Where to begin...?

(This is a picture from one end of the market in my town)
Wow, two posts in one month?! Who knew that I would be able to access technology so often! :) So after the little bat (yes, I just noticed the typo not a bad but a baT got in my house) incident things have been fairly calm. I am working with my organization to find money but I have been holding off on doing too much until I finish the training I am currently in the middle of.

Yes, the group of trainees who met at the end of September is together again (minus one due to some really bad medical problems)! We are staying near Kampala in a place called Mukono. We spent last week brushing up on language and this coming week we will be dealing with technical issues. Hopefully we'll get some good tips on proposal writing because I good certainly use some good information about that. (Shameless hint: if anyone has tips on proposal writing, send them my way!)

It has been a bit strange to have access to TV all week and to not have bathe with a bucket and not have to light a kerosene lantern to see at night. But believe me, I am not complaining!! A hot shower is one of the best things in the world these days!

So what can I say...
Just before my birthday a new group of trainees arrived (5th March) and I had the opportunity to meet them during the first week they spent in Luweero. Your's truly (and another volunteer from my training group) co-taught a session about HIV/AIDS. The trainees seemed to enjoy our 3 hour session and Amanda and I definitely had a lot of fun teaching them the basics of HIV. Needless to say, a lot of them had a lot of questions but the group seemed to be taking things in stride. They are having a completely different experience than us because there are 50 (yes, 50!!) of them and they're definitely not all female!

Between going to training in Luweero and being in Mukono for training the last 2 weeks of this month, I really haven't been at my site very much. Things are going well. My organization continues to take services to people in the villages. We are testing sooooo many people each month. It's really exciting to see so many people who want to know their HIV status. Lucky for us, things seem to be staying around the expected level of 6%. (Other volunteers are trying to help people in places where the prevalence is 25-30%!) My counterpart and I are trying to keep up with the statistics from our testing so that we can update the district on the state of HIV, at least in our county! Beyond that, it's a struggle everyday to keep things in perspective but one that I think I am beginning to master. As I've said before...mpora, mpora (slowly by slowly)!!

PS-finally have some pics! Check out the link to Flickr!

Mpora, mpora

So, I obviously have very limited access to internet and that is why you see such a gap between postings. It's not that there aren't things worth writing about! Thus far I have had some recent incidences with rodents joining me as roommates without my approval. First, I had a problem with two rats who decided they liked being in my home better than outside. How do I know there were two? Well, I woke up very early one morning to some rustling and daringly picked up my flashlight and left the safety of my mosquito net and found two rats frolicking around my home. I proceeded to jump up and down and shout and they just ran and hid behind some boxes. Now, I think I have addressed the problem with rat poison and some wood to block the large gaps between the bottom of my doors and the floor.

Next fun evening was when a bad slipped into my home and proceeded to fly around and refuse to fly out the two doors that I had opened wide just for that purpose! I chased it around with a broom until I was finally able to knock it down and sweep it out of the house. Talk about quite the wildlife adventure!

Just as exciting but no furry animals involved...About 2 weeks ago I had the pleasure of waking up to an earthquake (5.7 to be exact). Bed trembling, house shaking. I had no idea what to do so I was just laying there until my neighbors shouted, "Christina, get out of the house! It might fall on you!" So, I went running out to hang out with them until all the aftershocks were over. That experience has made me decided that I will never willingly live in an earthquake prone area!

Other than that, I am basically continuing to adjust to life in Karuguuza. Right now I am in Kampala to celebrate my birthday so I hope to be able to check email and the blog a few times over the next few days! If you want to check out pictures go to Carrie's (the other Peace Corps volunteer in Karuguuza) blog...www.carrie-may.blogspot.com