A is for Africa

My friend Andrea is blogging through the alphabet and has invited her fellow bloggers to join her. I didn't think I would, but then a "B" post came to me, so I better get started.

Have you seen the book A Is for Africa, a children's alphabet picture book? There was a copy at the house where I was staying in Karamoja, back in 2004, along with other odds and ends of books that people had donated. One of my favorite "small" memories is of a rainy afternoon there when I had malaria. I was sitting on the couch reading, too tired to do much else, and Joyce, who had stayed to mop the floor (a daily job during the rainy season) got stranded by a rainstorm and sat down to read, too. She read A Is for Africa with careful absorption.

Since being Uganda, the world's gotten bigger - or is it smaller? - for me. Almost anything about Africa in general is enough to make me take some interest, to think, to listen to the news, to want to be involved even in a small way. There's not always good news, but then you hear amazing stories of survival and hope, too. I suppose any place is like that once you begin to take an interest in people there; I just happen to have been blessed with an African experience. And so the first thing that comes to mind for "A" is Africa...

Ejoka

It's been a while since I posted, but in that time I've a) bought a house, which is a whole story in itself and b) visited with the Wrights, who were passing through. That was too fun, completely - I only wish they could've stayed longer!

About the house: its previous owners had some ties to Africa, judging by the decorations they had. I fell in love with it for many reasons, but that was just the icing on the cake. Now I need to figure out where I'm going to put my two Karimojong spears, stool, and similar items.

While I haven't been posting about Karamoja, I've been reading about it. Check out Caked in Red Clay, the blog of a Canadian journalist living in Kampala and writing occasionally about K'moja. He's had lots of interesting experiences so far, and writes about them like a good journalist.