Ogamba Ki

Thursday (Martyrs Day) was a public holiday in Uganda so Chelsea and I decided to go into town. It was my mission to find a skirt that I could wear out on the weekends. Chelsea and I went down a road we’d never been on, which ended up being a great idea because we found many more clothing stores than on the main road. Because I'm a muzungu, I get followed by the salesperson every stall I go in. It’s pretty funny when a 30 something man tries to pick out clothes he thinks I’ll like. I feel like a bargaining pro now. I pulled the “This is all the money I have, nnyabo,” which was partly true, and I got the skirt for about half of what she was asking. I always have to bargain because people here automatically give me the “muzungu price.” I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I get back to the states. I’ll have to catch myself when I try to bargain in US clothing stores. It’s also going to be a shock when I have to pay more than 30 cents for a coke.

Though I’ve adjusted to the food and eating schedule here, (late lunches and dinners nearly killed me at first) my cravings for American food are kicking into high gear. It’s been mostly baked goods that I miss... ovens are rare so people don't seem to have an appetite for them. I could have killed for a swiss roll yesterday. My craving for partially hydrogenated goodness was somewhat satiated when I bought a chapati in town. I’m not really sure what is in them, but I haven’t gotten sick yet so it can’t be anything too bad. From what I can gather, it’s a bit like the galette in France (a more substantial crepe like thing.) As of last week, I officially have no calcium in my diet. I was putting milk in my tea, but it made me sick so I had to cut it out. 

Handshakes and hand-holding: greetings are very important in Uganda, as evidenced by the long, drawn-out handshakes. It’s not uncommon to lock hands for a couple of minutes while each person introduces himself. I think I finally got the gist of it. Hand holding is interpreted differently here as well. It is not uncommon for friends (men and women) to hold hands walking down the street. My superiors at TASO will often grab my hand to lead me somewhere.

I am lucky with my lab placement at TASO. I’m the only intern in the department so there is always something for me to do. Hopefully I can stay here for a week or two more before switching to another department. I work with Richard and Barbara. Richard always calls her “Bahhbala” and each time it sounds more and more ridiculous. Bahhbala and I talked quite a bit on Wednesday. She was shocked that white people wash their hair so frequently and couldn’t believe that I played soccer. Girls don’t play anything other than tennis or volleyball here.

Chelsea, Michael, Ray, and I started discussing our independent project today. We have a few ideas; one of which is forming a peer support group for middle school aged kids to talk about living with HIV. Another idea is to educate women on how to create and care for for a kitchen garden. We will be talking with our supervisor about our ideas next week, so I will keep you all updated on that.

WORLD CUP IN LESS THAN A WEEK!