Everything Comes In Large Quantities

Wow, it is hard to believe it is already November. 24, meaning I have been here for over three months. It is kind of at a strange point in the semester where I find myself really fighting the urge to check out emotionally and mentally from Uganda and start thinking about home. This is not to say that I am not still enjoying myself but we are continually being reminded that North Americans are a very future oriented culture, I am thinking of home out of habit and also the thoughts of family and friends I miss.

Anyways, recently I have been thinking a lot about how so much here in Uganda seems to come in big quantities. For example;





The other morning I went to take my daily cold shower and I look up in the shower to see approximately fifty or so (not an exaggeration… the pictures to prove it) grasshoppers. Grasshoppers are everywhere here right now, seeing as it is grasshopper season. But not only are there live grasshoppers everywhere you go but dead, cooked and edible ones as well. There are sold in big buckets on the streets and each grasshopper sells for about 300 shillings (which is around 15-20 cents in Canada). I tried a couple and they were crunchy, tasted a little like fish.

Also;
I have told some people that I have been training for the half marathon in Kamapala (a big city about 20 kms from the University). This marathon took place the past Sunday (November 22), and it was potentially one of my most bizarre experiences here yet. The race started at 7 am and there were people running in the 10km, the 21km (half marathon), and the 42 km (full marathon). You must know that altogether there were about 13,000 people there, apparently 3000 were white but mainly Africans. The race started and we somehow missed the starting for the half marathon and got caught up in the 10k crowd and ended up being directed in the wrong direction. So we ran the 10k instead of the half-marathon we were trained to run. It was pretty disappointing. My friend and I did a slow jog through the finish line with confused looks on our faces, not realizing we were finishing the race, we were ready to run another 11 km.

Anyways, it was so bizarre because as we ran, many times I thought I would get trampled (I will show pictures of that later..). There were so many runners, some who were well trained with the marathon build and others who were running in jeans and high heels. One girl who was running had a teddy bear hip-sack, a backpack, an open umbrella and she was eating something out of a paper bag when she was crossing the finish line.

For my first public run experience, it was absolutely epic. But I hope sometime I can do the 21 k I trained for without get trampled my hundreds of Ugandans.

Also, this Thursday I get to experience my first American Thanksgiving… in Uganda. It should be fun. I miss and love you guys and again hope life is wonderful.