Horses vs. BodaBodas

This blog post is to explore the undeniable correlation between horseback riding and bodaboda riding.

Now, I was born and raised in Kansas, and while I did not grow up on a farm, we did grow up with an appreciation for the rural Kansas ways of life. When we were kids the best vacation was going to Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. There was something very mystically enticing to me about the farm and way it ran. I had a fascination for animals from the farm cats which ran around the barn to the cows we would help haul grain buckets for.

So whenever I got the chance to mount up and ride horses you can bet that I took the opportunity. Most of them were just retired mares following the horse in from them type trail rides, but I still took the opportunity. When I was a young girl I went through an “obsession with horses” phase where I read up on so many horse things, even subscribed to a horse supply catalog for a while. While my practical experience lagged behind, my head knowledge of horses was fairly thorough at the time.

When my best friend in college had a horse and offered to let me come riding with her (like actual riding) you can imagine my excitement to do just that, and I thoroughly enjoyed every ride we got to enjoy together. 

Now, when you are riding horses at anything more than a walk you need to know a few things. There are gaited horses, which are generally easier to sit (ie, less pain on the bum), and non-gaited horses (pain). When a horse moves at a trot, canter, or gallop the rider has to adjust the way they sit to allow for the impact of the hooves hitting the ground and the muscles alternating. The best way to combat this is called posting, which is when you move in time with the rhythm and move your bum up and away from the saddle in time with when you would have been bounced otherwise.  It is a certain rhythm and once you catch the rhythm, it’s almost something akin to dancing with your legs and hips. If you don’t post then you bounce around like a sack of potatoes and the quickly compounding pain to the seating area makes you wonder why you ever agreed to get on this confounded animal in the first place. *pardon my extremely lay-person explanation of this.*

Flip to boda-bodas… The same is true here. A person must anticipate the bumps, potholes, and other such obstacles which are no doubt to be had on the streets of Kampala. And stand up slightly from your seat to combat the impact of the wheels hitting uneven ground. I find myself feeling like I am posting (minus the rhythm).

For safety, they recommend that you wear a helmet with both horseback riding and mounting a boda-boda. But let’s be honest… we are just too cool for that. I mean, it messes up your hair… which should be able to flow dramatically in the wind…

Speaking of wind… the wind in your hair from a galloping horse, and the wind from a speeding boda… both quite exhilarating, though the former feels quite a bit more natural.

Side-saddle is just not practical… in either case.

You may get thrown off. I have. From both a horse (the stirrup broke). And from a boda-boda (hit a pothole in the dark).

There is a strong chance that having experienced either one, you will fall in love and strongly desire to own one of your own.

Answered Prayers

Well today is an interesting day. It seems that everything that I pray about recently comes to pass. I am mostly scared rather than thrilled with this development. Sometimes it feels like I have been beseeching the heavenlies for the longest time without a single response in the least. Now suddenly everything that I ask of God is being answered? Maybe it just scares me because it means that I am not as far away from God as I had feared. That He is actually near enough to touch and that I can’t run from Him.

I had prayed that God would take a certain person out of my friend’s life because it wasn’t a healthy relationship… boom. It happened. I had prayed that God would work out my new apartment… boom. I am in love with it. I had prayed long and hard that my sister-in-law would be able to get pregnant… boom. The pregnancy test was positive. I had prayed that my brother and his girlfriend would grow in their relationship with God and with one another… boom. I get the call this morning that they are engaged.

What is it with me that I can pray and believe God for everyone but myself? My best friend actually asked me this the other day, and I was blown away by the reply which left my lips. I do trust that God has the best in mind for my friends, my family, and the other people around me, but sometimes I find it hard to believe that He wants to give good things to me. I don’t know if this stems from an intense lack of self-worth or a false humility. A friend of mine tried to call me on this a while back, but I wasn’t in a good place to hear it at the time, and it sounded too much like a health and wealth gospel which I’ve come to hate so much during my time in Africa especially, since it seems to be so prevalent here.

So what is it exactly?

I think, at the end of the day, I need to believe God for bigger things. I know (intellectually) that my God is big enough to provide for me, to love me enough, to bring good things to my life… but I need to know in my heart to where it spills over into uncompromising belief. That is the kind of trust that He requires of me and the kind that will not let me stop assailing the heavens with my petitions, prayers, and praises. 

Anecdotes from a Prairie Princess in Africa

Updates from this month.
 1. The first weekend in May I went with my girls to a concert on the lawn at the National Museum. They set up a stage at the bottom of the hill and people spread out blankets and picnic baskets all over and make an afternoon of it. Of course there are plenty of local vendors on hand too in case you didn't pack enough food in your picnic basket.
*Rant* All the Ugandans that want to dress "western" come out of the woodwork and you start seeing all kinds of scandalous short shorts and things. This one chic had a dress that looked like it was made out of packing foam. I think she was trying to give Lady Gaga a run for her money. I sat back in my completely conservative maxi dress and laughed.
*Rant2* Selfie sticks?? Like really people?? First of all, this totally looks like something that should be in SkyMall magazine. You know the one that you find in the back of the airline seat and you flip through cause you are super bored. They always have crazy things, like a end table that looks like Chewbacca or a giant inflatable pool complete with inflatable diving board... You know, that sort of thing. I thought we already made enough fun of people who take selfies... now we are giving them tools to be able to do it better?? What kind of world am I living in?? Secondly... you are in public. Have you no dignity at all?

2. My family (#SO) gave me a bunch of letters and cards to come back to Uganda with. Every Sunday I have a new one to open. This month, being my birthday month, most of them were in that theme. My favorite so far? One from my very dear friend which was first of all pink, (to annoy me, she said) then has a picture of a unicorn and says something about how you are just like a unicorn: unique, beautiful, and poop rainbows! I feel like this card is indicative of our entire friendship. Slightly sweet, slightly trying to friendly irritate each other, with plenty of random references to poop. Oh, the people in my life! Love them!

3. My birthday fell the second weekend in May. The things I had originally wanted to do required a bit more cash than my budget allowed for this month, so I had to scale down my celebrations. However, this is the last year that I will still be in my 20's, so I had to do something special. Every year for my birthday my mom asks me what I want to have for dinner. Sometimes I cook it myself (cause its fun for me), but it almost always... in fact I can't remember the last time it wasn't... is Mexican food. Tacos, burritos, enchiladas, SantaFe burgers, rice caliente,... you name it. Interestingly enough, Ugandan food is very similar to Mexican food. Some things are almost the same. They have great avocados for guac, perfectly ripe tomatoes and peppers (or mangoes... or pineapples) for pico de galo, chapatti are a more oily version of a tortilla... rice, beans, cilantro (dania)... its all too perfect. So for my birthday I decided to make Chipotle style (or as close as I could get) burritos. Now of course no one likes to cook for just themselves, so I got together a group of the guys that I usually hang out with and I cooked up my food and brought it to their place. They supplied the movies, music, and drinks. We spread out newspapers as our picnic blanket on the floor and sat around Japaneese style and dug in. You know you cooked well when the room goes super quiet. :) Very satisfying indeed for a cook like me! I spent that night hanging out with movies and music including an impromptu dance circle that they insisted I had to be the middle of since I was the "birthday girl".
The next day it was hanging out with my best friend for burgers and conversation... and naps. Because I didn't get any younger apparently! hehehe

4. Minor setbacks 1: My small computer stopped charging... again... This bums me out a lot cause usually if I have paperwork or scheduling to do for work, I use it. Not to mention, my movies and music libraries are stored/accessed through it. Currently its being worked on and I am hoping and praying that its back up and running again soon.
Minor setback 2: I was supposed to move to a new apartment at the beginning of the month. Of course I was thrilled with this prospect seeing as I don't feel wonderful in my current neighborhood following the unfortunate events the other time... However, the new apartment was being re-finished and it wasn't complete, (still isn't) so I've had to remain in my old place for this month. Which is fine... its just that I had packed all of my stuff up in bags boxes and suitcases and taken everything off the walls because I didn't find out that I WASN'T moving until the day of. Yeah, that could have worked out a bit better... But all things considered its okay. Hopefully it'll be done by the end of this month and I can move!
Minor setback 3: Interpersonal communication between me and people at work hasn't been great lately. I was sick last month and missed a few days of work. Running short staffed is no fun for anyone and some of the nurses are feeling rather peeved with me. Its hard enough being the only non-Ugandan on staff... the only one who was trained in another country... and one of the few who wasn't hired by the administration but brought in by the country director instead. There has already been a weird power struggle around my position for some time as people felt jealous of me being hired, clashed with my nursing style and training, and had enough language, cultural, and personality differences to go around. For this one I have nothing much to say except I have been praying about it. Interestingly enough I know exactly who has said what about me. (They still think that I don't understand any Luganda) But God is giving me grace to handle the situation without feeling emotionally hurt. I'm still not sure how this is happening, but I am glad it is and am going to keep praying for it to continue! I've confronted nearly every single person regarding if they have personal problems with me and the result is very interesting. I guess my straightforward American style of conflict resolution is not normal for them. *snickers quietly to self and feels like she got the last laugh*

5. At the end of the day, God is still good! I have randomly got the opportunity to be blessed by and be a blessing to so many people over this month already, from the patients who bring their kid back just to me, to the nervous pregnant mother that I got to sit and counsel the other day, to just doing little things unexpected things for the people at work, or telling a funny story to brighten someone's day. Encouraged by a conversation with a friend where we went deep into some questions about spiritual gifts and I was able to point out the scriptures clearly to him. Blessed by the meeting and befriending of a missionary through facebook who was in Uganda for a while and is travelling about with no clear plan, but following where God leads; her love and fire for God is contagious. Strangely encouraged by a conversation from almost a year ago which came to mind this week as I was watching a movie and I saw so many parallels to what God is doing in my life.  Its not all orderly or planned out in my head, so I guess I'm just glad I'm not the one in charge. Its still a crazy adventure here at times, but life is. I'm just glad that I have my faithful Jesus to walk with me through it all.

African Violence

Well, in what may go down as one of the worst nights in Uganda, I got mugged on Saturday night. Ironically while trying to go home in the early hours of the morning so that I could make it to church on time the next day.
The thieves made off with my camera, tablet, phone, and a good deal of my inner peace. Not to mention, a brand new deo *words cannot express my disappointment*, my pocket knife *which was supposed to provide for self defense, we see how that worked out*, my nice lip gloss *that I've had for years cause I hardly ever wear lip gloss*, they keys to my house *this made things awkward later*, and worst of all my green army shoulder bag with the buttons on it *I have had this bag for ages and collected those button for so long, some of them were gifts*.
At the end of the day...
Its all material things.
The main thing is that I was not harmed. (Well, mostly, I have a few scrapes and bruises) I lost a great deal of pictures on the tablet and all of my phone contacts, both of which will be difficult to replace, but not necessarily impossible.
I was strangely not carrying my wallet, there was no money in the bag, and no IDs.
God is pretty gracious.

In other, more amusing news... I have been having a small rodent problem in my house, so the other night I picked up some mouse traps at the grocery store. Normally I don't go in for glue traps. They seem ineffective cause they don't really kill the mouse, they just stick to it... and sometimes those things get desperate and walk off with the trap and all. However, the mice I had seen were fairly small so I wasn't too worried about it.
Attempt number one: I think the rat got so desperate that it chewed off its own tail. At least that is what it appeared like. I found the trap... moved from the kitchen to the living room... with only a tail as evidence of the rats entrapment.
Attempt number two: I woke at around 11 to sounds of furious struggle. I go to the kitchen and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a rat (not a mouse, mind you, a RAT) the size of a small kitten stuck in my trap. This thing was probably the biggest wild rat I have ever seen. (and don't get me started on people who keep rats as pets... what's wrong with you???) So I stand back and do some quick math. Gauging the size of this thing, the depth of the glue in that trap, estimated strength of body muscles, adrenaline being released in his rat body, etc... and conclude that this rat may not die as intended by the makers of sticky traps with its final struggles coming to a un-gory end as it submits to the quicksand of the glue trap. There is a real and very eminent threat that this thing may in fact fight its way out of the trap and once again be lose in my apartment. This is not an idea that I openly embrace. I had no idea that things had gotten to this level and certainly have no intention of welcoming such a housemate.So I do the only logical thing. I go for my machette.
But this thing is huge, and I don't have much of an angle for a good fell swoop with a machette (which if you didn't know, is how a machete works best). So I am here hacking at this thing and its not dying. Pretty soon I realize that its me who is making noise every time the machete drops again. By this point, my heart rate and breathing pattern are verging on hysteria. I try to call a friend to come and help me, but no one is available or answering their phones. I must face this thing alone.
The struggling continues in the kitchen but I just hide in my room and pray that it is over soon. Once the movement finally stops I creep back to look. Finding the victim presumably dead I kick the entire thing outside and bar the door. Lets just say I didn't sleep very well that night.
However, the compound cats were well fed and slept just fine!

Joy

Its in the beams of the morning sunlight
Its in the swish of my dress around my hips
Its in the soft clip of my boots against the concrete

Its the rhythmic beat of an African drum
Sounding deep in my chest
Where my heart should be

Portraits, Episode 1

In a tribute to my working on my portrait and editing skills and in true "HoNY" style... May I present Portraits, Episode 1:

My brother Jeff: the most hardworking guy I know, who also knows how to play hard. A man of few words but big actions who can always be counted on. Thanks for sharing my love of BBQ, action movies, shooting, and being creative.

Kia: my soul sister, because best friend is too shallow a title. When I first met her she said I looked like I didn't belong in the group of Americans. We've been our own unique group ever since. Passionate, determined, fiery, and a sweetheart, this girl gets me through the rough days, laughs with me, and can exchange entire convos with only facial expressions.

Massa: aka Superman. I met this guy for the first time when he came to pick me up at the airport. Many long conversations, car trips, bouts of laughter, frustrations, and bad backs later... I am so glad he showed up to pick me up.

Nadunga: a little ray of sunshine. This woman inspires me beyond words. She has almost single handedly been running a charity for street women in Kampala while finishing school and being super involved with family, friends, and the band. Her hard work is often frustrating but she shows up with a huge smile on her face. 

MoAnne: my brave little toaster. This woman pestered me until I joined in as an active member of church, dragged me to countless bible studies, and has consistently spoken truth into my life. When the call came to go, she boldly packed her bags and moved to a new city to help start a church plant. 

Her spunky personality has no match and she is one of the few people I can be truly goofy and seriously hardcore with.

Zam: who swears she is going to deliver my babies if I ever get busy and have them! I met her when she came to work as a midwife at Ruth Gaylord Hospital with me. She is a truly beautiful woman, inside and out. I've seen her go through personal hardships and still show up with a smile on her face, treat her laboring mothers with a calmness, and speak kindly even when firm.

Molly: the little pixie. I gave her that name because it seems to describe her. She sometimes jumps from flower to flower, but she loves spreading joy. While her affection is sometimes overwhelming to me, its also endearing.

Ronnie: Lil bro. Actually, he's not my Lil bro, but i've kinda adopted him. He can be quiet at times, but once you get him talking, the tap doesn't shut off! I love his willingness to do whatever hairbrained idea we come up with.

Ejuku: its a love/hate friendship really... As in, we love to hate on each other! Haha, no this guy is a good friend and one of the few people in my life I can be blatantly honest, wickedly sarcastic, and dangerously open with. That doesn't sound like much, but in a friendship, that amount of freedom is heavenly!

And finally, a self portrait.

How To, Episode 3: Recycled Home Decor

Making picture frames from common household trash! 

Reduce, reuse, recycle 

(otherwise entitled I'm poor but still crafty)

Start with scrap cardboard... A discarded pizza box sans grease works!

Measure your pic on the back and cut accordingly.

Cut out the inside of your frame too! 

Cut clippings from old newspaper. 

Secure them to the card board with modpodge. 

Affix your pic and display as desired!