Just an Update

Hey there.

It seems to have been a long time since I have last posted, but there is not anything extreme to add. I have fallen into a quasi-routine which consists of waking up, taking Tiger the dog for a short walk and tying him to a tree with water, making sure my pig Lucky is happy, taking a splash bath shower, and then venturing out for a mixture of meeting with Children of Hope beneficiaries and sorting thousands of paper beads that will be sent to Canada for sale to help support the COH program and the families of the caregivers.

*If any one knows of a location in the US that might be interested in selling the handmade paper beads or the paper bead necklaces email me at LNSammon@gmail.com. I have some photographs to show you what the product looks like, we can place an order and I can bring it back with me to save on shipping costs. I am also thinking of pitching the idea to local school booster clubs to buy a large amount of the necklaces and bracelets in the school colors. They can charge the students and patents a few more dollars, make some money for the school and have their school district be an official sponsor of the Children of Hope project. If any one is part of a booster club, a teacher, or has ties to schools and wants to be part of this let me know!

We usually stop at the market around 6 to pick up food to cook for dinner and stop at this restaurant to pick up a bucket they fill with table scraps and bones for Tiger's "dog food". Home for dinner, another bath, putting animals to sleep. I usually stay up for a little bit and talk with Esther. Our conversations are often sparked by stores covered on the news radio broadcasts. We talk of government coming in and taking land from people for road construction, how people who didn't migrate to Internally Displaced Person Camps changed the way the land looks and tried to expand their land - taking that of refugees who are still in the process of returning, and the roles of women in Ugandan society. We sit in the glow of lantern light with baby John falling alseep on her lap. I like those times.

Sunday I was running Tiger to the end of the property that caught the eye of some curious little partially clothed girls about 5 years old. They slowly followed me to our house where they just smiled and stared for a while then proceeded to talk to me very quickly in their language, which I can not understand. I guess they weren't asking questions because they didn't seem to wait for a response. The thing they really wanted to do was to touch me and see what I felt like. It was almost a game to move by me just close enough to drag their hands across an exposed part of my skin. The one little girl wearing just a black skirt, hair in braids sticking away from her head in every direction, bright beautiful eyes touched my hair. It must have been amazing to her. She started laughing and then took my hand to touch hers. It was an interesting exchange. Two turned to five and soon enough there were about 18 neighbors over in Esther's yard. We played a sort of game of soccer where there were no teams and no one ever tried to steal the ball from me.

An older girl invited me to her house where I sat in the shade. Her family lives in a group of cylindrical mud huts, five in total. One seemed to be a main area and the smaller ones individual bedrooms. She was proud to show me her land and requested that I take a photo of her mom who was older with sweat beading up on her face - a sign of work and the Ugandan heat. They started saying "an even that one" pulling out the youngest members of the group for photographs.

It was nice to have a non working day where I met people. i felt both more distant due to more language barriers than I have experienced here before and more connected as a result of the interaction.

I am hoping that after many weeks of going to the market with Esther people will be used to me and I can take some good photos. There are so many textures and colors so I have been holding myself back for the right time. Anticipation is mounting.

I really don't have much else for now. Independence Day is on Friday so there will be no work. There are celebrations especially here because Dr. Obote (the fist president) was of the Lango tribe (from this area). I have heard that the Museveni government tried to stop the celebration of Dr. Obote himself because they are from different parties. I heard people are not allowed to wear shirts with Obote's picture on them on Independence Day. I am looking forward to it though. Esther says we have to get to the town early in the morning an it is an all day celebration. I am going to wear my traditional Ugandan outfit the Esther got tailored for me and look ridiculous I am sure. Lots of photos...