Focus and photographs

Hello,

Today I went with John and Cindy (the couple I live with) to Focus, which is the organization they work for. So this is what I learned: John and Cindy are missionaries sent by the mission organization World Venture. But they knew about Focus and asked World Venture if that could be their project in Uganda. Focus is run by Ugandans and caters to helping students grow in their faith and become young adults. If you want to know more about it, go to http://focusuganda.org/.

I went to morning devotions, which was all of us telling the highs and lows of the week and which Bible passage had spoken to us during the week. Well, I said that getting my research started was a high and homesickness was a low . . . and that God was teaching me patience and how to endure challenging situations. Thankfully, they did not point out the fact that I did not mention a Bible verse. Then they sang two African songs, I think one was in Luganda and one in Swahili. They were the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. They all harmonized and improvised; I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Cindy took some video and she is going to make me a copy.

Next, I went to the home of Beatrice and Vincent on the Focus compound. Vincent is the director of Focus and his wife got her masters in the US in family and marriage counseling (he was also getting a degree, but I don’t know what it was). They have two children, Stephen, 3 ½, and Zoë, almost 2. Stephen is autistic and the family just got back from the US getting him help. So I played for the whole morning and took a couple hundred pictures. Nothing makes me happier than taking pictures of children playing outside. Beatrice made breakfast, African pancakes made with bananas instead of sugar. They were really good. Beatrice was also great to talk to because she is the first Ugandan I’ve met that understands how hard it is to be living in a different culture.

Then I had lunch back at Focus headquarters. This time I was able to learn the names of what I have been eating for the past week. Matoke is mashed plantains (bananas) and tastes/feels a lot like pashed potatoes. Also, there was posho, which is a maize/cornmeal paste-like food. It is not as good as matoke. Both are mixed with whatever meat or bean dish is served with the meal. Today we had a beef stew type thing, plus a cabbage salad and very small bananas.

After lunch, I went to another house on the compound to meet Elaine. She is 2 and hard-of-hearing. She had two hearing aids, but one fell in water and the other shattered. So they have to buy new ones (they are very expensive) and have to stop speech therapy until she gets them again. Her father asked me lots of questions about cochlear implants, and luckily we learned about them in ASL class.

Once we got back home, I promptly fell asleep until dinner. Tonight, I have been brainstorming places to visit for my research and chatting online. Tomorrow will be more laid back, including exploring, shopping, and picture-taking.

One random last thing. A couple days ago, a (hearing) law student asked me if I was for McCain or Obama. She was VERY excited to learn that I live 6ish blocks from his house. A lot of people here support him and are very excited at the prospect of his presidency.

Sarah