Too tired to be funny

So school work, excessive “pause café”, and spotty internet access has not been favorable to blog updates this week. So I guess I will sum up the highlights of the week here:

1. Just got back from the Miss Uganda “talent” portion of the pageant which was held at this lakeside resort in Entebbe. There were several dramatic readings, a duet song by two twins, a contortionist, and many technical problems. However I am still slightly confused that only about half of the 19 girls actually performed an individual talent, yet all of them did design their own “evening wear” and some may even challenge project runway models (not the only wearing Cds or the one dressed in all rope though…)

2. Yesterday we went on a field trip to Mbarara, a town which was advertised as being 4 hours away, which in actuality was 6. So the goal of the trip was to see a local hospital/medical college which we did, (and was pretty sobering i.e. an extremely malnurished 4 month baby which looked like it was a week old.) We also went to a game park and saw zebras, hippos, monkeys, water buffalo, impalas, and my personal favorite the warthog. (how can you not love a little rolly polly ugly thing that trots around with its tail in the air?) overall it was an interesting trip but extremely tiring. Trip breakdown:

• Time spent on bus: 12 hours
• Time spent straddling the equator (and apparently loosing 3% of my body weight. I think I may invest in property there) 5 minutes.
• Time spent watching the Bugandan king drive by in his motorcade 10 minutes
• Time spent waiting for food to come in restaurant: 1 hour 45 min.
• Time spent at hospital: 30 minutes
• Time spent at game park: 1 hour 45 minutes
• Time spent cursing the Ugandan bumpy roads: 12 hours

3. Saw Wyclef Jean play on Friday night, which was an awesome show (I didn’t know he sang “just because she dances go go, don’t make her a ho, no” a real classic). Though 2 cameras, 3 wallets, a purse and a cell phone (mine) were stolen which did put a damper on the evening.

4. For our classes we have to develop research hypothesis’s and survey people to test those hypothesis. For one group project our hypothesis is that access to free condoms results in more condom use (which I don’t think is actually true), but it does mean we get to go up to complete strangers and ask them very personal questions about their sex life…of course initially we did happen to pick one of the only blocks in Kampala with a born again church on it…not the best data set to test condom use. “ma’am, I do not believe in condoms.” Though they were very nice about it.

5. having a hot shower at my disposal….and CNN.

6. Going to a traditional dance performance and witnessing several woman balancing SEVEN vases on their heads. (equally impressive are the young boys selling hard boiled eggs on the street that carry 4 egg carton trays on their heads while dodging the (pretty terrifying) traffic in kampala.

More later.