Renewed impressions

I've been here 3 days, and here are some first (but really 4th time around) impressions of life:

1. we lost power in the airport twice while I was standing in the visa line - everyone got nervous and I could hear the mumbling crowd, but I'm a pro by now and had my headlamp ready.

2. I forgot how funny some of the phrasing is over here - for example: my driver picked me up from the airport, and accidentally rolled one of my suitcases over some dude's foot. The guy says, 'My friend, why are you trying to break my foot?'

3. Also forgot about generators - the one outside my hotel room whirrs into action every 6 minutes and turns into this buzzing that I think might be inside my head, and then magically it stops, and I think maybe I'm going crazy.

4. It's not rainy season (yet), but the rain is pouring down in sheets.

5. Oh yeah, the hilarious forward-ness toward mzungu gals - this morning, my chef asked me, "If I go to America, will I find a nice girlfriend like you?" I said, "You just try it and see."

6. The long speeches. Africans have this unbelievable speech-making ability - even the most unlikely suspects take one subject and turn it into a 20 minute speech. This morning my teammate Stephen (still hungover from last night's party at The 4 Turkeys) stepped up to give a recap of yesterday's discussion (which I was having trouble remembering in my non-hungover state). This guys talked, preached more like - for 45 minutes. He kept using these platitudes like, 'If I'm wrong I beg somebody will correct me' and 'Who is with me? If you're not with me, you must be asleep.' He wasn't even finished when we started pleading for mercy, so he made a 15 minute conclusion and sat down. And of course we all clapped - in true Ugandan style.

7. And finally, the african booty - it is so big. ask anyone who has been here - it's like a separate appendage. Sometimes I wonder if it's even connected to the rest of the body... it makes certain legendary American booties pale in comparison.

Sorry this post is devoid of pictures - I'll 'take some snaps,' as they say here, very soon.

ps. special thanks to Em for your editing assistance at 6 a.m.