A Memorial

September 25^th, 2007

Today was a rather difficult day emotionally. We went to a Rwandan genocide memorial here in town. Not many people know about the genocide or even realize that it was genocide. They like to call it a civil war. In reality, the Hutus were wiping out the Tutsis. The two ethnicities lived side by side peacefully, even intermarrying, before they were colonized.

This is how it started out. The Germans first entered Rwanda, but years later the Belgians colonized it. The Belgians gave the people ID cards that categorized the people as Hutu or Tutsi. Unfortunately, they made race more of a class thing than an ethnic thing. Those who had less than 10 cows were classified as Hutus and those with 10 or more were classified as Tutsis. The Belgians gave the Tutsis more privileges than the Hutus and they were also the minority. As a result, the majority became jealous and bitter against the privileged minority.

Over many instances and many years, the Hutus would gang up on the Tutsis and kill some of them off. Rwanda finally gained its independence around 1962 (I believe, though I’m not sure if I remember correctly), but the wounds were too deep. In 1994 was when the true, all-out genocide happened. It wasn’t a spur of the moment genocide. It was planned by national leaders and carried out with much strategy. There were years of indoctrination of hatred toward Tutsis that made is possible. They wanted to rid Rwanda of the Tutsis. So they reduced them to less than human and made a list of ‘ten commandments’ which prohibited Hutus from carrying out business with Tutsis or marrying them or anything of that sort. Propaganda was used against the Tutsis. They chopped Tutsis up, threw them into latrines and graves while they were still alive, shot them, raped them, burned them, and bombed them. No one was spared; women, children, men, and even the elderly, who were so highly respected, were killed. Even the Catholic Church had a huge part in the genocide. Some reverends and pastors gave up their congregations to the killers. When I heard that, I could not understand how they justified that. Where in the Bible did they come up with justifications for those actions?

My favorite part of the memorial was the stories of mercy within all the hatred and killing. There were those who risked their lives to save others. They hid people and fed people. I wondered if I would have been merciful enough, brave enough to do the same for my fellow people, whether they were the ‘other’ ethnicity or not. I hoped that I would be that good. But then I realized that no one is good. We are all capable of doing horrible things. Then I also realized that we have to forgive those who took part in the killings of the thousands of people that died in the genocide. There should be justice, yes, but there should also be forgiveness. A really cool quote from the genocide memorial said, “There is no forgiveness without justice, there is not justice without humanity, and there is no humanity without forgiveness.” I’m not sure if I am remembering this quote correctly and I can’t remember who said it, but it’s something like that. But this also applies to us in the USA. When people terrorize our nation, we should be praying for them and for their families, that they will have a change of heart.

After we read all of the information about the genocide, there was a memorial to the children of Rwanda who died in the genocide. It was heartbreaking because there were pictures of the children and they wrote the children’s’ ages, what kind of food they liked, what their character was like, what they wanted to be when they grew up, their last words, and how they died. The first one was of a little girl of about 8 months who was hacked with a machete while she was lying in her mother’s arms.

Then there was a section that talked about the major genocides that have happened in the world, such as the Jews, the Armenians, the Cambodians, the Namibians, and many more. It reminded me of how fallen our world is and how none of us can have all the blame put on us. While we would like to blame the Germans and Hitler for so many problems and for genocide, he is not the only person and Germany is not the only nation that has been involved in genocide. Even the USA has been involved in genocide. We killed most of the Native Americans and totally displaced them. We had decided that it was our ‘manifest destiny’ that God would want us to have this land that was not even ours. I was surprised that that genocide was not mentioned in the memorial. But when I thought about it, I don’t think that most Americans admit that it was genocide.

After all of that, we were free to wander the grounds and look at the burial sites. There were platforms of cement covering the graves, so we could not see any bodies. One of the graves had a portion of it uncovered, but there were coffins inside. As I walked the beautiful grounds, I wondered if there was even a rock or a tree that remained from the time of the genocide that could tell the story of that horrific time. There was not a dry eye in that place when we were through.

I can tell you that this course in peace building is going to have a huge impact on my life and how I view the world. I will definitely become more aware of events that are happening in the world. One of the things that we mentioned to the professor beforehand was that we had never really heard much about the Rwandan genocide before. And our professor said, “Well, you have to separate society’s responsibility for informing you and your own responsibility to seek out information about the world.” He said something to that degree. They are not his exact words. But I realized how wrapped up I become in my own American life and my own little American world that I forget about what is happening in this big world. I don’t take the time to read the news or watch the news in order to keep up on the events of the world.

Now I am at home and I look out on our beautiful view of the city and imagine what it might have been like. I imagine gunshots firing all around, people yelling and screaming, bombs going off, and people being betrayed by their good friends right and left. But this concept is so foreign to me. I have never been in such a situation, so I cannot fathom it. I cannot imagine my own friends turning me in to my enemies or killing me.

We will be visiting many more sites about the genocide and we will be doing a presentation on the causes and effects of the genocide. My group is doing ours on the impact of the church. I am especially interested in this aspect. We would like to go to a prison and interview people about their part in the genocide, but we’ll see if that’s possible. The other aspects that groups are doing are the international community and the government. I look forward to seeing those presentations and learning more.

Tonight I will be telling my life story to the girls, so that oughta be real interesting. Right. Anyway, I’m sorry if I depressed you. Kinda. Thanks again for reading. It’s fun writing, knowing that people are reading.

Greasy, Grimy, Gross

September 18^th to September 24^th

I sat staring at my dirty feet while clutching my stomach hoping that I wouldn’t puke or have diarrhea again. Then I looked in the mirror and saw my greasy hair and I knew that at this moment, that I was the dirtiest and felt the grossest that I had ever felt in my life.

You see, on Tuesday the 18^th, we found out that the city was going to work on our water system and so we did not have any water for bathing or flushing the toilets upstairs. At first we thought that we had a tank with a water reserve of 5,000 gallons in it, but when Bruce and Kenny checked the tank, it was near to empty. So from Tuesday to Friday last week we didn’t have water. My greasiness was not only a contribution of not having showered since Monday, but also, having played volleyball with Caitlin on Tuesday and played soccer with the girls and Kenny on Wednesday. I could feel the grime of sweat and dirt caked on my face.

But it was worth it. The game of soccer was very competitive with all of us girls disputing nearly every goal. By the end of the game, we weren’t sure who had won because we didn’t know which goals to actually count. I am proud to say that I scored two goals. =) although one of them the other team didn’t want to count because the goalie had left for some reason. But of course, I still count it.

On Thursday of last week I packed my stuff for our Rwanda trip. We would be leaving the next morning. Then we headed off to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant. When we got there it was pretty cool because we were inside of these huts and given candles for light at the tables. But then they brought in the huge billowy smoke of incense. It was suffocating and so we had to ask the server to put it outside of the hut. There is definitely a difference between a small stick of incense tickling your nose and a whole bowl of incense pouring into every crevice of your body. Then they brought in the food and one of the servers held out a bowl and a pitcher for us to wash our hands with. We ate buffet style and used our hands to eat. The food had many spices and was very, very, very oily. I thought the food was okay, but at the time I was thinking that it would be a bit difficult for me to eat every day that I am in Ethiopia for practicum. The bread looked something like a tortilla, but spongy and strange textured. It was really sour so I did not like it at all. The food was mostly different sauces with meats and then there were some vegetables as well. Even the vegetables were oily. After dinner we walked back to the guest house and ten minutes later I started to feel ill. My stomach was very upset at me. At first I thought it was just reacting to the oil, but then I quickly realized it was much more serious than that. So I spent the next 4 hours in the bathroom either puking and having diarrhea or shaking and hoping I could keep my insides from coming out. So much fun. =P consequently, Julia and Kenny (the young couple who stays at the guesthouse with us) said that I did not have to go on the bus to Rwanda the next morning. I was very grateful.

The next morning, Friday morning, the rest of the girls left for Rwanda and I was left at the guesthouse. My parents called me very early in the morning to say happy birthday and it was so great to hear their voices. Interestingly enough, when I was talking to them, I felt the better than I did the rest of the weekend. It made me realize how much I really missed them and everyone else from home. So that day, which was also my birthday, I spent lying on the couch, hoping that I wouldn’t have to scramble to the bathroom. Whenever I sat up, I felt nauseated, so I laid down all day long except for when I was able to take a shower because amazingly, the water came on that day. It felt sooooo good to be clean again. The only things I ate that day were an orange and a little bit of salad. I was amazed I could keep those down.

Saturday I spent watching all three ‘Back to the Future’ movies and marveling and the acting skills and the use of ‘butthead’ as an insult. That evening I was able to have my only real meal of the weekend with the Nisleys. It was a delicious meal of pasta, bread, shish kabobs, and cookies. Mhmmm. On Sunday I was still feeling a bit sick, so I laid around some more and then went with the Nisleys to an American club. We played volleyball (it was pretty much a miracle that I had the energy to do that). Everyone swam while I sat on the deck. I bought a Snickers bar which cost me about a $1.50, but it was worth it. It tasted so good. Later that evening I was taken by Bruce to the airport so I could go to Rwanda. As I was checking in my bags, the electricity went out and I my faith in air transportation waned for a bit. But a minute later the generator kicked in and I sighed in relief. I would have laughed if I couldn’t have gotten to Rwanda because of the electricity. I would have probably decided God didn’t want me to go to Rwanda. =)

On the flight the man I sat next to was really nice and really helpful. He was born and raised in Uganda, but now lives in Rwanda. He helped me around the airport when we arrived in Kigali, Rwanda. When I got up to the desk for the visas I thought it would take a long time to get a visa, but luckily, all I had to say was that I was here with food for the hungry and the lady stamped my card and I went through. So easy. After I got my bags, I got a huge surprise. A girl whom I knew through bible quizzing was there to pick me up! Her name is Jennifer Clark and she is from Washington, but graduated from Greenville College in Illinois. Our professor in Rwanda used to be a professor at that college. His name is Dwight Jackson. He’s pretty cool. It’s not every day you go to Rwanda and randomly see someone you know! But once I realized all the connections, it made sense.

As we drove to the guesthouse, I realized that Kigali was much cleaner and nicer than Kampala. The streets were way less crowded with traffic and there was way less garbage strung about the streets. I decided I liked Kigali, Rwanda. We arrived at the guesthouse in Kigali 15 minutes later. The guesthouse has many bedrooms so that there are only 2 to 3 people in a room. There is a beautiful view from the back which overlooks the city.

That night I went to bed happy that I would see all my girls again and content that I no longer had stomach problems. The next morning (Monday) I laid around, read a book, talked to Melissa (the other girl who picked me up and who helps us out around here), and took a walk with Melissa. The girls finally arrived around 4 pm and I was greeted with smiles and hugs. It was good to see them again. It was nice to know I was missed. They told me a bunch of stories about all the animals they saw on the safari. It sounded pretty cool, but I knew it was wise that I didn’t spend 4 days on a bus with how I felt. That evening I had my second meal since Thursday, which was very nice (I had been scrounging and snacking).

While I don’t believe it was the food that made me sick, because everyone else would have been sick too, I still never want to see Ethiopian food again. No one wants to eat food they’ve puked before. Just ask my mom and how she will never eat that wonderful chili and cream cheese dip that we all love because she had to clean it up after my sister puked it up. Anyway, enough about that. I am a little more nervous about going to Ethiopia, so I’m hoping I can get over this fear of the food and everything will be all right. Just pray for me! Thanks a lot!

Pentecostal Preaching

Saturday, September 15th, 2007 – Sunday, September 16th, 2007
This weekend was a busy one. Friday after class was spent hanging out at a café in downtown Kampala at which I had a chocolate shake which tasted like chocolate milk. It was good, but it definitely wasn’t an American shake.
Saturday morning a bunch of us were driven all over Kampala to see different sites. Grace, a 20 year old Ugandan man, showed us the houses that he has helped to build. The first one he had been working on for three years and the second one had taken 10 years to build. You see, they don’t save up money and then build the house. Instead, they wait till they have some money, then they build until they don’t have anymore money for building, then when they get more money, they build more. The houses were simple; made of brick with dirt floors. The houses that he helps build are for children; usually orphans. The children who live in those houses range from 12 to 17. They all live together, grow food together, work together, and study together. There are about two adults who help take care of them. This very young man called Grace financially supports all of this, supports his own family, and puts himself through school. This is no small feat. He needs much help. Consequently, many of us want to help him financially so he can get through school and we want to sponsor some of his kids (they’re not his children, but ones that he helps). I was very impressed with him because he has done so much and yet he is so young! One the way to those houses we had another fun experience on the muddy roads in a matatu. We got stuck once and many people stopped to help us out. Gotta love the rural roads around here.
After we saw those places, we went to Grace’s family’s house and watched a video that past students had taken while they were there. Then they turned on music and started dancing. They encouraged us to dance as well. So we did. Really, all you need to do is shake your booty and they say that you’re good at dancing, so that’s what we did. Shook our booties and moved our arms. Some of those little kids were actually good at dancing though. There were so many kids! When I asked Grace’s mother where to use the restroom, she talked to me along the way about needing sponsors for her children. It’s so hard when people put you on the spot like that because you want to help, but it feels awkward when people ask you to your face. I guess it is completely different than those commercials on TV from like World Vision or something which you can just ignore. But at the same time, we are students who aren’t loaded (in fact, we are in major debt), so we can only help so many people. I would like to personally sponsor ONE child, but I am still trying to figure out who I should sponsor. Probably one of Grace’s kids.
After we visited at that house, we saw the Boys and Girls Brigade which is a musical group. They play brass instruments and drums. It was interesting. They each gave us necklaces. Then we finally saw the Mengo Boys which was the whole purpose for the day. Unfortunately, we were not able to spend much time there because we had to be back for dinner. Kate passed out gifts that were from the students that came last semester and they were very grateful. There was candy, musical instruments, soccer gear, and many other things. The Mengo boys are also a musical group, but we were unable to listen to them because many of them were at a meeting. So we left with promises of return.
On Sunday I went to Jordan House Pentecostal Church which is at the orphanage we went to. As we were nearing the church we could hear the wonderful beat of the drums and the voices of the people loud and clear. I could feel my pulse quicken and I knew I was at a true African church. It was so cool. When we entered we saw that the drums were the only instruments used. There was a song leader, but the song leader changed constantly throughout the singing. They sang for at least an hour, maybe more. Fortunately, they sang English songs as well as Lugandan songs. Then Caitlin, Camille, Anna, Kate, and I were introduced to the people. We had to sing a song. We sang ‘Every Move I Make’ with hand motions. They loved it and they thanked us for singing. There was a translator for whenever they spoke or prayed, so that was nice for us. The preacher preached with fervor and was definitely yelling and waving his hands around. At that point I really felt like I was in a Pentecostal/African church. Even the translator followed the preacher around and mimicked his every move and tone of voice. It was rather entertaining. The message was about Jesus’ ability to help and heal people. As I listened to the preaching, a baby girl was set on my lap and I tried to entertain her because usually babies cry when I hold them. Fortunately, this one seemed to like me. But it was only a few minutes before she was drooling, pulling my hair, and making loud noises. Oh, and wiggling. Finally, she spit up and a girl took her from me. She was adorable.
After the service we were invited to lunch, so we once again took part in a wonderful Ugandan meal. They said it would be a small meal, but here a small meal or a snack is not small. So of course I was stuffed afterwards. We were able to talk to the couple who started Jordan House and they were very gracious. Whenever a woman or child came in to give us water or food, he or she would kneel as they handed us the items. It is customary and respectful. I am doing my economics paper about the Jordan House, so I will return many times to interview them.
Later that evening we went to the Nisley’s for dinner and made pizza and cookies. I made the cookies and I have to admit that they were very good. Of course, I’m not the one who made the recipe, but we’ll ignore that fact. I had our field assistant come as well (Josephats) and I taught him Rummikub. After visiting at the Nisley’s Caitlin, Sarah, Josephats, and I had gelato at the Italian market. This was Josephats’ first time having it and he said it was ok. It was interesting because Josephats said that ice cream is considered more of a woman’s dessert. Also, Ugandans usually don’t eat dessert, but instead, eat fruit. Josephats invited us to come to his house and he will teach us how to make a certain type of fish I think it was some kind of perch), chapati (probably our favorite Ugandan food. It’s kind of like pita bread, only better), and matoke.
There are many questions that I have been wrestling about when it comes to poverty because of the living conditions we have seen around here. Why are some people blessed with so much while so many people have so little? At the same time, I am learning that it is ok that I live like I do because that is my culture and I was born into it. It is not evil. It is only when how we live negatively effects other people that we have to rethink how we live. Also, we need to always help others. Another question I have asked is why do we think we have to have so much? Here, so many people only have a couple pairs of clothes, some food, a small roof over their heads, a couple chairs, and that’s about it. But not everyone here lives like that. That is one misconception about Africa. Not everyone is dirt poor and living in dire conditions. But a large percentage is. But the amazing thing is that so many of them are so happy and they don’t know any different from what they have. These are only a few things that run through my head. Fortunately, I have many people I can talk to about this while I’m here and it helps a lot.
Well, that’s all for now folks. Talk to you again soon.
Leilani

Disclaimer

So you might notice that I have some brilliant pictures on my website. This is not the fruit of my own labor and is definitely not anything I could ever accomplish (well, at least not without lots of training). I give all the credit for these pictures that I have on here so far to Caitlin. She is an awesome photographer. I will eventually put up pictures that I took, but I am lazy and will not do it often. =)

Slip Slidin'

Friday, September 7th to Sunday, September 9th
Pull up a cozy chair, grab a cup of warm coffee or tea, whichever you prefer, and print this baby out, because it will be a long one. I had a very interesting and rather trying time this weekend as we stayed in the village area of Fort Portal. We spent time with the people of the Toro tribe.

Caitlin from Colorado, Sarah from Oregon, Josephats, and I all boarded the bus for the 5 hour bus ride to Fort Portal. When we arrived it was raining hard and his friend met us with a truck. There were three men who came to pick us up. One of them was Josephats’ friend and the other two were Josephats’ friend’s friends (are you confused yet?). They were named Apuuli, Atennyi, and Atoki.

The truck that we used was meant for two passengers. The men were very considerate and let all three of us girls squish together in the passenger seat of the truck while Josephats and two of the other guys held a tarp over themselves in the bed of the truck. Caitlin was sitting beside the driver with the stick shift between her legs, which was very awkward; especially because she was wearing a skirt. In the rural areas women are only allowed to wear skirts because the elderly get very upset if girls wear ‘trousers.’ Sarah sat in the middle and was quite comfortable. I, on the other hand, was squished with my bum against the door as I faced Sarah. I was twisted in an awkward position so that my back started hurting and my right side started to fall asleep. At first I thought it would be a short trip, but I quickly realized it wouldn’t be. The driver said that we would be taking the longer route because the shorter one would be slippery from mud. I naturally was a bit perturbed by this. But as we seemed to be nearing the villages, Josephats said that he lost his wallet, so we turned around and looked on the sides of the road to see if it fell out of his pocket as he sat on the edge of the truck. Unfortunately, we did not find it. They asked people they passed if they saw it. I finally had to shift my position and so I sat on the edge of the seat with my face close to the windshield, which was much more comfortable.

An hour and a half after we had gotten into the truck, we arrived at the small red dirt roads that wind through the villages. The road was sooo slippery! We were fishtailing all over the road and a few times we got stuck in ruts and the guys pulled us out. One of the times we got stuck we were pulled out by a local tractor. As we drove those super slippery roads, I clung tightly to the dashboard and prayed to God. On one hand I was terrified, but on the other, I could see that the driver was very skilled at driving the road, so I trusted him. When I relaxed, I was actually able to enjoy it and feel like I was on a joy ride while four-wheeling.

We finally arrived at the home after 7 hours of travel. Before the family came out we were briefed on how to greet them. So we had to learn how to carry on a short conversation in about five minutes. We felt a little bit overwhelmed. The tribe that we stayed at used ‘petty’ names for everyone. My nickname was Akiki and the other two girls with me were Amoti and Aboki. All of them started with ‘A’ and so it was really confusing trying to learn everyone’s petty names. Plus, there are only 11 petty names all together, so we would meet many people with the same petty names. Many of them sounded almost identical. So the family came out and we greeted the mother first who was 74 years old. Then her grandchildren came out and they all knelt onto their knees while we greeted them. They all spoke very softly, so I had to strain to hear them and understand their nicknames.

We conversed with the men who picked us up while the women cooked our supper. We did not eat until 10:30 pm. The meal we ate was difficult for us to eat. It was meat, two different types of sauces (one was egg plant and bean and the other was chicken sauce), matoke (the stuff that was like mashed potatoes, only it’s made out of bananas), chicken, beans, and aburo. Now aburo is what we like to describe as ‘a mound of poo in a basket.’ That is what it looks like. It is made of millet. It does not taste like much of anything, but its consistency was like play dough and when you bit into it, it was grainy like sand. It was communal, so we would pull of chunks of it with our hands and soak it in sauce so we could eat it easier. It is ironic that we found ourselves enjoying matoke the best of everything we ate because before, when we had eaten it at the restaurant, it was our least favorite and was difficult to swallow. We ate all of our meals there with our hands. I was not very good at it and I made a mess pretty much every time I ate. Also, my fingers are not very tough, so the hot food was rather painful on our fingers. I’m sure that they have tough fingers around here. Now, in Africa, it is insulting if a lot of food is left when you’re done, so we had to eat a lot! We probably ate as much as grown men and we were all three pretty small girls! And it wasn’t because we liked it.

During dinner we learned a few things about the meal that we ate. When guests come from outside the tribe and are given petty names, they have a ceremonial meal. The meal was ceremonial because the host made both matoke and aburo. Also when there is a guest, the household is supposed to kill a cock (which we call a rooster) for the meal. Then the guest is supposed to eat the gizzard of the cock. Thankfully, Josephats said he would represent us and he ate the gizzard for us. We were soooo grateful because when we saw him gnawing on it like it was difficult to chew, we knew we could not have eaten it. And if we would have tried, we probably would have lost our whole dinner. It was interesting because the whole meal, the women and children stayed out of sight and out of mind even though they were the ones who cooked. The only woman that would appear once in a while was Apuuli's mother who drifted in and out inconspicuously. Sometimes the lady would start talking to me in her langugage and I would just nod my head or say 'ego,' which meant ok or fine. What else was I supposed to say?

We went to bed late that night and woke up early (6:45 am) to the sound of the cock crowing over and over. We got up so that we could help with the planting. Unfortunately, it was too muddy and wet to plant because they did not have enough gum boats for everyone. So we waited around and watched Josephats wash his clothes and shoes that had gotten muddy while pulling the truck out of the ruts the night before. Finally, we had tea, which is what they do for breakfast. It is simply milk tea and bananas. The milk tea was our favorite part of any meal and was delicious.

We finally left at 10 am for our long day ahead. Fortunately, instead of being crunched into the front seat of the truck, all three of us girls were able to sit on benches in the bed of the truck and hang onto the railing on the edge. The sun was shining and warm and it was nice to be out in the air. The scenery was absolutely beautiful with tropical greenery everywhere. We got many stares as usual from people who walked or bicycled past us. First we saw many sights from atop hillsides. At one of the sites there were two dung beetles rolling a pile of dung, which thoroughly fascinated me. We ended up in one village in which the people had never seen white people before. Children appeared from every crevice of the place and gathered around, staring. When we drove away, they ran for the longest time behind the truck while we took their pictures. Apuuli explained that many of these children have never gone to school because they cannot afford the books and uniforms that are required. This is because a lot of them lose parents to HIV/AIDS. I realized how blessed I was to have free education.

Next, we wet hiking to see some waterfalls. The guide proudly showed us the stalactites and stalagmites and places where ancient rituals had taken place. We were hiking in a beautiful overgrown jungle. Its natural state had been preserved. Then we drove up the hill that had the palace. It was the palace of the youngest king in Uganda. The guard would not let us in, so that was a bummer.

Finally, we had a snack at like 4 pm because we were all starving. But African snacks are the equivalent of an American meal. We had chaps (kind of like sausage) and chips (fries). Two hours later we had a meal at Atoki’s house which was essentially the same as the night before except with different sauces and greens. There was also beef instead of chicken. Also, there was sugar cane for us to munch on after dinner. You chew on it until all of the juice comes out and all that is left is a bundle of fibers that you don’t swallow. It’s rather addicting. We visited many houses. At each of them it is custom that they give the guest something to eat or drink. We were already full from our ‘snack’ and dinner that we had a hard time with that. I felt like I would burst. I had to use the latrine after every house. =) it was humorous because at one of the houses the woman was playing the movie called, “The Gods Must Be Crazy.” If you haven’t seen it, you should. At each house that we visited, there were at least 6 to 8 children that greeted us as well. We ended up visiting maybe ten or more houses that day, which was better than the 25 that he had promised.

When we finally arrived at our host’s house, it was about 11 pm. We had to eat another meal and each of us almost puked in our mouths, not just because we weren’t enjoying the food, but because we had eaten so much during the day and our stomachs were complaining to us. It was one of the most torturous experiences I’ve ever had. I can tell you that it feels good to be ‘home’ at our guest house where we can decide when we want to stop eating without offending anyone. Anyway, during this meal I was finished eating and my plate was sitting on my lap. Atoki reaches toward the meat and spoons out a chunk and I knew it was coming my way. He dropped it into my plate and said, “We don’t like you to be idle.” So I picked it up and tried to eat it. It reminded me of the experience with goat meat because I couldn’t tear off a bite. I finally turned it over and started pealing meat off of the underside. It was chewy and rubbery. I didn’t know what it was, but I wasn’t going to ask. Unfortunately, the other girls were more curious than I was. They asked was and I was thinking, “I don’t want to know, I don’t want to know.” Finally, atoki said, “It’s cow stomach.” Before this point I was able to get the meat down without problems, although I was not enjoying it. But suddenly I could not swallow the last bite and I felt myself start to gag. The other girls looked at me with pity and Josephats looked at me as though he knew I wasn’t enjoying it. Finally, I devised a plan for ridding myself of this foreign object. I took it out of my mouth when no one was looking and wrapped it in the remaining part of the piece of meat (which wasn’t supposed to be eaten anyway). No one was the wiser. After dinner we each showed our 'strokes' which were our dance moves, to music playing on the radio. Atennyi was hilarious and kept dancing like the whole time. A couple of children came out of hiding and showed us their strokes as well. They were adorable. We gave our gifts to the host that night and went to bed exhausted.

The next morning we woke up early again so we could visit more families (all of these families are related to Apuuli). We had tea with his wealthy uncle. That was the same as before except with soft boiled eggs. We went to church which wasn’t too peculiar. There was a lot of singing and some preaching. There was offering. The music was acapella. It was all in the Toro language. We had to introduce ourselves to the congregation and Apuuli translated for us. We left early so that we could catch the bus in town in time. We had a small lunch of matoke and beans and tea before we left for town. We had to hurry because Apuuli said that we had to bring some other people with us to a clan meeting in town. We stopped for the people and we were surprised by the number we picked up! We ended up having 18 people riding in the bed of the truck with two or three people in the cab of the truck. And they were all related to Apuuli! Caitlin, Sarah, and I stood by the cab and sang songs to entertain ourselves and everyone else. We caught the bus in town and had a very long ride back to Kampala. All in all, it was a very interesting experience. We learned a lot about traditional African culture. They spoke a different dialect than the people in Buganda (which is the tribe our guest house is in). Consequently, we had to learn new greetings as well as many other new things. We enjoyed our time despite the food experiences. The people were very hospitable and gave us their very best. Caitlin, Sarah, and I all shared one room, which was completely unexpected. There was culture shock, but that is expected in practically any country.

Now I will say goodbye and talk to you later because this is sooo long. I hope I didn’t bore you to badly. =)
Leilani

Shrines and Waterfalls

Friday, September 7^th, 2007

For class on Wednesday we had a fieldtrip. We went to the shrines of the first Christian martyrs of Uganda. One of them is Catholic and the other is Anglican. The first one was the Catholics one, which had a beautiful church. There were paintings and carvings everywhere which told the story of the martyrs. The martyrs were canonized as saints. Toward the end of our visit Julie sang in the church. She sang softly, but it carried though the whole church and was beautiful because of the acoustics. Then we went to the Anglican shrine and saw the simple church that rested above the martyrs’ ashes. There was also a model (with dummies) of how the martyrs died. They were wrapped in reeds and burned. Then we saw a model of the house that the executioner would have lived in. it was a round hut made of bamboo and grass.

After we went to the shrines we saw Ssezibwa waterfalls. It was small, but pretty. We had a tour around the place and the tour guide showed us many plants that were interesting. One of them was a small plant which closed up its leaves if you touched it. Another one was called ‘kabaka njagala’ which means the king loves us. The tree grew nuts which were actually pretty good to eat. He showed us a shrine which was used by people who still practice their traditional religion. They brought coffee beans, eggs, and shells as offerings. The shells used to be the currency. They were brought by the Arabs to Uganda. The coffee beans were offered between people to make them blood brothers. The eggs were a fertility offering. There were also many small spears around the shrine.

This weekend all of us girls are breaking up into groups and going on a rural visit with our field assistants. Consequently, on Thursday after class my group went with my field assistant to town to choose gifts for the family that we will be staying with. When we got there, we decided on fabrics, but when it came to asking the men what the prices were, they were way too much. Josephats bartered with the man for about 10 minutes. We kept hearing the words ‘muzungu’ and ‘America’ which clued us girls into the fact that he was trying to rip us off because we were white. Finally, Josephats got them for the prices that we wanted. We left, but then realized that they did not write everything on the receipt. So we went back and the men weren’t there. Josephats said that he found out that those men who were trying to rip us off didn’t even work there! He said they were trying to get us to pay too much so that he could get a share of the extra money from the shop owners. Finally, when Josephats had said that we would leave without buying anything, the shop owner had intervened so that he would not interfere with their business. Argh! On one hand, it was kind of funny that the man didn’t work there, but on the other and, it was frustrating that they would exploit us like that. From now on I think I will have the guts to barter with people because I know that they will probably charge me extra just because of the color of my skin. I hate how this makes me distrust people because I so long to trust people and see the best in them. I do not want to be completely wary of people unless they prove themselves untrustworthy. But I guess this is a lesson.

Then last night, a bunch of us went to a restaurant called Caffe Roma and had pizza and gelato. It was nice to have pizza again and it was pretty good, although it could have used a little more sauce.

So this morning we are off to the villages to spend time with a family and see what life is really like in a Ugandan home. I am really excited about it and so I am sure I will have plenty to write about next time. Thanks for reading. I love you all!

Leilani

Doodly doodly doo (which means I'm bored)

Tuesday, September 4^th

Here I am bored out of my mind once again. Of course I could do more homework or I could read a book for fun or I could possibly chance the weather. It has been pouring here like mad. When it rains it POURS here! The rainy season here is quite warmer than the rainy season in Oregon and it does not rain every day like it does in Oregon either. Thunder and lightning usually accompany the rain, which I have always enjoyed. Earlier today we had two classes and during one of them we had to help Howa get the sheets off of the clothes lines and into the house. It doesn’t take long to get drenched.

So I have just been sitting here surfing the net. There’s a great tool you can add to your browser if you have Mozilla Firefox and it is called Stumbleupon. You press the Stumbleupon button and it comes up with many random things that are interesting to look at. The first one I found was of a guy who draws those 3D pictures on sidewalks. It was amazing. I had never seen anything like it before. That is how bored I am.

On Saturday we went to another market, but along the way Julia fell in a hole! As I have said before, whenever I walk around town, I keep my eyes on the ground because it is not level and people leave holes uncovered all the time. I saw Julia’s foot move toward the hole and all I could do was yell “watch out, watch out, watch out!” At the same time, Christy shrieks and Julia falls in the hole, although she catches herself on the edge so that she does not fall in to the nasty, garbage infested water waiting for her at the bottom. We were all glad that she had jeans on so that she did not get hurt and did not end up, well, exposing herself. That was quite an adventure.

Later that day a daughter of one of the men that works for Food for the Hungry came and brought her volleyball. Consequently, because you all know I adore that sport, we spent at least an hour, maybe more, peppering and goofing off. Her name is Brook and she is 12. Her family moved here for us, and when I think of how hard it must be for them, but especially her, I can’t help but be so grateful that they moved here just for this program. Brook is a very intelligent and beautiful girl who is struggling with her new life in Africa, but I am sure that in time she will adjust. After we peppered (which is when you hit the volleyball around, by the way), we watched Night at the Museum with her and her brother while eating junk food.

On Sunday, we went to our Cornerstone Assistant’s church, which was very far away from where we live. We had to take maybe 3 taxis to get there, plus we had to walk quite a ways. As a result, we were a bit late, but that did not matter, since everyone here is on Africa time. People are constantly arriving during church services. To our surprise and amazement, half-way through the service, it turned into a wedding! Our jaws dropped and we wondered ‘who does that?’ Then we reminded ourselves that “We are in Africa, Baby!” People in fancy dresses and tuxes walked in and they had their ceremony. The bridesmaids and flower girl did not stand up on the stage with them, but instead, sat in the front row. The bride and groom each had a person that stuck to them like glue throughout the whole ceremony. I can only guess that they were the best man and maid of honor. Even during their vows, those two stayed practically attached to their hips. After the vows part of the ceremony, the bride and groom carried around pieces of cake for the congregation to eat. This took forever because the bride did not know how to walk in her dress. She kept kicking it instead of picking it up. It was rather humorous, but at the same time, a little bit annoying because the service ended up being 4 hours! It was from 10 am to 2 pm! They passed out soda as well. After dinner we went out to eat and had more Ugandan food. I accidentally ordered goat again. I don’t know if I mentioned before, but goat is the toughest meat I’ve ever eaten. I try to take a bite, but I end up stretching it instead. But it bounces right back into place after I give up trying to eat it. Consequently I ate mostly had rice for lunch.

For dinner we went to Bruce’s house and had amazing tacos for dinner, with guacamole and everything! Soooo good. Then we had homemade doughnuts for dessert. That is making me crave tacos now.

Monday was our first economics class. Usually, it is supposed to be a 3.5 hour class, but our bus was late picking us up, so we were more than a half house late. But it still felt like a really long class. Our professor spent the time covering the basics of economics, which are usually taught to students in a whole term of high school. Consequently, it was a lot to hear; especially for me because I have never had economics before. But it was understandable, so I think I will do all right. After that, we had lunch at the café next door, which was a Ugandan buffet. It was not too bad because we could choose what we ate. There were a few girls who decided they wanted to find a different café and got completely soaked in the downpour. They couldn’t find the place, so they had to come back. I found it rather humorous, but I don’t know if they did. =)

After lunch we had an informal business sector tour. Visited many small businesses which did things like gate-making and machine-making. The whole tour we had men staring at us and it was quite uncomfortable. At one point a group of men was gathered around and asked our tour guide if they could each have one of us. Naturally, she said no, but I found that humorous as well. We are all getting used to being stared at because we are muzungus and there is always an interesting story to tell.