It’s beginning to feel a lot like hell-o from Uganda!

Sometimes the Nile really is a river in Africa

Big news from the bush: I baked on Sunday. My community is already confused with the cleanliness and style of my home, so baking only makes them bewildered. How can a man do all of that? Is it possible? Yes, I bought two pots and a sigiri (charcoal grill) and baked. Not only did I bake, I made a pumpkin pie from scratch. ‘Tis true, I went Martha in the middle of nowhere. The baking time took longer than a stove, reaching nearly three hours but the fact that I baked is reason enough to celebrate. Some may wonder the occasion for such crazy behavior: Thanksgiving. Need I say more? The NE volunteers decided to host Thanksgiving and I’m in charge of pumpkin pie, apple pie, rice pilaf and buying a turkey. Since Sunday’s productivity, people in my community started demanding I bake wedding cakes (three tiers), birthday cakes and preschool graduation cakes. . . In the village I can’t do anything for myself without multiple demands to do the same for other people. To remedy the requests I invited people to come and watch me bake pies and cakes this Thursday (my SERIOUS baking day) but people rolled their eyes. It is transparent they don’t want to know how; they want me to do it for them. Frustration. Speaking of, I believe I’m unconsciously frustrated and homesick due to the looming holiday season. I use the term unconsciously because my definition of holidays includes cold weather and a chance of snow showers. Instead, I’m in hell. The weather here is 105 degrees and clear sunny skies. Not a cloud in the sky. . . As the grass dries and dies and the wind increases, dust storms form to sting my eyes. People in the village tell me life stops in the dry season. People lay under mango trees when the sun is high in the sky, only working and living in the earliest and latest moments of the day. However, it is wicked cold through the night and into the early morning. Due to this fact, I wake up at 6 AM to hang my hammock and lay in the chilly weather. It is the closest I’ll have to home. I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving celebrations. I am giving thanks for having all of you in my life. Stay well and I’ll be in touch with updates and pictures of the T’giving bacchanal in Uganda.