Kakira: Your mother told you there'd be days like these...

Today, we went and sat in the office for...all day...for the third day in a row. BUT. Something actually happened! We finally got a guy to go out and look at the water pump and give us a quote. We think we will be able to fix it and train someone in the village to fix it as well, so that he/she will not only be able to fix the pump at the school in Kagogwa, but will also be able to make money since pump technicians are in high demand. We also got an agricultural expert up to the school to check out the land. She will have the specifics for us tomorrow on what we need and how much everything will cost. So we still don't have a formal budget or workplan, but we should after tomorrow. Hooray for progress!

Unfortunately, tempers are starting to run high due to the pace at which the project is proceeding. I am happy to report that I have actually kept my cool, but I think that irritates a few other team members who are freaking out a little bit. It's an intimidating workload that we have ahead, but we can only do what we can do. Also, since our project is inherently dependent on so many people outside our team, there are bound to be some delays and let-downs. But in the end, it will be better than the approach of here-let-us-do-everything-for-you-KTHXBYE. This way, community members will own the project.

Anyway, I've really said all I can say about my work for the moment, so let me move on to some cultural miscellany. Has anybody ever lived with cows? Because let me tell you, they are LOUD. Becky and I usually wake up at 5 am to "MAAAAAAAUUUUUOOOOOOH" (the sound a cow makes is not "moo" like they taught you in preschool. that sound is a lie). I also woke up to one of the cows breathing like Darth Vader outside my window this morning. I was like, "Is that Becky?" And then I realized that it was just Vader Cow, chilling outside my window.

Becky and I also had an in-depth discussion with two of our host brothers last night about homosexuality, which they actually brought up. Just so everyone knows, there is currently a bill pending that will make homosexuality a crime punishable by law, as in they will lock you up for life if they catch you. Apparently, the US and other Western nations have threatened to withdraw a significant portion of aid from Uganda (foreign aid makes up the majority of the country's GDP) if the bill goes through. Anyway, it was an interesting discussion stemming from the fact that Becky goes to Wellesley College, which is all women. They asked about homosexuality there and were pretty surprised to find that most American universities don't discourage homosexuality. Vincent (23, just finished a degree in biomedical tech, fervent Born Again Christian) argues that it's a sin/curse and compared being gay to having HIV/AIDS. He said, "If someone has AIDS, you don't tell them that it's fine and that they can keep spreading it--you isolate them and help them. It's the same with the gays." So...an interesting viewpoint.

Ali, (18, about to go to university for computer engineering) on the other hand, seriously weighed the arguments that Becky and I made, and while he is clearly against homosexuality, he is not blindly so. Nobody changed anybody else's mind, but it was an interesting discussion of cultural norms and beliefs, and it was nice that we were all able to discuss the topic openly.

So yeah, that's my life for the moment. I hope it remains interesting--let me know if my posts are too bogged down with random details.