Finally!

I apologize I haven't really updated anyone. Internet access is super sketchy - think 1996. I go do other things while I'm waiting for the pages to load. But I'm in Kampala, the capital city, for the weekend, so things are looking up. I got my first hot shower in a month AND a milkshake. Big day.

Karamoja has been good, but challenging. Life is just completely different. The mizungus (white people) live in houses with running water and limited electricity, which are far below our standard of living in the states, and yet we appear incredibly wealthy to the locals, who live in mud huts. (The missionaries opted out of the mud huts for safety concerns, noting that guns are abundant and mud is not bulletproof.)

I feel incredibly incompetent here, which I loathe. I can't say more than "hi" or "snake" to the locals, cannot cook, and cannot light the stove (though not for lack of trying). Upon arriving in Karamoja, I learned that another teacher is here through March. Without Eden, I would be lonely, and probably starving. She is a much better cook than I am. Things that I consider to be staple food items must be made from scratch, like bread. I'm learning. My most important role has probably been that of the exterminator. Our kitchen is full of ants, roaches, wasps, geckos, etc. The ants we've given up on, and the geckos are a positive (I assume they eat insects), but the roaches are disgusting. Shoes are left outside (too much dirt/sand) and I don't cruch bugs barehanded, so there's been some creative thinking. I've used stools and various kitchen utensils, the most successful being our metal spatula.

School is going well. I'm doing the science classes for everyone, and then math and literature for the older girls. It's nice to be on the other side, and give assignments rather than have to do them. My only visits to the clinic so far have been for malaria treatment, but I'm hoping to observe there at some point too. (I've in the beginning of my second malaria episode now, but both have been mild thus far. Eden was less fortunate - she was down for three days and had a fever of 105 degrees F.) The pastors' three-year-old daughter needs speech therapy, which will be done primarily at home with monthly visits to the therapist in Kampala (7 hours away). We thought she might be more cooperative with someone other than her parents, so I'm helping with that too.

I would love to hear from people, but can't contact you via facebook (it takes too long to load here), so please email me instead and then I'll write back. My email address is megan.megli@gmail.com. Miss you all!