Hello!

Okay I hope I have enough time to update. it says 5 minutes.

So i moved into my homestay. They are pretty well off for Ugandans. They have a flushable toilet =) and a shower room but only cold water. There is a mom, dad, a 2.5 year old (Jerry), 2 house maid peoples (this is pretty common in families), and a niece that is staying temporarily. There are two other kids but they are off at boarding school (this is also common).

I have had the worst diarrhea in my life the past two days but i'm recovering quite well. I had to go to the doctors and give a stool sample!! haha. It was bacterial so I'm on antibiotics. Wasn't a good experience. Hard for me to eat some of their foods now because I think I was slightly traumatized.

I've been taking matatus (taxis that fit 14 people) to school and back. Interesting experience. Got off at the wrong stop once and had some nice guy walk me back to where I belong. Not so sure if that was smart but I didn't know what else to do at the time.

The 2.5 year old is so cute but can be so stubborn. If he was my child I think i would smack him around a little more than his parents do. He loves to walk around with no pants. I dont think he even wears underwear ever. He pees on the ground whenever he wants... He loves to call my name and then I reply "wanji" and that means "I'm here" in their own tribal language. (and no there are no clicks) Or he says "Hodi" and I say "Karibu" Same type of thing. He's in love with my alarm clock that lights up when you hit a button. He also likes to hurt me. Very cute.

I"ve been learning Swahili which is a lot easier to learn than any other language I know. But we are learning all of it in 3 weeks then we get tested.

What else... people are very nice here but they also can't help and stare because we stand out so much. "Mzungu" is what they call us and I believe it means "white foreigners". So they say that and then sometimes just say hi or laugh at us. There are things called bodabodas and they are like motorcycles that take us around. We aren't allowed on them because they are unsafe but they always try to get us to ride with them. They say "Mzungu, where do you go?"

Fruit here is good. esp pineapple, mangos, bananas.

I get up around 7 ish everyday which kind of sucks and we're done at 4:30. I go straight home because i'm afraid to get stuck in traffic and get home late when i have to walk in the dark. But yeh, my host family is pretty cool so i don't mind so much.

The driving here is 1000000 times crazier and worse than new york city yet nobody wears their seatbelts. So I don't. The pot holes here are 100000 times bigger than any pot hole i've ever seen. People do not abide by any kind of traffic rules. They just do whatever they want. And somehow it works. It's quite amazing...

Today is a friggin saturday and I have class from 10-1. But I think that's only for 3 weeks. I never do any work once i get home because their lights are pretty weak and i'm always distracted by little Jerry or start conversations with the house maids. They are extremely nice and are still somewhat amazed taht i'm there. I think I'm the first mzungu they have ever talked with.

Oh and I took a shower with a tiny lizard type thing in it. At this point, I think I could care less. I learned how to do my own laundr (or at least my own undergarments). The house maids do the laundry for the family.

Okay, I'm not sure how often I'll be getting the internet but hopefully a couple times a week. Sorry about the lack of pictures~ So far I haven't really taken much. I'm honestly afraid to take pictures bc I don't know if its rude. But it"s only been 2 weeks. I guess I have some more time.

Anyways, tahnks everyone for the facebook comments/ prayers/ blogspot comments, etc. I do miss home very much! Esp family and friends. Please leave comments because it always makes me smile and look like a fool at the internet cafes. Oh and leave your first AND last names. I still dont know which sung and also which rebecca wrote to me. Thanks!!

-Julia