The African Home Shopping Network

Call them door-to-door salespeople.  Hawkers.  Peddlers, even.  But to me, the stream of folk that trickle through Wanyange selling avocados, hair clips, tupperware, pedicures, trousers, bedsheets, woven baskets, cloth, mats, and many other things is what I like to call the “African Home Shopping Network.”  These same items are available in the many markets around, but I suppose there are some women who don’t get to go to town very much--those women being my neighbor ladies.  Why go to town when the shopping can come to you?!  Not only is it convenient, but the prices are far cheaper (somehow, even though these guys lug their goods around all day--they must not be charging transport).  Today, through the AHSN, I bought a new skirt and then walked to another neighbor to have it tailored (for about 20 cents).  My favorite item on AHSN is during mango season when young ladies come through with fat, red-and-yellow, juicy, ready-to-eat mangoes the size of a baby head.  Mmmmm...

In other news, my project at school at the moment is re-organizing the library.  So, if you recall last year, when I came to site, I was also re-organizing the library.  Our Jinja PTC is lucky to have so many books it’s hard to figure out what to do with them.  We have a store room the size of a small office that was formerly packed (to the ceiling) with books, newspapers, learning aids, charts, etc.  Me and my team of six students have gutted most of the storage room and laid out the (nearly brand-new) books in the gigantic reading room--of which appears to be filled.  Our goal is to rotate out books from the library that are not in use (like the old curriculum) or those that have far too many copies (like P3 math--there were about 500 copies and they took up far too much precious shelf space).  By taking out the redundant literature and putting in the never-used, American-made textbooks about everything from Geography to theatre, our students will have more exposure to more fabulous information.  The task is a bit daunting, but this is only day one.  I’m currently motivating my team by buying sodas. 

Lastly, I want to give a BIG THANKS to everyone who sent me things!  I like things.  Things will be coming back your way soon-ish.  Like African time soonish, so who knows when that will be...

Thank you Jean for the fleece you designed! :D 
(I love that I can say I know a real fashion designer).
KOHLS.

Big thanks to Siobhan for the 200 some markers she sent.  I'm excited about
both the markers and the ziplock bags they came in.  LOOK AT THE EXCITEMENT!

This is Hilda on the left and Mercy, her two-year-old daughter on the right. 
Mercy is adorable, hilarious and also does not speak Lusoga (like me!)
For this reason, she's really picking up English.  This day, she was looking at Cosmo Magazine
in my house, pointing to each gorgeous model and saying "Ma-wy! Ma-wy's bag! Ma-wy's glasses!"
She only pointed to the prettiest models when she said Ma-wy.  Haha.  I was flattered.

Whenever I was about to take the picture, she would get so excited and start screaming,
which is why she looks a little crazy in each picture.  She's not always this crazy.
Well, sometimes, when "Ma-wy" is around... 

This is the wedding of the couple whose introduction I went to last year.
They had customized water-bottles--I got a kick out of that. 
Nile river behind me.

The happy couple!  Robinah works at the Bank of Africa and
Job works for an NGO in Karamoja.  It was a fun wedding, but
unfortunately I didn't stay for the cake and dancing!

Entertainment at the wedding--this is actually a man,
dressed as a woman and doing the Busoga dance.  He was
hilarious, in a creepy-kind of way.