THINGS I'M LEARNING...

-Patience with the unreliability of the library system while still expected to be a good student.
-How to adhere to "African time" when it doesn't actually work to my advantage (because when it does work to my advantage- you know i love that i can be 5 minutes late to class because my prof will probably be 10 minutes late!!)
-Patience with technology, since it basically doesn't work
-Lack of privacy/independence on my home stay
-How to walk slower, or stroll- if you will, so as not to look like an idiot amongst all the strollers and also so i don't sweat like a pig!! baha.
-Patience with the first year women's soccer team when about 5 people show up for practices and our first game was played against 9 year old boys without shoes. How is that for frustrating?
-How to learn-inside and outside the classroom
-Adapting to the blatant and unapologetic stares that my pasty white skin attracts (it's not all that exciting anymore... but so be it)
-How to be a MINORITY!!
-How to relieve myself in a pit latrine (my good friend THE SQUATTY POTTY) because i definitely had some aiming troubles at first! bahaha- too much information??
-Sleeping on top of a 3 decker bunk bed with two A.D.D. children underneath me who squirm for 30 minutes before falling asleep! God Bless 'Em :)
-Checking for cockroaches before i bathe.
-Peeling matoke and squishing ground nuts into that purple sauce i told you about earlier
-Hand washing clothes
-Trying to understand the accent (difficult at times)
-Speaking Luganda and get laughed at for my poor attempts!!
-Feeling like sometimes i have all the stigma of Western flaws embedded in the color of my skin and desperately trying to prove that that is NOT who i am.
-Having to prove to my neighbor boy that i'm a footballer. Because before i showed him pictures, he thought i was too fat to run...haha funny story now- not so funny at the time.
-Shoveling down INSANE amounts of matoke (squishy, hot, banana goo) and sweet potatoes at 10 pm,,, all with a smile on my face. (i'm starting to taste matoke in my sleeeep!!:)
-How to make Chapatis with my African mother
-Falling asleep to the sound of howling dogs and unidentifiable insects flying around my mosquito net....
-Random power outages pretty much every day
-Not letting little setbacks and unreliability ruin my day
-Generosity
-Seeing trash everywhere like you wouldn't believe and randomly smelling poop at any given moment
-Trying not to be so stubborn in a country of very stubborn people! It's a difficult task, my friends.
-That adaptation is synonymous with STRUGGLE/RESISTANCE...and that sometimes i have to let go.


oh yes...and so much more....

blessings from Mukono!!

lauren. s .peffley

Arrival in Uganda

Greetings everyone!!

I have safely arrived in Mukono, Uganda and i'm pretty sure i've been smiling for the past 48 hours. As soon as i stepped off the plane, i took a deep breath- Ahhh AFRICA!! I cannot ever express to you how full my heart is. The people here are incredibly beautiful and so friendly. I've already interacted with many of them and they are always willing to help a confused mzungu (whitey) like myself!!
We first arrived in Entebbe and were driven to a little seminary where we spent the night. My first sight when i walked into my room was a little gecco on my window (i'm pretty sure he was my first African friend!!). I hardly slept at all that night due to excitement and the chorus of noises coming from many different creatures outside our window!!
Monday morning we drove thru Kampala and into Mukono where Uganda Christian University is located. We unpacked (it only took like 30 minutes...i love living simply!!) and went to lunch. We ate a big pile of mushy plaintain in a pretty purple sauce!! It tasted like potatoes, and i think i rawther like it! We scheduled our classes after lunch and explored campus, which is quite a site to behold...You wouldn't believe it!! We then hiked up Mukono Hill which they call MONKEY hill, where i saw at least 6 or 7 monkeys jumping from trees and providing a symphony of monkey sounds (whatever they are called!). After that i spoke with the women's soccer coach, who is gladly accepting 3 of us USPers (Uganda Studies Programmers) to the team!! Practice starts tomorrow!! ee gads i am excited!
There's about a million things on my mind and even more on my heart. All i can say is that i love it here and feel strangely at home. I am so looking forward to the rest of my travels, friendships, and perhaps some connections i might make that could lead me to a lifetime of service in Africa. I love you all, thanks for reading...cuz these won't happen very often!! The only reason I'm posting so soon is that my friend Beckah and i went down into Mukono town for a lovely lunch of goat and rice (it was amazing, don't knock it til you try it) and were shopping around when it started torrentially downpouring. So we found this sweet internet cafe and there you have it...Lauren's first post. Ahh,, AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!