I'm still alive!!!

Hello hello!
So writing these journals is becoming a bit more difficult these days. I find that I'm often too overwhelmed to sort through my thoughts and organize them into an entry. But I'll do my best...

We've taken some very interesting field trips lately. Last Friday, we visited an African Traditional Healer, also called a Diviner. He is the man that people go to when they are ill and want to be healed by the "spirits." Apparently, it was very controversial that we visited this place, because when we talked to our Christian Ugandan peers, they were so confused on why we would ever want to go there. In terms of education, Uganda focuses much less on learning just for the sake of learning, mostly out of necessity. In the U.S., most of us get liberal arts degrees, with the ultimate goal of higher education being to produce very well rounded graduates. Uganda Christian University is just starting to offer courses like we get in the US i.e. philosophy, general psych, ethics, world views, and basic bible courses. So we visited the traditional healer to get a better understanding of the traditional religion in Uganda. It was the chance of a lifetime, as we got to ask him very provoking questions about spirits and gods and such. It was very interesting.

This past Friday, we visited Kasubi Tombs. It is the place in Kampala where all the former kings of Uganda are buried. It was in a huge hut, which was where the king used to reign from. That wasn't quite as cool, but hey, it was a free tour for us, so whatever. There are pictures of it at http://messiah.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019495&l=ab81e&id=55300263 . go check it out.

We spent the rest of the day in Kampala hanging out. We grabbed some American food (ALWAYS a treat) and then my roommate and I headed to a mall type place, and just got some coffee and hung out. We actually ran into this British missionary couple that we had met previously when we were in Jinga. We wound up chatting with them for over 2 hours. We had so much to learn from each other's stories. It was really neat. They actually hate Americans, but the man, Ken, was pleasantly surprised with us. It was nice to break down some stereotypes haha.

This coming weekend is pretty the climax of our whole trip... we are headed 6 hours northeast for our rural homestays in the village of Soroti. Here we will be living with another family in a hut, with no electricity or running water. If we are realllly lucky, we will get to slaughter a chicken and eat the gizzards! Apparently, the gizzards are the best past and they always offer it to honored quests if present... luckily, we are the honored guests!! Can't wait! In all seriousness thought, we are truly lucky to have this opportunity. No other study abroad program in the U.S. has the opportunity to do rural homestays in Africa. It truly is a once in a lifetime experience. And plus, these people live this way every single day... the least we can do is go with a good attitude, ready to learn and respect their way of life without complaining.

We will then be headed to Sepi Falls, another resort type place, to debrief our homestays. I will be home Monday, March 11th, and will then update my journal about homestays. So keep your eyes open.

Last but not least, I got my hair done!!! I had a women come and braid the whole thing they was they do it here. It's actually twists. There are also pictures of that when you go to the Facebook link. Its sooo cool- i look kind of Jamaican. They are actually twisted, not braided, because I thought it looked cooler. Now I don't have to wash my hair at all while in Soroti!

Well thats all for now. Life is getting much easier here, in terms of the culture. I miss everyone at home alot. But apparently, its boring there and I'm not missing anything except freezing cold weather! So I'm glad I'm here. Be well, everyone. Love yous