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!!

GBI...

GBI is expanding quickly!

We have new programs starting, new books in the library, tons of new staff and hopefully in a few weeks...tons of new students and teachers!

10 teacher interviews down today...a few more tomorrow :)...I am blessed to be apart of what God is doing here in Uganda!

For more info on our ministry, check us out at:
www.gbiuganda.org

Blogger Blocks

Usually I am not at a loss for words but it seems as if I have hit a block in creativity the last two weeks or so...

SOOO...Don't give up on me and this little blog of mine...

I promise more to come in the near future!!

Java Cafe...

Oh how sad you made me!

When I walked with a bounce in my step back into your store after a long 3 weeks in Malaysia and discovered that my iced mocha was no longer 5500/= (approx $2.50) but rather 8500/= (approx $4.50)!

Last I checked I wasn't in a Starbucks??

I hope you lose business with your $4.50 iced mocha and go back to the way things were when we all happily sipped ice coffee for a bargain price of $2.50!

Praise God for Colds…

As some of you may have heard on the news…the final football matches ended with some bangs here in Kampala…and not good ones.

As the night ended reports tell us that there are close to 70 dead here as a result of 2 bombings on civilians watching the final match.

One of the places hit, the Ethiopian Village in kabalagala, is a place I have been frequenting often for football matches…They have good Ethiopian food and a huge projector screen for viewing. On any given evening there are close to 100 people there cheering for their favorites teams.

I had made plans to be there for the final match as well, as I had for the last 5 matches, but this past week I have had a head cold and so I thought being out until midnight again, in the cold air wouldn’t be good for my plan of getting better.

I cancelled my plans at 9:20….10 minutes before the match began, put on my PJs and crawled into bed.

Around midnight my neighbor called me…I was half awake and half asleep and so I didn’t understand what she was asking me…I just grunted a few times and went back to sleep…I guess I sounded delirious because around 1:30 she called me again…this time I heard the question…

“ARE YOU IN YOUR BED SLEEPING???”

Yeah…why? Was my response…

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay…and you were in your bed”

I thought her question was funny, but I figured she was good intentioned.

It wasn’t until 6am when another friend of mine called me and disrupted my sleep…

“ARE YOU ALIVE???”

Huh….

By this, the 3rd interruption, I decided something wasn’t quite right and so I started asking questions…

It was then that I realized what happened…

The news had broadcast that the Ethiopian village restaurant was bombed and that an American was killed…my friends all thought it might be me, since they knew that was my favorite place to watch the matches.

As I hung up the phone, fully awake with shock I could only thank God for my cold and for His watch care over me…without that cold I would have been in the middle of that restaurant with all the others who were innocently attacked.

They haven’t yet released the names of my fellow patrons; all I know is that the newspapers here are riddled with pictures of victims, dead in their chairs. I am thankful that so far, I haven’t recognized any of the dead.

Praise God for my sniffles and please be praying for the 70 families that have lost loved ones because of this terribly tragic event.

I made it!

On July 1st I crossed my first milestone and official hit my 1 year anniversary of living in Uganda!

I can't believe that a year has passed!

It has been 365 days since I last saw a Best Buy, a Walmart, a Target, a Costco, a drive through restaurant...and well...many other things!

BUT even without those things, life here is good and I love seeing all that God has planned for me fall into place!

I've been told that I am Ugandan now...not because I have lived here for a year but because of the way I have become one with the people. It was a real honor to hear that, as there are missionaries who have been here for many many many years and are still considered a "muzungu" or "rich white person"

I am glad my muzungu days are behind me and looking forward to what God has in store for me in year 2 :)

Restored!

A few months ago I got a new computer to replace my 5 year old dying PC...good idea? I thought so!

I was wrong...after the excitement of finding someone to bring the PC to me and actually getting it in my hands, I opened it and started the fun...the fun of freezes, crashes and blue screens...

Basically I got a lemon!

The tech guy and I have pretty much emailed back and forth since then...him trying to figure out why the thing freezes and me trying to figure out how to use it for more than 30 minutes without it locking up...

Its been a mess!

So last week we hit the final straw...and they asked me to wipe it clean and just put in windows again...then to let them know what happened, if it froze they would send me a new hard drive, if not...then the was problem on my end that they couldn't figure out why.

I am sure you can guess what happened....a few days latter, I was back up to 10 freezes in one afternoon!

Then the dell man said something that almost made me do a happy dance in the middle of my bed...rather than sending out a new hard drive he wants to send me a replacement computer!

OH HAPPY DAY!

Mr Dell Tech Man, you have restored my faith in the Dell world and I am once again, a satisfied Dell customer!

Now I just have to be patient...5 weeks til I get my new computer :) I can't wait!