'this week...i want america.

I have had many requests for proper punctuation/capitalization so I'm obliging you gripers. This is 'so not my m.o.' but whatevs... :).

I have a laundry list of complaints about why I wish I could have been in America this past week. Let's take this paragraph to get it out there, then we'll move on to bigger and better things. First things first...Mattie got engaged. Woop woop! There are certain events in my sister's lives that I think I should be present for - this was one of them. I understand the complications with me being in Africa, but I still wish I could have been home to give her a hug. Second, the Phils were in the World Series. I understand that their performance was sub-par, but it would have been so fun to be in PA in the fall, watching the best team in the nation compete against the Yankees. Third, Messiah Soccer (men's and women's...oh yeah, that get's another woop woop!) start national play-offs this weekend. Being in Africa prevents me from being the loser ex-athlete that goes to all the games, but I still wish I could be home to catch one of them.

Oops, we're starting paragraph two of complaining! Yes, I was able to quasi - participate in all of these events via Skype, mlb.com/livetv, and Interactive Brackets on the NCAA Website, but those things were teases at best. The good news is that all of this was happening and I didn't hate my life - not at all. Sure, I really missed home, but I was still content with my daily activities...points for Uganda on that one.

I've gotten to do some cool things since my last post. I got back from a great trip in Kenya, relaxed for a week or so (sidenote: in this time my hard drive malfunctioned making all of my photos
inaccessible...BAH! The data recovery guy here couldn't find them, but my boss in the States just got the hard drive today and is hopeful that we can figure it out...keep prayin though!), then I went to
Kapchorwa to take photographs of a water project. My roommate, Jill, works from e.m.i. (Engineering Ministries International) and they have a project they are helping with, supplying and maintaining water pumps all over Kapchorwa, in the eastern part of Uganda. It was really fun and funny, I wish my words could even remotely bring light to the hilarity of it...we'll have a go though.

My original interest in the project came almost two months ago when I met Paul, a man that works with Jill. He has this sweet invention to purify water (it's a contraption that has this bacteria killing light in it and is powered by a hand crank). He is working on a bigger output and wants to hook it up to a bike eventually so that gallons of water can be purified at a time instead of just a couple cups. Sorry Paul, for oversimplifying something so cool - also, my apologies if I didn't explain it incorrectly! Though the invention wasn't a part of the trip, I still wanted to go and see Paul in action and get some more photos to pad my portfolio, :). I was lucky to have Travis, an intern who also works with Jill, come along and provide some much needed comic relief in times of awkwardness (stories below, also see tgreiman.wordpress.com for a more intellectual account of life inAfrica). The three of us met up with the people funding the project, Reverend Rusty and Co. from Alabama. I knew it was gonna be a great trip when we met Rusty, Bill, Bubba and Corky in Kampala the morning we left. They introduced themselves with southern drawls nothing short of fabulous and said, 'Hi - we're from L.A...Lower Alabama!'

The two days were fascinating. Me, knowing nothing about water or the science-y things that Paul, Rusty, and Travis discussed, was fascinated by it all and got to take some photos. We spent our days driving throughout the valley, visiting the pumps, talking with thelocals, and eating too much chapati (which is NEVER a bad thing). We spent the first night with the Anglican bishop, eating dinner and sharing our life stories. This is the night I learned what I later dubbed 'Corky-isms'. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple...Stupid. B.I.B.L.E. - Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. These are just a couple
spoilers seeing as Corky and I have decided to get together and write his memoir. I want to spend 6 months in Alabama with him, then he can come to Philly for 6 months. Titled: 'Corky Comes To Philadelphia.'

I've got plans, people.

Speaking of plans - announcement: I'm engaged..ish. Rusty and Paul thought that Travis (also known as the gentle giant due to his 6'5" frame that caused one of two reactions from children: absolute terror or fascination) and I made a great couple. We think it may have had to do with the fact that we were the only 'youths' on the trip - but we won't speculate or play with fate, :). We have yet to set a date but we're thinking the year 2015 holds a certain charm...I'll keep you all updated. Sorry to rain on your parade Mattie.

I also spent a weekend in Jinja, being hosted by some amazing people who also work for e.m.i. Their names were Phil and Emily and they had two adorable toddlers, Jonathan and Evelyn. They gave us the royal treatment - pizza, beds, card games, and a laptop to watch some episodes of Scrubs. All of that AND they live right on the Nile so I woke up right when the sun was rising and sat in a hammock in a beautiful garden as the sun came up over the river. Talk about breathtaking. I couldn't get enough. If you guys ever read this, thank you!! It was one of my favorite weekends ever! We spent all morning that Sunday hanging out at the source of the Nile with all the e.m.i. interns from Kampala and then me, Jill, and our friends Jen and Jacklyn capped off the evening by going to Cafe Jafe in Kampala - comparable to any hip coffee shop in the States. It just opened and it's going to be deadly for my wallet!

I just got to Ethiopia yesterday and have not had a thing to complain about. I'm in a super nice hotel with fast internet, a great shower,TV, and a comfy bed. Life's not too shabby at the moment. Tomorrow I get to go to a patient's village (approx. 6 hours away) and shoot some footage of her at home. She had bilateral club foot and is currently recovering from her surgery on her second foot.

A quick story (not funny at all) from the hospital today. CURE Ethiopia has a program running, headed up by an American I met today named Judy, where they try to get babies to gain weight by teaching
the mothers how to breast feed. Judy told me one of the most horrifying stories I have heard here. If you don't wanna be bummed out, don't read on. If you want to know the reality of the places I
work, please do...

One young mother had just been brought to the hospital by her sister. The baby is 3 weeks old and severely underweight, but Judy beamed while telling me he was steadily gaining. The mother conceived the baby because she was raped - he was born with a cleft palate and the mother had no money to take him to a hospital. She starved the baby for four days so she wouldn't have to deal with it, when the sister found out what was happening and brought them both to CURE. Judy finished the story by telling me that the mother did not smile at all when she first came and then introduced me to a woman (far too young for the 3 week old in her arms) with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. It was one of many moments that I had to close my eyes and take a deep breath. The brutality and reality of situations like these literally suffocate me. The emotions I feel at those moments are usually too strong for tears and simply limit my capacity for normal, everyday actions - specifically, breathing.

I don't have a really funny story to end with, but I do have a semi-funny one.

There is a man that cuts up pineapples with a machete and sells them for about 1 dollar. It's really one of my favorite things about Kampala. He has a little cart full of them right next to the grocery
store I always shop at. I usually stop by his cart on a run and buy one. One day about a month ago, I stopped by and a boda driver pulled up next to me and said, 'Mzungu, will you please marry me?' After an affirmative no, he requested that I at least buy him a pineapple. I, laughing to hard to respond audibly, just shook my head no. The pineapple man (who does in fact have a great smile) saved the day and said, 'How dare you talk to my wife that way?' I was astonished and overly grateful and said, 'Yes - with my husband standing here...how rude!'
The boda driver, equally astonished, said, 'You are married?!' Pineapple man (handing me my freshly cut fruit): See you at home sweetheart! The boda driver sped off and I laughed and ran home.

But the story does not end here. You see, I thought I had found a Ugandan man that would not hit on me but simply fend off OTHER creepers. Alas, I'm still searching for that man.

Last week, I approached the pineapple man in my sweaty, post- 5 mile run glow, and as he readied my pineapple asked the innocent but dangerous question that I've heard approximately a million times in the past 6 months: 'So, are you married?' There is a five second window after this question is thrown out there where you can choose to lie or simply reject a man. I go 50/50 on this one...they are equally disappointing to the man. This was one of the times I chose to lie...
Me: Yes, I do!
Pineapple Man: Are you sure?
Me: Yes...haven't you seen the giant mzungu?
Pineapple Man: No, I haven't...do you have any children?
Me (sticking out my stomach to it's fattest glory and patting it like a proud mother to be with a sarcastic smile): Not yet, but soon...see?
Pineapple Man: Ah, yes I see - you are growing!

Crap. It was funny until that moment. Then I walked the mile and a half back to my house with unusual fervor. Gotsta work off those pounds...

Oh, and the photos are funny ones from Kapchorwa (photo credit: t. greiman). I will post others later...