so i finally have a little time to get on the internet and email again. yesterday we were sent on a scavanger hunt in mukono to buy the things we will need while we are here and to help us get orriented with the area. while wandering around the city and during other times since ive been here i've gotten the chance to get a feel for what uganda is like. ill let you in on a journal entry i wrote about my experiences in the city:

uganda is a place caught between two worlds. the national language is english wich seems so out of place...the people here are african but they speak a language no remotely related to their native tongue. many people wear western clothing but some of the women wear traditional skirts, dresses and head wraps or some interesting combination of western and african dress. off in the distance pristine white houses with red tile roofs can be seen nestled in the hills while the area we are currently in displays dirty, cluttered decaying buildings. there are signs advertising broadband technology while the people walking below the signs carry buckets of water from the well and balance large, wrapped bundles on their heads.

it is difficult to describe what how the cities feel...maybe after ive been here a little longer ill be able to better put words to it. i learned yesterday that i am living in nbote village, a small village just above mukono and just below the university. it is about a 35 min walk between our home and the university. on our daily walks the people respond in various ways to the presence of white people in their village. some are very friendly, smiling and asking "how ah you today?" while others scowl and stare at our white skin. the whole way home children yell "bye mzungu!" or chase us chanting "mzungu, mzungu mzungu". another interesting sight both in the village and the city is boda-boda's. they are small motor bikes with a seat on the back...they are like a cheap taxi. i learned yesterday that they got their name because people used to use them to cross the border from kenya to uganda and and vice versa....border to border which, when said with an african accent comes our boda-boda. anway...i should probly get to my homework. ill write more when i have time :).