Home Sweet Home?

For anyone keeping track, I've been at site for a little over three weeks.  It may not be surprising to you, but it is to me, I'm still working hard on my home feeling like, well, home.  For whatever reason, I thought my "settling in" period may have been a week or two, and then at least my home would feel like mine.  Well, that's not quite the case.  As of yesterday, my beloved window was completed, which means I can finally use that front room without feeling on display to the entire community.  Once I finally mop up all the dust left behind from busting out the wall, I'll definitely feel a little better because I'll finally be able to sit on my sofas and eat at my kitchen table.  Even after being in country for well over three months, I'm still living out of a suitcase, which is slowly driving me crazy.  Especially because I'll labor for hours to do all my laundry by hand, only to have all my hard work end up crumpled on the floor.  Thankfully, my carpenter just finished my wardrobe this morning!  I'll have to wait for the varnish to dry before I can use it, but at least I can see my life finally becoming organized in the near future.  I've got lots of other little things that are going to help me feel more settled in, which include but are not limited to: curtains, sofa covers, hooks to hang towels, figuring out how to store my food, etc.  Eventually, it'll all get done.  I just need to remind myself of the Peace Corps saying "Hurry up and wait" because patience is a survival skill here.

Besides trying to set up my house, I really haven't been up to much yet.  I did attend the workshop for CCTs last week, and here's what I learned.
1. One of the biggest challenges faced by Ugandan government schools right now is teachers and headteachers not coming to school, and time spent on task.
2. Some parents don't want their children to go to school because they want them to stay at home to work.
3. Making child friendly schools is one of the Ugandan government's big goals right now.  A child friendly school is somewhere that children want to be and where they feel safe, especially from corporal punishment.
4. Our counterparts seem excited to work on programs involving literacy and life skills.

Outside of sessions, I learned a few useful skills:
1. It's easy to peel a mango with your teeth.  No knife needed!  Toothpicks or floss are a must though.
2. "White ants" are really female termites that fly at night sometimes.  I learned how to harvest them.  You just need to stop caring about all the little critters crawling on you.  Then you sundry them, fry with some oil and salt, enjoy!
3. It's not common to see scorpions, and yes, you should be scared and kill them immediately.

Just an administrative note: I have changed the manner in which you post comments on my blog.  You must be a registered google user and I have to approve them before they are published.  Happy commenting.