Background
Here's a letter I sent home to friends and family. It's about my living situation. Enjoy :)
"My room is small and cramped, essentially like prison cell in Alcatraz with an extremely dirty bed. I like it, though I do have to be careful toblock the door so rats don't get in during the night!!!!!!!!
Each day I walk about five to ten miles through the villages from interview to interview. I really don't mind it, because I feel like it's good exercise and apart from a few hours in the middle of the day, the weather really is not too hot. I like seeing all the dwellings and maybe even holding hands with some kids. It reminds me of last summer with all the kids treating me like a jungle gym! Earlier, I had been thinking about how even though people here live in much more destitute poverty than I've ever seen in America, they seem to adapt to it and be just as happy and kind as people are back home. I realize now that that's a load of crap. People here are ten times as generous as people in America. Heck, when some person comes to my door, a stranger, half the time I pretend I'm not home so I don't have to answer the door and explain to someone why I'm not interested in converting to their religion. But here, I'm able to walk in as a complete and total outsider, and people literally run into their small houses made of mud and dung, and they bring out benches and mats for me to sit on, and offer to cut down fruits from their trees as gifts. People are so welcoming and generous with everything they have. They just want to be nice and hospitable. Everyone waves to everyone on the roads. It's not like back home, where people bristle by each other or whip out cell phones to avoid making eye contact. People smile and wave everywhere. I've been trying to get better at seeming "warmer"when shaking hands. I realize that what I''m basically doing is asking people a bunch of questions about their business, and although most of the time people seem gracious and eager to answer the questions, it might be a tad annoying. I try to communicate with the little Luganda I've learned, and really look the person in the eye while shaking with both hands. Being able to feel that connection with someone so different from me, wearing rags and no shoes, is really humbling. I'm not a tad better than any of these people, and the last thing I want to come across as is aloof here, so I'm doing my best to be very respecting. Every day visiting the villages is fascinating. I've never once been greeted with anything other than effusive kindness. In a place that has so little, that means so much. I don't feel that I have as much to offer these people as they do to me, and I guess I'm just thankful to be treated so kindly. "