Rain in Kampala!!...

So rain in Kampala is life changing. Haha. Well in a city that is covered in red dust, rain takes on a whole nother meaning. Haha. But I guess ill rewind a little. So today we had our first site visits. We went to visit the Kasumi tombs (where the kings of the Buganda tribe are buried), a museum and Buganda Parliament. It’s quite interesting to learn the history of the country and such. The kingdom stuff is pretty cool too. Kampala, the capital is in the Buganda kingdom and it’s funny how the kings still have a say even though the country has a prez.
But anyways, I moved into my homestay on Sunday and it has been goin well. One of my “sisters” left today for boarding school and the other two older ones will leave later this week. L but otherwise life here has been diff but cool. Oh yeah, and I had really fresh chicken for dinner yesterday. When I got home from school, they had just killed one of the chickens and preparing it. Another great thing about being here is that everything I eat is crazy fresh!! Haha. The chicken was actually a lil tough and I was a lil nervous about eating it, but it turned out fine. Funny that I was so nervous to eat the fresh chicken b/c it was diff compared to the chicken that I’ve been eating at home that’s more tender and pumped with all sorts of preservatives and hormones. Haha. Like I said, thank God I still haven’t had any major stomach bouts but I’m sure once I’m welcomed back into the US by our enhanced, preserved, and everything else food, I’ll be sicker at home than ill ever get here.
The pit latrines are cool and I’m getting used to them. It’s funny though how habits are hard to break. I’ll still wake up and go to the sink but quickly remember that there is no faucet. Haha. So I still get everything done but it just takes a little more work. We have a water faucet in the backyard so we fill up cans outside and use this water for everything. But we do have electricity and such so im not roughing it too much. We have a tv, radio, and I even have my own room. But there tv here is hilarious. First of all my family loves watching this telenovela that has been dubbed in English. It seems to be really popular here despite how crappy and ridiculous it is. The other shows include random Nigerian movies and American tv shows like Ugly Betty, Medium and Hanging with Mr. Cooper (but my fam ironically doesn’t even watch the American shows). Haha.
Life here is def more 3rd world now though that I’ve moved into my home. On my walk to catch my taxi (bus) for school I pass cows chillin in the road, goats, a lady weaving a basket, kids going to a well for water and so much more. It’s pretty awesome, and just what I signed up for! Haha
My homestay dad was so excited to find out that I’m Christian. They are devout so no worries bout me going to a church on Sundays. So on tues night they had this prayer session at their house for the kids going back to school and I just sat in. when the dad finally introduced me at the end, the other ladies were asking me if I wanted to be anointed like the other kids had been and I was like sure. So they anointed me and prayed over me and such. It was good but def a lil diff considering that we don’t do that at home too often. But it was still awesome to fellowship with believers on the other side of the world. On Sunday I went to church with some of my classmates and it was so cool to be singing the same praise and worship songs there. Of course it was beautiful too, to hear them singing with the accents. And it was youth Sunday too so they sung great songs and it was just awesome!
But to finish up, this story will bring laughs. So first of all, traffic here is just crazy!! If you thought nyc traffic was bad, you have to see how they drive here. First of all, I’ve only seen one functioning stop light here which just gives you a clue of how traffic works. It’s pretty much just get where you need to go without crashing or killing anyone. Haha. Like even crossing the streets here turns into an intense game of Frogger. Of course I’ve almost been hit a few times but God is protecting me! J First of all, half of the time, I look the wrong way when crossing the street b/c they drive on the other side of the road and then I forget where I am and out of habit, wait for a break in traffic or a crosswalk or something and then remember TIA (this is Africa)!! Haha. So anyways, with this in mind, imagine how non functional traffic is when it rains. The street turned into a parking lot to a degree that ive never seen. Finally once I arrived to my district I got off and started walking home as usual. But oh man, that rain and dust made and awful mud mixture. So im walking home, not raining too bad now though but this mud is impossible to maneuver! Im trying to maintain my balance and make it home asap. But despite my best efforts and after many almost slips, I finally fell in that stupid mud. Now I was already mad and now I’m just cursing the stupid mud in my head and ready to give up and just sit on the side of the road and call the US embassy to come and rescue me or something. Haha. Prob good that I was by myself though b/c I def looked crazy just talking to myself and fussing! Haha. But long story short, I alas did make it home alive with some mud on me to show the evidence of my toil. You guys would’ve been cracking up if only you saw me! In USA I would’ve comfortably been driving my car but once again TIA and just what I signed up for! J