RLP first week impressions My fist week at Refugee Law Project is almost finished. I'm sort of getting a feel for the kind of work I'll be doing here. I'm working right now on a legal argument about freedom of movement for refugees vs. IDP's. Refugees are supposed to have freedom of movement, but in Uganda they have to go to camps if they want aid. They have to ask permission every time they leave, which is a really cumbersome process since they may have to walk miles to the camp's administrative center to get the permission. This means they can only sell the food they grow to people who come in to buy it, and as a result they get taken advantage of. Also conditions in the camps aren't great: everyone is given a plot and expected to farm it, they aren't given food or anything else, they have to grow their own and buy other things they need with the money they make off surplus crops. But not everyone knows how to farm, many refugees were teachers or doctors or students in their home countries. Also the camps get attacked a lot, they aren't very safe. So many people leave the camps and live in towns. They often do better economically, but they aren't considered refugees by the government. In contrast, the government has a sort of bill of rights for IDP's and they are not restricted in nearly the same way. This is just what I've been able to glean so far. It's an interesting topic, but I feel a bit overwhelmed by how knowledgeable everyone here is.

The typical routine so far: get up, call a motorcycle (boda boda) to come pick me up. Go down to the gate to meet him. Harrowing ride to work, though I'm getting more used to it. RLP is in a small building in Old Kampala, two floors, strangely split in two like a duplex but connected by a sort of balcony walkway on the 2nd floor. I work in the research dept office with the other interns. We have sort of taken it over. There's one computer but we all have laptops, 2 internet cords (we share) and three comfy ergonomic chairs with wheels and one hard wooden model. I feel a bit spoiled saying "gah, only two internet cords, what hardship," but it's really inconvenient!! Downstairs is the front desk and sort of a waiting area where a lot of refugees are always sitting, waiting to talk to the lawyers. They also hang out on the front patio and steps. I try to spend some time there every day talking to people becaue I'm going to teach an English class starting Tuesday and I want to get a feel for who they are and what their level is. Everyone says hi to me now. The biggest hurdle so far is I don't speak French or Swahili. I didn't think I was going to need them in Uganda, but most of the refugees are from Congo, Sudan and Burundi and speak French and Swahili. Ugandans speak English, Luganda, and a bunch of other tribal languages, but English is sort of the common denomiator. I'm trying to covert my Spanish to French, and Balkees, another intern, is helping me with that. Once I make the connections between the roots of words and sentance strutures, French stops sounding like a bunch of nosense syllables. But it's a process. And the pronunciation is a bitch. I might have better luck with Swahili.

It's a beautiful day today, about 70 degrees with a clear blue sky. There's a primary school across the street, and the kids are out in the field. They all have blue and white uniforms, just like my kids in Japan. All the girls have identical shorn heads. They are so cute. You don't see that hairstyle much on grown women, though I think it's really beautiful. I guess after being forced to wear a regulation cut for so many years while they're in school they can't wait to get creative with braids and weaves and colors.

This weekend I'm traveling to a small town in the East of Uganda, near the Kenyan border. A young woman from the office, Bernadette, is attending a freind's wedding, and she invited the interns along. I'm excited to get out of the city and see a bit more of the country.  ¶ 2:52 AM