7/11 - Monday

Today was kind of a wonderful, long, amazing day. We got picked up around 10a, but because the taxis were on strike that day we took boda bodas (dangerous motorcycles)!! I rode with Mrs. Dodgson. The legal limit is one driver and one passenger, but no one follows traffic laws so we had two people on the boda boda. I was on the back and IT WAS AWESOME!!!! It was a little scary at first because I was in the back (and my leg burned on the muffler-thingy) and the road was super bumpy at first, but then I got used to it and it was fun! Our boda driver was racing with Andy and Joe's, of course we won. =) Mrs. Dodgson said, "I want to live" a few times, it was pretty funny because the driver just basically laughed and went a little faster.

not us on these bodas =)

When we got to the slums, it wasn't as I thought it would be, but as I was able to take it all in it was pretty horrible living conditions. When we got there we met the street kids and started to clean out the church and stuff, but I ended up not doing too much because I got distracted with hanging out with the boys and learning how to count in Lugandan. Amazing how something as simple as emu, bbiri, ssatu, nya, taano, mukaaga, musaanvu, munaana, mwenda, kumi can make such a big difference.

Meanwhile, the guys were putting up a basketball hoop for the kids. It's really great because it will give them something to do when the programs aren't going on instead of gambling and that sort of thing. Not good. After the hoop was up we went out for lunch. As we were walking through the slum Jonny told David to go in front and that he would hold up the back, and for everyone to stick together. Greg asked, "is it really that bad?" "Yeah." That made me perk up more. It was just a really rough area, and not a place I would want to be alone in. So many men there. Not a safe place.

After lunch we walked a ways (on a hugely full stomach, up hills. Almost needed someone to roll me. just kidding.) to get to a football pitch where we met up with the kids and played football. Except for the fact that I didn't , so I did face painting with the kids! It was really fun! One kid wanted the USA flag on his face, and pretty soon I had a lot of kids coming to me fore USA and Uganda color themed drawings. Especially Abdul, I did like two snakes, a heart, and a flower, and he already had three flags on his face. He's so cool. Lots of fun times. It's interesting, though. He's sixteen but I would have pegged him as thirteen, and there's a thirteen year old that I thought was ten. These guys just look younger than they are.

Aferwards we walked back to the slum and did part of the program for them and left shortly afterwards. We took bodas to the Kivulu Home. I was with Mrs. Dodgson again and this ride was a lot more scary. Or adventuresome, I guess. There was a lot more traffic because taxis were getting off strike. We were all over the place and went through red lights (which is normal, but still) and my leg got skimmed by something. And we were on a two lane road and on the middle line almost getting killed a lot. It was pretty awesome. I guess ignorance has its perks because there's a lot of things that I should have been worried about but didn't even think about. Craziness.

At the home we ate dinner and then I started getting jewelry from the boys. So sweet. A necklace and bracelet from Sadic, two bracelets from Drissa,

"Are you coming back to Uganda?" "I don't know." I wanted to make a necklace for you, but because today was a school day I couldn't. Here are two bracelets. Can I put them on you?"

and one from someone else. I gave my address and email to some of them and took pictures with them. We also did fire poi with them, but before that there was a dance party. I hafta say, these Ugandans can groove like no one else. Boy, can those guys rock it! And Abby and David did salsa dancing. It was awesome. Shortly afterwards we said our good-byes and came home in a taxi.

When we had our brief meeting that night, Jonny shared that when the boy mentioned here who talked to Mrs. Gibbons was being placed into a family (which didn't work out), the API staff checked up on him and found out that men were gambling on how much we could drink, and when he was drunk they handed him over to local prostitutes. I couldn't believe it. The whole evening I was playing with him and joking around and arm wrestling and making faces and having staring contests and he did not act like a kid who has gone through that kind of life. It's heartbreaking. I don't even know how to react to knowing about these injustices, much less to personally know people children who were the target of these horrors.  It's so hard. I. Don't. Want. To. Leave. This. Place.