First and foremost, way to go Massachusetts for electing Scott Brown! Maybe, just maybe, the current US administration will get a clue and actually CARE what Americans really want - and it isn't more government or socialism! That's pretty hopeful though. I think they already know, just don't care....
Politics aside...
What happens when your mother really intended to have another girl - and you're a boy!
Wouldn't Frankie have made a really cute girl though? I know, I know, he'll be scarred for life having put on a dress like this but honestly, it was only for the photo shoot! My mother made Ella this little dress, out of Ghanaian fabric and I SO wanted to use it again... :(
It has been incredibly hot here lately. Well, at least by Entebbe standards. The pool is STILL under renovations and not open so the kids had to make due with getting on their bathing suits and jumping on the trampoline with their mother throwing buckets of cold water on them. They loved it, bless their simple little hearts!
Ella doesn't look likes she's loving it so much in this picture but trust me, she was! Maybe she'd just swallowed a lake fly...
Since I'm not the get-in-your-bathing-suit-and-jump-on-the-trampoline kind of girl (oh, that is SUCH a gross thought!), I settled for bathing my two remaining little dog darlin's, Bridger and Sanyu, instead
When the chilluns had had enough of jumping, they amused themselves by playing with their tea set with water, cooking beans and rice, and getting almost as wet as when I was throwing buckets of water on them!
"Mix a little here, pour a little there, stir a little over here"
Lil Franks is really just a large baby - can't figure out why my children have such a hard time differentiating between people and dogs though, and why they associate with dogs so well...
Oh wait, maybe I can! All Sanyu needs are little diapers and I'd having a hard time telling them apart!
The couch is fully loaded
Whew. Hard to find a moment to yourself!!
Sanyu LOVES pillows and it's really hard to keep her away from them. Kayo was the same way, too. They just love pillows!
Ella's last day of golf lessons is tomorrow. She will miss it!
I’ve seen a lot of racism since I’ve lived in Uganda. Racism amongst white expats, Ugandans, other Africans and Indians. But I’ve mainly seen two different kinds of racism. It’s not all just the hateful kind – there is also the patronizing kind as well, which I believe is equally demeaning. It seems that as human beings we just can’t get away from racism.
Even among missionaries there is a lot of racism. The “old school” racism (type A) and the more “politically correct” kind of racism (type B).
Examples-
Type A: “Africans” (very generic term there) can’t live on a certain compound. Well, white South Africans can of course, but not any others (meaning the BLACK ones). Okay, that’s an obvious example.
Type B: How about wanting a “Ugandan” for a certain position that has always been fulfilled by an expat. Does it matter that they have the right credentials, experience or training? No, not really. It would just look really good if they had a Ugandan in that position.
I don’t find either of these types of racism as very helpful and in my way of thinking, they are both equally demeaning. In each case one race is making itself feel superior over another. As the mother of a black Ugandan child I don’t want my daughter to experience either types of this racism, nor would I ever want to see her be the perpetrator. That is why I hope that I can teach her to look at the character of the person, their morals and what they stand for, and not just what they look like.
A school situation where Ella was either not allowed to participate because of the color of her skin or, because of the color of her skin the quality of her work wasn’t expected to be of the same standard as other white or Asian kids and exceptions were made, would both do her no good and make her feel inferior. It would also really piss me off :)
Another interesting thing that I have detected, especially in Americans is this. If a person has a white parent and a black parent, and is mixed, that person will never be referred to as “white” or “Caucasian”. It is almost politically incorrect! But they are always labeled a “Black American” or “African American”. Why is that? Why can’t they say they’re white if they want to? Would our neighbors little boy, James, be able to go to the States, show a family picture, and tell people he was white? I seriously doubt that it would be acceptable by either black or white Americans.
I get really frustrated when I hear remarks about our recent presidential elections and people remarking on how it’s so wonderful that a “black man” has made it to presidency, that history was made and haven’t we come so far! Have we? How many people do you think voted for Obama because they really supported his policies (did they even know his policies?) or simply because he was “a black man” and they wanted to feel good about themselves?How many people do you think really even knew what he stood for, other than “change”? Sigh.
So, would I have voted for Condolissa Rice had she run for president? You bet. Could I use her as a good role model for my daughter? Yes. Because she’s a woman? No. Because she’s black, no. Because she supports the protection of unborn American babies? Yes. Because she supports other policies that I believe align with Scripture? Yes.Could I have used Hillary as a role model for my daughter (she’s a woman after all!)? Ha ha!!
So yah, I’m a bit sensitive to racism after living here in Uganda amongst a lot of it. Especially since my best friend here is a Ugandan and now my daughter is too. I’ve also been on the receiving end of it many times, which is something that I’d never experienced in the States. Both types, “A” and “B”. It’s been very disappointing to me to see all the hype about our most recent president- elects race and not about his qualifications and what he really stands for.
Even living far away in a foreign land, I was able to successfully cast my vote last Friday! I’m so glad that my county in Montana excepts Federal Write-In Ballots by email and that Sally was so helpful in assisting me! It actually took myself, Sally and my Mom to get things all sorted out and I’m so glad that we did.
In my family, if you don’t vote then you aren’t allowed to complain about the outcome. Couple that with the extreme guilt I’d feel if Obama won and I hadn’t voted and I was really getting desperate! In addition to the presidential and vice presidential candidates, I also voted for Montana’s Senator, Representative, Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Auditor , State Superintendent, and some others.
I’m praying that once again, the U.S doesn’t get what they deserve in regards to a new president. Ugandans, like those from many other countries, are watching our elections with bated breath. The Christians especially are extremely nervous about anyone who thinks they can “negotiate” with Islamic terrorists, becoming the next American president. Islamic influence and terrorism is very real here and it’s sad that the average Ugandan citizen is more concerned about it than the average American citizen! Probably because they will be affected by it more. I never realized before how our choices and decisions as American voters affects the rest of the world.
I saw the headline today, in MSN news, "Lohan slams Palin" and it made me chuckle. The media has been bashing Lohan for her drug and alcohol abuse and gloating over all her dark and dirty little secrets, then excepts us to care about her political views? It seems they do this all the time with Hollywood stars, then expect us to take their political views seriously, like they're experts on the subjects!! I'm dumb, but I'm not that dumb...
What happens when your mother really intended to have another girl - and you're a boy!
Ella doesn't look likes she's loving it so much in this picture but trust me, she was! Maybe she'd just swallowed a lake fly...
Since I'm not the get-in-your-bathing-suit-and-jump-on-the-trampoline kind of girl (oh, that is SUCH a gross thought!), I settled for bathing my two remaining little dog darlin's, Bridger and Sanyu, instead
When the chilluns had had enough of jumping, they amused themselves by playing with their tea set with water, cooking beans and rice, and getting almost as wet as when I was throwing buckets of water on them!
"Mix a little here, pour a little there, stir a little over here"
Lil Franks is really just a large baby - can't figure out why my children have such a hard time differentiating between people and dogs though, and why they associate with dogs so well...
Oh wait, maybe I can! All Sanyu needs are little diapers and I'd having a hard time telling them apart!
The couch is fully loaded
Whew. Hard to find a moment to yourself!!
