Jingle Bells?

November is here and I can't believe that jingle bells are ringing. The supermarkets and stores are already selling christmas cards, seasons greeting cards, christmas decor, everything. This is going to be so much fun ... I think, having to celebrate for almost two months, this is cool! And back home people begin preparing for Christmas like two weeks in advance, then before you know it, Christmas is over.
Remember we have not celebrated Thanksgiving yet, maybe that's how we get to call it the festive season.
I doubt that the Wharton fellas are looking forward to these holidays as much or maybe they are looking forward more than anyone else in the world. A bit of a break from their crazy schedules would be welcomed with open arms. There is a student who is breaking under the pressure, I got to read some thoughts that she had put down and honestly she is going through much. A part from crying every single day and feeling like professors in Wharton are sadist, she left the love of her life in another city and can't remember why she came to school in the first place. Do we still have people out there wanting to do an MBA?!
Sam tells me how he struggles to stay awake in his classes and how he is obviously not the only one. The other day he went for a conference and one of the students who was obviously very spent sat in the chair and slept through the talk.
Some people look like they are in a daze, they are looking at you but are not exactly seeing you. People have to be persuaded to go for parties and free food, I read an email from the guy in charge of the social events for the African American Mens Association and he was complaining that none of the first years is attending the get togethers. He has resorted to enticing them with prior info that he is inviting the under grad girls, lets see if that works.

Peace and quiet

This week has been amazingly low key if I say so my self, I didn't go anywhere, Mich and I stayed home.
I wouldn't consider the trips we made to the Hospital and dental school. They were more for farmiliarisation than anything else, just to know if they accepted our medical cover and what the procedure was to make an appointment. It turns out that the trips were not necessary because here most things get done on the phone or over the internet, but I was glad we went.
bOther than that we have been indoors, much of it has to do with the cool temperatures outside.

Mich has been a real good boy this week, my heart is full of gratitude to God. Every single day this week he has kept to his napping schedule without throwing a tantrum and that has given me much needed peace and quite to read up on stuff and watch some programmes on tv. Staying home all day was a story one time because Mich always wanted to go out. So you can imagine my joy when he stays in all day and still takes his naps without a fight.
One thing I have learnt about Mich is he likes to know whats going to happen, he works better when things are defined for him. Telling him what his day is going to be like makes him more agreeable, incase it slips his mind I get to remind him and then all is well.
In summary it's been a good week, God continues to smile on us, absolute Mercy and Grace from above.

Retirement home

Brent and Diane the navigators invited Mich and I to attend a get together at a retirement home yesterday. I was excited to go but had mixed feelings by the end of the evening, not about being there but the events that took place as I will let you know.
I met quite a few grandma's, some were still very fun and stylish while others were a little grampy.
It was organised so that the international students could spend sometime with the old ladies and share a little bit about their country.
We had internationals from Taiwan, Japan, Ukraine,China and Liberia. I was given a slot to talk about Uganda and I thought that was tough, I have taken for granted the things that happen at home, somehow I got so used to seeing things a certain way that it became normal. Maybe that sounds a little silly considering that I have been away from home for a while and noticed the differences in culture and style. Never the less I planned out a few of the things I thought I would mention and waited for my turn. This is when Mich gets restless, he starts running up and down the corridor while some one was giving a speech and that was very disruptive, I tried to talk him out of it but he just wasn't listening. Then he run up to the Piano and the blood rushed out of my head, I almost broke out in sweat praying that he wouldn't play any keys. Well he pressed a few keys but God certainly heard my prayer because it didn't sound. I pick him up and carried him out of the room for a one on one session and he is shaking and screaming. Not long before that I saw one of the old ladies give me this look of "get a hold of your little boy and do something with him because quite frankly he is really making me mad". Oh my! that look sent chills down my spine then she seemed to say something under her breath. Granma's are the last people you want to upset, I have so much respect for them, I also know that they are special people in God's eyes and their prayers are powerful, so really there was a lot to deal with. Not forgetting the fact that I'm still feeling "new" in the place and not quite sure how they would react to me.
Mich and I had a good talk outside, a few tears where shade but by the time we were heading back to the room we had set the record straight. It was now my turn to talk and I still wasn't over Mich's behaviour, I was embarrased and flushed, thankfully being as dark skinned as I am it didn't show. My speech was very sketchy, I had a lot of random thoughts. I started by introducing myself, what I was doing in Philly and apologized for Mich's crazy behaviour. Then I talked about how green Uganda is (the pearl of Africa), how we are very community oriented (it takes a village to raise a child mentality), I don't know how that came up but I guess it had something to do with Mich. I talked about our means of transport, my family and that was it, my mind was blank, terrible situation to be I tell you. At question time I was asked what holidays we celebrated and I could only remember five. Later on, talking to Brent and Diane they said I did a great job, I thought they were just being nice but I guess if they said so it wasn't so bad, I was just overwhelmed at how thrown off I felt.
After the session we had a time to give out some goodies to the granmas' and take a few pictures.

Poison Ivy??

Yesterday Mich got up from his afternoon nap with a swollen eye and was scratching himself very intently. That was a bit of a surprise, it wasn't swollen before he went to bed and he didn't seem to notice the difference. I checked his bed to see if there could have been an insect that bit him but there was nothing. Immediately my mind went back to the play ground he had been at just before, apparently there is a poison ivy plant there and Mich had been by it but only briefly, I panicked.
Poison Ivy is a very dangerous plant that has some kind of sap that is poisonous and if you get in contact with it you are basically in big trouble. It causes a very itchy rash, swellings on the body, sometimes a fever and it takes a week or so to cure. He had some of the symptoms, the itching and a little bit of swelling over the areas he scratched but there were no cuts or open sores. Before I knew it he had taken off all his clothes and was scratching himself all over. I told Sam about it and he suggested I buy hydro-cortisone from the pharmacy, it helps cool down the itching. I got it and smeared it all over Mich's body, it would be very itchy and then after a while he would forget about it and play. At some point during the itching he said "mummy, I'm not well", I agreed and explained to him what I thought had happened and what the cream was for, then he asked "how about crying?". In the midst of this I couldn't help but laugh, I told him that this time crying might not help much. I prayed over him very fervently, I prayed that it wasn't poison ivy and asked God to heal him knowing that God is the doctor of all doctors.
I thought if this was poison ivy it would be important to take all that he was putting on and wash it in order to prevent further contamination only I couldn't find his pants.
We spent the night together, I tried to console him, help him scratch and put some more cream on him in the middle of the night. Things got better and he slept. In the morning I asked him how he was feeling and he said he was fine and that he had scratched the sickness away. I didn't want to take chances thought, I mean I still wasn't sure if it was poison ivy or not so I called up one of my friends and she gave me some very useful insights, what cream is best recommended, the number of the university hospital and also the number of her paediatrician. While Mich seems fine now I certainly have to sort out my medical coverage and get him to see a doctor not just for this time but whenever something else comes up. Would you call that a mixture of faith and works?
By the way I found his pants today in the most weird place, in his toilet bowl. I think he wanted to get rid of them, hmmm!

I'm so unfit

Sam has been home all day for the past two days and that has been really nice, he is preparing for exams which start today (he is actually in the marketing exam right now). I thought since he was home it would be a good opportunity for me to go jogging, Mich didn't have a problem with that. I set out and in no time I was panting, I felt so heavy, my whole body was shaking, it kind of felt like with each step I took the earth shook, it probably didn't but I sure felt like I was making a dent every where I stepped. I realised that taking shorter steps and moving a little slower would keep me going for a longer distance.
I was glad that people on the streets were minding their own business and no one was staring or whistling at me. Back home it was very easy to get intimidated, the areas that one could jog through with ease were limited, there were always idlers standing by the road amazed at the fact that a woman was jogging. At times guys would whistle, call you names or in more hillarious circumstances jog along for a few metres. If you are like me, you chill the jogging and try dieting or just resign and let the love handles pile on.
Anyway by the time I got back I was really feeling energised, I had only run for 30 minutes and yet it felt like I had been on a marathon. After taking a bath, I felt refreshed and rejunivated, it was worth it all, even my brain was more alert. I guess thats why it's recommended to jog early in the morning. You have amazing energy after a work out, if you are working and have a presentation, you would leave your colleagues awed with your ideas. If you are a stay home mom like me then your little ones would be exhausted by the end of the morning seeing as they wouldn't be able to out do you. I hope I can do this on a regular basis.