F Is for Friendship

No surprises here, I hope. I've thought occasionally about why I felt connected so quickly in Karamoja, in spite of just as quickly finding out that life there was not all a piece of cake. And the best answer that I can come up with is that I was blessed with friends there right away. The Wrights were so welcoming; it wasn't many days before I was hanging out at their house all the time, picking books off their shelves to read, drinking up their peptobismal, borrowing one of Martha's Penn State sweatshirts (I was underprepared for fevers), walking out to the village with them, doing "mathletics" with Bobby, having sleepovers (there's a great pic of of the four girls and I, Rachel and I on beds on the floor, all reading books). They were so gracious to me; thanks, guys!

There are several other friends I made on that first trip who I've gotten to know better on subsequent trips and would very much love to see again. Rose, who washes dishes more cheerfully than anyone I've ever met, shared with me how many children she'd lost over the years, either as infants of because of miscarriages. She was pregnant at the time, but that baby died, too. I can only imagine how hard that must have been; in Billings, I grieved over it. But the next year was she pregnant again, and in 2006 baby Bob (Loduk Robert?) was born. And is now a healthy two-year-old, I think.... Anyway, I love Rose, with her usual greeting of "Hi, guys!" She patiently told me the typical Karamojong greetings again and again and again until finally I sort of got it - and then she and Joyce and the others were always encouraging when I tried out my lame Karamojong on them. :)

There are others I've mentioned before or should have mentioned - Lokwii and Emmy and Joyce Margaret and Elizabeth and, in a different way, Mamachipa. Also many other friends from later trips - Amy and the Tricaricos, and, which is very fun, Chrissie and the Eldeens from my own hometown. I'm so thankful for how kind and friendly they've all been to me!

Here's a picture of another friend. Unfortunately, I have no idea what his name is. But I met him in 2004, where we both sat in a hut waiting for Rose to come, and drew pictures in the dirt for each other. He was there the next two summers and once came down to the schoolhouse with some other village kids and gave me flowers. (I think they were originally meant for Amy, but when she wasn't there, he said my name. I was too flattered, completely. :)



Good times.