July 4th Gulu Style - 2010

I had a great 4th of July weekend in Gulu!! My friend Sandi came to spend the weekend with me! She’s a Peace Corps volunteer in Pader (2 hrs from Gulu). It was fun to have someone stay with me in my new house and spend the weekend together. It was her chance to enjoy the “big city”. In Pader, her house has no running water, so she LOVED getting to take a proper shower with WARM water!!!

On Sat we went to a party with everyone from Invisible Children. Last year I was here with IC and their teacher exchange program. Currently, there are 2 groups of the teachers here from the US (about 30 total). Each year, they have a big party for all the US teachers and their partner Ugandan teachers. (Last summer, we had a similar party when I was part of TE/X). Alex, my teacher from last year (and dad of baby Daneen) was even there! It was lots of fun. Always with lots of dancing; American and Acholi!!!

Sunday after church, we had hamburgers and hotdogs at a café in town run by an American couple! They even put up a huge American flag that they found in the second-hand market. The lady selling it said it was a curtain and only 2,000/-; about $1USD!



Later in the evening, a restaurant in town has a big screen and projector where they sometimes project the TV or a movie. A few Americans asked them if they’d show a movie of their (American) choice on the 4th. They played “The Sandlot”!! Great Americana movie!!!

No fireworks but it sure was a great weekend celebrating America! I thank God often for the precious gift of being born in the U.S. I appreciate and love [most] everything that comes with being American! I sometimes wonder how God choose were each of us would be born. It’s beyond my understanding or comprehension yet I’m so grateful and proud to be an American….and an American living abroad!