i'm back?

hello all...no i am not dead, and no i have not forgotten about you -- i've just been keeping busy...

so what have i done in the past month and a half...well i will try to sum as much of it up as i can.

i moved into my new home (pictures are uploaded of my new place!) and i love it. my village is wonderful, the people are wonderful, my home is amazing and its nice to have other volunteers there to vent to occasionally. food is plentiful and cheap and there is always transport available. i'm much happier with the way things are going.

my new village is in the hills/mountains. i have been hiking a lot and have really enjoyed the outdoor experiences and the views from the top of the ridges. i have done many short 1 hr hikes, and have mastered a 3.5 hour hike from my home to the college. I did that hike two weeks ago. it was wondeful...up and down ridges the whole way. the last hour i got escorted by a local woman who was walking much faster than i could in my super cool boots and she was barefoot, carring two bags of vegetables, and balancing a basket of vegetables on her head. these local women cease to amaze me. i couldn't do it thats for sure (there were sharp pointy rocks everywyere).

last week i hiked from my village to mbale town....we went the long way and it took about 7.5 hours. it was wonderful but a rough hike. i almost died by falling off a cliff, but i found a tree to hold onto. after that i was much more cautious on the narrow, wet and slippery path along the edge of the mountain. needless to say, by the time we got to town i was ready to sit and have a soda...but it was wondeful nonetheless. oh i also forgot to mention that i fell in a river that day too...o well...theres a reason i was never a waitress.

the school term has ended at the college has ended and the primary school year has ended so work has slowed quite a bit. i am working on writing a proposal for my primary school to do some infrastructure improvement and going to lots of workshops until the new term starts in february.

i spent thanksgiving with some americans in town and it was wonderful. good food, good company and good times. i did miss all my friends and family back home though. in addition, i know i will miss you all throughout the rest of this holiday season as well.

yesterday i went to a friends birthday party up the mountain in her home village. the whole experience was amazing. it was very different from our birthday parties, and much more structured. they had a candle blowing ceremony thing where she blew out 3 candles symbolizing that we wish her to live for 300 more years.. they had a gift offering time and cake. the cake was more like muffins and no icing but its cake here in uganda. then we ate a wonderful ugandan feast complete with rice, matooke, chicken, kamalewa (bamboo shoots), and cabbage. it was a wonderful time. and no ugandan party (at least in my area) can end without some time spent around the malwa circle. malwa is the local beer and i dont like it, but its always fun to sit and enjoy the company and conversation that converges around the ceramic pot with long straws.

i'm trying to think of what else has been going on, and there really hasn't been much else. i have just been keeping busy and trying to stay sane. i miss you all and wish you all a happy holiday season. thanks for your love and support.