never again will i take a washing machine for granted

we were supposed to go visit zerrida today at her school but apparently there's been a big swine flu outbreak there so they cancelled the visitation and have all the students quarantined in the school. yikes.

i think i've physically exerted myself more today than i ever have in my life (or at least since i've been here). i will NEVER, NEVER AGAIN take for granted a washing machine, dishwasher, or mop. dear lord. these people are amazing. so first i did laundry. doing laundry entails putting your clothes in these little basins, filling them with water from these huge jugs (they call them jerry cans), rubbing the clothes with a bar of soap, and them rubbing the clothes together vigorously for what feels like eternity until they're clean. luckily my family has a water tank thing in the backyard, because most people have to walk like 1/2 a mile to fetch the water before they can even begin doing the washing. the past few saturdays, i've started doing my laundry on my own, but something has always come up to pull me away from it so the housegirl or my mother have finished (or maybe my mother has come up with an excuse to get me away from the laundry, both because she feels bad for what a lame-o i am and because she knows she can do it 1,000 times faster than i ever could). today, however, it was all me (save for the few times my mother came up and watched me, laughing hysterically). i probably did a really half-ass job, but i don't really care too much (i know ya'll are familiar with my general disinterest in cleanliness and hygeine). one girl came into school a few weeks ago with her hands literally rubbed raw from how hard she scrubbed her clothes. there was no way i was about to work THAT hard on ANYTHING, much less clothes that are going to get FILTHY again the second i leave the house.

then, once i finished the laundry, my mother suggested that i mop my room. let me tell you that "mopping" is a VERY relative term. mopping here consists of a wet rag that you wipe across the floor, over and over and over again. it was EXHAUSTING. mom -- i told my mother about how, at home, whenever you ask me to do chores and i come back and tell you i've finished, you always ask me whether i've done it according to my standards or yours, because i'm lazy and do everything half-ass. she laughed a lot. (and probably concurred)

but really, the hardest thing about all of this wasn't even the physical labor required, but the amount of squatting and bending over that everything entailed. people here squat SO MUCH, and make it look so easy, and IT'S NOT. i squat for like 30 seconds and already i have cramps in my feet and calves. sometimes i can hardly finish my bath because i get so tired from the damn squatting.

i have a 6-8 page paper do tomorrow that i haven't started. uganda isn't exactly bringing out my academic seriousness/dedication. i should be working on it now, because the power has been out at my house all day (and all day yesterday) so i haven't been able to charge my laptop, so i'm at the hotel down the street and have limited time and need to be using it wisely. instead i'm blogging.

tomorrow we're leaving for the eastern excursion. we'll be spending roughly 3 days with a rural village family, and it's going to be HARDCORE and i'm SO EXCITED. no running water, no electricity, and little to no english or luganda spoken. we've been paired up for our homestays, and i'm satisfied with the girl i'm paired with, and we're going to bring a goat as a gift for our family. YES. they're buying the goats for us in kampala and they're going to strap them to the roof of the van for the drive to the east. i'm trying not to think about that.

my practicum is starting to come together and i'm feeling so much better about it. i'm going to be doing my research on the first topic i wrote about a few posts ago -- about UN security council resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security (the resolution that PeaceWomen Project, where i interned in NY, was involved in advocating for and implementing) and how it has or has not been implemented in the northern ugandan peace processes. it looks like i'm going to be staying in kampala for most of it and will be going up north to gulu for a week or so near the end. i think i'm going to ask my homestay mother if i can continue staying with her. i'm pretty sure she'll say yes, but i'm TOTEZ nervous about having that conversation, especially because the issue of monetary compensation will have to be addressed at some point and it's gonna be AWK (i think the s.i.t. homestay coordinator lady will help out with that, though). i think my mother and i have gotten a lot closer/have kind of become friends because last week i had to do a family tree assignment and the issue of her divorce came up while i was interviewing her and we had a great convo about her life and how AMAZING she is. (you're more amazing, mama, DUH)

okay i gotta do my paper now. btw i ended up getting the lion king yesterday and so far jethro has watched "finding nemo" THREE times and "lion king" TWICE. i love this kid.

uncle dane -- i didn't hear or see anything about that slum being turned into a "modern eco-city"...that's so strange and interesting and possibly scary. i'll definitely keep my ears and eyes peeled...

bobby -- i don't know if you're still reading this but the other day we were talking to this semi-powerful chairman guy and i couldn't concentrate on a word he was saying because he was wearing a "home improvement" windbreaker and it was AMAZING and hilarious. i thought of you.

snichols -- i've got my fingers crossed! but i want a mountain day toooooooooo!!

jas -- i'm sorry, love, but i'm out of king for good. you're gonna have to trek out of quad-world if you wanna see me. ;-)

liz -- have your fingers un-frozen enough to play your celtic guitar? :)

sarah b -- "moonlight sonata" kills me and i can't stop listening to it

annie -- the other day i went into this really american-ish supermarket and there was SO MUCH toothpaste and it made me think of that one time in cvs. i laughed like the crazy muzungu i am and of course everyone was looking at me.

nana -- i do remember you mentioning those contacts before. i don't know that i'll make it to arua, but if you want to email me sherry's contact info i might be able to chat with her!

auntie c -- when did you learn luganda?!?!?!? can you help me???

ellen -- our herstory WILL continue DUH. p.s. a little bird told me that you had a certain london-friend visiting you at the beginning of the semester. we have a lot to catch up on, honey.

j -- poop scoop