Week 2

Hi Everyone-

I'm excited that i have time to send another update. I get internet almost every day and though it might take a day for me to respond, i can often a least check emails. So send me emails or let me know what you think about things. It's hard to know where to begin. I'll tell you a little about what's been happening in the last week. Basically, I live with a great host family. There are 18 year old twins (Mark and Judi) and an older brother Brian (early 20's) and a younger brother Simon (13), I was very disappointed to find out that the kids (3 nephews; Isaac, Emmanuel, and Jackson) are not staying much longer. I was even sadder to here that they are not taken care of by their own mom and have been getting healthier with our family. However, they cannot stay with our family because our host mom has to go back to work. I hope home does not get boring after they leave. This past weekend was a little dull. i did learn to wash dishes, cut up string beans, and sift through rice. I'm learning skills very slowly. I'm so slow. I am so bad at ironing that my host sister does not let me do it like at all. We have house help (a houseboy) who does most of the work. I feel sorry for him but apparently it's a cultural thing i have to get used to.
Our family likes to watch TV. I watched part of The Parent Trap and then I watch various music videos, including boy bands like the Backstreet Boys. It still fascinates me how the culture is so westernized. Church made me incredible uncomfortable. They seem American worship songs and basically recite Anglican prayers than are barely relevant to me as an American. It makes me wonder if the Ugandans actually connect with God through this type of a service or if it is merely tradition. I was so surprised that i knew the songs and everything. This coming up weekend, the IMME (homestay) students are going to Jinja, another town in Uganda from Friday afternoon to Sunday night. This will make homework difficult.
As far as classes, I have 5 hours of class on Monday, 3 hours on Wednesday, and 4 hours on Thursday and Friday for a total of 16 credit hours. I have no class on Tuesday which is pretty nice because I can send updates and get work done for the week or go to town. I'm taking Ugandan politics instead of traditional religions because politics is much more interesting to me and it is easier for me to focus. Going into town seems somewhat of a pain, though because it takes awhile to walk there. We went last week to find our way around which was fun. I bought toilet paper and emergency minutes for my cell phone (which I don't use). To send letters i would have to go to town, so that's probably not going to happen. Instead, i expect to email or facebook mainly. Other random details... i have the worst blisters ever from wearing my shoes without socks. I did not pack as well as I wished i would have, for sure. Sometimes, though, it's impossible to foresee every need. I'm going to stop talking now as this is getting insanely long. Believe me, i prefer writing these entries than doing homework. Unfortunately, i have a lot of reading due this week and since I am traveling this weekend, it's going to start to pile up.

Becca or Mzungu (white person as we are affectionately called).