Laundry

Today I gained a newfound appreciation for washing machines. In the process I was laughed at and then outshined by a 2 and a half year old. I have clean clothes though, so the raw knuckles were worth it-- pretty sure that means I do not have the proper laundry technique. Good thing I have 13 more weeks to get the hang of it...

Today I also got my first sunburn. Ick. The bright side is that it is only my shoulders and not my face. Was totally worth it though because I got it from walking around lost for about half an hour trying to find the Family Planning Association of Uganda, only to eventually figure out that they changed their name 3 years ago to Reproductive Health Uganda. I'm starting to solidify my proposal for the practicum/ independent study project that I will spend the last 6 weeks of the semester on, and that organization is near the top of my list so I was assigned to go check them out.
Side note: almost everyone here is so helpful and open. I have had no problems any of the times I've showed up at a nonprofit without an appointment and wanting to talk with someone. I would like to take a moment to thank CITYterm for teaching me how to handle these situations without seeming like an idiot or offending somebody.
Anyways, I am thinking for my practicum/ISP I am going to focus on women's sexual empowerment in relation to family planning and use of contraception. The average woman in uganda has 7 children, which makes uganda one of the fastest growing countries in the world. One thing that lecturers have discussed is that because of gender inequality, men are the ones who really have most of the say over how many children a woman has. I am still working on what Im actually going to DO with that for 6 weeks, but I'll keep you posted. If you're really interested I'll even let you read my 20-40 page, 1.5 spaced final paper on the issue.

We fiiiiinally have internet at school, but I couldn't utilize it today because I had to rush home to get the laundry done before dark. I'm gonna try to get there early tomorrow so I can try to write another update to catch up on everything that's happened the past few days, and to figure out where to upload my pictures.

A little bit of housekeeping: I would like to formally apologize for the informal nature of this blog, the fact that I ramble and sometimes fail to finish a thought before moving on to something else, and my likely repetition of stories that I forget I've already posted. In fact, this exact same apology may appear a few more times before the end of the semester.

Thank you so much to everybody who has been commenting on my blog. It is so nice to feel at least a little in touch with all of you. I am so happy I'm here, but that doesn't mean I'm not missing everything/body back home (or, for all you study abroaders, all over the world). Not missing the weather though. I hear the east coast and stl have been getting slammed with snow recently. Not to brag, but its in the 80s and sunny with a breeze pretty much every day here.

Stay warm!
Lily
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry