As the weather gets hotter and the rain becomes less and less frequent, I'm finding myself missing the cold weather of winter in the U.S.(something I never thought I'd miss!). I miss wearing jeans and sweatshirts and sitting in front of the fire (although just thinking of a fire now makes me sweat).
This past weekend I visited a fellow teacher who gave me two pumpkins from her garden. It was then that I realized Thanksgiving is coming. Some in memory of eating pumpkin for Thanksgiving I decided to fight my way into the pumpkin so that I could boil and then prepare it. I spent a good part of my afternoon, bent in half and sweating profusely as I struggled with a knife to cut the green pumpkin into slices. Part of the reason I was so determined to do it was because several people commented that I wouldn't be able to cut it open myself. So I guess I showed them. After cutting it into slices and collecting the seeds to roast, I grabbed a shovel and walked to the school kitchen to gather some hot coals for our charcoal stove. When the pumpkin was soft enough I removed it from the fire, mashed it and added salt and margarine. I was so proud of my accomplishment that I ran to my neighbour's house and insisted that she try my pumpkin. Anyway, I am still feeling very proud of doing all of those things, and alone too!
This week I am one of three duty teachers at the secondary school, YY. This means that I need to make sure students are where they need to be and also receive guests. It's pretty draining especially when the students have to be reminded constantly to be quiet! The other duty teacher and I made "mandazi" last night. These are basically just deep fried dough and people love to eat them with tea. Today during tea time we enjoyed our lemon flavored mandazi with overly sugared tea while the other staff looked on jealously
I've enjoyed receiving many of your comments and emails so keep 'em comin'! In about four weeks my sister, Vanessa, is coming to visit me here so please pray for her safety in traveling and preparing.
Peace,
eh

This past weekend I had the privilege of traveling to Padibe, a village whose population is made up of people who are still living in the IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camp. The village has no power except for several generators and some solar panels at various stories and restaurants. One of my good friends here, Beatrice, is a teacher at an Australian funded school called Child Care. She lives in the teachers’ quarters on the school campus just outside of the town.
I arrived at her place on Friday, soaking wet, having ridden a motorcycle in the rain. The rest of the afternoon we spent drinking tea on the verandah and listening to the symphony of the rain on the various surfaces of the earth. Over the course of the weekend I ate a lot, shelled groundnuts, got sunburned, and fetched water from a nearby borehole. I’m finding that doing all of these things with good friends always makes it fun, even though some of these things are considered “work”.
While in Padibe I learned that many people from that area eat rats. Upon my return to Kitgum several teachers asked me if I had been offered rat meat. I said I hadn’t and deep down I was very thankful I hadn’t. This is a bit strange I know but whenever I think of rats I think of the bubonic plague. Anyway, I don’t think I’ll be eating any rat, but who knows, I might get tempted sometime.
On Saturday, Beatrice and I took a walk and came upon a gentleman who happened to be the director of a local vocational school. He invited us over to his place and we followed. As we were sitting there and talking his wife was busy filling a basket with tangerines from the trees in their yard. As we said our goodbyes she presented them to us! It was very generous of her and I’ve been enjoying them ever since. As I was returning to Kitgum on Sunday I began to realize how nice it is to be returning home. I’m finally thinking of Kitgum as home and for me that marks a significant step in cultural adjustment.
Peace,
Eh

Some of you have been asking me how the elections have been viewed here in Northern Uganda. It’s actually quite overwhelming to see the support that the U.S. has here. In the last couple months, especially, the eye of Northern Uganda has been on the U.S. and Obama in particular. People see Obama as a brother from East Africa and they have hopes to visit the White House someday now that they have a relative living there.  While most people say this jokingly there is some seriousness and true hope in their words. There is a local musician from Kitgum who has even gone so far as to write a song entitled “God Bless Obama” with lyrics that say “Obama, superhero, superman!” One of Uganda’s leading newspapers ran multiple stories about Obama and the elections on November 5th. There were so many articles about Obama, in fact, that it was hard to find any local news! While it is so encouraging to see how much support Obama has here, it is also a bit worrisome simply because it seems that people have such high hopes for one man—the president of a different country, no less. People have commented to me that “people in East Africa are more excited about Obama’s victory than people in North America are.” You may have read that Kenya declared a national holiday to celebrate the U.S. election. While I consider myself an optimist I still celebrate with caution, hoping that Obama really can do all of the things that people are hoping he’ll do. Anyway, I’m thankful that I can be here as history is made.
Peace,
Eh