June 23, 2007

Greetings to all of you who are reading!

It has been yet another eventful week here in Jinja! This week seems like it flew by for me… maybe its because I’m now into my routine and the sense of everything being so new and confusing isn’t so much anymore. Although it was going to be last week, this was the first week that Diana, the girl I am filling in for during her leave, has left for her 3 weeks. But hey, somehow the fort didn’t burn down so I guess that’s good ☺
It’s been a lot of fun actually… This week was salary week so I was able to interact with all of the workers that way, as well this week we sent a letter to parents regarding school fees that need to be paid, so several of them came in to work out an agreement for their child’s situation… which was fun for me because that means I got to meet new people, interact and listen to stories. I was also able to accomplish all of the shopping (mostly) on my own…. There were still a few things I got help from Deidrah for, and praise God for this dear man, David. David and his wife have a produce stand in the main market, but he is so honest and helpful. Because for most everything you negotiate prices here, I’ve been warned that due to my “muzungu” (white) skin, it will be assumed that I can pay more… but David has been very honest and helpful.. and when I’m not sure where the best place to get something is he will show me and walk around the market to help me carry bags (its kinda funny, but those little things you don’t think about.. like how do you carry 18 kilos of potatoes, 4 bags of produce, rice and popcorn all at once?) So everyone should thank God and clap for David ☺ I really enjoy the main market… it has EVERYTHING you can think of… it sort of looks like a massive Saturday market or farmers market, but African style of course. But I love the sounds, the smells and the hustle and bustle of people… its so much fun stimulation in one atmosphere! (Grandma, we could do some great people watching here… too bad you’re not here with me)

The best news of this week would be my little MaryBelle. MaryBelle came home last week two days in a row with a 28% on one exam and a 30% on the other.. since those days I have been making homework sheets for her and during play time we've spent about an hour a day studying. On Thursday MaryBelle came home with a exam score of 70%!!! we rejoiced much! Now we're shooting for 80%! Praise God!

This week I also got sick. It was sort of inevitable due to the fact that almost all of the kids are sick right now. I was having sinus pressure and stuffed up nose for a few days, which wasn’t a big deal, but then I started having a sore throat and so the combination of having to breathe out of my mouth with a sore throat was not helpful and it all went down hill from there. On Wednesday I decided to take a half day off and just slept for the afternoon. Deidrah used to be a nurse which is great so she got me some drugs, but I have a very high pain tolerance, so unfortunately after taking them and sleeping all day I got worse, not better. At about 7:00 pm I had completely lost my voice to nothing and was in really bad pain, so she took me to the doctor, who said I have “toncilitis” and prescribed super dee-dooper pain killers as well as a strong antibiotic and by the next morning I was already feeling much better. I’m still not recovered fully, but getting better each day and rejoicing that it was as short lived as it was.
This afternoon I have planned an “internet café” field trip for our kids Saturday fun…we have reserved all 24 of the computers they have and we will play some fun and educational games on the internet and give the kids a chance to explore computers a bit… I hope it goes well.

Another fun part of this week was Tuesday night in which I made my Dad’s spaghetti for the kids… it was pretty hilarious because there are certain ingredients that we can’t get.. so instead of meat balls or italian sasauge we had hot dogs.. haha but the kids don’t know.. and the tomato paste here is literally paste.. so that was interesting, because it was so thick and bitter.. that’s okay I added lots and lots of sugar. Haha. It was pretty fun to make dinner for 40 people.. in one GIANT saucepan. The kids reaction was interesting, some loved it and most complained it was too hot. It definetly wasn’t hot, but because their diet is so bland I’m sure their mouths were on fire. Oops. Oh well it was a fun experience anyways and I think they liked the fact that “auntie meg” made dinner.

I hope you are all getting settled into summer and enjoying whatever that means for you. You are all missed, and God constantly brings individuals to mind. I wish I could talk to you all. Please keep me updated on your lives and let me know how I can be praying for you.

LOTS and LOTS of love. Oxoxoxxo

p.s. I could totally be happy living in uganda…