Overeating and a gomez

Hello again.

I know you weren't expecting an update so soon...but you get one. Enjoy.

1.) On Friday 5 of us went to Kampala for a missionary dinner. It was with a former USP student, so it was really cool talking to her about her experiences with the program and how she ended up coming back to Uganda. We ate some pretty amazing food as well. Pasta, alfredo sauce, meat sauce, broccoli salad, breadsticks, and, my favorite, some peanut butter/chocolate dessert. It was absolutely heavenly. I think all of us ate way more than we were used to just because the food was sooooo amazing. Dean had to get up and go to the bathroom at the end of the meal because he thought he was going to throw up all of the amazingness. Holly, upon entering the van, said that no one could throw up because then everyone probably would. And that was the truth. However, though a little country sing-along, we made it home with all of the lovely American food still in our stomachs.

When I got home, it was about 10:30. My family goes to bed at around 9:30 usually, so I wasn't quite sure what would happen. Agnes opened the door for me, I went in to the living room, and saw mama and Dokas asleep on the couch. I thought that was a bit odd and tried to make some noise to wake them up and let them know that I was home. I was unsuccessful and went to my room to sleep. In the morning, mama came in and was quite shocked to see me there. Apparently, she had finally gone to bed at about 1:00 thinking I had not come in. She was getting ready to call someone in the program to see what the deal was. Interesting evening.

2.) Saturday morning I made chapati. I find it quite hilarious that I am the only one in the family who knows how to make chapati and I am the mzungu. It took so long because I made so much. Meanwhile, mama was washing my clothes for me. I still have not had to wash my own clothes. It is quite convenient. I help rinse. Hehe.

3.) Saturday evening we went to a wedding reception. I wore a gomez, which is the traditional Ugandan garment. It was sooooo difficult. Mama had to come in and help me put it on. There are so many layers and I really don't understand how anyone puts that on alone. Everyone was very excited to see a mzungu in a gomez. I received so many comments. I think they really appreciated it. The reception was good. There were not too many speeches, which was really nice. We ate there and the people serving gave me the largest portions. I also experienced eating with my hands for the first time. Interesting experience.

4.) Sunday morning I went to a different church with my family. My father had been invited to a church across town to conduct the service for Mother's Union Day. Mama, Tata and I all went to the home of one of the Kabaka's officials for tea first. Then we went to the church. It was quite interesting. The service was in Luganda, but mama translated for me. The person preaching was using the wife of noble character passage. Mama kept translating it as 'the careful wife'. She then used Esther as a positive example of a careful wife. Vashti was a negative example because she refused to go when her husband called her. This apparently justified the king's actions. The gender roles here are very interesting.

5.) Sunday evening we went to Kampala to see cultural dancing. It was really amazing. At one point the women balanced pots on their heads. Some were dancing around with eight pots stacked on their heads. It was ridiculously awesome. We also got to go down on the stage and have our own dance party for a few minutes. It was a good night.

Ok, I'm running out of time. Those are the highlights of the past week. We only have 5 weeks left, which is so crazy. Love you all and see you soon!