Mzungu Bonga!

So I have officially been in Iganga for a week now, so I figure it's probably about time I post a blog. Let me just start off by saying that this place is more amazing than I dreamed, and I'm pretty sure I've fallen in love with Uganda and its culture. For those of you who don't know, I am currently volunteering at a pretty good sized orphanage/school called Musana Children's Home in Iganga, Uganda. It's a dream come true for me, and I feel I have finally arrived at where I am supposed to be at this point in my life.
I arrived at Entebbe Airport last Monday, and was scared half to death when I thought no one was there to pick me up. I was walking around trying to push two baggage carts completely loaded with bags, trying to find Morris, whom I was told was picking me up. He is one of the directoirs of Musana, and I had a pretty good idea on what he looked like. I didn't see him anywhere, though, and was flocked by cab drivers whom I could barely understand. People here are very pushy here towards white people, or mzungus, which means ghost. They assume you have money, so everyone fights for your business. Luckily I was approached by what I thought was some random kid, but when he asked if I was Bryan I was forever thankful that i wasn't stuck. Turns out this was Pipih, Morris's brother and a volunteer coordinator for Musana. He is 23 (I think. supposedly he lies a lot about his age), and quite possibly one of the coolest people I have ever met. He helped me take my bags to his friends car, and we left for Kampala.
Basically as soon as we got to Kampala, our driver got "pulled over," which is actually just whistled at by some girl cop standing in the middle of the street. From what i could tell, there are absolutely no traffic laws in this country, but I guess I was wrong. She told Pipih to get out of the passenger seat and into the back with me, and then she hopped in the front. I was already confused at this point, but then she just chilled up there for at least another half hour while we drove around and did errands. The driver and her were whispering to each other in Lusoga, and he was trying to hand her some bills for her to leave. She was offended and took us to the "police station," aka a parking lot full of dudes with AKs. We were only there for like 10 minutes, though, cause Pipih knows some people who he called and got us off skotch free.
After we left Kampala, we drove the approximate 3 hours to Iganga, and I was welcoming by dozens of singing children when we got to Musana. The kids are AMAZING! They all crowded around me when I came in and grabbed me by hands and led me around the campus. They sat me down in a classroom and a group of girls came and danced and sang songs for me. I'll try upload some video of it, cause it was awesome.
So that was day one, and I'm definitely rambling, so I'll try and summarize the next six days. Important things you should know:
A. No pet monkey :( Guess some townspeople killed it cause it stole food. Turns out Ugandans hate all animals besides goats, cows, and chickens, which all three are pretty much everywhere. Like literally, they just roam all around town, eating the plethora of trash off the street. And they abuse every other kind of cool animal, like cats, rabbits and dogs. It's some BS, but there's nothing I can do.
B. Everything here is ridiculously cheap. like dirt cheap. Which is great, but also sad for the people that live here. like average salary is less then $2 a day, or 4000 Ugandan shillings, which means a full plate of food is like a dollar, or a buck fifty if you want a giant beer with it.
C. The food here is suprisingly pretty awesome. I've tried some weird stuff, but i'm impressed by most of it. I had some goat testicle with lunch the other day, and not too shabby really.
D. I rented bodas, which are the motrocycle taxis, with another volunteer Ryan and one of the older Musana kids, Emma. This guys gave us each their bikes for 3 dollars for 3 hours, and we road all around town causing ruckus. I'm an awful boda driver, but it was a blast.
E. I live in a sweet house, minus the mice, bugs, and lizards. Its a pretty good size, and everything is done for me. We have a house keeper, Raheema, who is fantastic. She's my age, but she does all our sleaning, cooking, laundry, everything. Its amazing and I try to thank her everyday. We have a pretty major mouse problem though, although i think they are funny. They are tiny, and chase each other all over the house. they aren't really afraid of people, so you see them all the time. The lizards I don't mind, cause they are cool and eat some of the many bugs. But sometimes when they are in my bed, i get a little creeped out.
F. The kids in the street are my favorite part of this country thus far. They absolutely love white people, cause they rarely see them, and some expect you to give them stuff. I don't, cause there are too many of them, but most just really are very friendly. As soonas they see you, they will run from all directions yelling "Mzungu! Mzungu Bonga!" and then put up there fists for you to bop. This is the bonga part, and they get so happy. Even the smallest little toddlers will waddle over to you and bop you. It makes my dsay evryday. Some will hug you or climb up you, and i almost always have 3 or 4 on each hand as i walk to Musana. It's a pretty amazing feeling to see that kind of love form complete strangers, and I can't stop smiling when it happens.

Alright I'm far past the "too long" point, so I'm gonna end it here. I'll try to write more regularly, but I doubt it will happen. If you want to kno anything, email or facebook me. I love you all, and thanks for reading it this far.