Alex In Africa - Pt. 5

We made it back to Gulu yesterday and enjoyed the remainder of the day. We skipped lunch because we were on the road all day and by the time we got back to the compound the Sisters insisted we took tea to refuel our bodies after such a journey. It is common for the Sisters to watch the news after supper, so we joined them in doing so. 

Today we woke up at our usual 7:30am and heard a local church singing music very loudly. It was wonderful to hear, and we found out later the church was Protestant and they sing all day. We made our way over to the area that we eat with the Sisters. Upon arriving, we heard them having their own small service at which time they too were singing and playing small drums. It was a magical moment, as we all stopped and listened without actually deciding to do that. After a few moments, we went upstairs to have our breakfast. After breakfast, we went over to the other side of the building and watched some more news with a couple of the Sisters. One of them has been working for over a year on a handmade embroidered table cloth with safari animals and different settings. It was so beautiful to see. After the news we went outside of the compound and explored Gulu some more. Upon arriving back at the compound we ended up picking avocados out of a tree with two of our new friends and employees of the school, Sadi and Patrick. They are both going off to school tomorrow, and we will miss them around the compound. After we picked enough avocado to suffice, we ended up picking a few more and throwing them over the large wall to the local children. They absolutely loved it. 

Avocados are much different in Uganda than America, as they are about 3 times the size here. They are huge and they grow in large trees that you must climb and use a long pole to hit out of the tree. After avocado picking, we helped Patrick catch one of the compound's rabbits, as it is protocol to put all of the animals inside of their indoor cage if it will be raining, which it will be tonight. If it rains, we will probably be losing electricity for a while. After we helped catch a rabbit, we started making our way back to the large building that we eat at, and we found two girls, Josephine and Florence. After talking for a few moments, one of them asked what our local names were and we told her we haven't received any. She was completely shocked so she and Josephine gave us all our names. My name here is Ociti, which means leader of a group. She told me that I seemed very fun, and everyone laughed and said it was true. After a small conversation and receiving our names, we made our way to supper and then off to our huts in banana village. It is time for bed now, because we have to get up and start construction on a house at a nearby school in Atiak. Wish me luck!