Interviews, Festivals, and Tikkun Olam (that nasty bugger)

Despite the title, I don't hate tikkun olam, I swear. But more on that later.
So, the last two days--
2 interviews. One was a piggy back of another student researcher, who sadly departed yesterday for home.  She had been here since May, and it was great being able to talk shop with her! We talked to Alex Armah, Ghanaian Yeshiva student, about the founding of his community, the House of Israel.  If you check one of my last posts from last year, there should be a bit about their story story, but this time I was able to get some more details about the history as well as more current plans for the community. Alex plans to return home for good in October, where he will officially begin to lead his small congregation of 100.
My second Friday interview was with Esau, a youth who has just finished his first year at Makere University.  We discussed Abayudaya identity and how one can preserve it away from any other Jewish presence (he is the only Abayudaya to attend university in Fort Portal, in Western Uganda).  Following the interviews, I made my way (as promised) for a short visit to the Bugisu circumcision festival.  It was wild to say the least. Tons of people, dancing, hoisting of politicians...and tons of circumcisions, though if you were interested in seeing one of those you had to be an expert in pushiness, which is not one of my fortes.  Being a mzungu probably could have helped me somewhat in this endeavor, but I decided I'd forgo the opportunity in favor of, um...not seeing anything too gruesome.  While I think I've probably had my fill of such ceremonies now (the traffic getting out was an experience in itself) it was certainly an exciting experience I should not soon forget.
On a different note, one unexpected topic that I've encountered--one which I was not exactly looking to resurrect after devoting my junior independent work to it--is tikkun olam.  It was brought up both in a Yeshiva class and in my interview with Rachman, and is apparently used often by the rabbi in the context of forging strong relationships with outside communities.  I hope to get more on this, however, when I get my official interview time with the rabbi tomorrow!
Finally, Shabbat--
Mostly as I remember it, though J.J. was notably absent (he apparently hurt himself recently, but I'm hoping to visit him on Tuesday).  I was so used to him leading kabbalat shabbat, it was strange to have it without him.  I had dinner at the rabbis, which was lovely, got some good Luganda lessons in from the rabbi's niece (rice is umchele! mango is emiembe! garden is enemiro!) and did some nice, traditional Shabbat napping and reading.  I also learned a bit more about the community's marriage struggles, one of the most prominent topics of conversation and tension these days.  I'm sure I will continue to learn more about this as I continue in my research.
Shavua tov y'all.