Rainstorms, Cinnamon Rolls and Long Lost Siblings.

8.20.09
On Sunday we went to the pool and Bosco came. Our Ugandans kept asking Bosco if he knew how to swim. Bosco told us that when he was living in the slums they would search for pools of water, which happen to be sewage water, and spend the day swimming in them. When we got to the pool Bosco jumped right in. He really enjoyed swimming for about ten minutes but then the icy cold water was too much for him. Bosco spent the rest of the time playing with his red truck. It was a really cloudy day at the pool but once again it was a blast trying to teach Ugandans how to swim. Andrea and I decided that they must be made of lead. Teaching them how to float might quite possibly be, well impossible. I never realized how hard it can be to describe something that has become as natural as floating. When they finally get relaxed enough to have us not hold them up as they are “floating”, the moment we let go they go into panic mode which causes them to sink. No matter how many time we tell them to relax, because the panic causes them to sink, they can not rap their heads around it. It makes for great entertainment for 5 year olds in the pool who are diving in and swimming laps around the boys. While we were at the pool Bosco’s brother and sisters, who he had no seen for over a year, showed up with the woman who runs at street children ministry that supports them. It was an extremely emotional thing for them all. When we had to leave the pool they were all in tears. Heidi, their director, planned to meet us in jijna on Tuesday with the kids and then Bosco would be able to spend the night with them. I carried Bosco out of the pool and he sobbed in my arms. It was so hard to separate them all. But then we got on a boda boda and his spirit was miraculously lifted!

On Monday Bosco and I went back to Jinja to have lunch with my friend Eunice (she taught me how to make paper beads). We meet in Jinja town and then took a boda to her home. Eunice’s family was so excited to have us there. Bosco enjoyed playing with Eunice’s siblings and neighbors. They made us a very yummy meal. We got white rice, chicken and passion fruit juice. Bosco rarely gets meat at the orphanage so when he gets it he eats as much as he can. Unfortunately for Bosco he is missing all of his front teeth except for two. The two front teeth he has have a huge gap in between them. To eat meat Bosco has to stick it really far back in his mouth. Eunice and I laughed really hard watching him eat it. Eunice is rapidly turning into one of my closet friends here. As she was walking me back to the road to get a boda, we stopped to talk to some of her neighbors who were all making beads together. They were so excited when Eunice told them that I am making beads with kids. One of the women gave me a beautiful pair of blue earrings. It was such a good day in community with Ugandans. Our trip home was yet again another interesting taxi experience. We sat in the first row of seats in the taxi. They make these folding down seats that are attached to the other seats. It is an effective way they cram more people into one taxi. We had the folding seat which is extremely uncomfortable. Bosco was sititng in my lap sleeping. Next to me was a rather large woman and next to her was another woman. In that woman’s lap was the giant stand to a old singer sewing machine (the kinds that you press the peddle with your foot aka not electric). She was taking up a lot of the seat. The larger woman was practically cuddling with me. At my feet was the actual sewing machine. All of sudden a chicken starts making screaming noises and the woman next to me pulls it out from under my seat. Having chickens in taxis has become pretty normal for me. The man behind me is holding the back of my seat and rubbing my back. All I could in this situation was laugh out loud. .It was one of those moments where you stop and think “I can’t believe this is my life and this all seems completely normal”. When you cram anywhere from 16 to 30 (yes I have been in a taxi with 30 people) things seem to get interesting.

Tuesday was the day we had planned to meet up with Bosco’s siblings in Jinja. We decided to grab a taxi on the road. Taxis tend to present interesting situations. In Uganda it is illegal to fill a taxi on the road. They have to pay to get into the taxi park and many would rather risk filling the taxi on the main streets. The company who owns the taxi park pays people to stand on the roads and try to stop taxi drivers from filling up there. I mean physically stop them. They run along side taxis and try to grab the key out of the ignition or have spears and slash the tires as the taxis drive by. When you grab a taxi on the side of the road you have to really hurry to get in them because the taxi regulators start running down the road at the taxi. A taxi pulled over to pick us up. First Hiral, Musana’s manager, jumped in. Then Bosco and I followed him trying to get him to hurry. The moment I had fully stepped into the taxi, the conductor slammed the door and they took off driving. Leaving Andrea and a short term volunteer standing on the side of the road. I literally flew from the front of the taxi to the back seat the moment the driver stepped on the gas. Hiral was yelling at the driver in Lusoga and I was checking on Bosco. Our taxi flipped around and grabbed our friends. It was quite the taxi experience. But I wouldn’t expect anything less out of Uganda. We meet Bosco’s siblings on Main Street. During lunch the four of them chatted the entire time. Comparing shoes and asking about what each others lives were like. Unfortunately Bosco could not go to stay with them because Heidi had a meeting with the probation officer about her ministry. But we introduced Bosco to cinnamon rolls. It might have been one of the best cinnamon rolls I have ever had. Just thinking about it makes me want one again!


It has been raining everyday here. I am concerned what the rainy season will be like if this is the dry season. Also, I am pretty sure Rasta has a monkey boyfriend. She disappears every night and comes back in the morning. I am a little concerned about her bad behavior. We might need to start tying her up again!

Today Bosco and I are going to visit some of our kids who are staying with guardians near our home. He is really excited to see them again.