Day 12

It hasn't even been two weeks and it feels like an eternity.

Today we visited the American embassy. It was crazy. The building was huge and I was in the weirdest space. People asked if the embassy made me miss home and it didn't. It made me think oh wow. This is the representation of America that we give? Huge, grand, unnecessarily big buildings and guns blazing attitude? I'm not sure if because I am American that this bravado makes me want to throw up and hand over my citizenship title or if I am just off.

Anyways, I did not miss America from that visit. It made me happy to e opening my mind an removing myself from that attitude from some time.

We had a bit of training when we returned from Kulika, but after I found a little boy to play with. Everyone calls him Joshua, but I actually don't know his name. It sounds like Joshua, but isn't and he is called a name that is given to first borns of twins.

We ran around the building and then looked at all the bugger fire ants and then we played with the leftover dead termite's wings. Those moments had to be my favorite and although I couldn't speak to this boy and be understood, I understood his laughter and he mine.

I felt like that was my first moment of many that will renew my faith into my reason for being here.

I found out about my home stay situation last night. I am going to a small more rural town in the southwest called Ibanda. Anne says the houses are not big and may not look nice, but that they are good. I am assuming I will be making use of a night bucket. I'm not very impressed, but grateful to have people to help me. It is a family of seven. Sound familiar?

The dad is a carpenter with a shop in town. The mom is a primary school teacher and they have three girls and two boys. The oldest is university age- I don't know how old that is and the youngest is a baby aged three. School will be out when I begin my home stay so the mom won't be working that whole time. I'm excited to go and learn and use my language, but very nervous at the same time. Another volunteer is neighboring me with another family in the same collar which is nice.

Wednesday and we leave for home stay. I'm so nervous, but then I think about that little boy from yesterday and I'm not so nervous anymore.

We'll see how everything goes.