Good chicken masala, my org is using the mud stove we built, and Peace Corps has approved my out of site plans for the next couple weeks.
Lows:
I'm on the verge of snapping and becoming violent with village children. This week they took to actively teasing me for their own enjoyment. Every child in my village knows to call me 'ssebo' (sir) and not 'muzungu' (white traveler). On my way to dinner one night a group of children ran into their home and started taunting "muzungu, muzungu."
The next day after running 7 miles I decided to walk the last mile and a half of my loop. A child called me 'muzungu' and then said 'okoyee' meaning, "you are tired!" I leered at him and walked on. He waited until I was out of his immediate vicinity and then ran out in the road an started shouting "okoyee" at the top of his lungs.
I don't know how much longer I can make it here. I hate the people. If I could have gotten my hands on that boy I honestly don't know what I would have done. I find myself having violent fantasies. My primary method of relieving stress is running and now it is more stressful and mentally painful for me to run than to sit inside. I find myself leaving my house less and less since I got back. I think I'm a worse man for having been here and that the Peace Corps has cost me all of the good within me that inspired me to join it.
Rhetorical Question:
Almost everywhere we go in this country has vermouth, but nobody knows how to make a martini. If you try to explain what a martini is to a Ugandan they get confused and usually bring you a shot of Martini and Rossi vermouth. The question I ask is who is drinking the straight vermouth? (I'm assuming nobody) And then why does every single place have vermouth?
What I Did:
Essentially hid in my home and poked my head out every now and then to see if my org was using the mud stove.
What Is On The Agenda:
I resume life skills next week and plan to do some work on a proposed water sanitation project.
Next weekend is my much needed boys' weekend with Nick and Drew. It is becoming very clear that many such excursions will be neccessary to get me through the next 6-9 months.
Ugandan Annoyance of the Week:
Timid waitors an waitresses. The ability to look someone in the eye and project their voice more than 3 inches is not a requirement to be in the Ugandan food service industry. I've decided I've had it. From now on the more timid they are the more boastful I will be until they reach an acceptable volume. I frequent places that cater to white people and pay a premium on the menu to be there, I've decided one of the things I am paying for by doing so is a level of service that would recieve a 10% tip in the US, not someone whispering to me while looking at the floor and then brining me something other than what I'd ordered because one of the ingredients was "finished" (out).
What I'm Reading:
Read Michael Lewis's Moneyball a second time and am now reading both Liar's Poker (Michael Lewis's first book) and C.S. Lewis's The Silver Chair.
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