Kampala, Graduation Party, and More!

I’m starting to find myself in a routine. This past week was harder than usual, just because I can feel myself getting stressed, which causes some homesickness. The only eventful things happened this past weekend. I went to Kampala, the capital city. We took a taxi over but certainly not like a taxi in the U.S. It cost less than 1 U.S. dollar to go on an hour long taxi ride here. The ride is pretty bumpy and the taxi (more like a 14 passenger van) constantly seems like it’s going to break down. Once we got there, everywhere was packed. Personal space was no where to be found. To get across the street, you trust that taxis, motorbikes, or cars will not run you over. We ended up taking a personal hire (more like a US taxi) to Garden City, a nicer shopping center. This is the only place you won’t get stared at because you are white. We went to an American restaurant called the New York Kitchen. I had Macaroni and Cheese and a Strawberry milkshake. It was the most expensive meal I’ve had since being here but totally worth it. During the meal, my digital camera broke, which was a major bummer. Unfortunately, I got sick the next day because of the meal. Later in the afternoon, we went to the YMCA which had a music school near by. My friend Sharon plays cello and was unable to bring it so she rented one for 30 minutes. She was so happy about it. It was also cool to listen to her. On the way back, we went on a taxi that actually ended up getting a flat tire in the middle of our trip. Luckily we were able to catch another one near by where it broke down.

On Sunday, I helped out with a school ministry, sort of like Sunday school at a boarding school. I went with two other girls and we preached on trusting God. I felt bad because I was not prepared as I was sick the day before. I think it went well though. In the afternoon, we went to a graduation party. There were like 150-200 people there. It almost reminded me of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. We all sat under a tent and ate insane amounts of food. There were speeches, too. Unfortunately, the ceremony was in Luganda (the language of this area) so I had no idea what they were saying for 4 hours. It was still fun though. I got community engagement hours (I need 30 hours for my class) from both of those, so that’s a relief. I had a great weekend overall.

This week is going to be a tough one. I have 3-4 papers due by the end of next week. My rural homestay starts next Friday and that means no class for 10 days but there is still going to be homework. This weekend, I am going to see a tribal circumcision in Mbali. It will most likely be a circumcision of a male between the ages of 15 and 25. I do not know much about it because I am not in the African Traditional Religions class but some of us are going optionally. It seems odd that 30 Americans would be able to go to a tribal circumcision but I guess we’ll figure out how that works later.