Letters From Abroad

Mukono, Uganda: Feb. 8Hey friends and family! It’s been a while, I hope you’re all doing well. The subject of this email is: The Worst Week in the History of Mankind (cue lightning bolts and thunder). You’ll understand as you read. This is how the last week and a half has gone.

1. Last Saturday, I got a blistering sunburn because I went to a basketball tournament at the last minute and was there from 11-2. So that hurt, and I’m sorry, but I will learn from my mistakes.

2. Just about the time that the pain of the burn was wearing off (and the blisters were starting to peel), I fell and, guess what, I tore a ligament in my stupid ankle. This may not surprise some of you (Read:Eastern friends), but it sure surprised me. I took a picture of my “elephankle” so you can all see it.

3. I went on a retreat to Entebbe this weekend and, on the first day, went to the Botanical Gardens, where our guide cheated us.

We didn’t know what to do, so when we met up with the group, Vincent, the driver, went down, screamed, yelled, threatened to call the police, blocked the entrance to the gardens and stole a bike in order to get our money back. It was awesome!

4. The next day, I went swimming in Lake Victoria, which you may have heard of as either the second biggest fresh water lake in the world or the dirtiest and most disease-ridden lake in the world. Either way, I won’t know if I have snails until six weeks from now, but I did watch my cousin almost drown (I’m not kidding; I cried when she and Nik finally made it back to land). (Mom, do not forward this to Aunt Vickie).

5. While at Lake Victoria, I got another blistering sunburn and this time, the blisters were on my lips. Ouch!

6. We got back to campus yesterday and I woke up sick to my stomach, so after taking some medicine, I went down to the internet cafe in Mukono town.

I sat down, felt dizzy and almost passed out. I ended up walking out, laying on the sidewalk outside and sweating for a few minutes until Bethany came up with some water for me. I don’t know what was wrong…dehydration?

7. We tried to get the Superbowl on Sunday night, and we were guaranteed that it would be on, so we all woke up at 1 a.m. to watch the game. We got there just in time to see the pre-show. The announcer said, “And we’ll be right back with the kickoff!”

And then, ESPN Uganda pre-empted the biggest sports game of the year (arguably) to show the finals in the World Series of Poker. So…we went to bed at 3 a.m. pretty angry. And Eastern friends, I’m sorry the Eagles lost! Especially for you, Tarik.

8. Finally, I lit my mosquito net on fire last night. I was trying to put out a candle, using my mosquito net, which I later found out is doused in flammable pesticide to kill bugs and…well, let’s just say that it’s a good thing I have a powerful lung capacity, and hopefully the mosquitos won’t find the gaping hole right next to my face. Okay! I hope you laughed at my expense!

Lots of love, Andrea

Andrea Priest is a junior at Eastern who is currently studying abroad in Mukono, Uganda. As a former editor, she has agreed to send updates of her journey.