Half Way Finished!

I have been in Uganda for three weeks and that means that I will be back home in another three weeks.  For the most part I would say that it has gone by pretty quickly although I don't feel like I have done much.  It takes a while to accomplish things here, they seem to be on a totally different time schedule.  It was really cool to go the Buvuma Islands and meet some people there.  It is so sad to see children without shoes and little or no clothes.  Just sitting in the dirt with their naked butt can't be sanitary.  There are so many things that they need help with but we can't do it all, although I wish we could.  

Yesterday some of us took the day off and went to Kampala--the capital city.  It is much bigger than Lugazi and the traffic scares me.  I am very weary of traffic and cars in general and it is worse than anything I have ever seen before.  There are no traffic lights or anything and we just have to dodge the traffic as we run across the street trying not to get hit by a car.  And don't even get me stated on the taxis, they drive way to fast and don't stop or even slow down for anything.  I have been afraid for my life a few times.  I have had to ride boda bodas (basically a mix between a motorcycle and a scooter) a few times and that is always an experience, they weave in between the cars and sometimes get really really close to another car or person.  One Sunday when we were waling to church I got hit my some lady the was riding one side saddle.  I was told that more people in Uganda die of traffic accidents than die of AIDS.  I don't know how true that is considering that AIDS is a big problem, but it is interesting.

Taxis

Boda Bodas

The craziness of Kampala

I have been meeting with a guy names Bernard who runs a school and is trying to improve literacy.  I am trying to do some research and figure out how exactly I can help him.  It sounds like children are taught in English before they even know their native language and he wants to try to maybe teach some lessons in Lugandan and start English a bit later.  Only twenty five percent of people who start school actually finish.  That is a terrible drop out rate so he want to help improve that number by keeping things interesting so that kids enjoy it.  I am looking into other countries to see how they do id.  Maybe even what the United States does with Spanish immersion.  He is such a good guy and I would really like to help him out.

This Saturday we are going to the African craft market in Kampala to buy "African" things.  I am really looking forward to that and will probably spend way to much money.   But who knows when and if I will be in Africa again so I gotta do it...

Craft Market--I wanted to buy everything!

I'm not sure what my plans are for next week, maybe more meetings with Bernard and with Richardson, the guy we went with to Buvuma Island, help with teacher trainings and hopefully a safari next weekend.  I am in the process of researching prices at the moment.

The next weekend after that will be the eye/dental camp. I think we are going to be doing checkups and referring people to the hospital if they need surgery.  I think I will relate to this project the most and am excited that they were able to do it while I am here.

Then I will be coming home just in time for my sisters birthday.  I am looking forward to being home where it is familiar and comfortable. I've got a list of things I want to do when I get home in my journal.  I think I will share that on my next blog post.

I have really come to appreciate all the things that I have or have access to.  I am so lucky to have born in the United States!   I have the right to go to school and to learn to read.  There are so many opportunities that I have in a day that will take some of these people a lifetime to have.  No wonder so many people want to come to America.  It truly is better than what they have.  I am so thankful and lucky to have my birth certificate say that I am an American and no one will ever be able to take that away from me.  I was grateful of that fact previously but I think now even more so that I have actually experienced first hand how some people in this world live.  I'm sure that it will change me and the way I do some things but I'm not sure how yet.  I'm interested to see what happens when I get home.