Since my last post, the culture shock has definitely been wearing down, and this place is feeling more and more familiar. I visited Kampala again a few days after that first visit, and was able to actually enjoy the city. I wasn't as shocked by the congestion, was used to the different smells, and I'm learning slowly how to walk around without intense fear of being hit by a car or boda boda (motorcycle taxi). There is SO much going on - in Kampala and outside the city as well - tons of people on the street, signs everywhere, various stands on the side of the road selling food, phones, "airtime" (calling credit), soccer balls, etc etc. I found the taxi park (parking lot where taxis leave from) to be particularly fascinating - it is absolutely insane how many taxis can fit so close together in one space, and nothing short of miraculous that they are all able to somehow weave through the rest to leave. Without killing people on the way. (Though I wouldn't doubt that that's happened.) Here's a picture:

We've spent some time now outside the city, suburbs, and congestion as well - in Namayumba, where the secondary school, Extreme College, is. The town is far enough from Kampala that it's not too crowded, and pretty rural. Everything is incredibly GREEN there (like much of the landscape in Uganda), including the land around the school, which is really gorgeous:

The day that we moved into Namayumba we went on a little trip to buy a cow for the school. Mel's raised a lot of money through the Ugandan Education Project she set up, and we were able to use that money to buy the cow. They're apparently pretty expensive, but worth it in the long run - one cow (and the one we bought was pregnant) can provide enough milk so that all the kids at the school- around 100 - can have porridge every day. Getting the cow was a small adventure. We rode on the back of a pickup truck to go look at it, with two random little girls from the village who were thrown in there with us. The ride was bumpy to say the least, and I feared for those little girls' lives while they bounced around, but they were completely unfazed. Literally showed no expressions while their heads nearly jammed into the walls several times. It seems like all kids here are incredibly calm and easygoing. Very different than American kids. Later, while we were checking out our potential future cow, it started to pour. We got completely soaked and rode home in the back of the truck through the monsoon. It felt incredibly refreshing, and it was an amazing opportunity take in the Ugandan landscape.
Here's a picture of a Ugandan raincoat:

She looks thrilled to be wearing it.

We'll start teaching on Monday. The other day, we had a meeting with the school staff, and they're really excited to incorporate us into the schedule. It's nice to know that they really appreciate what we're doing, and it seems we'll be able to actually help out a bit.

Running out of internet time now, so one last thought: I don't think I'll ever get over how much people stare at me here because I'm white. Whenever I walk around, anywhere, people shout "Hi mzungu [white person]!" approximately every three seconds. James (a volunteer with us) pointed out how strange it would be if in America, we shouted out "China!" every time we saw an Asian person. Here are some children who could not stop peeking at me from behind a door:

Yes, I am quite a site to see. That's it for now. Miss everyone!