This is only the beginning...

On the way to the cafe earlier I rode a Bodaboda and I was talking to the driver and I asked him, "How are you?" "I am fine." "What is your name?" "I am called Sam.", and so I said, "Oh, Sam, yes, I am called Emily." But they usually end up calling me Emilia. So we get to the cafe and I pay him and he goes, "Oh, surely you add more!", which is the usual response, because they try to rip us off since we are Mzungas...white people. But I just go, "No, I live here, I know what is fair!, and then they usually drive away.

Today we walked to the villages of Walukuba and Danida. To visit some of the women. First we went to see Joyce (who lives in Danida), but she had to leave to go see her sister who is sick...though sadly sometimes that is an excuse so that we will not stay, because in Uganda it is considered rude for them not to offer their guests some kind of refreshment, usually a soda, like Coke or Fanta or Mirinda (which is a Ugandan soda, kind of like Fanta)...or food. And if they cannot afford it they try to get out of having visitors. Which is understandable, even though we really don't need anything from them. It's just their custom I guess. Also, when they greet you or are sitting with you, they always have to be lower or at the same level as you, so if you are in a chair, they are one the floor. So we left her house in Danida and walked all the way back to Walukuba West to vist one of the women, Agnes. Who is amazingly sweet and small, even for being Ugandan. Everytime we walk, all the little kids we pass wave at us and yell, "Mzungu, Bye!", because they do not say Hi, all they know to say is Bye. And they yell, "Muzungu, how are you!" and the reply is always, "I am fine, how are you?" in kind of a singsongy voice and then they go, "I am fine! How are you?" and then it just keeps going in a circle unless you stop. It is what they are taught to say to us. They are so cute! It's like we are celebrities. The kids love us especially. Usually the adults just stare at us...When we were walking from Danida to Walukuba the kids would run up to us and some of them would hold Adam's hand. They love Adam here. A Mzungu guy is as good as it gets. Except for when the Boda guys hit on you and say things like, "You look very Smart today!" or, "You are just my size!". haha One little boy ran up and grabbed my hand and walked down the road with me until he knew he was too far from his mother, and so he let go. But the entire time he looked at all the other kids and people along the road and while talking in his language, either Atrolli or Lugandan or Swahili, I didn't know. And he was smiling and every once ina while I would hear, "Mzungu"...he was just so proud to be holding the hand of a "Mazungu Lady!". That's what I am called here. Or Auntie. Or Auntie Emilia. So cute.

While we were at Agnes', we sat on the side of her "house" on the ground on a little mat and helped her roll paper beads, which she taught us to do. She is so sweet. I will definitely go visit her again. It's hard to see all the women and make sure that they are all visited, because there are over 90 of them...so you have to make time to see them and ask them when you can visit when they come to the Suubi meetings every Saturday and they sell us their necklaces. The worst is when you have to tell them we cannot buy the necklace because there is something wrong with it. Ugh. This one lady, Obama, put up such a fight because most of her necklaces where way too short. It got kind of funny after awhile.

After we spent time with Agnes, we walked down the road to Christine's house (there are quite a few Christine's, this is the one who has a reputation for being drunk all the time.) She was definitely drunk. But it made us laugh, because she was still very kind and offered us sodas. We sat in her little "house" which is a shack, separted in half by a few sheets hanging up, with a bed on one side and a few chairs and a mat on the other. And then the bike sits inside the door which makes it even smaller. We sat on the chairs and Kate (one of the other volunteers, who was taking us around) almost sat down until she realized there was a tiny baby there. His name was Christopher, and he was almost two months old. I could tell he was having breathing problems, so once Rachel let me hold him, I tilted him up and patted his back for awhile and he seemed to breath a bit better. It made me happy. Well, the baby was the grandchild of Christine, and she decided that she was going to name him after Adam...so I guess now his name is Adam Christopher...but I don't know if she even remembers. Plus the babies mother was sitting right there, her name was Jennifer, and she is a Suubi woman too...but she really didn't get any say in the matter. Wow.

It always smells awful here, there is trash everywhere, there are no new buildings, they are all run down. Everyone smells like BO...but my nose is almost use to it. I can ride on the back of a BodaBoda and not even smell the driver now. So that's better. There is a lady in town who is friends with Rachel and Randy (Stroud) and her name is Sara, she speaks really great english and is fun to stop by and see if I am at the cafe or whatever...she has a little girl named Diana. So adorable. I stopped by earlier this evening and bought a little change purse from her to carry my shillings around in, because I don't like carrying my wallet with all my cards and all that jazz inside of it. So it's perty nifty.

All the volunteers are amazing. There's Becca, who shares a room with Rachel and me...she's fantastic, she's 21, from CO and engaged to her Love, Scott. So much fun and really sweet and cute. And then her cousin Alex, who is 20 and pretty nice, funny. I am made fun of by the boys a lot. haha I think it's cause I'm the baby here, I'm always made fun of for being the baby. Then Kate, who is in her early 20's I think and is a news reporter from CO...and then Rachel and Randy Stroud...who are fantastic. I really love our house, it's wonderful.

Me and Adam have been playing soccer a bit...or football. Adam was playing football with Kimbi (who is the son of Betty, our house lady)...he's like two, and he just laughs and says, "Auntie" or "Uncle!" haha He was calling Adam, Uncle Iya...I think he just couldn't say Adam. And his little friend Moses who comes over, he's probably four and doesn't say anything. Just smiles a little crooked smile. So adorable and loves playing Football. Kimbi like never wears clothes. Just always runs around half naked. Stinking adorable. Betty's younger half sister and I think neice are living with her (and us). Their names are Nancy and Sharon. Nancy is here straight from the North and doesn't speak a lick of English, actually only a little bit, and then Sharon speaks pretty well. She goes to the school across the street called Magwa Primary...I love her. She is very quiet and calls me "Auntie"...this morning I woke up early, as usual, and walked into the kitchen and she was waiting by the back window for someone to give her the gate key so she could get out and go to school and she goes, "I am so sorry to disturb you Auntie, but, the gate key?"...Oh I love her.

It is amazing here and I still feel like I never want to leave...though I suppose it may be because I have only been here for less than a week. I already miss good meat. While we live here we are basically vegetarians because the meat is not safe. Wow, this is long. The end.
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