jesus is driving me to drink...

and i think he's had a couple himself.

blogger seriously takes too long. i am so impatient.

so there are these missionaries they are young and excitable. like puppies. they play their guitars and attempt harmonization and write worship songs. and they do this in the only common area in the house. i don't know why it irritates me so much (maybe it was because i was at the really good dramatic part of reading the last king of scotland) but i was so rage-filled i had to take a sleeping pill and call it a day.

i heart everything else about africa. crafting, sitting, being fed beans and posho. but the ubiquitousness of jesus music is driving me up the wall. in the internet cafe they just played some sweet brazilian samba song (i think it was black eyed peas) i was grooving out looking at micro-finance banking. and then there was this horrible transition to acoustic chorusy..."I'm gonna give my heart to Jesus, you're the one good reason" and it just makes me cringe. the computer doesn't work anymore. i don't know if its the comp or the charger, but repair guy in this town has ever touched an apple. so its under the bed doing what it does best.

i'm ok with jesus. i'm ok with the bible. i'm ok with people talking about jesus and the bible and beginning sentences with "It says in the bible that jesus...." i've even led some prayers.

so maybe i'm just missing my independent domesticity. sitting and staring at the ocean and hauling wood and my crock pot and crossword puzzles...it was so quiet and atheistic. . (although i find a good one the other day...clue: 177 reasons to invade iraq (3 letters) answer: oil)

i'm having a major craving for sitting in a bar and bullshitting with english speaking people that can talk their way into a political debate and have opinons that don't include in the book of ___ verse ___ chapter ____. (they're playing 'angel of the morning' and all the african men are singing along quietly at their computers)

oh brown teeth. i want some long beaches and a long snowy walk home in the dark looking at the stars. and long walks on the beach. the previous statement should in no way indicate that i have any affinity toward snow, darkness or any combination thereof. my sweating index has decreased significantly and i am very proud of that.

i heart the roomies. they are so committed and flexible and hard-working and honest and compassionate and funny. i guess i just have to own my own irritation... and have some more passionfruit and vodkas. maybe i'll try to find some brazilian music.

so i've had 2 smirnoff and passionfruits...

and i think i'm headed toward my first taste of waragi tonight. we went for a lovely meal at flavours, a mzungu hotspot in town, after the most wonderfulest english class thus far (of course there have only been 3) Today we practiced our sentences. "Hello, my name is..." and ABC's. My not-so-secret goal for the next two months is to get the ladies to write a "memoir" of their lives and experiences. So today we did "Hello, my name is... I was born in...district. I was born in the year... I have ... children." We practiced their sentences verbally and then wrote them down. I guess this is chapter one rough draft. Next time we will do "When I was a child..." It took about 2 hours (one hour longer than we were scheduled for) but all the ladies stayed and worked through the difficulty of having someone translate my instruction from English to Lugandan and then another person from Lugandan to Acholi Luo.
Afterward, we recapped the dance party from last weekend. I love places where a circle of people can start clapping and singing spontaneously and have an impromptu booty shake. They seemed impressed by my beat. (I'm still not sure of the difference between laughing with and laughing at...and I think I really don't care)They wanted to learn American dances, so I dazzled them with the electric slide and the lawn mower and assorted jiggy moves. All in all, a great time.
Earlier in the day, we visited some ladies in the village and had a lovely chat with an elderly Irish man and two African American Mormons in an Acholi woman's house.
Not so surprisingly, I have ended up with a lot of jewelry. I have 6 pairs of earrings, 8 necklaces, and some bracelets, all made out of recycled paper and seed beads. I think it is funny that I wear more jewels now than ever before.
Well, must do the "official" blog now... go check there for some officialness.
peace, love, and cheap vodka.