7/2/08

7/2/08 7:03 Am

Our moments of warm showers, nice meals, and easy living seem to be beind us. We had been staying at the Makerere guest house for the past few evenings. We were disgruntled because it coust around $30 a person. We laughed because by US standards this place was a dump. However we did get substancance and an easy sleep. We then moved in Bukoto flats approximetly 3 days ago. This place reminds us more of a refugee concentration then of an aparpment complex. We must be extra vigilant to lock all the bars up to ensure that no one tries to rob us.

This week will be rather slow in terms of “adventure” as we are trying to establish a baseline of data for our research so it is rather tedious and monotonous. However, once that is established things will pick up. Willie is quite the talker, and is always keeping people on their toes, I have enjoyed getting to know him. At UCSF we did not interact that much, but I can see now that he is a fun and engaging person. Justin and I have shared quite a few moments together, and I am the closest to him than anyone on my team. Although you would not know it each member of my team is incredibly deep and introspective about events in there life. It is refreshing to be allowed a glimpse of someones soul. Ericka amazes me, and I can relate to her in a variety of ways. She comes off as ditzy and air head, but that is just because of the culture in which she was raised. She is brilliant and an intellectual monster. I am always sad that my speech, I feel, makes me appear less cerebral then I feel I am. The culture in which I was raised was in a town not too educationally driven nor advanced. Therefore my speech lacks the pop and sting of a private school academic. Ericka and I relate in this manner.

Yesterday we saw big military trucks drive by us on the streets. Loaded on the back was armed men with automatic rifles. The crowds around us were cheering and yelling as they drove by. We did not think about it too much until later on in the evening we saw on a TV about a drug dealing insurgency in Kampala. Several people had been shot, many wounded, police cars and buildings lit on fire. I am not sure if the populace supports the rebels or the national police. When I asked a Ugandan co-worker she said people dont trust the police here, there is alot of corruption.

I have been able to talk to Anneliese on the phone recently, which has been really nice. It is enjoyable to be caught up with life in the states, but at the same time saddens me because I can not come home to her. After being gone for a week now, I am beginning to realize just how long 2 months is…

Hopefully my e-mail will work here soon, so I can stay in contact via that. But for now, this blog is my source of voice.

Day _ : No Malaria