Pumpkin spice.

It feels as if we've been here for days, but the wick on my pumpkin spice candle tells it was just lit for the first time. We just got here this morning, less than 10 hours ago, and although my bag is unpacked, guitar is tuned, and mosquito net hung, this is still all new, in an odd, comfy way. This is the time when homesickness could lurk into our quiet moments; when the shadows on the mosquito net suddenly begin to creep rather than cascade. The net still makes me feel like an African princess though, and reminds me that I am in fact in Uganda. The length of my wick still brings pinching excitement that I have four months left of this adventure. It has but begun.

Today we climbed Monkey Hill at the back of campus, after my first meal of rice and beans and sweet potato in the open air dining hall. I saw little old men jumping from branches, only they had long black tails and the gray wisps of hair was actually fur. At the top of Monkey Hill (about a 15 minute hike) we heard men yelling and singing. Atop the hill we heard men's voices yelling incoherent sounds, alongside beautiful songs in Lugandan. One of our cluster felt ill at ease, worried that some sort of unwelcoming ritual hid in the brush. Walking further we saw a lone boy, singing sweetly to the lookout over Mukono. Inquiring we found the story of three friends, who come to the woods just below the peak of Monkey Hill everyday to "train their voices." They yell for up to 7 hours, attempting to acquire the raspy sound of young Ugandan pop music. Each hopes for super-stardom.
"Someday I will make audios, videos, and discs. And then I will also be a superstar."
We stood for a Gospel Reggae concert of two songs from one of the trio, probably about 18 years old. He used a stick as a microphone. We clapped as he smiled sweetly and confidently.

I also took my first shower on campus today. I guess everything I did since 11 am today has been my "first on campus." None-the-less, I took my first shower, and it was cold. I washed one appendage at a time. But again, I'm clean and cozy. Safe and sound. Breathing in pumpkin spice and banana trees.

Pictures:
^Amy and I at our Kampala guest house room, cuddly under a mosquito net. We became roommates on the first night rather randomly and were then assigned to each other here on campus as well. And we were both glad.
^Our room at UCU (on campus), pre-setup. This is what we saw when we unlocked the door.

^From another angle. Now we each have a top bunk, leaving the bottom two open for storage/seat-age. The curtains are hung, as well as our nets. Amy is journaling under hers right now.