Update 3.0

last full day in U.G.
i can't even begin to tell you how close i am to crying even now as i am typing this. how can my heart be torn in two by such extremely different cultures and places?
two weeks is nowhere near long enough to do everything that i wanted to do and see everyone that i wanted to see. but for now i'll have to to just be content that i got the time that i did, and the freedom that i have to move about like i have been able to.
last few snapshots of my time here:
1. i co-wrote a song yesterday with kia. her band is going to use it in their repertoire. how cool is that? okay, so its not just in english. double cool!
its actually sang between two people who love each other but aren't from the same tribe. totally weird, cause i put a completely 'coffee-shopped' feel to the part that i helped write of the tune, so it doesn't even sound African. slightly hilarious.
2. i did dishes this morning before kia woke up. it was kinda weird cause i was totally thinking about how different her kitchen is from mine. but when you actually start thinking about it really hard you suddenly discover that its very much the same. okay, so there's a charcoal stove on the floor, but she also has gas burners just like mine. and yes, the sink only runs cold water, but it leaks just like mine. (lol). and although there is a small problem with a roach infestation, its not like i am not constantly spraying for spiders at my place. only thing that is really, really different. i keep my butter in the fridge and my bread on the counter and she does the exact opposite. all in all, i have been extremely blessed to have been able to stay with her. an i really mean BLESSED.
3. i have a strange effect on small animals and young children. and no, i'm not talking about the fact that they like to chase me shouting 'mzungu' (the children, not the animals, although i am sure they would if they could). they seem to like me strangely. in that i put them to sleep! yeah, what's up with that? i mean its one thing to be boring... but this is ridiculous! when keisha (akiki's granddaughter) finally got familiar enough with me to let me play with her i completely wore her out and she fell asleep. when i played with baby martin he got so quiet and content, and almost fell asleep on me. bubu -- the stray dog that stays near aloke's place -- decided she needed to follow me around and even tried to follow me into the house at one point. i just don't even know!! but it's not like i don't have that effect on animals and small children in the u.s. too. in fact just the other day i was carrying baby connor at work and completely put him to sleep as well.
4. okay walking around kampala is not so bad... until it freakin' pouring rains. like ginormous drops! and all those dirt roads that you have been walking on that feel completely solid suddenly turn to complete mush beneath your feet. its kinda awful. i've had the sinking feeling that i am going to slip and land firmly on my backside for the last 3 days, every time that i go out. which of course is made ten times worse by the fact that last night when i was climbing my way back home up the hill to the house power was completely out, so it was like PITCH black.

anyway, fun times. leaving tomorrow for the u.s.
then its wedding funness and a whirl of activity!