they thought it was hilarious, and it really was! It was so delicious and totally worth the mouth full of cancor sores I ended up with. On our walk back home we had a bit of a scare. Two boda-bodas tried to swerve around each other and collided big time. Natalie was right in the middle of the accident but somehow wasn’t even scratched, totally miraculous! We got back in our lovely taxi and headed to Kampala. I have fallen in love with that city. It’s totally like a piece of America. There are sky scrapers and the most amazing mall called Garden City. We spent a few hours at Garden City and I had a blast. It reminded me of those fun outdoor malls in California. It was half indoor and half outdoor with all sorts of shops and an amazing food court. I got myself some real good pizza and sat at the food court, which was open in the back looking out at a gorgeous garden complete with palm trees and amazing flowers. We found a bookstore, mmm the scent of a bookstore could quite possibly my favorite smell ever. I can’t wait to go to Borders when I get home, I love bookstores oh so much! We came home and worked on project stuff the rest of the night. We were all talking about our plans and I had already gotten ready for bed, which means I had on both retainers. Everyone kept making fun of me whenever I’d talk because I had a major lisp, yep I sounded like I was in seventh grade! I got some amazing news…..my project was passed!!! This is such amazing news. This means that all the funding for my project has been approved and they really liked my idea. I’m so stoked, my persons with disabilities project is rolling right along and I love where it is going!
On Wednesday morning Ashley and I met with Faith to set dates and times for our home visits. The meeting went really well and almost all the home visits have been planned. We tried to stop by the internet café but of course they were down. I stopped by the market and grabbed some cookies for my PWD meeting on Thursday morning. When I got home I had to do laundry because I had no cloths at all. I still really suck at laundry and it took me an hour and a half to do one load. The ladies living behind us were laughing at how I wash, yep my cloths are gonna smell so good when I get home. Once I got everything all hung to dry of course it started raining, man I have the best luck ever! After laundry I ate some dinner and then Trent and I decided to go try the computers again because we needed to print some stuff for his project later that afternoon. Trent and I shared a boda-boda and rode to Hillview High School. The view was amazing, it is literally a huge high school on a big old hill that looks out on the entire village (so gorgeous!) We are setting up a club with this secondary school (high school). It is so strange to listen to their classes. They are so smart and learning such hard things like chemistry, math, etc. It’s so weird to think that even in such hard conditions, knowledge pushes on. We will go there every Wednesday at 3 and teach different life lessons (self-esteem, drug abuse, sex ed, goal setting, etc.) and form friendships with them. We can up with a name for our group: Team Ekitangala (Team Light). We are forming small groups with 2 mzungus and 4 kids. My partner was Tori and our kids were Bets, Annette, Joe and Joshua. The more and more I’m learning that I REALLY REALLY enjoy working with the youth. As passionate as I am about children, I really love to hang with these kids and have normal conversations and have them understand and talk back to me. These kids are amazing and I had so much fun, I seriously am in love with this project! I love my group and I can already tell that I will be getting very close to these kids this summer. After Hillview we headed to St. Edwards for the weekly orphan meeting. We finished the second half of Shrek. Of course I searched for Sedia (except I learned that I’ve been calling her the wrong name, yep her name is Fateema, gosh I’m a moron). Once I picked her up she wouldn’t put me down and I love her SO much, she’s my little angel that always makes me feel needed and loved! We came home and the power was out so we ate by the romantic lighting care of headlamps. The rest of the night I felt like I was at a rave party. The lights would come on for a minute and then strobe on and on and then stay off. My parents called around 9:30 and we got to talk for a bit. Thank goodness for parents, they are the best and help you think clearly. The connection was pretty bad so I went outside to hear them better. I had forgotten to put on my mosquito repellent and I got totally eaten alive! I love you guys, thanks for all the chats, they mean the world to me. We did not have power for the rest of the night.
This morning we didn't have power so I had a full and nutritious granola bar for breakfast. At nine we went to our mother's with disabled children meeting. Natalie and Ashley taught about living with a child with disabilities and how the child is a miracle. The lesson went really well and we were able to keep the children relatively calm during the meeting. I love these children so much. After the meeting we finalized home care visits and they will start on Monday. After that meeting I came home and there was still no power. I was getting a bit of a headache (lack of sleep/crappy breakfast, so I ate lunch and took a power nap). When I woke up Heidi, Natalie, Amber, Ashley and I went to a women's group to teach English. The women are very excited abiout learning English and it was a lot of fun. Now I'm just chillin' at the internet and when I leave I'm gonna go find me some maize, I'm craving it (it's so weird because you never know when or where you'll find it, some days certain people have it and others days you don't) It's all about how lucky you are so wish me the best!