last full day in U.G.
i can't even begin to tell you how close i am to crying even now as i am typing this. how can my heart be torn in two by such extremely different cultures and places?
two weeks is nowhere near long enough to do everything that i wanted to do and see everyone that i wanted to see. but for now i'll have to to just be content that i got the time that i did, and the freedom that i have to move about like i have been able to.
last few snapshots of my time here:
1. i co-wrote a song yesterday with kia. her band is going to use it in their repertoire. how cool is that? okay, so its not just in english. double cool!
its actually sang between two people who love each other but aren't from the same tribe. totally weird, cause i put a completely 'coffee-shopped' feel to the part that i helped write of the tune, so it doesn't even sound African. slightly hilarious.
2. i did dishes this morning before kia woke up. it was kinda weird cause i was totally thinking about how different her kitchen is from mine. but when you actually start thinking about it really hard you suddenly discover that its very much the same. okay, so there's a charcoal stove on the floor, but she also has gas burners just like mine. and yes, the sink only runs cold water, but it leaks just like mine. (lol). and although there is a small problem with a roach infestation, its not like i am not constantly spraying for spiders at my place. only thing that is really, really different. i keep my butter in the fridge and my bread on the counter and she does the exact opposite. all in all, i have been extremely blessed to have been able to stay with her. an i really mean BLESSED.
3. i have a strange effect on small animals and young children. and no, i'm not talking about the fact that they like to chase me shouting 'mzungu' (the children, not the animals, although i am sure they would if they could). they seem to like me strangely. in that i put them to sleep! yeah, what's up with that? i mean its one thing to be boring... but this is ridiculous! when keisha (akiki's granddaughter) finally got familiar enough with me to let me play with her i completely wore her out and she fell asleep. when i played with baby martin he got so quiet and content, and almost fell asleep on me. bubu -- the stray dog that stays near aloke's place -- decided she needed to follow me around and even tried to follow me into the house at one point. i just don't even know!! but it's not like i don't have that effect on animals and small children in the u.s. too. in fact just the other day i was carrying baby connor at work and completely put him to sleep as well.
4. okay walking around kampala is not so bad... until it freakin' pouring rains. like ginormous drops! and all those dirt roads that you have been walking on that feel completely solid suddenly turn to complete mush beneath your feet. its kinda awful. i've had the sinking feeling that i am going to slip and land firmly on my backside for the last 3 days, every time that i go out. which of course is made ten times worse by the fact that last night when i was climbing my way back home up the hill to the house power was completely out, so it was like PITCH black.
anyway, fun times. leaving tomorrow for the u.s.
then its wedding funness and a whirl of activity!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Kibito
(which Aloke informs me should be correctly pronounced in Luganda as *Ch*ibito, but i maintain that the Mtorros who live there call it *K*ibito, so that's the way i'm going to say it too!)
I went up to visit Mum Akiki in Kibito (near Fort Portal, which apparently I also pronounce funny!) this last week. She was so thrilled by all the pictures in the album that Janalee had made for her and she just gave me the biggest hug and couldn't stop asking me when I was coming back to stay with her cause she gets so lonely living by herself. I also got to deliver 3/4 of my suitcase to her full of medical supplies for the clinic.
I really ought to pray more for the clinic and Akiki. Poor lady, she was doing fairly well with her small practice, but a doctor finally came to work at the district hospital that is not far from her clinic and apparently there is some organization that pays the sisters there for their services, so delivery there is next to free. Of course Akiki can't afford to provide her midwife services free of charge, so she said that prior to my coming she hadn't had a patient for the whole month. However 3 babies were born at the clinic while I was there. One baby girl, and twin boys, and she also had to send another patient away to the hospital because of pelvic disproportion.
Other than the clinic however our stay in Kibito was stellar. Of course these things of limited power, no running water, cooking over a wood fire, and nightly trips to the outhouse out back are all sorts of fun.
But some of my favorite moments were:
1. Laughing with Akiki. You know how you can tell when some people have been stressed and they just need to smile and laugh more. I love it when I get to hang out with those people and be the person that reminds them of the joy in life.
2. Skeevia. (I actually have no idea how to spell her name), but she is one of the neighbor girls that stays with Akiki and helps out with Keisha (Akiki's granddaughter) and keeps Akiki company. She immediately decided that we needed to be fast friends and though she kinda delighted in laughing at my sad attempts to help in the kitchen or do things the African way, I think she also had fun showing off her new friend when we went to town for airtime and bread or to the market day to get "Irish" and pineapples. That girl was a pure delight to me, and unlike Akiki, didn't mind letting me help out with chores or teaching me how to hand squeeze juice! (yeah, I did that! and it was A-Mazing!)
3. 5,000 Ugandan shillings. That is what Aloke bet me that he could beat me at the Word Mole game on my blackberry. (don't ask me why I have a blackberry in Africa) See I kinda might have insulted his english skills... something about English being my first language and his second, so of course I was better at word games than him... yeah, I know. I'm mean. What can I say. But I was also right. And he can keep blaming it on the cold, but we both know that wasn't the problem with his lack of spelling quickness. Speaking of word games... we also demolished a couple of crossword puzzles on the way to Kibito and back. It seems with our combined skills we are actually fairly good, however miserable we are independently.
4. New friends. Nancy, Akiki's daughter, came to visit with two friends from the U.K. who have been working on a research project at the national park where she works. It was fun to interact with other "mzungus" with their adorable english accents and interesting ideas of what is normal and not in UG.
5. The mountains. I don't think I will ever get over how beautiful the mountains are. Whether they are shrouded in veils of smoke and fog or dominating the skyline with their presence, they are truly one of the things that makes my heart feel very close to God. My personal game is to count how many horizons i can see... So starting with the nearest mountain you can see you count the layers of mountain ranges as far back as you can see. I think our record was 9.
Well, that's 5, that's enough for today right?
Okay, okay, so I'll tell one more story before I sign off for the day. Kia, Belinda, and I went for Indian food last night (which wasn't half bad actually, though its slightly oxymoronic to eat Indian food in Africa... but whatever.) So we were on our way home and just walking through dark Kampala streets because we decided we were too full to jump in the taxi and needed to walk some of our food off, plus we wanted to get ice cream yet at Nando's. So we are walking along Kampala road just laughing and talking. Normally anywhere you go in Kampala if you are looking for the trashcan just look down, cause you are most likely walking on it. Needless to say littering is a big problem. But along Kampala road there are strategically placed cans with signs that say "Keep our city clean" and slogans of that sort. I didn't really realize what he was doing until we were pretty near him, but there was this guy leaning over one of the cans. Both of the other girls kinda shied away, but I wasn't really passing near him, so I just kept watching. Good thing I have good peripheral vision cause this guy was slightly insane (and I mean mentally unstable, not silly) and lunged towards us waving some food particle he was apparently redeeming from the garbage can. He lifted his hand to chuck it at us, seeing how we had shied away, I think he thought he would have some fun with us. I neatly sidestepped and sped up, but the girls were way ahead of me and yelled at me to start running. I think we ran a whole block from this guy who only took a couple lunges towards us and then just laughed hysterically at our disappearing figures. Funny thing though, I think I passed both of the girls and I was running in flip-flops! Can you imagine? Statistically a large majority of the mentally ill in Africa go untreated because there just aren't facilities or federal aid and families simply can't take care of them like they need when they themselves are struggling to stay above the poverty line. Anyway, we escaped from this crazy guy, but I think next time we'll just take the taxi after dark and forgo whatever adventures we might have with the mentally unstable of Kampala night life!
I went up to visit Mum Akiki in Kibito (near Fort Portal, which apparently I also pronounce funny!) this last week. She was so thrilled by all the pictures in the album that Janalee had made for her and she just gave me the biggest hug and couldn't stop asking me when I was coming back to stay with her cause she gets so lonely living by herself. I also got to deliver 3/4 of my suitcase to her full of medical supplies for the clinic.
I really ought to pray more for the clinic and Akiki. Poor lady, she was doing fairly well with her small practice, but a doctor finally came to work at the district hospital that is not far from her clinic and apparently there is some organization that pays the sisters there for their services, so delivery there is next to free. Of course Akiki can't afford to provide her midwife services free of charge, so she said that prior to my coming she hadn't had a patient for the whole month. However 3 babies were born at the clinic while I was there. One baby girl, and twin boys, and she also had to send another patient away to the hospital because of pelvic disproportion.
Other than the clinic however our stay in Kibito was stellar. Of course these things of limited power, no running water, cooking over a wood fire, and nightly trips to the outhouse out back are all sorts of fun.
But some of my favorite moments were:
1. Laughing with Akiki. You know how you can tell when some people have been stressed and they just need to smile and laugh more. I love it when I get to hang out with those people and be the person that reminds them of the joy in life.
2. Skeevia. (I actually have no idea how to spell her name), but she is one of the neighbor girls that stays with Akiki and helps out with Keisha (Akiki's granddaughter) and keeps Akiki company. She immediately decided that we needed to be fast friends and though she kinda delighted in laughing at my sad attempts to help in the kitchen or do things the African way, I think she also had fun showing off her new friend when we went to town for airtime and bread or to the market day to get "Irish" and pineapples. That girl was a pure delight to me, and unlike Akiki, didn't mind letting me help out with chores or teaching me how to hand squeeze juice! (yeah, I did that! and it was A-Mazing!)
3. 5,000 Ugandan shillings. That is what Aloke bet me that he could beat me at the Word Mole game on my blackberry. (don't ask me why I have a blackberry in Africa) See I kinda might have insulted his english skills... something about English being my first language and his second, so of course I was better at word games than him... yeah, I know. I'm mean. What can I say. But I was also right. And he can keep blaming it on the cold, but we both know that wasn't the problem with his lack of spelling quickness. Speaking of word games... we also demolished a couple of crossword puzzles on the way to Kibito and back. It seems with our combined skills we are actually fairly good, however miserable we are independently.
4. New friends. Nancy, Akiki's daughter, came to visit with two friends from the U.K. who have been working on a research project at the national park where she works. It was fun to interact with other "mzungus" with their adorable english accents and interesting ideas of what is normal and not in UG.
5. The mountains. I don't think I will ever get over how beautiful the mountains are. Whether they are shrouded in veils of smoke and fog or dominating the skyline with their presence, they are truly one of the things that makes my heart feel very close to God. My personal game is to count how many horizons i can see... So starting with the nearest mountain you can see you count the layers of mountain ranges as far back as you can see. I think our record was 9.
Well, that's 5, that's enough for today right?
Okay, okay, so I'll tell one more story before I sign off for the day. Kia, Belinda, and I went for Indian food last night (which wasn't half bad actually, though its slightly oxymoronic to eat Indian food in Africa... but whatever.) So we were on our way home and just walking through dark Kampala streets because we decided we were too full to jump in the taxi and needed to walk some of our food off, plus we wanted to get ice cream yet at Nando's. So we are walking along Kampala road just laughing and talking. Normally anywhere you go in Kampala if you are looking for the trashcan just look down, cause you are most likely walking on it. Needless to say littering is a big problem. But along Kampala road there are strategically placed cans with signs that say "Keep our city clean" and slogans of that sort. I didn't really realize what he was doing until we were pretty near him, but there was this guy leaning over one of the cans. Both of the other girls kinda shied away, but I wasn't really passing near him, so I just kept watching. Good thing I have good peripheral vision cause this guy was slightly insane (and I mean mentally unstable, not silly) and lunged towards us waving some food particle he was apparently redeeming from the garbage can. He lifted his hand to chuck it at us, seeing how we had shied away, I think he thought he would have some fun with us. I neatly sidestepped and sped up, but the girls were way ahead of me and yelled at me to start running. I think we ran a whole block from this guy who only took a couple lunges towards us and then just laughed hysterically at our disappearing figures. Funny thing though, I think I passed both of the girls and I was running in flip-flops! Can you imagine? Statistically a large majority of the mentally ill in Africa go untreated because there just aren't facilities or federal aid and families simply can't take care of them like they need when they themselves are struggling to stay above the poverty line. Anyway, we escaped from this crazy guy, but I think next time we'll just take the taxi after dark and forgo whatever adventures we might have with the mentally unstable of Kampala night life!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Update 2.1
Today I:
Slept in (I think it was coming to 1030 when I got up)
Blogged about roaches (see previous blog post; and apparently great granddaddy had a brother, because I just exchanged howdys with him in the hall)
Helped butcher two chickens (including cleaning a gizzard, ewh)
Bathed from a bucket of water (with only one pitcher of hot water I might add, I am very proud of my conservation)
Wore a skirt on a bodaboda (sidesaddle on a motorcyle going about 40mph over potholes)
Ate a fresh guava (I actually wasn't expecting all those seeds)
Ate fresh pineapple (heaven!)
Got scolded for wearing barefeet outside (I have a bad habit what can I say?)
Watched an entire soccer game (3:0 Manchester City over Liverpool)
Had a delightful dinner with a very dear friend (yes, all I had was chips, so what?)
Went on a rat chase (what? the nibbling coming from the corner was annoying me)
Smiled as I fell asleep (well, technically that hasn't happened yet... but Kia says I'm smiling uncontrollably at the moment so it'll probably happen)
Slept in (I think it was coming to 1030 when I got up)
Blogged about roaches (see previous blog post; and apparently great granddaddy had a brother, because I just exchanged howdys with him in the hall)
Helped butcher two chickens (including cleaning a gizzard, ewh)
Bathed from a bucket of water (with only one pitcher of hot water I might add, I am very proud of my conservation)
Wore a skirt on a bodaboda (sidesaddle on a motorcyle going about 40mph over potholes)
Ate a fresh guava (I actually wasn't expecting all those seeds)
Ate fresh pineapple (heaven!)
Got scolded for wearing barefeet outside (I have a bad habit what can I say?)
Watched an entire soccer game (3:0 Manchester City over Liverpool)
Had a delightful dinner with a very dear friend (yes, all I had was chips, so what?)
Went on a rat chase (what? the nibbling coming from the corner was annoying me)
Smiled as I fell asleep (well, technically that hasn't happened yet... but Kia says I'm smiling uncontrollably at the moment so it'll probably happen)
Update 2.0
So I've now made it through the first several days of living in Africa again. Its been a blast, and I wish I could narrow it down to just a couple of stunning stories, but instead I'll give you just a snippet of some little things that thrill me:
1. Everywhere we go, we get our bags checked (because of the bombs that were set off during world cup finals in Kampala). The other day when we were getting our bags checked they started to call me the "mzungu" (i.e. white person) and then realized that the gals was hanging with and I were dressed exactly alike (not identical of course, but similar)... and they paused and then said, "ah, you must be sisters!". I couldn't help but agree.
2. Roaches: I hate roaches. That being said, the first day I was here Kia handed me a album and as I opened it something fell out and landed on my arm. It was dark in the hall and at first I thought it was a wallet sized photo so I tried to catch it. Yeah. It wasn't a photo. Try granddaddy of all roaches. After slightly screaming like a little girl and jumping around as it headed for my barefeet and having Kia die in laughter at my antics... I decided I wasn't going to act weird about them again like that. So fast forward a couple days and as I went to use the toilet before going to bed, there he was again. Seated atop the toilet paper roll. On the back of the toilet. I really needed to go, so only two options presented themselves. Either I could buck up and attempt to chase/kill him, or I could pretend he didn't exist and go about my business. Both options presented complications. If I pretended he wasn't there... I would have to face my back to him at some point, leaving an open advantage for him to make any number of advances towards me. And I still needed the toilet paper. However the other option was complicated by the fact that I was in barefeet once again, which doesn't lend itself well to annihilating the granddaddy of all roaches. So I chose neither. I needed to go really bad... but I can hold it. The bathroom will still be there in the morning, but hopefully my little friend wouldn't be.
It is my professional obligation as a journalist to tell you that the granddaddy roach saga ended rather violently however this morning when he met a fateful end against the tip of Kia's pie-server.
3. Janalee accused me of having only guy friends in Africa, but since I've been here its been like a constant girl-date. I love my gal-friends this side! Its been beautiful to reconnect with them and gain such a love again for all their strengths, tease them about their weaknesses, get frustrated with their struggles, laugh with their joy, and grow together once again. Of course this also makes me miss my gal-friends back at home as well, but I realize I can't have everyone at once. Its like some sort of twisted, sad story... like "The Lady or the Tiger", where no matter what I pick I am missing someone or something. Only of course that I am blessed by both options, so its only a choice of loosing one of my blessings.
4. Okay, this one might be kinda silly, but I went to the Bugolobi church yesterday for service. It was beautiful, and all the songs that the sang (that weren't in english) I knew, so I was totally rockin' it! lol. Actually they sang a hymn and I was like... "oh, oops" cause I knew all the words to the Luganda, and Swahili songs... but I didn't even know all the verses to "Stand up, Stand up for Jesus". EMBARRASSING! But it was beautiful to be worshiping in that church again. It probably helped that I hadn't been to church in a couple of Sundays before because of work and then travel. There is something so beautiful about a church full of people that are so passionate about their Savior that they just belt out their songs. (one of the reasons I really love Vintage Faith) Somehow it always sounds beautiful to me, despite the logistics of being on-key and what not.
Well, that's all for today folks! I'll write more as time allows! Sula bulungi, because you should all be in bed by now anyway!!
1. Everywhere we go, we get our bags checked (because of the bombs that were set off during world cup finals in Kampala). The other day when we were getting our bags checked they started to call me the "mzungu" (i.e. white person) and then realized that the gals was hanging with and I were dressed exactly alike (not identical of course, but similar)... and they paused and then said, "ah, you must be sisters!". I couldn't help but agree.
2. Roaches: I hate roaches. That being said, the first day I was here Kia handed me a album and as I opened it something fell out and landed on my arm. It was dark in the hall and at first I thought it was a wallet sized photo so I tried to catch it. Yeah. It wasn't a photo. Try granddaddy of all roaches. After slightly screaming like a little girl and jumping around as it headed for my barefeet and having Kia die in laughter at my antics... I decided I wasn't going to act weird about them again like that. So fast forward a couple days and as I went to use the toilet before going to bed, there he was again. Seated atop the toilet paper roll. On the back of the toilet. I really needed to go, so only two options presented themselves. Either I could buck up and attempt to chase/kill him, or I could pretend he didn't exist and go about my business. Both options presented complications. If I pretended he wasn't there... I would have to face my back to him at some point, leaving an open advantage for him to make any number of advances towards me. And I still needed the toilet paper. However the other option was complicated by the fact that I was in barefeet once again, which doesn't lend itself well to annihilating the granddaddy of all roaches. So I chose neither. I needed to go really bad... but I can hold it. The bathroom will still be there in the morning, but hopefully my little friend wouldn't be.
It is my professional obligation as a journalist to tell you that the granddaddy roach saga ended rather violently however this morning when he met a fateful end against the tip of Kia's pie-server.
3. Janalee accused me of having only guy friends in Africa, but since I've been here its been like a constant girl-date. I love my gal-friends this side! Its been beautiful to reconnect with them and gain such a love again for all their strengths, tease them about their weaknesses, get frustrated with their struggles, laugh with their joy, and grow together once again. Of course this also makes me miss my gal-friends back at home as well, but I realize I can't have everyone at once. Its like some sort of twisted, sad story... like "The Lady or the Tiger", where no matter what I pick I am missing someone or something. Only of course that I am blessed by both options, so its only a choice of loosing one of my blessings.
4. Okay, this one might be kinda silly, but I went to the Bugolobi church yesterday for service. It was beautiful, and all the songs that the sang (that weren't in english) I knew, so I was totally rockin' it! lol. Actually they sang a hymn and I was like... "oh, oops" cause I knew all the words to the Luganda, and Swahili songs... but I didn't even know all the verses to "Stand up, Stand up for Jesus". EMBARRASSING! But it was beautiful to be worshiping in that church again. It probably helped that I hadn't been to church in a couple of Sundays before because of work and then travel. There is something so beautiful about a church full of people that are so passionate about their Savior that they just belt out their songs. (one of the reasons I really love Vintage Faith) Somehow it always sounds beautiful to me, despite the logistics of being on-key and what not.
Well, that's all for today folks! I'll write more as time allows! Sula bulungi, because you should all be in bed by now anyway!!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Friday:
Goodmorning! Its officially Friday. Well, actually it was officially Friday before I even went to bed last night.
Stayed up late laughing and talking with Kia... with a pillow fight and a couple serious talks thrown in. I went with Kia to one of her gigs the other night and Maaaannn that gal can sing! She's amazing!
Stayed up late laughing and talking with Kia... with a pillow fight and a couple serious talks thrown in. I went with Kia to one of her gigs the other night and Maaaannn that gal can sing! She's amazing!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Coming Home
So, I've gone and done it! I've went back home. Wow... it took so long to get over to Uganda. So my flights were supposed to be KC to DC; DC to Rome (for gas); Rome to Adis Ababa; Adis Ababa to Entebbe. All that and I was supposed to arrive by midnight on Monday.
First off let me just say that 5 hour layovers are NOT such a good idea. And the Washington DC airport is fairly boring. Just saying...
I got to sit next to Izzie (I am calling her that cause I can't pronounce or spell her real name! lol), on the flight from DC to Adis Ababa. She was a very dear girl going back home because her father was sick and we talked and slept and looked out for each other, which was a huge blessing to me, because by this time I was getting lonely.
As much as I just adore traveling all by my lonesome, I don't think I am yet cool with navigating African airports. I said goodbye to Izzie at the airport in Adis with a big hug, and continued to try and find my flight number which was not on the board. By the time that I realized I had been issued the wrong boarding pass for my flight to Entebbe, the flight I should have been on had been canceled. The airline graciously put me up for the night in a motel with supper and breakfast provided.
Let me just say that I sometimes get stressed about these sorts of things. Yeah. So take my natural propensity towards stressing, and add to it the fact that I am traveling all by myself, in a strange country, and now am having to find my way out of the airport and to a motel for the night!!
I was very near tears and definitely had a "bunny in the headlights" look on my face. But God is sooo good. There were 3 different angels which helped me out. The first was a sweet lady that directed me to the buses. The second I am calling "Hosea". I don't think that was his name, but he just looked like a Hosea. He works for the airport I think, but was near the buses and helped me find the right one to take. I hesitated for just a second... because the buses were off a little ways from the main flow of people, dimly lit, only the driver was on board, and the bus was unmarked... can you say sketch? I took a deep look in his eyes though for a minute and decided that there wasn't anything malicious there. He was sweet enough to come and sit with me for a while on the bus while I calmed down to where I wasn't freaking out. Anyway, at some point when you are in a foreign country, by yourself, and you don't know the language, you have to trust somebody!
I made it to the hotel safely. Actually the ride was kinda soothing, because most of Adis Ababa looks like Kampala, (except of course that Ethiopia is largely Muslim so dress is different, and everyone is lighter skinned than Uganda. Oh and speaking of which, I had worn my second shortest skirt on the plane ride. Yeah, I felt a little bit scandalous in a country where everyone wears long skirts or pants. Oops.)
At the Dreamliner Hotel I met my third angel. His name was Emmanuel and he was my server at the restaurant. Since I was his only customer for a while (it was like 2130 which is a bit late for supper) we got to talking and laughing. Which is good, because by that point I was very near to tears. Its true what they say, that laughter is really healing.
I read in a C.S. Lewis book once (I think it was Prince Caspian the scene where Lucy sees the mergirl that was a shepherd), that sometimes you can see people for only a brief while, but you know that if ever you saw them again, you would immediately give them a hug as if they were an old friend. I love meeting those people. Izzie and Emmanuel where definitely those type of people.
So after a rather restless night at the hotel that was very nice, on a bed that was like a board...seriously... I have slept on more comfortable tent floors, I was off to the airport again.
Made it all the way to UG by 1330 hours. Simon met me at the airport and graciously ferried me all the way to Bugos. He totally laughed at my direction giving, and even knowing names of roads and such. We were going down Old Port Bell Rd. and he was saying that it is sometimes smelly along there because of sewers and stuff, and I piped up that also there are many factories and a butchery/meat packing plant. He was like, "you really do know this place!"
A small mix up with phones and such... but I finally got a hold of Kia, whose house I am staying at, and after a very joyous reunion I am finally settled in here. I love staying up late with her just talking and laughing. She was sooo worried about me last night when I didn't get there as planned and she even had other friends worried to a tizzy. Sweet gal!
I think there are few things more beautiful than waking up in the place that you consider your homeland. Where your heart is fully at home. For some people that is nature; mountains, woods, prairie... For some its a farmhouse, a small neighborhood where they grew up, even the rush of a city. For me its a country on the other side of the globe. Uganda.
So this morning I am content. Just fully and completely content.
First off let me just say that 5 hour layovers are NOT such a good idea. And the Washington DC airport is fairly boring. Just saying...
I got to sit next to Izzie (I am calling her that cause I can't pronounce or spell her real name! lol), on the flight from DC to Adis Ababa. She was a very dear girl going back home because her father was sick and we talked and slept and looked out for each other, which was a huge blessing to me, because by this time I was getting lonely.
As much as I just adore traveling all by my lonesome, I don't think I am yet cool with navigating African airports. I said goodbye to Izzie at the airport in Adis with a big hug, and continued to try and find my flight number which was not on the board. By the time that I realized I had been issued the wrong boarding pass for my flight to Entebbe, the flight I should have been on had been canceled. The airline graciously put me up for the night in a motel with supper and breakfast provided.
Let me just say that I sometimes get stressed about these sorts of things. Yeah. So take my natural propensity towards stressing, and add to it the fact that I am traveling all by myself, in a strange country, and now am having to find my way out of the airport and to a motel for the night!!
I was very near tears and definitely had a "bunny in the headlights" look on my face. But God is sooo good. There were 3 different angels which helped me out. The first was a sweet lady that directed me to the buses. The second I am calling "Hosea". I don't think that was his name, but he just looked like a Hosea. He works for the airport I think, but was near the buses and helped me find the right one to take. I hesitated for just a second... because the buses were off a little ways from the main flow of people, dimly lit, only the driver was on board, and the bus was unmarked... can you say sketch? I took a deep look in his eyes though for a minute and decided that there wasn't anything malicious there. He was sweet enough to come and sit with me for a while on the bus while I calmed down to where I wasn't freaking out. Anyway, at some point when you are in a foreign country, by yourself, and you don't know the language, you have to trust somebody!
I made it to the hotel safely. Actually the ride was kinda soothing, because most of Adis Ababa looks like Kampala, (except of course that Ethiopia is largely Muslim so dress is different, and everyone is lighter skinned than Uganda. Oh and speaking of which, I had worn my second shortest skirt on the plane ride. Yeah, I felt a little bit scandalous in a country where everyone wears long skirts or pants. Oops.)
At the Dreamliner Hotel I met my third angel. His name was Emmanuel and he was my server at the restaurant. Since I was his only customer for a while (it was like 2130 which is a bit late for supper) we got to talking and laughing. Which is good, because by that point I was very near to tears. Its true what they say, that laughter is really healing.
I read in a C.S. Lewis book once (I think it was Prince Caspian the scene where Lucy sees the mergirl that was a shepherd), that sometimes you can see people for only a brief while, but you know that if ever you saw them again, you would immediately give them a hug as if they were an old friend. I love meeting those people. Izzie and Emmanuel where definitely those type of people.
So after a rather restless night at the hotel that was very nice, on a bed that was like a board...seriously... I have slept on more comfortable tent floors, I was off to the airport again.
Made it all the way to UG by 1330 hours. Simon met me at the airport and graciously ferried me all the way to Bugos. He totally laughed at my direction giving, and even knowing names of roads and such. We were going down Old Port Bell Rd. and he was saying that it is sometimes smelly along there because of sewers and stuff, and I piped up that also there are many factories and a butchery/meat packing plant. He was like, "you really do know this place!"
A small mix up with phones and such... but I finally got a hold of Kia, whose house I am staying at, and after a very joyous reunion I am finally settled in here. I love staying up late with her just talking and laughing. She was sooo worried about me last night when I didn't get there as planned and she even had other friends worried to a tizzy. Sweet gal!
I think there are few things more beautiful than waking up in the place that you consider your homeland. Where your heart is fully at home. For some people that is nature; mountains, woods, prairie... For some its a farmhouse, a small neighborhood where they grew up, even the rush of a city. For me its a country on the other side of the globe. Uganda.
So this morning I am content. Just fully and completely content.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
My Terrible Awful Weekend
Be forewarned: this blog post my contain some content with strong thematic elements, brief disturbing images, and situations of intense peril. (that sounds funny, but I'm really not kidding)
So my Saturday started off well enough. Overslept just a smidge. But got to work only 7 minutes late, and no one noticed. Started in on my day. Actually, more like I started in on a roll! We were knocking off our tasks left and right. Then about 10am I got an emergency call.
See I work in a nursing home and have 25 full time residents that I am responsible for direct care and medications for. However, I also carry a pager that alarms from emergency pull stations in about 250 other independent apartments on the campus. So I called this apartment to see what was wrong (sometimes we get false alarms. Someone bumped it by accident or such. Or I may need special equipment or someone to help me, so its a good idea to call first.) This lady answers the phone, very distraught sounding, and tells me to come quick because someone fell, and hit his head.
Not a big deal. Over half of my emergency calls end up being falls. And head wounds are not uncommon as well, and of course they bleed like crazy, so normally people get panic-y. I tell her we'll be right up.
Me and another nurse get up there and enter the apartment. He's in the bathroom, facedown on the floor. Half the floor is covered in blood, another fourth in bodily excrement. It looked like a freakin' CSI scene. We quickly check a pulse, but its soon obvious this gentleman has been deceased for over 4 hours (obviously I didn't do a liver probe or anything, that is just a rough estimate). I think in all of my experiences as a nurse, there is only two other times when my stomach turned as much as it did then (gas gangrene, diabetic foot ulcers in UG). Between the waste smell, the congealed blood (think jello consistency), rigor mortise, and the natural dependent blood pooling, we just barely were able to cope, and had to step out. We are good and professional nurses... but it took a lot to get through cleaning him up so the mortuary could get him. I muddled through the rest of my day, but it tore me up pretty bad emotionally.
*Up until that day, I wished that I would have went and looked at Grandma after the car accident. Now I'm glad I never saw her. I'm glad that I have a last picture of her sleeping peacefully in her bed when I woke her up to check on a bandage I had rigged for her: that beautiful white hair swept back in her usual pompadourian style bun, her eyes closed serenely, and that sweet smile.*
Then I wake up Sunday morning to go in to work a little early. My tire blows on the way there. So there I am on the side of a country road, 630am, in khaki pants, jacking up my car to change to the donut! Thanks to my dear friend BJ, (who when working on my car like a sweetheart, put all of my lug-nuts on with a freakin' torque wrench!) I had a bear of a time getting the tire off. As I'm finally getting it all squared away and lowering my jack back down, a guy in a truck pulls up and asks if I need help. I looked up, smiled really sarcastically, and was like, "Nah, you're a little late buddy! I think I got it from here!"
Top this all off with a lovely e-mail from the stand in boss telling me that I am unprofessional if I don't get all my shifts covered for while I'm gone on vacation. The vacation time that I put in for 6 months ago, and was okay-ed by my real boss'. Sometimes people are annoying.
All this was on top of trying to pack everything and get stuff squared away for my departure in a week. The stress level was deafening.
By the end of Sunday I was in such a tizzy that I literally sat on my red couch and just stared at the ceiling. I couldn't make my head stop spinning. There were so many thoughts going through my head and stress of all the stuff I had to get done, that I couldn't even finish a thought before I would be worried about something else. I felt like my head was spinning in a million circles, I almost felt dizzy. I don't think I have ever felt that way before, but I think that is what people with schizophrenia feel like because I would go crazy too if my brain was like that all the time. Someone said PTSD, and I think they may be close.
I think I'm feeling better now. Its taken quite a bit of prayer and love to get over all this... but I think with God's help I'm on the right track to healing the places in my heart that feel wounded and confused right now.
Hopefully that healing will continue... all the way through my ridiculously long flight across the ocean and while I'm again traversing the familiar sights of home!
So my Saturday started off well enough. Overslept just a smidge. But got to work only 7 minutes late, and no one noticed. Started in on my day. Actually, more like I started in on a roll! We were knocking off our tasks left and right. Then about 10am I got an emergency call.
See I work in a nursing home and have 25 full time residents that I am responsible for direct care and medications for. However, I also carry a pager that alarms from emergency pull stations in about 250 other independent apartments on the campus. So I called this apartment to see what was wrong (sometimes we get false alarms. Someone bumped it by accident or such. Or I may need special equipment or someone to help me, so its a good idea to call first.) This lady answers the phone, very distraught sounding, and tells me to come quick because someone fell, and hit his head.
Not a big deal. Over half of my emergency calls end up being falls. And head wounds are not uncommon as well, and of course they bleed like crazy, so normally people get panic-y. I tell her we'll be right up.
Me and another nurse get up there and enter the apartment. He's in the bathroom, facedown on the floor. Half the floor is covered in blood, another fourth in bodily excrement. It looked like a freakin' CSI scene. We quickly check a pulse, but its soon obvious this gentleman has been deceased for over 4 hours (obviously I didn't do a liver probe or anything, that is just a rough estimate). I think in all of my experiences as a nurse, there is only two other times when my stomach turned as much as it did then (gas gangrene, diabetic foot ulcers in UG). Between the waste smell, the congealed blood (think jello consistency), rigor mortise, and the natural dependent blood pooling, we just barely were able to cope, and had to step out. We are good and professional nurses... but it took a lot to get through cleaning him up so the mortuary could get him. I muddled through the rest of my day, but it tore me up pretty bad emotionally.
*Up until that day, I wished that I would have went and looked at Grandma after the car accident. Now I'm glad I never saw her. I'm glad that I have a last picture of her sleeping peacefully in her bed when I woke her up to check on a bandage I had rigged for her: that beautiful white hair swept back in her usual pompadourian style bun, her eyes closed serenely, and that sweet smile.*
Then I wake up Sunday morning to go in to work a little early. My tire blows on the way there. So there I am on the side of a country road, 630am, in khaki pants, jacking up my car to change to the donut! Thanks to my dear friend BJ, (who when working on my car like a sweetheart, put all of my lug-nuts on with a freakin' torque wrench!) I had a bear of a time getting the tire off. As I'm finally getting it all squared away and lowering my jack back down, a guy in a truck pulls up and asks if I need help. I looked up, smiled really sarcastically, and was like, "Nah, you're a little late buddy! I think I got it from here!"
Top this all off with a lovely e-mail from the stand in boss telling me that I am unprofessional if I don't get all my shifts covered for while I'm gone on vacation. The vacation time that I put in for 6 months ago, and was okay-ed by my real boss'. Sometimes people are annoying.
All this was on top of trying to pack everything and get stuff squared away for my departure in a week. The stress level was deafening.
By the end of Sunday I was in such a tizzy that I literally sat on my red couch and just stared at the ceiling. I couldn't make my head stop spinning. There were so many thoughts going through my head and stress of all the stuff I had to get done, that I couldn't even finish a thought before I would be worried about something else. I felt like my head was spinning in a million circles, I almost felt dizzy. I don't think I have ever felt that way before, but I think that is what people with schizophrenia feel like because I would go crazy too if my brain was like that all the time. Someone said PTSD, and I think they may be close.
I think I'm feeling better now. Its taken quite a bit of prayer and love to get over all this... but I think with God's help I'm on the right track to healing the places in my heart that feel wounded and confused right now.
Hopefully that healing will continue... all the way through my ridiculously long flight across the ocean and while I'm again traversing the familiar sights of home!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
i made a quilt today
i made a quilt today
i wanted to show you
i know how your eyes always light up
fireflies are no match for their excitement
and flowers are your favorite
guess what? its flowered
i saw a quilt today
remember that potholder that we made
it was only a nine patch
but the colors were brilliant
i think you helped pick them out
i loved them, but i think you loved them first
i noticed a lily today
it was gold like a drop of sunlight
its from your funeral
you would have liked them
they are bright and cheerful like your smile
i'm glad mom let me have them
i sat with a grandma today
it was at work, but i think it still counts
someday her grandchildren will miss her too
i made her smile and chuckle a little
i think you would like that
i wanted to show you
i know how your eyes always light up
fireflies are no match for their excitement
and flowers are your favorite
guess what? its flowered
i saw a quilt today
remember that potholder that we made
it was only a nine patch
but the colors were brilliant
i think you helped pick them out
i loved them, but i think you loved them first
i noticed a lily today
it was gold like a drop of sunlight
its from your funeral
you would have liked them
they are bright and cheerful like your smile
i'm glad mom let me have them
i sat with a grandma today
it was at work, but i think it still counts
someday her grandchildren will miss her too
i made her smile and chuckle a little
i think you would like that
Monday, August 2, 2010
If I Could Convince You of One Thing...
If I could convince you of one thing...
it would be that everything you are going through right now is worth it.
it would be that someday things will be seen with eyes that understand.
it would be that He is still there with you right now.
it would be to not be scared of trying new things.
it would be that death is NEVER the end.
it would be that there is hope.
it would be the blessedness of the trials you are facing.
it would be the detriment of lacking joy.
it would be the huge impact that you have on those around you.
it would be a sense of the beauty of nature.
it would be the absolute worthlessness of amassing stuff.
it would be the fun of camping, traveling, or living out of a suitcase with bare essentials.
it would be to never give up who you are for who they want you to be.
it would be to not be afraid of being different.
it would be that they'll come to like you if you first like yourself.
it would be the redeeming power of music.
it would be the depth of love that He has for you.
but first, I would have to thoroughly master this myself.
...or would I?
it would be that everything you are going through right now is worth it.
it would be that someday things will be seen with eyes that understand.
it would be that He is still there with you right now.
it would be to not be scared of trying new things.
it would be that death is NEVER the end.
it would be that there is hope.
it would be the blessedness of the trials you are facing.
it would be the detriment of lacking joy.
it would be the huge impact that you have on those around you.
it would be a sense of the beauty of nature.
it would be the absolute worthlessness of amassing stuff.
it would be the fun of camping, traveling, or living out of a suitcase with bare essentials.
it would be to never give up who you are for who they want you to be.
it would be to not be afraid of being different.
it would be that they'll come to like you if you first like yourself.
it would be the redeeming power of music.
it would be the depth of love that He has for you.
but first, I would have to thoroughly master this myself.
...or would I?
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