November 3-11: Three week update due. I know. I'm sorry you all thought I was dead. I'm not! :)

Flip flops, long skirts, chapati, banana trees, carrying water on my head, strep throat.....'I know the plans I have for you' declares the Lord.....

Yesterday Justin Bieber's Christmas cd came out. It's amazing! You should buy it. Just saying. We listened to it while my friends carved pumpkins and I researched the similarities between Saddam Hussein and King David.......( I know. I can't even say it without wondering who the heck came up with such a project!?? Oh Africa.)

We just got back from our rural homestays Sunday. I was so bummed about coming back to this home and school, but bright and early Monday I got two great cards from eliz and my favorite 4 year old in the whole world! My cousin noah sent me the greatest letter he wrote and drew for me! I guess you could say I'm starting to miss home!

This took me two nights to write (due to lack of motivation). Night #1:
I'm in bed trying to sleep, but unfortunetly there is electricity tonight, so I can't. My mom is sitting 15 inches from the TV set which is exploding with violent shouts of the Ugandan news. No idea why it is so loud.
I know some of you don't want to spend an hour reading this and I have to sleep at some point sooooo- here is the quick version:

3 weeks ago somehow I got talked into going to the neighbor's son's super prestigous boarding school. I had only met our super nice neighbor once...for 10 minutes. Apparently my mom didn't want me to go to the garden that week-end so she sent me with the neighbors. 2 hr drive with their family there, eat, tour campus, drive home. Best weekend ever! super nice chill family! Found out they are loaded. Have four leather couches and a flat screen. Know where I'm going for a nap! Following day did some intense Christmas shopping in the city with friends. I'm keeping my eyes open for fun things to bring home, so if anyone wants something in particular let me know!

The past week and a half were 'rural homestays' for the students from the USA. We went 5 hours from here...Up in Kapturwa, a place in the mountains. I stayed with a different family for 1 week. 4 yr old girl, 6 & 8 yr old boys with the biggest brown eyes. So cute! And SO full of energy! Parents were banana, onions and greens and coffee farmers. Did lots of digging (farming) and laundry... After day 2 my hands were bleeding on the knuckles from washing laundry, and I had 6 huge ripped open blisters from digging. Literally no skin was left on my hands. That's about when I realized it wasn't a sour patch kid lodged in my throat. I was sick. We were at a meeting at my aunts. After drinking my 6th cup of milk tea I realized my throat was so stiff and burning I couldn't finish the tea. it's super offensive when you don't finish the tea so they realized I was sick. Went home to Mokuno. African momma looked in my litle Mzungu throat and said 'EH! There are big white things all over!' Ahhhh! Hello strep throat. So awesome. After that I was limited to doing dishes and playing with the neighbor kids and carrying water ON my HEAD! YES. I CAN do it!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Night #2 of writing )Literally averaged 6 cups of tea a day. Dehydration was not a problem what so ever. If I wasn't drinking the tea, I sure was peeing it. My toilet this week was up in the banana forest-covered with banana leaves and the hole was about 3 by 5 inches. Needless to say I peed everywhere but the hole EVERY time. (I know mom your shocked that I would give such personal details but I'm half African now; it's just life!) My shower was a 4.5 ft tall building with no roof.the walls were old rusty sheet metal. The water source? A basin just like home. Filled up from the water I had carried to my house from the spring ON MY HEAD! I don't even remember what standing up straight under hot water feels like. Hot water. What a bizarre thought!!

Uh everyone there was so kind. I literally lived right on the main road in a small house. Everyone has lived there all their life so my parents know them and they know a mzungu is in town; so I averaged around 20 visitors a day. Uh huh. By day 6 I was so tired of people. Some would come and talk to me in the local language(which I'm pretty fluent in.... I know like 15 phrases and 20 words:) ... Some kids would just come and hide behind all corners of my yard or house trying to sneak a peek of me while I was doing dishes. Some would stay for hours and chat about American politics. Some children didn't dare to enter the yard and stayed out behind the banana trees and fence and would shout 'mzungu how ah yooooo??' and then duck to hide! And I'd shout back 'fine how are you?' and they'd shout back again, 'muzunguuuu how ah yooo!' and hide again. Priceless.

Ok, too tired of chicken pecking on this Tiny keyboard (ipod).
Back to Justin bieber... :)