dance party!

Well uploading pictures is a little crazy here so I wont be able to do it today. It all just depends on the computer you are using. So hopefully next week. But there are a few pictures on facebook that people from my group have stuck up.

It's weird to think that I have been here for one week! It seems like i got here forever ago.So last time I wrote you I believe our water was off. On Tuesday it got turned back on. It was wonderful!  I finally was able to wash my hair. We went out to some clinics on tuesday. We went to CURE which does surgeries for spina bifida and hydroencenphalitis. They mostly do them on children. CURE is an NGO hospital run by an American but staffed by all Ugandans. They make everyone pay for the surgeries, but not a set price, just whatever they can pay. It is a really important work because there are so many children who have these conditions and so many bad stigmas attached to them.  Next we went to the Mbale Regional Hospital run by the government. Talk about squalor. They have such limited staff and supplies. IT is filthy there. They have no clean bedding and the people even line the hallway waiting to get a bed. It is so sad. HOwever the head doctor is not dumb or uneducated! He has had to be very innovative in his approaches to treatment because they are so limited. He could also tell just from the cry of a child that they had one of 3 illnesses! He is doing th ebest he can with what the government offers. There are probably 20 doctors who cover 13 districts- about 6 million people (numbers might be off). We are so blessed to have good healthcare! 

On wednesday we went to schools. BOth the schools we went to are private schools and are run by churches. I think that was the day I e-mailed last. WE also went to an Indian restaraunt for lunch. I got vegetable curry, rice and naan. It was real good. Indian food is very popular here and they have quite a few Indians living here.

On Thursday we weren't sure if we were gonna go into the city. It was the day that the opposition leader returned from Kenya and riots were possible. However, with the reassurance that we would be ok, we got a taxi. OUr friend Charles, from church, brought along his police friend to protect us if need be. However, both Musevini and the opposition like Americans, so chances of them targetting us are slim. And if there ever is a riot while we are in town, don't worry because we have a plan. We will immediately catch a Boda back to our house, or if that is not safe, then we will go to the Rix's (missionary couple). So first we went and learned about Charles's NGO that he satarted. They give small loans to people, many of them disabled, so that they can start their own business. Next he took us to an AIDS support group. It was interesting becase I've never met anyone with AIDS. They are just normal people. They were so kind to us and although most did not speak english they tried to talk to us as much as they could. Then we went to a small village. When we got there the men were in the middle of making a homemade xylophone out of banana wood! How cool is that! There were a TON of children there. SO we sang songs with them for a while until the xylophone was finished. Suddenyle it was like a HUGE party! Everyone was dancing and singing with the xylophone and other instruments they had. And when I say everyone- I mean from the old grannies to the tiny babies. they thought we danced pretty funny. But they loved it. I was amazed at these people, who have so little could dance with no cares in the world. The kids were adorable! WE were hot and sweaty and thirsty but we kept dancing. That was probably the highlight of my trip so far. AFter the dancing we sat down and talked. Come to find out, most of the children were orphans. Many of them are being raised by their grandma's because their parents are dead. They dont have money for school and most of them eat only 1 meal per day. I hope we can do something to help them! That afternoon we went to a BBQ at our neighbors. They are a bucnh of old men miners from South AFrica. they are really nice and always invite us over- becasue they never see anyone from the outside world.

i danced with this cute for like a half hour!

On Friday we went to another school in one of the poorest slums in Uganda. Most of the people there are from the North and came down here as refugees. As we walked thruogh the slums, children came from all over and attached themselves to us! Although they were totally filthy and ragged, you can't help but love them. They mostly know very lttle english beyond "Mzungu how are you?" but they are so adorable! Their parents go into town every day to work and leave them to care for their siblings. They literally live in mud and grass huts. you know how you picture them- round, mud, grass roofs? like in national geographic pictures. this is REAL. sometimes 10 people live and sleep in these tiny rooms! The sanitation is horrible too. During lunch break I went to the market and got my first street food. don't worry, i watched him cook it so it would be safe. i got rolex- which is chipati (like a tortilla) with fried eggs in the middle. SOOOO good! I'll try to learn how to make chipati so you guys can try it. That afternoon we met with an NGO in senior quarters (where we live). we walked there in the POURING rain. Adam, i'm sure its like the philippines. It is like a bucket got dumped on your head. This NGO sells baskets and other Uganda crafts that are way cool! I'll probably be buying some stuff for ya'll from them. They are a Christian group who tries to help especially small remote villages. Last night the hotel next door to us put on a movie night for us. Something about the Ugandans I have met is taht they all want us to be happy here. Every place we go they feed us or offer us soda. The hotel is very accomidating and lets us use their kitchen and bathrooms (when ours don't work). the people at the church are so nice too!

Today is our day off and I've just been doing laundry (by hand) and cleaning. I also had interviews with our CD's. They are really great in helping us make goals. They also are helping me cope with homesickness. They are awesome.Tonight we are going to eat at a hotel because it is Whitney (one of our cd's) birthday tomorrow. We are also getting a cake made by one of the investigators at church! I miss American food a lot more than I thought I would!!

PS this is just a letter I send my family each week. I dont have time to write both. But hopefully next week I'll have picutres to put up! Sorry about all the spelling mistakes.