"Here we are! This is where you will be staying.

It's late in the evening here now and Mr. Gargory, the man who organized the whole trip, leads our little group to a small shack. It's one right in the middle of many and I wonder what it's doing here if no one lives in it. The little children that are either playing or cooking meals pause to stare at us.

I wonder if they wish we would just go away.

"This is cute!" Jillian observes as we walk up to the little hut where we will be staying. I try very hard to be grateful and not disgusted at the sight of it.

Geez. I really am I spoiled 21st century American teenager.

I observe the size of the hut and assume that it's only one room.

"This is great! Thank you Mr. Gargory," Mom says.

"My pleasure. We happen to have little shacks very close to the school. It's just a mile straight up the road." He points behind the house.

"You three," he continues, pointing at Odette, Jillian, and I, "...will be up at the schoolhouse tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is really just set aside to get to know the kids. The adults will talk about the plans for the well."

"Sounds great!" Odette cheers. Mr. Gargory nods his bald head towards us and smiles before moving on to show the other small group of people where they will be staying.

"So... This is cool and everything," I start walking in to the hut, "But umm what about when we have to change...?"

"There's outhouses in the back," Odette replays as if she was simply telling the time or something.

"Oh."

I take a deep breath and look around the hut. It's small, but yet oddly comfy I have to admit. It'd be a lot of us in one little area for a month but I think I'll manage.

Odette spreads her arms out and spins like Maria at the start of The Sound of Music. "This is so homey!!!" she squeals. Then, rushing to the entrance, her hair flying behind her, she grabs takes a good long look out at the little village. She then squats down as a little boy timidly approaches her.

"Don't scare him away," I whisper teasingly, as I sit down, hoping the boy is still out of earshot. She turns her head around briefly to sarcastically stick her tongue out at me. Facing the boy again she smiles wide and waves.

"Do you. Speak English?" she asks, over annunciating her words.

The boy holds up his index finger and his thumb and says, "Little," in the greatest accent I've ever heard. From the angle I'm at, I see one side of Odette's face that is absolutely lighting up right now. She's really good with kids; loves every single one to the moon and back. Including this kid, I'm guessing. And she doesn't even know him.

The boy smiles back a little. Then, he slowly moves his hand towards Odette's face.

She laughs. "I know. I'm really, really pale," she laughs. The boy begins to wrap Odette's hair around his finger and studies it like its a rare diamond.

"My hair is weird too," she laughs.

"Pretty," the boy replies.

I'm beginning to think Odette may die of cute overload. She looks still and calm but I can practically feel her bubbling with excitement over this kid talking to her.

"Thanks!" she giggles.

"How it this color?" the boy asks.

Odette laughs even harder. Jillian spurts out a little giggle too as she pulls out a pair of pants from her suitcase.

I would've said something boring and straightforward about it being a natural hair color. But Odette has a whole story to tell, while still being completely truthful.

"Well," she begins mysteriously as if about to launch into some ancient legend. "My mom and dad both have brown hair but somewhere in them they have the ability to create a whole new hair color."

I laugh a silent laugh and cringe a little at the same time. Does she really need to give this kid a lesson in genetics right now? Catching Jillian's eye, I shake my head, smiling. She rolls her eyes playfully in response as if to say We know she's crazy but we know we love her.

I suddenly hear a woman's voice coming from outside. It sounds as if she's speaking the native tongue of Uganda. The little boy turns and responds to the woman. He takes her hand and waves goodbye to Odette.

Odette smiles at both of them before pushing herself back up straight.

"My heart just melted!" she exclaims dramatically. "Mom! Have another baby and let's hope for a boy!"

I full out laugh this time while Mrs. Nulian stares at her daughter like she just dropped from the moon. Jillian shakes her head and raises her eyebrows while throwing down her sleeping bag. "You're a weirdo," she claims.

"Yeah, that's not weird at aaaaaall!" I mock.

She glares at me, trying not to show how much she wants to laugh.

"Never mind, I forgot! I'm getting Patrick as my little bro," she smirks flashing me a triumphant look.

"Alright, sure! But I guarantee you'll want to give him back in about a week." I tease.

"I will not!"

"I bet you fifty bucks," I bribe.

"Ohhh," she laughs. "You're o-!"

"Ok, no one is using my son as a means to get money," Mom cuts in.

"Ah, Mom, I was just kidding," I laugh.

"I know!"

Odette starts skipping around the hut again. "This is going to be AMAAAAZZIINNNGLY cuuute," she says, singing the last couple of words. She then grabs one of my hands and tries to jerk me up on my feet. I just give her another playful blow to the shin.

"Dude, if you keep hitting me there, it's eventually going to break!" she laughs.

"Nah. You know I have no lower body strength whatsoever," I tease.

"Yeah and I have no upper body strength," she grunts. "Geesh, you don't even weigh anything."

"One-hundred fifty is not nothing," I point out, yanking on her arms to get me to sit down.

"Why you little-!" Odette laughs slapping me on the shoulder.

"Goodness, you two are rambunctious. I may have to leave you here at the end of the month!" Mom teases.

"Alright, alright settle down now," Mrs. Nulian says, thankfully getting her daughter to let me be. "Let's all just settle in for the night. We could all use a couple extra hours of sleep."

"Yeah no kidding. I am jeeeeet lagged!" Jillian agrees before plopping down into her sleeping bag. "Should we set up some mosquito nets?" she asks.

"Do we have any?" I ask, pushing myself up and heading towards my suitcase.

"I thought someone got some form somewhere..." Jillian yawns.

"Yep! I've got 'em," Mr. Nulian announces.

He throws one over Jillian's face and she groans. "I don't feel like learning how to set this up."

"I'd rather do that than sleep right now, in all honesty," Odette announces.

"For Heaven's sake, Odette!" Mrs. Nulian laughs. She chucks Odette's pajamas at her. "Get ready for bed," she orders.

"Alright," Odette sighs, leaping up form her spot on the ground and heading it back towards the out houses.

I chuckle to myself and lay out my sleeping bag, looking forward to some much needed rest.