Finishing up week 3 of training

Internet access! Kind of a big deal! We are here in Kampala preparing for our Peace Corp Volunteer visit which is happening this Mon till Thurs. I am staying with a health volunteer and am very much looking forward to seeing what a typical work day looks like. So far we have just had a lot of intense training from 8-5 at the center that takes about an hour to get to. Not to mention I have to leave plenty of time to rinse all the soap out of my hair with my solo bucket! We have a two hour language lesson in the morning (Im learning Aeteso), and then the afternoon is filled with health info, Tech lessons for teaching, gardening and cooking. the other PCV are amazing people all of which will be my support here in Uganda. I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by some many other people that want to make a difference in this world.
This week I got to teach physics and a Bio Osmosis class. I even set up a little Irish potato demo in various salt concentrations, which they really loved. Mostly the teaching here in Uganda is the professor talking to the students with little focus on participation or comprehension, just A LOT of rote memorization. It went really well once the children realized I wasn't a scary mzungo. They are adorable. They are very smart children, attentive, and ready to learn, they just have not been taught any analytical/logic skills. It shall be a challenge but I have hope I am able to make a small difference to turn their theories into application. We shall see.
My host family is still trying to make me fat, but they are so kind so I do my best! I feel so fortunate to have been placed with them. Although, we recently just received a little rodent visitor. I am hoping that my mosquito net will also be a rodent net. That's what I tell myself.

I am slowly adjusting to the way of life here. At first the poverty and what seemed hopelessness of the situation really pulled at my heart. It is hard to see people living the way they do. People dying of preventable things; Malaria, AIDS, rabies, and malnutrition. My host parents just attended a funeral for their aunt who died of rabies. These are just normal things in their lives which they have accepted as the inherent reality of their world. I hope I am able to help a little. My first initiative may not be with the school but with condoms and mosquito nets.

My time is short- I miss you all and think about you often. I hope everyone is doing well. Please update me on your lives and the US. I hardly get any news over here just a lot of bad Spanish Soap operas. You are all in my heart-lots of love