It's Alive...

Wow. with all the excitement of being sick last week i forgot a wonderful little adventure that must be shared.

It all began innocently enough one fine day shortly after I fell ill. I happened to notice a blister on my foot. because it didn't hurt and I had more pressing things to worry about like whether or not I was going to throw up soon I ignored it. All continued pleasantly and on Thursday after work i began to wonder if my "blister" might be something a little more sinister. it had changed hardly at all in the last few days. it was small and hard with a little black spot in the middle.

Hoping to confirm or deny my suspicious once and for all I went and found some Karamojan workers. I then sought their counsel and experience as to whether my blister were in fact only a blister or, in fact a jigger. My worst inklings were confirmed when the Karamojans promptly left and return with a thorn. then they briskly and skillfully dug out of my foot a small worm like little creatter and its eggs. It looked remarkably like a booger covered in tiny pieces of rice.

I think this story shows along with the one of many uses for thorn trees beside falling into them is how i have come to embrace Africa and it, in its own special way, has come to embrace me.

Why African Eggs Stink

August 20^th-21^st: Thursday-Friday

Thursday morning Bob, James, Bobby, and I went over to the Okkens because they jad two trees blown over in the storm last night. One was almost completely fallen except for the trunk and one branch. The other was a eucalyptus tree and about haif of that one had fallen. Bob had two saws, one battery powered and the other electric so we used those to cut everything up and decided to finish cutting down the little tree because is was termite eaten anyway. That was really fun although a lot of work and kinda sad that we had to cut down the trees. We also fixed the fence that the little tree crushed when it fell. That afternoon we cleaned out another shipping container that we’ll move over by the workshop so there’ll be four. Friday then we moved the container. Bob and Craig jacked it up and slid an axel underneath and then pulled it over with the Kubota. Then Moses and I moved all the metal tubing, corner iron, and miselaneous metal from the top of the old shipping container into the inside of the newly moved container. A lot of work but worth it now that everything is organized and looks good. Friday I watched Bob take apart a generator which was cool because he let me ask questions and learn from him.

Thursday James, the Tricaricos and I went over to the Okkens’ for dinner. Sunshine made stroganoff which was amazing. Served on mashed potatoes. I ate quite a bit although still not up to my usual amount. After dinner I sat on the couch and played with the kids. Very fun. These little guys are hilarious. Megan who is three or four I think has a speech problem. She tends to leave out her consonants so she’ll only say the vowels in words. “how are you” becomes something like “ow a oo?”. It reminds of that scene in Finding Nemo when the little baby turtle is explaing to Nemo’s Dad how to exit from the WAC and Marlin says to the blue fish “It’s like he’s trying to talk to me” then to the turtle “Your so cute but I can’t understand you!”. That’s the way I feel around Megan.

Friday after work Jim and I dinner. Jim had made coffee cake the day before and we fried up some carrots and onions along with eggs. Jim managed to make me an egg over easy with a runny yoke which has proven to be pretty much impossible here. I don’t know what the deal is with the eggs here but they all have weak yokes. Its nearly impossible though to cook an egg with a runny yokes because the eggs yokes either commit a kind of egg suicide and break themselves or they just cook through for no apparent reason. I miss American eggs.

I'm Still Sick With No Malaria

August 17^th-19^th: Monday-Wednesday

Work these last few days has been a little rough. I’m still not feeling 100%. I’m rather weak and haven’t gotten my appetite back fully. However I’m not sick enough to sit around so I go to work everyday which has been good and I enjoy it. I had a slight fever after work on Monday but mainly I have been feeling much better. Slight headaches and sore throats in the morning but they generally dissipate before noon.

Kris was very sick so Craig and she didn’t take Mark, Kim, and Johan down to Entebbe. Pastor Dave took them down on Monday but Craig and Kris left Tuesday because Kris needed to do some things in Kampala and was greatly improved. So I mainly worked with Bob the last three days. Switched out the starter in his truck. Unloaded his container from America and then moved it up on the slab by the workshop, painted it white, and reloaded it. Also I have been doing math with Bobby and Anna this week. Wednesday Jim was worried that I wasn’t improving fast enough and had me come down to the clinic and get my blood drawn and checked for malaria again. No malaria. Yeah.

Wednesday hosted the second or third fiercest storm since I’ve been here. It rained incredibly hard for about an hour. Amazing flash lightening. It was just like someone was flipping on and off a light switch in the sky. That night Jim, James, and I watched Enemy at the Gates which is about a Russian sniper during the Second World War It’s a really cool movie.

I'm Still Sick With No Malaria

August 17^th-19^th: Monday-Wednesday

Work these last few days has been a little rough. I’m still not feeling 100%. I’m rather weak and haven’t gotten my appetite back fully. However I’m not sick enough to sit around so I go to work everyday which has been good and I enjoy it. I had a slight fever after work on Monday but mainly I have been feeling much better. Slight headaches and sore throats in the morning but they generally dissipate before noon.

Kris was very sick so Craig and she didn’t take Mark, Kim, and Johan down to Entebbe. Pastor Dave took them down on Monday but Craig and Kris left Tuesday because Kris needed to do some things in Kampala and was greatly improved. So I mainly worked with Bob the last three days. Switched out the starter in his truck. Unloaded his container from America and then moved it up on the slab by the workshop, painted it white, and reloaded it. Also I have been doing math with Bobby and Anna this week. Wednesday Jim was worried that I wasn’t improving fast enough and had me come down to the clinic and get my blood drawn and checked for malaria again. No malaria. Yeah.

Wednesday hosted the second or third fiercest storm since I’ve been here. It rained incredibly hard for about an hour. Amazing flash lightening. It was just like someone was flipping on and off a light switch in the sky. That night Jim, James, and I watched Enemy at the Gates which is about a Russian sniper during the Second World War It’s a really cool movie.

In Which I Am Still Sick And More People Get To Enjoy Being Sick

August 15^th-16^th: Saturday and Sunday

Saturday we went to Namurapus to do vaccinations and preventative medicine again. Mark, Maria, and Johan came as well as JB, Mark, and Moses the new lab tech. Although we didn’t see as many people as before we saw quite a few. 80 total; 60 kids and 20 women. There was a group of elders there from villages farther up in the mountains who wanted Jim to come to their villages again on Monday. They said I think, “come shoot our villages”. Jim had to say he couldn’t but they could come down here next time and bring their people.

Maria also came and she and I were in charge of weighing the babies and performed the MUAC test. We almost dropped a little kid out of the weighing harness. It’s just like a little bag with leg holes and you have to be sure to put one of their arms behind one of the straps so their balanced. We forgot and this poor kid almost fell out. Luckily Maria and his Dad caught him hanging upside down, naked. All the kids have to be naked so we get an accurate reading. They tend to pee on people. Whether this is out of fear or spite I don’t know.

After we finished we hiked down to Namalu and ate lunch there. About a half hour from Namalu it started to rain a little bit. Then a little bit more. This pattern continued until it was indiscernible and I was soaked through and miserable. For lunch we ate beans, rice, goat meat, and pocho. Pocho is strange but imagine a lump of cuscus and that is pocho. It all was very good helped by the long hike. We caught a ride home with Pastor Dave and Caleb who were in town doing business and stuff. Caleb kept everybody entertained on the way back.

After we got back I showered quickly and then helped Maria make Nan for community dinner that night. James was just bouncing off the walls. Completely loony. I had to go to bed at 8:00 I was so tired. Still don’t have my full appetite back yet. Felt a little nasty as I went to bed and just completely wiped.

Sunday morning Pastor Al and Kris were very sick. Pastor Al more so. He has a really high fever. All afternoon I hung out with the Tricarico and the Wright kids. At prayers that afternoon Caleb sat with me which was fun. He’s a hilarious kid. I’ll really miss him and his family. When I get back from Tanzania they will be on furlough.

That evening I made shortbread cookies with frosting. The frosted was teal colored according to the instructions on the back of the Betty Crocker’s food coloring. That evening all the kids and Johan and I watched the Wright’s home videos and then I Robot. The Wright’s videos are absolutely hilarious and very funny. They were all really funny kids. Bobby is my favorite. He had the best lines. During one part he had a folding chair wrapped around him and he was talking to his mom telling her it was his armor and then later you can see him running against the wall in the background.

In Which I Am Sick

August 10^th-14^th Monday-Friday

I’m sick. It sucks being sick without my mom. Its interesting that sickness, at least for me, follows a pattern. The first day I wake up and am feeling sick is generally bummer but also I’m kinda happy because then I can just go back to bed and I don’t have to face the world until tomorrow at the soonest. After that there’s the time where you are still tired but you can sleep for only so many hours during a day you watch movies and pass the time reading. Then comes the part were being sick is a prison sentence and you just want to get out and go back to your life. Finally there is the part were you are back at your life and you still feel kinda lousy and your always tired and grumpy. Bletch

Monday was the first stage. I woke up feeling pretty bad and went down with Jim to get tested for Malaria. Negative test. So I went back and slept for three hours. Then I decided to skip to step four and get back to my life and work that afternoon which left me completely exhausted. Dead on my feet. Tuesday a return to step one and then a progression to step two when I went to Jim’s room and watched We Were Soldiers. Slept that afternoon which is kinda a half step backward. But that afternoon I had trace feelings of step three; the desire to return to normal life. Wednesday mainly step two but also with overplaying feelings of step three combined with exhaustion generally associated with step one. Thursday and Friday marked return to life and work and the completion of the steps by finally and firmly arriving at step four; sub par is the overwhelming feeling here.

Some brief highlights of my wonder week of being sick

-Monday morning: Jim is trying to examine me and neither of us can stop laughing long enough for him to check my heart beat.

-Monday night: Guys night! Beer, chips, and chocolate. Had a new beer, Tusker, really good.

-Tuesday afternoonish: watched We Were Soldiers which I had never seen and thought it was pretty good.

-Tuesday night: Ate at the Tricarico’s and ate some delicious pasta, with sausage, and garlic bread.

-Wednesday morning: I went and got tested for malaria again. Yippee for me, negative again. I wish it was just malaria then I could get on the pills and be over it in two days.

-Wednesday morning:(later) Kris gives me an unidentified packet of Arab Cup o’Soup. Consists mainly of curry flavored broth and little crunchy things and weird noodles.

-Wednesday day: I sweat and stink, unpleasant being me. Losing hope.

-Wednesday afternoon: got on face book and made contact with the outside world. Faith restored. Life worth continuing.

-Thursday Day:(sunlit hours)worked. Felt sup par. Tired. Stupor. Exhausted. Joyless. Meandering. Long. Bletch.

-Thursday Night:(part without sun)Kris made an amazing dinner and dessert. Pineapple and blueberry thing. I think I need to become nocturnal because the nights are much better than the days.

-Friday morning: theory of sunlit hours are bad continues.

-Friday afternoon: have to rethink theory. Took a lovely nap. Then I made really yummy crackers, frosting, and shortbread dough.

-Friday evening: Johan provided dinner for all the clinic workers because he leaves on Monday. Lots of fun and good food.

Friday night: night is still better. Baked shortbread cookies. Frosted them. Super yummy.

Well I hoped you enjoyed this post and now feel sufficiently sorry for me. To make it up you can mail me care packages. Thanks

Another Sunday

August 9^th Sunday

Uncovered sorghum this morning when I woke up. Then I ate some toast for breakfast and that didn’t settle very well but I just shrugged it off as nothing. Little did I know. Church was really good I sat with Jim and I bunch of the clinic workers who have been coming regularly which is really cool to see.

At lunch we invited over a couple of guys. David, who is at university and is from Namalu. This was his last week because he’s going back to school this week. Also had a guy named Hilary over. He said his name and I had to work very hard at keeping a strait face. There are a lot of Karamojan here with guys/girls names innappropriatley given. This Hilary guy is an absolute riot. He described Bob Wright as “The man with his great stone house. He comes with his chest and his legs.” He really loves to ride his pickeys (motorcycles) and he was talking though about how in America the cowboys ride the motorcycles like this, and at this point he leans way back in his chair and puts his hands over his head on invisible handlebars. He thought that was pretty silly. He likes to be crouched down looking where he is going. He described the cowboys clothing as “leather jackets with the things hanging down on the sleeves and the boots with pointy shoes and the cloth on the head. Oh man.

I didn’t eat much at lunch and I was really tired so I went and napped a little that afternoon. After prayers Jim and I went on a walk and had a really good talk but I was really feeling lousy at that point. Ugh. Hung out at the Wrights and and then finished the Dark Night and then got on the computer tell late.

In Which I Eat Snickerdoodles and Watch A Scary Movie

August 6^th-8^th: Thursday-Saturday

Thursday and Friday I cut sorghum all day. Thursday we ate all the potato chips at lunch so now James and I need to make more for Friday night which is going to be our guy night/sleep over deal. Oh well, I guess I could make more. We got another two kilos and cooked them up after work on Friday. I am going to get horrible clogged arteries and put on weight now. I guess once an American always an American. Thursday night we ate at the Okkens which was delicious as usual. Then after dinner we watched Blue Planet which was pretty cool even though I kept dozing off during it.

Friday after work and James and I fried up the potato chips all the Tricaricos, Kim, Mark, and I went over to the Wrights for dinner. We had tacos which were absolutely amazing. Then after dinner we watched Cloverfield which is one of my favorite movies of all time. Partly it’s the really cool plot. Partly the unique way of telling the story and partly the characters. Also the story within a much larger story and lastly the tragedy of the ending. I love tragedys. That’s the problem with so many movies now is that the directors or story writers are afraid to not have a happy ending. After we watched Cloverfield James, Bobby, and I went back to the main house and had potato chips and stonies and watched The Dark Night. We didn’t finish though because both Bobby and James feel asleep. So we turned it off and will finish some other night.

Worked a half day Saturday. Cut sorghum in the morning and then in the afternoon I made bread. Brought my computer into the kitchen and listened to Weezer and The Bravery and baked. I also made a loaf of banana bread for my contribution to the Saturday night dinner. Got the Recipe from Kris who got it from the cookbook our church made. Really good recipe although I had a slight problem. The propane ran out about half way through cooking it so it was half cooked and then it cooled and I put it back in and it turned out ok. However when I finally pulled it out of the oven and then flipped it over the entire middle just fell out. So it tasted fine but it looked like someone had taken a bite out of the middle of it.

That night Bob Wright got back with John Bacon and we had a community meal. It was very good. Chicken, sausage, pasta salad, baked potatoes, and Kris put apples and brown sugar in a pumpkin shell and then baked it. Oh, and my banana bread too. So dinner was amazing but dessert was to die for. Blondies and snickerdoodles. That’s right snickerdoodles. Yeah. After dinner I went to the Wrights and watched the village which was a little disappointing although I’m glad I finally got to see it because I had seen the first ten minutes about three years ago.

Harvest Time and Too Many Calories

August 3^rd-5^th: Monday-Wednesday

Monday we started harvesting sorghum. After Craig and I laid out the hibiscus Thomas and I went and put are in the tractor tire and checked the oil and water and made sure it was ready to go. Then around 8:30 we drove out to the sorghum fields. There were between 50 and 70 people waiting outside the front gates hoping to get hired. Well then Craig hopped down and was immediantly mobbed by all these people trying to get a job. Craig hired about 20 people plus all the mazungus and we started harvesting.

Harvesting sorghum is really easy. Sorghum is a member of the same family as wheat and it looks pretty similar. The head is covered in little round seeds that start of green and turn a red, burgundy when they ripen. In order to harvest it you have to go through and cut off the head. Generally there are some ladies who follow everyone cutting and carry the bags and collect the heads. Then they transfer the sorghum to the tractor which follows us through the fields. It’s a blast from the past. Its actually way more enjoyable than my last job in America so no complaints.

Monday and Tuesday after work we played football, blacks vs whites. There is still division in this country Mark told me. Albert, JB, Mark, Lokwii, and Moses played against Peter, Mark, Mark, Johan, and I. it was really fun and passionate. We tied both days and only quit because we mazungus needed to go to dinner. Actually we white guys did ok. All these Africans are better players one on one but I think the lack the team unity and organization needed. To many chiefs and not enough Indians sort of deal.

The group of visitors left Wednesday morning. James and I came in from cutting sorghum to say goodbye. Jim and Johan are taking them down to the airport so I am going to be all alone here. Mark moved out. He is going to go stay I the now unoccupied banda so he can sleep on a bottom bunk. That afternoon Craig and I went down to the clinic to finish the bandas. We put the last coat of paint on and finished everything. Craig says that these new staff bandas have been a two year project and now they’re done. I think that’s pretty cool even though I was only here for the last two months. I feel very accomplished. That evening James and I bought a kilo of potatoes from Kris and decided to make potato chips. We cleaned them and then cut them as thin as we could. Then we put some oil in a pan and started frying them up. It took us all evening. We didn’t finish tell 10:30 but it was totally worth it. They actually turned out pretty good. Not really very crunchy and potato chip like but more like really thin oily French fries but they taste oh so good.

Eazy Peezy Lemon Squeezey and Return of the Wasps

August 1^st-2^nd: Saturday and Sunday

Saturday morning everyone woke at 5:00 and we packed for Sipi. We left very early, around 6:00. We got to Sipi around 9:00. That morning we hiked. Incredibly beautiful. Although it was raining right before we got to the swimming hole as soon as we got there the sun popped out just for a moment. We went ahead and jumped in. it was soon cold it took my breath away. I’ve been swimming in the mountain lakes of the Rocky Mountains but this seemed so cold. We got back from the hike and had lunch at 3:00. Then a group headed out to go repelling and Jim, Johan, and I went to go rock climbing.

These two guys were our guides for rock climbing. They were really funny. They told us to watch out for our “mangos” when we put on the harnesses. The first four routes we did were called Eazy Peezy Lemon Sqeezey, Muscles, and the next two were called Return of the Wasps. I guess the first one was just really easy and the next one you had to grab on to this rock sticking out and pull yourself using only your shoulder muscles. The next to were called Return of the Wasps because there were these wasps that would nest in the handholds and even if you killed them they would return by the next day. So we had to battle the wasps. I’m not a very good rock climber but this stuff seemed really hard. When we’d get stuck these guys would say “do you want to cheat? I think you want to cheat, you want to cheat.” Then they’d give a heave and boost us up a little.

That night we ate at Sipi River Lodge. Tomato soup and chapattis to start with. Then grilled fish, veggies, and chips (French fries). Really, really good. Then for dessert we had mangos and whipped cream. So good.

Sunday morning we woke at six and had breakfast and packed all our stuff. Jim and I climbed to the top of the hill that the crow’s nest sits on and watched the sun not rise. We went up to watch the sunrise but I guess we sould have had to wait longer than we were able. Oh well, it was a good not sunrise. I slept all the way back to Karamoja. That afternoon I listened to music and worked on my blog. Later Jim and I went on a walk. I love Sundays.

In Which I Return TO THe Mountains On Some Unfinished Business And Hike Longer Than Expected

July 30^th-July 31^st: Thursday-Saturday

Thursday we went back to finish the immunization because last Saturday we ran out of cards for the children. We left early a little after 7:00. Jim, Johan, Peter, Mark, Rebecca, Logiel Mark, J.B. and myself. Poor Jim; his voice is almost completely gone. It’s kinda funny but also hard for him. We got to Namorapus around 10:00 and had to wait around for about an hour until everyone started showing up. We didn’t have as many kids and women but we didn’t run out of anything which is good. After we finished around 1:30 and decided to hike to Namalu and then back to the compound. Basically the compound. Namorapus and Namalu form a triangle and in theory the longer side is between Namorapus and the compound. We ate lunch and hiked to Namalu and then followed the road for a bit and cut across the hills and arrived aback around 6:00. My fee hurt.

That evening we ate at the Wrights and celebrated Anna’s 14^th birthday. Great cake. Anna made dinner and the cake. Headed back to our compound and made buns for tomorrow night. I want to have hamburgers and we have nearly 5 pounds of ground beef so I think we can do it. Was up late making bread and talking to Jim.

Friday Craig and Kris left around 10:00 for Mbale on a propane run. Peter and Mark went to the clinic and put the finishing coats of paint on the bandas there. I stayed around here and helped Bob Wright fix the Land Rover and the Okkens' car. Now we can go to Sipi this weekend since all the cars are working. Then John Bacon the Wrights teacher and James and I re-dug the trench that the power cord was in for the pump. After lunch we put conduit on the wires, taped it up, and reburied it. Then James and I got out the ground pounder and pounded down all the ground we had dug up. We also ran it over the entire bache ball court. Then Pete and I moved some cement squares into the courtyard of the Wrights house as stepping stones and Bobby and I did some math.

That evening we made hamburgers. We borrowed some avocados from the Eldeens and Jim made guacamole. Then we sliced onions and tomatoes to go on top. We fixed the meat. Jim used a recipe where you add eggs and flour to help keep it together. It tasted delicious. Finally ate around 8:30 but it was worth the wait.

Praying and Shopping

July 27^th- July 29^th: Monday-Wednesday

Jim gave me a book called the Valley of Vision. It consists of a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions (straight of the front cover). It is really good. It is very hard to pray a good prayer. Especially because most of the time I pray it’s to ask for things. I have been using ACTS lately. Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication (I think that’s the right word, anyway that’s where you ask for stuff) and trying to focus on thanksgiving. This book though has really been helping me become better at praying which I really struggle with.

Monday night I played football with Logiel Mark, Peter, Mark, J.B., and Johan and then went for a quick run with Jim. When we got back there were about 30 school boys in our compound playing football with the guys. These kids are so good. They all are really impressive ball handlers more so by the fact that most of them aren’t over four feet tall. That night we also had a “guy’s night”. Every Monday the girls have a bible study and so they went over to the Wrights so we invited Bobby over and ate chili and didn’t talk about our feelings and watched Blackhawk Down.

Wednesday morning Kris offered to take all the guys to market day in Namalu because neither Peter nor Mark have gotten to go yet because they were working last week when all the girls went. Both the missions white Land Rover and the Okkens car are out of commission so we gave Martha Wright and Jennifer and Marisa a ride to the school where they are doing a bible camp thing. Going to market with just the guys and Kris was really fun. We bought mandazi which are the fried dough things and scoured the entire market for “man” beads for Mark. We finally found them. I bought another blanket, blue and white plaid and some tire sandals. Johan is going to have Christine at the clinic teach him how to make African food so he bought two kilos of meat, flour, spices, and a lot of oil. He also bought some Sunny Gin which is cane sugar alcohol and lethal. 40% alcohol. It comes in little 120 milliliter plastic bags. One is enough to get you trashed. Johan bought two.

This past few days at work have kinda been filler days. We’re waiting for the sorgum to ripen so we can harvest it. Craig thinks by next week but Thomas thinks longer. We can’t let it go too long though because the Karamojan will steal it. Monday put plywood over the cracks in the walls at the bathrooms at the clinic because the women were complaining that men were looking in. Craig said just to give the woman a sharp stick. Then we dug up and moved the cloths line. The posts took a while to dig up and re-cement but now the lines are in the sun instead of the shade like they used to be. Have continued to pick and cut hibiscus. All joy is gone from hibiscus. No fun. Also we put the screens and glass in the bands down at the clinic. Now all they need are some more paint and electricity.

A Trip To The Mountains And A Taste Of Home

July 25^th-July 26^th: Saturday and Sunday

Saturday Jim took a group to a district in the foothills of Mt. Kadam to do government sponsored immunization. The government will provide all the medicine and supplies for people to go immunize. Te group consisted of Jim, Johan, Peter, Hannah, Jennifer, Marisa, Emily, James, Logiel Mark, William, and J.B. (John Basco). We left a little before 9:00 after we went to the clinic and loaded up the supplies and tested Mark (the white one), Rebecca, and Hannah for malaria. Took it really easy on the hike up there and arrived around 11:00. we set up and got organized. We were treating kids and women of child bearing age. The kids all came through and got a card with their immunizations on it and the ladies had to also get a little card. At first I was worried that I would be useless but Jim had me do MUAC, which stands for Mid Upper Arm Circumference. This is to test for malnutrition. It works on kids between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years. Apparently when they are malnourished they loose muscle mass on their upper arms first.

We treated around 150 kids and almost 80 women in about two hours. Only about 4 kids were malnourished which was good. After we finished with the kids we gave tetanus shots to the women. I helped Logiel Mark by reading of their names and giving them their cards after their shots because they need 5 shots total over their life times. Some of these girls were really young 15, 16, 17. a couple girls were already pregnant. It was really weird.

That evening we had a community meal and afterward Craig broke out the cigars. Cubans again and this time I got to smoke the whole thing fresh and it tasted delicious. Johan also had a cigar and he was really funny. He kept trying to blow the smoke out his nose. He also couldn’t keep it lit. at one point he asked if you could smoke through your nose and blow out your mouth. He gave it a shot but unfortunately it didn’t work. Also a package arrived from my mother containing a bag of skittles which I am most thankful for. Mmmh! Tastes like liberty. Thanks again mom.

What A Lovely Evening

July 24^th: Friday

Today I started helping bobby with math. This has been one of the reasons I came here was to help tutor the Wright kids in math although I haven’t up tell now. Bobby and I were only supposed to work for an hour but being the great math lovers that we are we went above and beyond the call of duty and did two hours. Woohoo! After that we went down to the clinic and started putting a base coat of paint on the banda. The paint here doesn’t have to follow and safety regulations so I think its lead paint. Oh well, long as we don’t eat it we should be fine. That afternoon we picked and cut hibiscus again. Whatever excitement and thrill hibiscus may have once given is gone. In fact it is fast becoming my least favorite chore. After that we had some extra time so Craig gave me a brief lesson on welding. He taught me stick welding. The principle it to draw together the two metals but it’s really hard. Craig says when we start construction on Jim’s house perhaps I can do some more welding which would be really cool.

Because we got done with work so soon I had time to make bread dough for the immunization tomorrow. The government is paying for the medicine and Jim and a couple nurses and a translator are going up to a place in the mountains called Namorapus. After making the bread dough the Tricaricos and some of the visitors started a game of ultimate frisbee that I joined in on. Then I went for a run with Jim. Really good run.

That night Jim invited Mark, Albert, and William over for dinner. Mark and Albert are both nurses and William is the lab tech. William is really funny. He’s really short, maybe 5’5” and he has a really high pitched voice and laugh. His laugh is probably one of my favorite laughs of all time. Before dinner these guys, Johan, Jennifer and I played a game Mark invented called “abortion”. The point of the game is to kick the football between each others legs, causing an abortion. A very silly game. We had pizza for dinner. I loved having these guys over. Their really cool guys and they all have really funny laughs so they would all start laughing and I would crack up. They talked about how some Ugandans think the Karamojan are descended from mountain gorillas and have tails. Then we started talking about how fetuses have tail and so Jim got out one of his medical books and we all looked in it. Then William who is very political lectured about the evils of Barack Obama and how he would have voted for McCain. It was really weird to hear an African talk about how he didn’t like Obama. Stayed up and talked with Jim. Finally went to bed late.