Day Off!

Yesterday was a well deserved leisure day after a week of hard work.

We went to a Full Gospel Church in the morning before driving to the equator. They have funnels set up on both the North and South sides to make an attempt to convince me that water flows in opposite directions. I still don't believe it is true even after experiments. People also say that anything with mass is 3% lighter when directly on the equator.... Another tall tale I'm sure.

In the afternoon we drove to a village that one of our Music For Life volunteers grew up in. His family prepared us a fantastic meal; pork (from one of their pigs in the back yard), rice, avocado (from their avocado tree), chapati (flat bread made of wheat flour), and, of course, Mtoke (mashed plantains). The portions were more than generous; Brad and I were the only ones able to finish our meal.

It was cool to visit a locals home. We got to experience the true home life of the local people. Life here is simple; time here is spent doing everything you need to survive. Houses are very small, dark, and unfurnished. Most villages are without power, and water needs to be fetched from a nearby well.

For dessert they pulled out a 15 foot sugar cane. you don't eat the actual cane, you rip it off with your teeth and chew it until all the sweet juice is squeezed out.

We saw a 12 foot termite hill. Our guide told us a story about when he had to dig one up when he was a child as a punishment. His purpose was to find the 10 inch queen termite so a pregnant lady could eat it (termites are high in fat, and fat of any kind is considered a treat to most people). Apparently it took him 2 weeks to find her.

I bought meat on a stick from a car window. It cost 25 cents. Very salty.

On the way back home we went drum shopping. After at least an hour of negotiating, we found our drums. Unfortunately they aren't finished yet, we pick them up on Wednesday. We bought them from the guy who supplies Music For Life with their drums- apparently they are the best of the best.

Our drums are called "ngolabi" which are long drums with a high pitch- they are unique to Uganda. The skin is made of lizard skin which takes at least 1 month to dry and stretch before placed on the drum.

Day off again tomorrow.
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