Be on the look out

We'll be making one last post of pictures from last week and this week. We have actually done some pretty cool things in the past couple days. The weekend we have spent trying to catch up on writing, and making last minute visits with our friends. Yesterday we went to Owino market. We tried to take a video of the chaos. Pretty much everything that you could think to buy is in that place. Maybe like Walmart, but cramped and outside. Our friends Moses and Sonja took us there to meet Moses' mother who sells fruits and veggies. I bought some delicious spices to make tea with. As many of you know I'm a bit of a tea fanatic, and I'm continuously on the look out for different types of tea or something to add to it. Our friends also bought some fresh cinammon. I had never seen it before just plain. It looks like mulch. Something that I didn't expect here the first time that I came was the significant Indian minority in the country and the influence it has on the different things that are available. In this case quality spices. We often saw things that we did not recognize, but the people had difficulty telling us what it actually was. Look for a pictures with something hot pink, orange, and then yellow. We have no idea what kind of spices those are. It was funny that as we walked from place to place, sometimes we would get a whiff of something delicious like Mangos and then a whiff of something rank like warm and raw fish. We also bought some black currants to try. Not a big fan. It was good a first, but at the end was bitter in such a way that it felt like something had sucked dry all of the saliva in my mouth. Win some loose some I guess.

From there they took us to where Moses grew up and Sonja spent an internship. The area is called Mengo pronounced like Mango. It is one of the biggest and worst slums in Kampala. Going there was pretty rough, but it was different from my experience in other slums. I think maybe because it was in an industrial area. I cringed to see the kids walking around without shoes on, not knowing what sort of chemicals are on the ground. We visited the homes of a couple of students who are being supported through their organization. They also showed us where they practice. The kids themselves were very sweet. One was funny because he heard a man calling out to me, and he said “Ah, your too young for him.” I said, “I know, and he’s very old, yuck.” I think he’s in one of the videos from earlier in the summer.

Today I woke up with a rash on my stomach and in a couple of places on my limbs. I feel bad that we have spent a portion of Meagan’s last day at the doctor’s office. I think it might be the detergent that is irritating my skin. They gave me a shot that was the most painful thing that I’ve had in a while. Luckily Meagan was there with me. Afterwards we also went to the craft market. The Foundation is having a fundraiser on October 29th in Baton Rouge. Let me know if you’re interested in going. We have bought a few items from the craft market. I got a cool wooden bowl with wire handles, some baskets, greeting cards, some salad spoons, and earrings. one pair gold, one pair purple. I’m looking for a necklace, but I can’t find one that suits me. The proceeds from these items will go to our project so that we can continue our research next summer!