season's greetings from father christmas

as the end of the school term approached at my teacher's college, plans were made for the annual christmas show, which includes drama sketches, readings, carols, and for the first time ever, an appearance by father christmas himself (played by yours truly). i was honored and amused when the show's organizers approached me about the gig and so i eagerly accepted the offer. my costume was a cultural hodgepodge of ugandan formalwear, a pillow to increase my waistline, and an american-style hat and beard. thanks to a pair of muzungu elves and a sack full of candy, it was a great success.

merry christmas to all!

where in the world is poo fly (vol 4)

making benefit glorious nation of kazakhstan

thanksgiving in tororo

lots of food, lots of friends, and one very long table!

on saturday, november 29th, a healthy contingent of peace corps volunteers descended upon tororo town to celebrate thanksgiving. not only was there an impressive amount of delicious food, but everyone got to eat at the same time... off of plates... with their own utensils! typically, a small gathering of only a few people will exhaust a volunteer's flatware supply. but for thanksgiving, we planned ahead!

for a mere 40,000 ugandan shillings ($20-$25),
i turned one of my supervisor's turkeys into thanksgiving dinner!

for the first time in my life, i was directly involved in deep-frying a turkey. under the expert, patient tutelage of a fellow volunteer (from the southern u.s.), i learned the ropes. after injecting the meat with an intense mixture of special spices using a veterinary syringe, i spent most of the afternoon dunking, checking, and replacing chunks of our holiday bird in 10 liters of bubbling vegetable oil. all in all, it was a pretty delicious experience that i hope to repeat someday...

clockwise from top: turkey/chicken, stuffing, green beans,
mac-n-cheese, sweet corn.
not pictured: cornbread, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie,
spice cake, apple pie, and more!