Roll. Varnish. String.

6.24.09

Everywhere I go I stand out. Mzungu is a word I have become very accustomed to hear every few seconds. It can be translated to “white person”. The vast majority of the time it is not an insult or a racial slur. They are simply showing their excitement for your presence. Although my patience wears thin. We walk a great deal everyday. And I have to greet almost every person to walk by. It has been a huge test to my patience. Sometimes I just want to blend in. but I cannot control my skin color which inhibits me from blending in at all. Although I do love the small children who walk with me home. When they see me coming their faces light up and they scream mzungu. They run up and either grab my hand or bongo (pound it). For the majority of the one and a half mile walk to and from Musana I have company.

When Andrea, our director, gets here on July 7 I get to start the craft room. But until then I have been working on the paper bead project. It was a mess when I got to it. To make paper beads first you have to cut strips of colored paper and then roll them into a bead. But most Ugandans roll them around a needle but our kids just roll them. This creates an issue when there is not a hole to string them. But before you can make necklaces you must first varnish the beads. Varnishing is the most unpleasant step in this process. The varnish leaves your hands, and anything else that comes in contact with it, extremely sticky. After the beads are dipped in varnish, they hang to dry. It takes around two days to dry. Once the beads are dry they are cut off and strung. My favorite part of the process is stringing the beads. It is a lot of fun to make patterns and pick beads out. If you are interested in getting a paper bead necklace talk to my mother!