Things I Look Forward to When I Get Home

• Hug my family
• Wear a seatbelt
• Take a long, hot shower with no one rushing me
• Eat a steak
• Eat an apple
• Have a sleepover with my sister
• Get a pedicure
• Give and hug my doggies
• Sleep in my own bed
• Have my own room and space
• Step on American soil :)

I'm sure there is more but this is what I can think of off the top of my head

Two More Weeks

I can't believe that I will only be in Uganda for two more weeks, it has gone by so quickly!  I feel like I have not accomplished anything.  I will be going on a safari this weekend and heading out to the Islands again for a few days next week.   This time we will be going to three different villages to do some HIV testing and pass out condoms.  I think there will be a doctor or someone from a clinic accompanying us.  The eye camp will be on Saturday.  Maybe a day trip to Jinja and another trip to the African craft market to get a few more things and then I will be flying home.

Happy Birthday America!!!

Last night a group of us went to the American Recreation Association for a fourth of July picnic.  I got to have a hamburger and some popcorn.  They even had face painting and cotton candy.  There were African dancers and an African children's group sang and danced.

Some United States Marines presented the American Flag and a woman sang the national anthem.  It was really cool to see and hear our national anthem all the way in Africa.  I felt so proud to be an American.  I hope that I never again take that for granted.  I am so lucky to have the right to go to school, have running water and clean clothes, and even to have somewhere to put my trash.

Upcoming this week:

• HIV day at Kyombogo village--about forty minutes outside of Lugazi
• Meeting with Bernard tomorrow
• Safari this weekend

Half Way Finished!

I have been in Uganda for three weeks and that means that I will be back home in another three weeks.  For the most part I would say that it has gone by pretty quickly although I don't feel like I have done much.  It takes a while to accomplish things here, they seem to be on a totally different time schedule.  It was really cool to go the Buvuma Islands and meet some people there.  It is so sad to see children without shoes and little or no clothes.  Just sitting in the dirt with their naked butt can't be sanitary.  There are so many things that they need help with but we can't do it all, although I wish we could.  

Yesterday some of us took the day off and went to Kampala--the capital city.  It is much bigger than Lugazi and the traffic scares me.  I am very weary of traffic and cars in general and it is worse than anything I have ever seen before.  There are no traffic lights or anything and we just have to dodge the traffic as we run across the street trying not to get hit by a car.  And don't even get me stated on the taxis, they drive way to fast and don't stop or even slow down for anything.  I have been afraid for my life a few times.  I have had to ride boda bodas (basically a mix between a motorcycle and a scooter) a few times and that is always an experience, they weave in between the cars and sometimes get really really close to another car or person.  One Sunday when we were waling to church I got hit my some lady the was riding one side saddle.  I was told that more people in Uganda die of traffic accidents than die of AIDS.  I don't know how true that is considering that AIDS is a big problem, but it is interesting.

Taxis

Boda Bodas

The craziness of Kampala

I have been meeting with a guy names Bernard who runs a school and is trying to improve literacy.  I am trying to do some research and figure out how exactly I can help him.  It sounds like children are taught in English before they even know their native language and he wants to try to maybe teach some lessons in Lugandan and start English a bit later.  Only twenty five percent of people who start school actually finish.  That is a terrible drop out rate so he want to help improve that number by keeping things interesting so that kids enjoy it.  I am looking into other countries to see how they do id.  Maybe even what the United States does with Spanish immersion.  He is such a good guy and I would really like to help him out.

This Saturday we are going to the African craft market in Kampala to buy "African" things.  I am really looking forward to that and will probably spend way to much money.   But who knows when and if I will be in Africa again so I gotta do it...

Craft Market--I wanted to buy everything!

I'm not sure what my plans are for next week, maybe more meetings with Bernard and with Richardson, the guy we went with to Buvuma Island, help with teacher trainings and hopefully a safari next weekend.  I am in the process of researching prices at the moment.

The next weekend after that will be the eye/dental camp. I think we are going to be doing checkups and referring people to the hospital if they need surgery.  I think I will relate to this project the most and am excited that they were able to do it while I am here.

Then I will be coming home just in time for my sisters birthday.  I am looking forward to being home where it is familiar and comfortable. I've got a list of things I want to do when I get home in my journal.  I think I will share that on my next blog post.

I have really come to appreciate all the things that I have or have access to.  I am so lucky to have born in the United States!   I have the right to go to school and to learn to read.  There are so many opportunities that I have in a day that will take some of these people a lifetime to have.  No wonder so many people want to come to America.  It truly is better than what they have.  I am so thankful and lucky to have my birth certificate say that I am an American and no one will ever be able to take that away from me.  I was grateful of that fact previously but I think now even more so that I have actually experienced first hand how some people in this world live.  I'm sure that it will change me and the way I do some things but I'm not sure how yet.  I'm interested to see what happens when I get home.

Buvuma Island

I was wrong about the name of the island, it is Buvuma with a "B"  I just spent the last few days there.  We were able to visit a few villages and teach some classes.  I taught a little bit about nutrition and the importance of drinking water.  I got back to Lugazi today and am looking forward to helping on other projects.  I think I will work some more with Richardson (the man that we were with on the Island)  and maybe do some work on the eye camp.  It will be the last weekend before I leave.  I know what it is like to have surgery and get better vision so I'm really looking forward to that.

Kellie and I on the Ferry

Unloading the Ferry

Group Photo

The house we stayed in

I had to share this bed with another girl

Me with the kids in the village--they love having their picture taken

Lake View Primary School

The Whole Village

On Saturday we are going to Kampala to the craft market to buy "African" things and then the week after that I think we are going on a safari.  Looking forward to it!  Hope all is well in Utah.

African Time

Today I went to the bank to get smaller bills and I swear that it took like thirty minutes.  No one seems to be in a hurry to do anything here, they are all just on their own schedule, it can be frustrating when I have somewhere that I need to be.

When we go somewhere to get food, it can take 45 minutes until we actually get our food and then another twenty to get the bill and pay.  It is a long process.  You don't ever have to tip here though.

There is a lot of waiting around here, waiting for meetings, waiting for food, waiting, waiting, waiting.  Things move very slowly.  I'm adapting though.  I write in my journal a lot or read usually whenever we have to wait.  I almost have an entire journal filled up-good thing I brought two :)  I finished the one book that I brought with me so my new goal is to finish the Book of Mormon before I come home.  This works out to be about twenty pages a day.  There is a lot of down time and I will be able to get it finished.

This whole African time thing explains so much about a few of my friends... ha ha

Buvuma

Tomorrow (Thursday) I am going out to an island village on Lake Victoria called Buvuma.  I will be going with five other people from my team.  We will be visiting different communities and teaching some workshops on various things, among which are HIV/AIDS and sexual health.  We will stay on the island for five days.

I am very excited to start making a difference and help to educate some people because I think that it all starts with education.  Also it will be nice to get away from the house and experience something new.  It sounds like the accommodations will be pretty good, we are going to live in a house with a solar panel.  The rest of the village does not have electricity but we will.  Today we are going shopping for some food to take with us and pack our things.  I will just take my backpack.

It sounds like the people are very eager to have us come and from what I understand there has only been one other Mzungu who has been to the village, so that will be interesting.  I think just our presence there will make a difference.

The island sounds very beautiful, white sand beaches and all. The people are very poor though.  I've got a fully charged camera all ready to take with me..