I was on the national news the other day, pathetically sweeping a taxi park filled with small orphan children.

This was not, however, the worst thing that happened to my classmates this week, as the "Gender" module fared even worse than "Grassroots." Slum Aid, the NGO they'd been working with, ushered them through a succession of photo ops, telling them they were doing "community service" when they were really painting things that didn't need to be painted and shoveling things that didn't need to be shoveled...all the while wearing bright "Slum Aid" t-shirts and having their pictures snapped by photographers hired by the organization. And learning nothing about gender. At the end, they had to march in a parade carrying big white banners (which was also played on the news), proclaiming Slum Aid responsible for all the "development" taking place within the community.

that shows you right there how easy it is for a famous NGO to come into a country, not really do much, and then get a million pats on the back for their good work. You could spend your entire career doing this, and we participated in it without even meaning to.

we just finished our Luganda lessons and had exams; I got an A-, which was pretty impressive considering I haven't conjugated verbs since leaving spanish senior year of high school. Luganda is pretty similar to spanish, except for the fact that it is about a million times harder. But I have enjoyed my kindergarten-level comprehension when talking to Ugandans. Whenever I go to the tailor, the ladies always fawn over me and ask me over and over again the same three questions that I can understand--"are you married? Do you have children? Do you have cows?"

if buying bootleg DVDs was my downfall in China, then in Uganda it is going to the tailor. The fabric here is awesome, and we found a dress shop run by three disabled women that we have been flooding with business. So far I have had five dresses, a shirt, and three skirts made, and I'm going to cut myself off. Any day now.

there are a couple people here who've studied abroad in China, and we can't help comparing it to Uganda. Certainly we are a lot more comfortable here, not constantly blinking our eyes at the strange cultural norms. I have had so many fewer "wtf?" moments in Uganda than I did in China, but I do miss the language. If I could somehow live in an African country that spoke Chinese and ate Indian food and watched Mexican soap operas, that would be my idealdream. Kaitlyn and I have been practicing our Chinese in the taxi. I think the Ugandan people think we are aliens.

food here can be classified into three categories: starches that we have in America, starches that we don't have in America, and carbonated beverages. One Ugandan favorite is a stale bread similar to Wonderbread but with half the nutritional value. Posho is pretty straightforward: cornstarch mixed with water and solidified. I asked my Luganda teacher if it had any nutrients whatsoever. "Of course!" he replied. "It has carbohydrates." There are potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, matoke, chapati, and samosas. I am legitimately concerned about my body getting the vitamins it needs.

god's gift to Uganda: the rolex, which is a fried egg rolled inside a chapati. Soooooo good. Also, mango lassi from the supermarket. I've found that I only really need one meal a day here, plus a peanut butter chapati. I just don't get too hungry.

going to eastern Uganda for a week so probably no internet there.