May 22 - 26 (erin)

USDC was holding a conference about Mental Health Projects the different districts across Uganda have implemented. So I was there Monday to Wednesday. Carli was with me on Tuesday and Jen on Wed. Some of it was interesting. On Monday at lunch, my life changed completely. I ate grasshoppers...not just one, but 3. Yes 3 grasshoppers. But really only because a cute boy bought them for me so how could I refuse? They were pretty ugly looking (as John says, they look pretty much like maggots). I refused to touch them, they still had beady little eye on them. Some fo them still had antennae and little wings on them so I made my friend Joseph (another Joseph) pull them off for me first. I have to admit though that they didn't taste too bad. They were fried and salted. But when you bite into it, it's pretty gross. There's a bit of a crunch, okay more than a bit, and then a squish and the grease (i'm assuming or perhaps just hoping it was oil and not guts) squirts out. Then it feels like little bits of body are stuck in your teeth. Ya, I'm not sure how I managed to choke down three but like I said, there was a cute boy involved. Anyway, here they are very much enjoyed as a treat. They are caught bya big strong lights that attract them and when they get too close, the strength of the light fries them and they slide down a sheet of metal into a big bin. Just down the street is a "grasshopper field". It's pretty creepy looking at night. We've heard that some kids go for their first time to watch them and their eyes get burnt looking at the lights. Carli wants to bring some grasshoppers home for her friends...anybody want some?? We also had the pleasurable experience of seeing a little girl eating big black live ants out of a cup. She gladly enjoyed grossing us out by showing us what she was eating!

Wed, May 24
Carli, Chandra and I went to a bible study. I know, I know, you don't believe me, but it's true. I WENT TO A BIBLE STUDY! I was enticed by the potluck idea and some singing, but it ended up being pretty intense. I didn't mind it really, it was something new and we made friends. Very nice people. It was at an orphanage run by a Canadian couple. There were also Danish, Swedish, British and Ugandan people there so it made it quite interesting. Chandra's convinced I will be converted by the time I leave here. You never know.

Thur, May 25
Today there was no practicum for Carli and I because the conference was ending and everyone was going home...we sat at home for a couple of hours waiting to be picked up before we received a message that we were not needed. So we went out to Tekera with Bruce to take the new puppy to Einer. She is so cute. They named her Kujo but I renamed her Daisy. Much more appropriate I think. She ran to Einer right away. I guess she knew he'd be her friend. We are getting very excited for John coming on Saturday!

Friday, May 26
Nothing was planned for me at my practicum today as well, so I initially joined up with Chandra. But as we were waiting in the male surgical ward for someone to interview, we got a call from Carli. She had a bad morning at Uganda Cares and needed to go home, so I went with her. Einer and the boys from Tekera (Joseph and Junior) were coming for dinner and dancing at the Tropic Inn so we spent the day cleaning up and getting groceries. Einer cooked us a delicious spaghetti and Jen and Carli made their famous garlic bread.

Then we all hung out at the Brovad until it was time to go dancing (about 10:30). It was a real treat for the boys to be at the fanciest hotel in Masaka so it was a fun evening. Now let me tell you how funny it is for 3 Lugandans, 4 muzungus and 1 Chilean muzungu to trek down the path in our best clothes in the pitch black! The paths are narrow and speckled with cow pies. We call this area of grassland that we cut across the National Park. But the sidewalks are even worse...they are completely broken up, cement chunks everywhere, mostly it's packed dirt that sometimes rises up in big mounds and craters and ditches to each side that you have to be careful to not fall into. And remember, there are no street lights and no one to sue if you get hurt! Anyway, you probably had to be there to realize the hilariousness of it, but it was quite the sight to see, I am sure.

We had a really good time at the dance and we got home at 5:00!! We closed the place down. The boys had mats on our floor to share. For some reason though, we all woke up at 8am! Carli had a sudden burst of energy to go downtown and get groceries for breakfast. Einer and Chandra made delicious avacado and egg sandwiches.

Later in the day when the boys had gone home, Chandra went to the clinic with a really bad sore throat. At first we thought I had just passed my cold on to her but the doctor confirmed she had tonsilitis of all things!! She also has a nasty creepy looking bite on her arm that I could swear was a bat bite. There were 3 little holes like teeth marks and it was hard and swollen. The doctor didn't know what it was except to say it was not a mosquito. His exact reply was, "Who knows what kind of things we have here that bite," and had no further advice. Speaking of bats...we had a bat in our courtyard the other night and our guard found it necessary to torture and kill it in front of our eyes...very traumatic. Speaking of our guard, where else in the world would you pay for someone to guard your place at night but let him sleep the entire time on a makeshift bed!!! Really, I tell ya, sometimes I wonder...Speaking of guarding our place, we had a boy try to break into our bathroom one day. He jumped our really high wall and our neighbour caught him. He had visited us the day before looking for Brigitte but she wasn't home. I think I'm done with my speaking of's...