"Hi, My Name is Lena and I eat bugs"

No this is not some type of AA confession but something that I realized I am getting more and more okay with as time goes on...

Now my friends in India just posted a blog about how they became vegetarians when they moved to India...I must confess...this blog is going in a completely opposite direction of theirs but still...it will make for some good reading (I hope :)

As Americans I know most of us get a little squeamish to the idea of eating bugs...but what I find is that Americans are probably the only people on earth who think eating bugs are gross...notice I didn't say they are the only ones on earth who don't eat bugs...cause even though we like to think we don't, we all eat some...either on accident or on purpose...

I did a little research...just in case you are curious... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272_v121/ai_13953408/?tag=content;col1

How did my "revelation" come about....well...if you read my blog you have probably noticed that I have had my share of bug stories...bugs in my popcorn kernels, bugs in my kitchen, d-worming medication and the works...

What you don't know is that I knowingly eat bugs on occasion...not because I want to, but because it is a part of life...

For example...I eat ants at least twice a week...not because I like the way they taste but rather because at least twice a week there is some poor little ant carcass stuck to the side of my matoke at lunch and rather than be an annoying white person, who will waste perfectly good food because their is a dead ant stuck to it, I usually just cover it with some sauce and munch away...a little extra protein right??

Today however, I think I hit a low point in my bug consumption....and NO i didn't buy a cup of grasshoppers on the side of the road to much on...

I opened up a much anticipated box of corn meal, and well...the contents practically crawled out of the box, into my mixing bowl...

My first instinct...and probably to most of you reading this will come as some surprise but my first instinct wasn't to throw the box away but rather to try and pick those bugs out with a spoon...but once I started my endeavor I realized there were to many for my spoon method to be successful...

Instinct 2...and no...it still wasn't to throw the box out...rather it was to use my metal strainer to sift them out...well...lets just say my metal strainer doesn't have small enough holes...but it did catch some...which was when I realized there were three different types of bugs taking up residence in my corn meal and not just one like I originally thought....there were some brown ones -I'm guessing they were baby weevils, long white ones that looked a little like centipedes just not as gross, and really tiny ones that looked like walking pieces of grain.

Instinct 3...find a smaller strainer...which I did at my neighbors house, but well...it was a little too small so not even the corn meal went through...

Instinct 4...use the metal strainer over and over until it comes up clean...then at least I know I got all the adults and teenager sized bugs...the rest...well...what could they hurt right?? After all, this is going in the oven and they will all die anyway!

So that is just what I did! Anyone up for dinner at my house tonight???!! haha...

It was fine...don't worry...I didn't die!

As I finished up my meal, I came to a new juncture in the my "I eat bugs" road...what to do with the rest of the box of corn meal?? Toss it, keep it....humm....lets keep it...I repeated Instinct steps 1-4 but instead of killing them by fire, this time I decided I would put the sifted corn meal into a bag and freeze em to death...so at this very moment, my visitors are dying a slow and hopefully agonizing death in my freezer...

The next step....buy a medium sized strainer so that once they have all frozen to death, I can sift them out and enjoy some corn bread free of bug carcasses!

Ahhh...isn't life an adventure?? It sure would be boring if everything worked out perfectly every time!

Refridgerator Funk?

I am officially annoyed, as you can probably tell...

But seriously, my refrigerator is driving me CraAzYY!

It all started at the end of June when I got back from Malaysia...

And yes, I know what you are thinking...oops! You left something to rot in there BUT really I didn't!

I made sure all the fresh food products were gone before I left to avoid "funky-ness" when I return, yet when I opened my dear college dorm sized fridge, there it was...

You know, the type of smell that you know SOMETHING went bad, but you can't quite identify what exactly that SOMETHING was??

So I hunted through the fridge and found a plastic bag with a green piece of cheese hiding behind a container of juice...yeah! I thought with satisfied relief...my funk is GONE!

For about a week I was as happy as could be until that exact same funk came back...again, I went on the hunt, this time finding absolutely nothing but still trying to do something, I through away a few things that may have been close to being bad...

again, the scent left...for a WEEK!

So this weekend in a desperate dash I through away everything but the wrapped cheese and scrubbed down all the shelves...lets hope that it solves my problem otherwise I really might go off the deep end!

Oh dear...I can't tell you how much I hate fridge funk!

Cool Blog...

A friend of mine posted this blog to her facebook and well...I was very entertained...

This girl has committed herself to buy a $1 outfit, every day for the next 365 days, she then modifies them and makes them fit her...

I could only imagine how much fun she would have here in UG with our used items!! Maybe she needs to come and outfit us!

haha!

Enjoy!

www.newdressaday.wordpress.com

Evil Weevil!!!

So if you know me, you know I am quite the fan of popcorn....um um....I love it! Seriously!

So, needless to say, I have had some experience buying popcorn!

Two weeks ago, I bought my popcorn in a different store...one I know and trust of course...but yet last week when I opened up the bag and poured the kernels into my Tupperware, I noticed something...

Little tiny holes on the popcorn kernels...odd...I think to my self...

As I keep pouring, I am moving the kernels around to make space for each one of them in the container and I come across 1 little black bug...

Humm...okay...what's one black bug...I kill it and continue to pour...

Another black bug...

Then another...

As I start to kill these bugs (which by the way look like tiny versions of triceratops with some weird points on their heads I realize that those little holes in my popcorn kernels aren't just there on accident...

In fact, as I moved the popcorn more and more, I realized each kernel was home to a little bug and so the more bugs I smashed, more and more kept pouring out.

I had never, in all my life thought that bugs could live in popcorn kernels...so last night I decided to do a little Internet detective work to uncover the truth about my unwanted friends...

Now...in case you want to know...typing in bugs in popcorn kernels doesn't work very well...but after about 20 minutes of persistence I found what I was looking for...my unwanted friends are weevils and apparently their favorite foods are popcorn and rice. Who knew!

I think the term "evil weevil" works for me!

I am not a very good "capture it on film" kinda girl...but i found a picture of these evil weevils during my Internet search...if you ever see one in your popcorn...know that all his friends are in hiding in the other kernels, throw away the bag, and start over!

Just some advice from someone who now has experience in the subject!

Muzungu...

Contrary to what most visitor's to Uganda think...the term "muzungu" isn't really a compliment...sorry to break it to you if you bought one of the "muzungu" shirts at the craft markets...BUT the truth is...

While most white people take it to mean just simply "white person", that is not quite an accurate translation of the word...

What it really means, based on conversations I have had with some of my Ugandan friends, is roughly "obnoxious rich white person"

AND I have to say, its not something I really enjoy being called.

Most of the time, you will see young children yelling "muzungu" to a white person with their hand held out...a sign they are wanting a little extra spending cash that day.

As a year long resident of Uganda, I was pleasantly surprised when the young children on the end of my road stopped calling me a muzungu a few months ago and now just greet me when I drive by with a smile, a wave and a "hi" or "bye"...a sign that I am being more and more accepted in the community here and I love it!!

The thing that bugs me...is the one "christian" guy who enjoys doing business with the white missionary folk because he can rip them off...my goal this next year or so...

Is to get him to stop greeting me by the name muzungu...honestly...that would really make me one happy camper!

Duncan's Big Day...

Duncan joined us at GBI this past May as our Head of Community Development Programs and has quickly become one of the gang here at work.

Some of us have nicknamed my brother "trouble" as he loves to tease people and make them laugh. Any given day you may hear Duncan call me "Sir" or me call him "Ma'am"...not because I get my luganda mixed up but rather because Duncan just likes to be silly...as a result, we have bonded and are in great anticipation as we eagerly await Duncan's big day on 21st Aug...otherwise known as the wedding day!

We are in full swing around here, the girls deciding what they will wear for the events (the give away and the wedding) and the men...well...they like to give Duncan pointers for his soon to be married life and tell him he needs to be more tidy as a married man :)

I am privileged to be invited to the give away, which is happening 2 days before the wedding. The give away is a party thrown by the bride's family, in which the husband to be brings "his people" to come and officially accept the bride from her family.

From what I am told, certain people have certain tasks at the give away...there are people who are there to keep the groom calm, people there to receive the bride, and much much more.

I am told my job is to receive Charity for Duncan. I don't yet know all that it entails but I am happy to do it as his adopted sister and very honoured that he chose me for such an important task!

I am sure there will be lots of pictures taken...so stay tuned for updates & pictures as Duncan's Big Day quickly approaches!

Hairstyles...

In the last year I have come to realize that Ugandans like my hair in 3 particular states, and despite no matter what new "do" I come up with, I usually only get complements on my hair when it fits into these 3 "styles"...

1. It's wet
2. It's greasy
3. It's plated (braided)

Yes folks, its true...

On those mornings when I am organized and have time to wash my hair before work, I usually hear, "Thank you Lena, for washing your hair this morning..." from my good friend Joseline...and despite what you think, its not because its been a long time between washings but rather because she likes the "wet" look...She even told me one day that my hair would look so nice all day if only I brought a spray bottle with me and wet it throughout the day! Ahhh, how I love Joseline!

A few weeks ago, I went a whooping two days without washing my hair...due mostly to the fact that I was being lazy...On day two of my hair washing strike, I have to admit that my hair was a little greasy...and so tied it back and went on my way, knowing in the back of my mind, that I didn't look my best. That day, I got three complements on how nice my hair looked and that I should style it that way all the time...so yes folks, the slick, wet, greasy look is in and if you want to look cute around here...throw in a little extra grease in your hair and continue on your merry way :)

Of course the third, and my prized hair style is the plated one (Braided)...and all it takes is a few bags of synthetic hair, 10 hours of sitting, and about $10...

The point of the story...I will probably never be considered cute in Uganda...at least in area of hair...

Oh well!!