Taking a break

I’m back in Jinja for a Saturday night getaway with the other internationals. We were here last weekend too, enjoying a break from our training routine and indulging in the foods that remind of us home (cheese-based). We stay at the Backpacker’s Inn, a nice hostel with an outdoor bar that costs about $4 a night. It even has free internet.

I started feeling sick a couple days ago, and have been doing my best to fight off a head-cold. It’s not bad, but since nearly every white-skinned person has been sick this week I’d rather get better than come down with one of the other bugs floating around. Staying healthy is a top priority right now.

We find out where we’ll be placed at the end of this week, and leave for our new homes on Saturday. I’ve been nervous lately about who I’ll be placed with and how the food allowance budgeting is going to work, but the training sessions have gotten so repetitive that I think we’re all pretty ready for the next step.

Friday night was “culture night,” and the volunteers managed to put together about two hours of quality singing, dancing, and acting entertainment. The North America volunteers (all five of us) performed classic songs from our continent – Alouette for Canada, Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay for the States, and La Bamba for Mexico. Jill provided ukulele accompaniment. It went over pretty well although our Spanish left something to be desired on the last number.

We took a group trip to Ssezibwa Falls last Sunday. Legend dictates that barren women should throw an animal over the falls if they wish to conceive – if the animal dies, you get pregnant, if it lives, no luck. So you end up with either a baby or a wounded goat, depending on how your luck plays out.

I neglected to bring my mosquito net to Jinja and got devoured last night. I've always been a target for biting bugs...