main hospital ladies!

Yup, that's Katie and I. Apparently we don't even need to tell boda drivers where we're going now. Cuz we're "main hospital ladies." But the same driver also called us "Obama's girls" - I think because we're American - and that just makes me think what a surreal trip it must be to be president. I bet if Obama had a magic globe that lit up whenever someone said his name (referring to him) (including when babies are named after him) it would be like a disco ball. Surreal.

Another thing we learned today from a different boda driver: Katie and Jessica are Ateso names. Really! I had no idea. (There are many, many languages in the region where we live - Ateso is one. But somehow I doubt Jessica and Katie are original Ateso.) This same boda driver, after learning that we both have cars in the US (no bodas), also wanted us to bring him a car from the US. And I think he was totally serious. But first Katie and I are thinking about importing a car from Japan for ourselves.

Also funny: playing charades with your boss and having him
1) realize that you know nothing about plants (I really, really thought pineapples grew on trees. Who knew? Not Katie either.) (This makes dealing with our garden really difficult. How do I know so little about plants? I have to google everything about them. Ridiculous.)
2) Get mad because regardless of your basic lack of plant knowledge, your nonverbal communication with your roommate is perfect enough that she can guess "venus fly trap" within 10 seconds of you falling on your ass.

This weekend - well really just Thursday/Friday - I'm traveling to Kisumu in Kenya to go to a UCSF conference. I want to go for the research/networking (haha I'm literally the worst networker in the world...sigh) but the logistics are annoying as hell. It's going to be quite the adventure, and expensive too (visas). But I think Doris will pay for it since it's in the name of research travel.

Minor happenings in Tororo:
1) We made awesome Mexican food. Using cilantro from our own garden!! Crazy.
2) We discovered a store that sells homemade ice cream which is wayyyyy better than the usual storebought stuff, and it's awesome. It's a guessing game as to exactly what the flavors are, but they are delish.
3) It's finally dry season. So basically it's a bit hotter and way dustier.
3) I dyed my hair for the first time ever. I'm not sure how I feel. I already miss my old hair. I think that's why I've never dyed my hair before - I knew I would feel regret as soon as I did it. Well, I do like how this looks in the sun, just not indoors. It's too dark!

BEFORE:

Indoors

Outdoors

AFTER:

The look varies pretty dramatically based on the lighting conditions. Anyway! We'll see how I feel in a week!

Bonus picture of how big Ellie is now (she has a collar with a tag!! aww):

And still totally friggin crazy.