Life in Kitgum is pretty quiet right now so I’ve taken advantage of this lull in activity to fix up my house and get started on my garden. The house is now painted with pictures (of you all) and food hanging and newly constructed tables and bookshelf. The garden is dug and my new babies (not quite Angelina Jolie style) are planted in nursery beds: green peppers, onions, eggplant, cabbage, collards, tomatoes, groundnuts, and cucumbers. The subconscious is a funny thing by the way: I didn’t realize it until after I had finished painting, but I painted my house red, white, and blue and I now know that I cannot dig my garden as others do, I have to dig in squares in a grid system just as I did in Jamestown…talk about being a creature of habit. I am getting used to life here and while matching some names with faces is still a struggle, I think there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. My town (market, shops, other volunteers etc) is about 3km away and I have succeeded in winning the hearts of a number of people in the market aka they don’t cheat me, they know my name (Aber, not Heather…no one even tries to say Heather anymore), and they put in a little extra for free (for instance, an extra tomato or scoop of rice…truly, it’s the little things). Many other volunteers complain that there are children/adults running in and out of their homes without a care in the world (like an open house…all the time). Personally, my intruders are of a different variety: roosters, hens, chicks, and the occasional goat (the turkeys and turduckens—mixture of a turkey, duck, and chicken…not really, but that’s what they remind me of—(pictured to the right) are building up their courage as we speak). My garden makes me feel like Farmer McGregor in Peter Rabbit or Farmer Maggot in Lord of the Rings because I am constantly chasing the chickens, roosters, and especially goats away by running with them with my hoe or with a few token phrases in a variety of languages (Russian is the most successful thus far). Beginning of term exams begin on Wednesday and classes next Monday. As of now, I’m not entirely sure of my course load/schedule etc…but I do know that I am teaching one section of Secondary 1 (equivalent of like 7th grade) Math (which is 100 or so students), one section of Secondary 2 (8th grade) Biology (another 100), assisting in Secondary 5 (this is when classes are 2 or 3 students instead of 100 because everyone else either dropped out or didn’t pass the national exam they take after Secondary 4) Math, and potentially computers…hopefully this will all be sorted out in the coming week. Another thing on my “to do” list for this week is to solve the leaking gas stove problem (over the last two weeks I have been trying out my stove with some fellow teachers and an electrician, having recently acquired the tap needed to release gas from my tank to my stove—when the tap is open gas has not only been coming out of the burners, but also leaking out of the rest of the stove so when I would light the match, the burner is not the only thing that would ignite…remember that time you nearly blew up the Chemistry lab with an experiment gone wrong? Now imagine that happening about 5 times in a thatched roof hut, then 2 more times outside under a mango tree, and then 3 more times with a different stove in a classroom…I’m pretty sure I lost every hair on my hands, but thankfully nothing else). So now I’m on the prowl for a regulator for my gas tank that will solve all my problems…again, hopefully. Please send me letters, pictures, and emails about life at home! PO Box 68 Kitgum, Uganda or hrpasl@gmail.com I hope all is well!