a quick note...

dude...i looove Jinja!! Its like coming home for us...the last time we came to Jinja we stayed with William, Brooke's host, and this time we went back to were Erin and I lived...ohhh it was so great to return there...it felt like we were staying at a 5-star hotel!! A comfortable bed and a toilet...and she cooked for us...goooooood food!! But anyways, most of the children that we got close with that live in our compound are in school and so we went and made a suprise visit to Vivian at her primary school this morning..it was so much fun! But it was crazy to see the difference of schools compared to Mayuge...at the primary school they had things all over the classroom walls...we have nothing but bare walls (actually thats not true...Erin drew plant and animal cells on some posters and we hung them in our class) but thats it...also we found balloons this morning!! We got over a thousand of them...it should be interesting trying to fill them and get them out to the battle zone..but oh well!! So that was exciting...no jellybeans or whipcream yet...but we are still looking..anyways, we also went today to get about 200 pictures printed of us to handout to people before we leave...we are definately giving 100 of them to our S1 students and then the others are to distribute to the adults and students that we have gotten close with...but anyways, I just wanted to say hello again and that I am not sure when we will have internet again so...much love and talk to you soon!! Only 2 more weeks of school and then lots of traveling!! =) i love yall!!

i don't know how to begin this...

Forewarning...I have a feeling this will be another long entry..but to figure out how to start writing what all has been going on is hard..so I will start with how school is going..and then just keep writing..so I am not sure what all your going to get, but here it goes...
School rocks!! I love, love my students!! My S1 students were finally streamed into two classes, so we no longer have 100 students in one room...now its like 30ish students in one class and then the remaining 70ish in the other (dont know why they do some of the things they do, but hey TIA) and our timetables were changed this past week..so I now teach two classes a day on Wednesdays and Thursdays...the other days we just play around all day..walking around the campus talking with students and other teachers or hanging out down in our quarters. We have two small children that live around us that have gotten to be so comfortable with us and looooove us very much! ha..its fun, boring sometimes, but thats another thing that is so weird here...time seems to be different...the days seem to be soooo long, but go by super fast most of the time..and the weeks fly by!! But anyways, back to school...the students are in class until anywhere from 4 to 5 (ha...you never know) but after they get out of class its playtime!! We play volleyball almost everyday after school..soccer every so often..but I no longer play with the older kids in soccer, i just sit and marvel at their talent!! but anyways, we only have two more weeks at Rena..But next weekend (which is our last one) we are planning to do a field day with all the students on campus and the staff..get this..we are going to start after lunch and have different activities going on throughout the day up until dinner..but we are going to have relay races (3 legged races, races with different tasks like dressing in our clothes and running to the next station which is spinning around a bat then to the sack hop then undress and the next partner goes...and maybe some other ones, cannot remember off the top of my head, but also we are going to have jellybeans covered in whipcream (as long as we can find the whipcreamish type thing) and have the students use only their faces to get the jellybeans out, then a scavenger hunt in teams, and then the grand fun is the water ballon fight at the end!! Yeah, we are going to make it happen!! It is going to be such a fuuuun day!! I think we might attempt to teach them kickball that day too!! But anyways, we are working on planning out everything at the moment, but I know it will be a day those children will never forget!! Um...what else...we are getting to go on the safari...its booked!! and to Gulu..all the plans are unfolding and I am pretty sure its a 100% planned trip..but you never know whats really going to happen here..so we shall see!! But, I cannot imagine a better way to end this trip...its coming so fast to an end..and it makes me very sad to think about...but at the same time I am excited about seeing everyone! The bugs have gotten suuuuper bad at our house in Mayuge...bats, rats, giggers (things from the dirt that get under and eat at your skin and reproduce, but are super unavoidable out in the village because evvverything is dirt!!), nats, mosquitoes, creepy lizards, snakes (I got chased with a dead one from some of the girl studetns...of course Erin was right there telling them to chase me!!) But I even have real serious bed bugs...bugs all the time, everywhere!! But we have started sleeping with the window by my bed open now because at night it cools off greatly and feels amazing (we actually get cold sleeping!!) Um...I think I have taken one real shower out there...our water is freeeeezing cold..and here lately it has been coming out brown..oh yeah, the septic tank that sits right beside our room has started smelling baaaad!! Since our windows are always open, it smells like poo in our room all the time now! ha! The town is still the same ole town..not too much there...not many people out in Mayuge even have power, much less running water..so that says about how much there is to do out there...but the walks to and from town are still fun..the children and adults still come out to say hello and yell from across the way...we are in Jinja for the weekend..so thats how I have internet..I think internet got installed at the schools computer lab yesterday so I will check it out once I get back...I am drawing a blank as to what all to write..we havent been doing to much other than school life..but I want to talk about how freakin excited I am to be going to Gulu soon!! So we leave the school on March 13th and then going on our safari and then to Gulu and then one week in Jinja and then back hooome...this trip is coming to an end waaaay too fast for me!! It seemed like the best decision at the time to change our flights to come back with Brooke, but now, of course, I wish I hadnt done so...but anyways, this trip has been nothing like I expected, nowhere near, but I just couldnt imagine it any other way!! I have learned so much about Uganda's culture and myself..I have learned many things about the war that continues to rage on here...I have learned about corruption in a thrid world country...and believe me..its all about what a person can get before they have to get out of town..I have learned I cannot save the whole world, I can just make my imprints in people lives, I cannot change the many many misconceptions that people have of Americans, but I think we have done a marvelous job representing the people of our country..I have learned that many NGOS cannot provide Africa with the right decisions..some are just hindering the process and many international countries are hindering the process of peace from being established here and abroad..I have learned that I started my trip off with the wrong intentions..I came over here hoping to change peoples lives, how I didnt know, but I wanted too..but I have learned so much more from the people here than I could have ever asked to be taught...these people are the ones who have changed my life..I am pretty sure many people here will never forget us...and there are many people and lessons I have learned that I hope to never forget! I feel like I have seen people with absolutely nothing to their names being truely happy just to be alive!! One hard thing is that most people, not everyone, always seems to want something...its hard having to say nothing but sorry when a student is telling you that they have lost everyone in their family and the person paying their school fees passed away and now they have no way to pay...or they are sick, or cannot afford food...it gets really annoying at times always being asked for something..many/some people here dont trust or want to be friends with muzungus because they think we are full of broken promises..but also some of the things people are taught here about Americans and others is crazy...some of the questions and misconceptions are off the wall..anyways, I was talking about Gulu..ha...so Invisible Children was filmed in Gulu...which is what I credit my love for this country to stem from..and so now Gulu has been declared a safe place to travel..and I am getting to go..for 5 days of my last 2 weeks in Uganda..by the end of this trip we will have been all over this country...seeing everything (much) it has to offer!! But, anyways, people say that their are so many NGOs in Gulu now that it looks a lot like Jinja does..they say that you can notice war effects everywhere on the outter parts of the town, but once you enter the town..you wouldnt believe it was ever there...(another thing I have learned, some good can come from war...which means the grass is always greener on the other side) but someone was telling us that some of the IDP camps have turned into small trading centers...so these people who were forced from their homes and into the camps have now turned it into a positive thing..creating money flow for themseleves and a start to a better life...which is one of the things I cannot wait to see when we go into the camps..also the Invisible Children headquarters are in Gulu...which we are going to try and go through..I think its pretty easy to get a tour of...but we shall see! Anyways, going to Gulu will top this trip off..it could not have been, and hopefully continue to be, more than I could have imagined!! anyways, I know this is scattered and just a bunch of broken thoughts...but thats all I got for today...I might try to write one more time before we leave town Sunday morning..but we shall see how time goes!! I love you all and hope your doing awesome!!

Much much love!!

Part II of my update...

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
When something bad happens then there is always something better around the corner! This week has been really great for me…and all three of us actually…school started on Tuesday for us..Monday, Erin and my students were still reporting (the first year students at the secondary school) and so we just went and sat in an upper-level geography class that was a double period and got to spend time interacting with those students…then I think went to town to get some amazingly awesome, fresh pineapples…and we have found the back paths to take to town to avoid the dusty road..so we get to walk though the back land behind our school..it is a beautiful and fun walk to town..we cut through a small village that makes me smile every time we pass through..the people come out from everywhere and the children go crazy…”Muzungu, Muzungu, how are you? I’m fine.” Then laughter!! It is so funny to see the reactions on some of the children’s faces! They look at us like we are aliens from another world…they get shocked..some cry even!! It is really funny to pass through…we have to dodge some cattle herding along our path too..anyways, back to the week…Tuesday, Brooke taught her first reading comprehension lesson with her teacher present, and Erin and I got to attended because neither of us had classes yet..she did great! Then later that day, our students, the senior ones, we were told had reported and so we went to talk to them and start to get to know them…we found out that no teacher had been in there all day..so they had done nothing all day..it was a scheduled Biology class, but the teacher Erin was supposed to work with had not reported to campus yet, so Erin started teaching them some Biology from her notes she made over last week! She did good too! I think Tuesday is when the sports started more…we played some volleyball and a little bit of soccer (with the deflated volleyball this time)..and now today…Erin and I found out that we will be the primary teachers for the senior ones..meaning we have no other teacher present when we teach..I had my first scheduled class this morning and Erin had one later in the day..so we planned activities to occupy more than our scheduled time with the students since no one else was…First thing this morning, we made name tags to pin on their shirts to help remember names..we have about 50 students, ranging from ages 12-16..then I taught my first lesson…we covered what Geography is and why we study geography. I asked the students to answer the question of where do they want to go most in the world and why and then who would they take with them and why. I had them turn their answers into me to keep..I had so much fun reading through the variety of answers that were given and their reasonings behind them. After lunch, Erin taught..and then we stayed a bit and took some individual pictures of the students..some love being photographed! After that, we walked to town and found a place that served CHIPS (french fries)!! Believe me we were happy…we still eat the same 5 things for breakfast, lunch and dinner… Breakfast: was one boiled egg per person, but now we get one chapatti (tortilla looking thing that if I think hard enough can taste like a waffle, Lunch: an assortment of cabbage, rice, beans, matooke (mashed bananas), Irish (potatoes), Dinner: an assortment of the leftover cabbage, rice, beans, matooke (mashed bananas), Irish (potatoes) from lunch…it all tastes the same…but we have gotten more water..instead of just 2 small bottles of water per person, we now get 3 big bottles for all three of us..we are running soooo low on our food stash..and our sauce stash..we have to go grocery shopping when we get to Jinja this weekend…but anyways..life has gotten better here..funny story…Erin and I walked to town to get our notes copied (I finally got my notes on Tuesday) and then walked and that’s when we found the chips…but this boy/man (people age so differently here, it is very hard to judge age) approached us as we were cutting through the village and then just kept walking and talking with us, all the way to the copy shop..and then waited for us there..and then that’s when we found the chips..so we were sitting behind a cement wall in the corner of this place waiting..and this same man walked up with his friend asking if he could take our picture and we were like how did you find us and he said he just asked in town where the 2 muzungus walked to and found us..so then we were like ok, whatever, take our picture and scat…not just one picture, a photo shoot!! He wanted individuals, ones of all 4 of us, then the two of us and one of them, then just us, a funny one…it turned out to be funny..ok, so then he was like your papers are done copying at this time..meet me there…we said yeah, yeah, yeah and ended up there much later than the time, but yes, he was still there, waiting for us with a note…so he walked and talked more to us as we made our way through the village..but once he left us finally, we read the note and it was an application to be our best friends in Uganda (it actually said that) so the creepy, stalker man actually gave us a hard laugh today! Now, I have just gotten done planning my lesson and some activities for tomorrow…we are taking in pictures for our families (people love to know about family here..good thing I love miineeee!!haha..corny, but I had to throw it in) I don’t know if you have noticed, but I say we when referring to teaching…Erin and I had been the only teachers for two days to see our students, so we have been planning activities together since our students are the same to fill their time..and also since they are senior one students, their English is not excellent, but not bad by any means, and sometimes have no idea what we are saying to them…so we sit in on each others class to try and help out when those situations arise…also in senior one, you have to write everything that you want your students to write in their notebooks on the blackboard..so your back is to them often..so whichever one of us is not teaching, is sitting towards the back watching out to make sure everyone is doing what their supposed too…since there are so many students crammed into desks, filling the room..but its been good so far..the students will begin picking our language as time passes..but they are doing a fantastic job so far I think! Teaching is not what I expected it to be, not surprising at this point, but I have enjoyed it!! All the students on campus are starting to feel more comfortable with us and talk to us much much more..even when we are just passing by!! It makes us feel much better about the situation!! They are all so beautiful!! Anyways, I got carried away again, so Sulabulungi (good night)!!

Friday, February 13, 2009
Oh how much I loooooove Muzungu weekends!! We left school Thursday after Erin and my classes got over to come spend the weekend in Jinja..so we packed up our backpacks and a carry along bag and headed for the taxis in town..we got on one and after getting a few men to push us off we started our adventure to Jinja..about 10 minutes into the drive, the row that us three and another man was sitting on broke and we went falling backwards into the laps of the other passengers…TIA right…but then we had to taxi hop twice after that..but we maddddee it to Jinja safely!! After we dropped off our stuff, we headed straight for some muzungu foood!! I got to eat a waffle and some chips…and then we headed to the internet to get back in touch with the rest of the world…it felt so great to come back to Jinja..it feels like my home away from home!! And I got to sit down on a toilet and use toilet paper and when we eat we got to use napkins!! It’s the small things in life that make me smile now!! It was really funny though walking through the streets of Jinja and seeing so many more other muzungus!! I was like awestruck…but VEEEEERRRRRRYY EXCITING NEWS!! We are going to be going on a safari before we leave..its about an 8 hour drive up north to Merchenson Falls..we will be gone for 3 days and camping overnight…then I believe we are going to extend our time and travel up to Gulu since we will be so close…I couldn’t help but bubble up with so much excitement once I found out this trip would be possible…if everything works out, I will get to see the place with my own eyes that inspired and changed my life!! Our program director has associates in Gulu that we would be staying with and he said that he would beable to take us into some of the displacement camps…I am getting chills writing about it now!! I am praying that this trip works out!!!!! (PS Mom and Memaw, I can only imagine the looks on your faces as you read those last few sentences, but we have asked many people and they have told us that it is safe to travel there now…even say Gulu has turned into another town completely..with all the NGOs there) Anyways, tomorrow is Valentines Day and we are spending the day at the Nile Resort..we will be laying by the pool all day and we get to eat some pppizzzzzzzzaaaa!!! =) So…I think I have said enough for now..but I love everyone and miss yall!! Our phone is messing up so we cannot send (and I don’t think receive) text messages anymore…so your always welcome to call!! Peace and much loooovee!!

Part 1 of my update...

As I am writing this…it is Sunday night, Feb. 8th…we have had power pretty much all evening today so I decided to get my computer out and type out what all crazy experiences and emotions I have been though in just one week…. So exactly one week from today we moved out to the village in Mayuge district…first I will describe the town..then our living situations…and then the emotional part and what I have learned…
The town is a 20 minute walk when taking the main road from school…but we have started walking back roads through the swamp area (beautiful vegetation and landscape) up through a miniature village and then come out right at the market area of town…but anyways, town means a 4-way round-a-about…and that’s it… each direction has a few shops and places to get traditional foods only..there are I think 2, maybe 3, places you can go to play pool…it is actually a nice place though…we have found places we like to go and when walking through town, seriously it because like we are in a parade everyday!! The children will run and yell and follow behind us for distances!! But they are scared to touch us at the same time!! We will stop and shake hands with the children running around us and try to play, you know, but they run away once we make a move towards them..it takes that one brave child to shake our hands..and then they all start coming to do it!! It is actually becoming like a game to pick out which child will standout and like you keep joking with them and then they smile and laugh…then the women and men are stopping what they are doing to stare and wave..and some yell things..but we like greeting them in their language, which is olyotya (how are you) or mulimoltya (to a group) and also they say Jambo here also..which we have been told is Swahili..random…oh yeah, but when we do speak their language, they just come unglued!! It is so funny…such an easy way to make people smile! Ok, so that’s the town..the school…ohhhh the school…we are living in the staff quarters of Rena College School..this one week at school has taught me more about myself then any week of my life…first our living situation…then school…we have a joke going..it is.. Accommodation: 3 steel beds, 1 upgraded pit-latrine and 1 roll of toilet paper! (seriously..thats all we got) We have made it look like us though…we bought decorations in Jinja the day before we came out and have hung pictures around each one of our beds…and our sparkly decorations and fake flowers add lots! We have no tables, no chairs, no closet, no dresser…we are living out of our suitcases..but we have placed certain suitcases places to use for things..like we call one our dresser, and pantry, and shirt closet or skirt closet….but we have misplaced lots of things and had to spend lots of time looking for them again…maybe because we also unpacked and reorganized everything without power!! Brooke has a headlamp and me and Erin use our flashlights..its weird but amazing how quickly you learn to use just a flashlight! Power…if it rains, no power (99.9% of the time)…during the day, normally no power..if it doesn’t come on early in the night than we have a chance it might come back on before we go to bed…but like now we have had it for awhile today..and it feels weird not having my light right beside me..the first few days we only had a spicket that is like knee high and a basin that we sat underneath to catch the water when we brush our teeth and wash our faces…our toilet is in the ground and now flushes (didn’t the first few days and we clogged it, haaaahahaa, and a plumber guy came out to fix it!! It was funny, sorry!) We have a tin roof that is very loud when storms come…one night when it rained really really hard, it woke all of us up for a long time and then the place right above my bed started leaking a bit…TIA..and the bugs here…we have bats and rats that like to be heard at the night!! I can’t sleep without my ipod, they sound like they are like sitting next to your head or rambling though our pantry… but I am conquering my fear of lizards, cockroaches, and everyday flies…we are working at not acknowledging flies when they land on us.. the land we are on is said to be in the swamp…its beautiful though!! Everywhere you look is green lands that just make you want to start walking…its really pretty…anyways, the school has two soccer goals, no nets though..I guess now I want to talk about the school…the system is veeeery different than our school systems…to us, it seems so disorganized, which has made it very difficult this week..but anyways, the classes were supposed to start last Monday..but the majority of the teachers still hadn’t reported to the school…once we got here..no one told us what we would be doing…literally…didn’t tell us anything..we had to find our teachers that we were thinking were supposed to help us…but I don’t think they had been told anything about us…we had to find our books..and here you have to check them out..multiple ones..and no google to quickly find the answers…so I checked out three books to try and start finding the topics that I copied off my syllabus. The students don’t get their own textbooks…for classes like English and science, if you want your students to use the book during class, you have to send a student to the bookroom to get the copies for your class, that can be up to 60 students, and then return them after class..so for homework that comes from any geography book, the students go to the bookroom and ask the librarian lady the question and they said she will give them the right book because they don’t have enough in other subjects…then they stand there and find the answer and then they are done..just seems like a lot of hassle to me, the due dates are like 2 weeks after you assign it…so ok..when we would ask the teachers when they were teaching, they would tell us they didn’t know..or that they weren’t, but we would then see them teaching a class…so it was very frustrating trying to observe classes…but it eventually happened..and that was very interesting..each teacher used a different method!! The classes are anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour (we have heard two different things from many different teachers) but the first half is like explaining things and diagrams if need be, and then the second half is reading them word for word notes that they copy down in their notebooks so that they have something to study…this take a lot of time people…its all in English too…the schools language is English..but we were given Lusoga names so that the students will have an easier time identifying us..mine is Namuganza, it means someone loved, Erin’s is Namulundo, it means to be in the Kings clan, like the Queen, and Brooke’s is Nabirye, hers means the mother of twins, which is seen here as extremely blessed…we don’t know why Peter, the headmaster of the school gave us these particular ones, but they always create conversation..it helps to feel apart of the village scene…anyways, back to teaching…Random..I am having fun typing..its weird the things you miss when you have really nothing to do..so I am typing everything out that I have been wanting to remember…but back to our first week of “orientation”..we were told not long before we came out to Mayuge that we would be teaching classes at a secondary school..TIA right…when we left America, we thought we would be teaching English to primary students…you know, like holding up picture cards helping to teach simple words and phrases (a little more to it than that, but seriously not much more)…but then once we got here, plans change (oh yeah, plan is another word that rarely has meaning here, something I thought I would never miss) so we got to the school still not knowing really what we would be doing…from the first few days all we could gather out of the staff at the school was what we were teaching, guessed at what level students, a syllabus, and very little more details…so we spent the next few days reading our textbooks and exploring the school grounds and the land behind us and the town…but once Friday rolled around..Erin and I both we told we were going to be given the notes that we were to read to the students for them to copy down during the second half of class…and all of us only had bits of information on the topics from our books..this is were internet is truly a precious thing..so the things that weren’t in our books, we just weren’t going to know..also other teachers that we have become friends with told us that the students in the levels we were planning on teaching would not be able to understand us for some time..so we went and talked to the headmaster about pairing up with teachers instead of having our own classes, and for the fact of our earlier departure, but anyways, we all felt much better about the situation and went out to find our teachers we wanted to be paired with…I asked to be paired with one of the other geography teachers who is a young guy that is very good with his English and is very easy to communicate with..so I was very excited about the situation…but today we talked with Peter and he said I was paired with someone other than this guy…so I guess we will see tomorrow…another TIA thing..now on to something else…today I had a very enlightening moment..the past few days I have been more homesick than I have since we got here…I felt like I had no communication with the outside world other than when people called us or sent a text message..and that gets hard…there is a tv in the teacher’s lounge, but we are rarely in there, and so we might catch some news if the powers on..and then no internet access anywhere near here…and the week had been frustrating..the same food everyday, getting used to only using pit latrines (real ones when we leave our house), feeling like we have no idea what we are about to be thrown into, feelings of uselessness, events happening at home, some type of bug on you at all times, just to name a few…haa….but as I read though that list, it seems so small…but something that is hard to deal with…to keep us occupied we have begun playing lots of cards, wall ball, bowling (out of our water bottles, oh which we have to ration…another one of those frustrating things) Me and Erin actually painted our toenails with whiteout and then colored them with sharpies!! It looks pretty cool actually…but back to my enlightening moment…I was sitting on the veranda this morning, after we did our laundry and cleaned around our room, watching these 4 boys play some soccer…I sat there for a minute debating on if I should go play with them…I eventually decided to go…we played and talked and I had so much fun..the ball was a highly deflated basketball..they were kicking it to me while playing 4 v. 1 to measure my skills..it was so funny!! Anyways, after I got really tired I came back and sat back on the veranda for a minute and just had the urge to start walking and see what I could find..so I asked a teacher friend to point me in the direction on a path that I haven’t taken yet..and the one he sent me on was not what I was expecting..I had to walk by the boys dorm to get to the path…so as I was about to approach the fence, I was stopped by a young man, named Brian, that is in S6, who after greeting me, with his top lip quivering because he was so nervous, asked me if I could help him with something..I was like well what is it and he asked me if I knew French..he said because he wanted to know another language..and I told him I didn’t know French, but knew some Spanish..so he thought that sounded good..and then asked when we could start..and I couldn’t say no..so we walked back to the staff quarters and I got my notebook and a pen and taught him all the Spanish I could remember in a 10 minute mind recollection period!! But Brooke said she would help me out next time..which Brain asked if it could be tomorrow after school..through those two simple things this morning, I realized something that I have been trying to say, but not fully understand..Today, I feel like I finally understand why I wanted to come back to Uganda..I wanted to remove myself my the daily stress of life in America, to come to a place that offers so much for a person to learn from through their culture and just sheer presence ..by only having what I consider to be the most basic living conditions imaginable..I can look out my window and see people who still have it worse than I do..and I have come to be happy with what we do have now..and it has made interacting with the people easier…just living every day..no plans..but people are so inquisitive..and if I just stop and think about where I am and listen to the people around me, it is amazing how much you can learn…even answering questions and misconceptions is challenging but rewarding at the same time! Ok…I am ending this journal essay I just wrote...it felt so great to type and get all that onto paper(ish)…anyways, peace and love!!

Yes, I am alive!!

Hello yall…I know it has been a minute since I last updated everyone on my whereabouts and what all we have been doing, and I apologize for that…(MOM) ha. I got a phone call to make sure that I was not drowned at the bottom of the Nile and it made me laugh..I am sorry! Anyways, I am getting a killer tan and some big ole muscles!! Lets see, Sunday we went rafting with Adrift…and had the best time ever!! I thought though I was going to die about 4 times…seriously. We choose to do the full day of rafting and choose the wild ride..which is when the guides intentionally flip you through the majority of the rapids! The scariest part was when we flipped on a class 5 rapid…I swallowed so much river water and felt like I was never going to see the light of day again..it was intense, but fun after it was all over!! They had the safety kayakers there to save me..oh, and then we also bungeed!! We had to jump before we went rafting…and so at 9 oclock in the morning I was jumping off a 145 foot platform!! My jump was awesome though because I got dipped into the Nile up to my knees upside down!! We got it all on DVD! It was a nice way to start of the daay!! Anyways, that night we stayed at Adrift to hangout with people we had met on our trip..our raft name was the baby hippos..because we were retarded paddlers and flipped what seemed like on every rapid..so one of the guys on our raft named us that! Quite funny, aye? Two days last week we spent in the village..here is were I am getting muscles!! It is actually amazing how the men here construct a building..CYORF is building a school/little place for people who have traveled to sleep/office about an hour away from Jinja and so after the worker men dug out the perimeter, once again with a hoe, we filled the thing with stones, all sizes!! Then the next day, they mixed concrete and sand to place on top of the stones for the foundation, I guess, and started bricking..neat fact, their bricks are made of mud/clay type thing and then sundried/fired..so the next day we moved the bricks for the men to start building..the men tried letting me do some of the building..like doing the concrete mix and then the bricks..but I moved to slow for them, so it didn’t last long..Dad, I felt like you'd be proud!! =) I eventually gave up and went to play soccer with the local kids that came out to watch us..I had more fun over there! Ha. Annnnd for up to now…we have had Thursday, and will have Friday and Saturday off to prepare to move out to the school..so today we went back to the Nile River Resort and layed by the pool all day!! It was super great and relaxing..our living situations have become more frustrating than fun now..there are always sooooo many kids around us and its like we go out to work and have to always be starred at and watched all the time..and then we come home and the kids are hanging on us before we ever get into the door..if they aren’t waiting at the top of the driveway!! But, something funny about always being watched..last Friday at the Obama concert..we were just hanging out listening to the music, that was all in another language..but noone was dancing..so then eventually I had to get up and start…and when I did, Erin and Brooke jumped up and then all the sudden flashes started coming from all directions…people from the local newspapers and tabloids..it was funny!! Although we were not able to look at the papers to find the pictures..but I was telling my Mom the other day, everyone knows the 3 mzungus before we ever say anything..even bodas know where we stay before we ever say our address!! Its creepy, but we obviously stand out..so its ok at the same time! We have met some really cool people…we leave though on this Sunday for Mayuge to start teaching so we will be starting over meeting people again..we have met one chick that is 27 and from England..and she is super super awesome!! She has been coming back and forth from there to here since 1999ish I think…but she was so insightful and inspirational to talk to!! Last night Erin and I spent all night listening to her talk about all sorts of things..stories and such..but she has already experienced everything we are going through and so it was very helpful and gave me hope towards my frustrations I am having here at the moment!! I actually saw a lot of myself in her..it was kinda crazzzzy! I know I just said I am getting really tan…but I think the rainy season has begun!! We have had a few bad storms, but for the most part its just sprinkling/light rain… Anyways, I think that about does it for the most part..I love everyone and hope all is well at home!! Much love!!

TIA is the phrase...

my new phrase i say constantly is TIA...this is Africa! life is still going good!! my sweeeeeet brother Rob and my awesome dad and my loving grandparents gave me a call the other day and made my day here soooo much better!! (hows that for a shoutout bro?) ha. but anyways, back to TIA...one thing i have been forced to learn to accept is that here, things can change at any moment and you always expect the unexpected...we went to work with Act4Africa on monday and it was much different than we thought...they do awesome work and use very very neat ways of spreading their messages, but we went to a landing dock on the lake and so nobody could understand english...therefore we were used as entertainment..and that was about it...we kinda felt like a sideshow..they used us to attrack people...we had to dance around to music we didnt know for like a straight hour..with no relief..it was fun at first...but then we just felt stupid and when we tried talking to people..noone could understand us, so they just looked at us...so that was hard! but...yesterday we went to kampala and met up with AFC, the group i traveled with the last time, and ended up staying the night in kampala and hanging out with them...it was a lot of fun to get to hangout and watch the inaugaration with more Americans..which was really neat. this friday though, we are going to an Obama concert at the local casino here in Jinja..and i think giving AFC a tour of Jinja on Saturday and then Sunday going rafting and bungie jumping! =) tomorrow and friday we will be working with Act4Africa agian..so i am hopping things will get better with that..becasue i really like what they do!! i found out that i will be teaching geography and european history to the older kids at the school...another TIA thing..i am very nervous about teaching such older kids...almost my age..preparing them for universities...its a lot for me to think about..i just want to do good..but things work themselves out!! anyways...i love you all and will write more the next chance i get!! peace and much looooove!! i miss everyone!!

who knew life could get so good?

heeeeyyyy everyone!! i hope everyone is doing wonderfully!! thank you for the comments and emails again...they make me so happy! life here is getting better everyday it seems...these past few days Edward has taken us around jinja and into the villages to show us some of their projects and then today we got to see what school we will be teaching at (about an hourish drive away from jinja town)..also he took us to Bujagali Falls, there we took a little boat ride to another island in the middle to get more looks at some of the rapids (some we will be rafting soon) and also to the source of the Nile..these days have been a whirlwind with my emotions because you see people living with no electricity or running water in a mud hut with a roof made of straw running and yelling to just touch or stand close to us and smiling at you..just because of the color of our skin..so it is hard because i want so bad for everyone to look at us as friends and not wealthly mzungus..but too its fun because all the kids come..and i love me some of these kids!! funny thing...we have been pronouncing our organizations name wrong all this time..put all the letters together and make a word is how you say it!! anyways, i could not be any more excited and happy with them..they have been absoutley amazing and do so much great work here for the people of this country...its truely been humbling to be associated with their projects!! we went to an HIV/AIDS clinic type thing the other day that they support and the women greeted us with the traditional yelling noise..it was so great!! they were so welcoming..and then a million kids came running up and we got to play a minute with them also..we saw some of the schools Cyorf supports and some that they run..the school we will be teaching in is super nice and much more than i expected..seems to keep happening huh..but it is a boarding school with students between ages 14-20, like almost 500 students total, in an area half the size of the quad, but a place to play soccer =)..we are meeting with the head master later on today to learn more details..also we will be working with an organization called Act4Africa until Feb when school starts and they are awesome too...google them if youd like...we will be going out into the villages providing free testing services and counsiling!! we start that on monday and i cannot wait for it either!!! i am sorry if this is jumbled but we have just a short time before our meeting and i wanted to let everyone know things are amazing and our work will begin soon!! i love you all and will write more later!! i am looooooooving it!! =)
peace

another shot...

Jambo to all my favorite people! Since my last post did not work this one might be a little long…I am going to try and let you in on all that has been going on since we arrived here in Jinja…

As for my living arrangements, Erin and I are staying in a compound, which consists of like 5 houses in an enclosed area..our house mother is the compound leader..which means there are people always in and out of our house..especially children! I cannot remember if I have already written this or not, but she has a twins, who we haven’t met yet, an 11 year old and then a baaby, whom is absolutely precious! Then next door, we have Vivian, my 11 year old best friend (who gives us language lessons and pretty much takes care of us), and she has a younger brother and sister..then down a few houses we have more children. I love it here, most of the time..its fun coming home to them…they always run out and greet us and are always wanting to play..but whenever I am tired is when it is sometimes frustrating..but I couldn’t have picked a better place to stay though.

For food…we are not being malnourished, no worries! When I say what we eat, it doesn’t sound like much, but here, they eat a small breakfast and lunch and then a huuuge serving at dinner time, which is like 9-10ish..For breakfast, it is either a slice of bread or eggs (I was super happy the morning we got to eat the eggs!) and lunch and dinner have been a mixture of potatoes (which they call irish), beans, rice, peas, and I ate some spinach tonight for dinner!! I am having to learn to eat things even when they do not look appetizing or smell to great..yes, Erin and I have had to break into the peanut butter crackers and nature valley bars and candy we brought though. I have started using some of her hot sauce to try and spice up my meals a little..

As I am writing this, it is Tuesday the 13^th..tomorrow morning begins our orientation with CYORF and today we had coffee with Edward, our program director. It was so great to finally put a face with all his emails! He is very very very nice and helpful..after coffee, we attended a burial for our neighbors grandmother. We had to drive about 2 or 2 ½ hours out into the real rural parts of the country..but the drive was beautiful. The landscape is sooo green and hills (mountains maybe?) everywhere. The roads are not so great out that far, which made for a very interesting ride…because we were 4 deep in the backseat! The service was a Catholic service, but all of it we couldn’t understand…except when they welcomed us in the middle of it. Here, when someone passes away, they delegate all their responsibilities to another person before their death..house chores, taking care of the spouse and the children..things like that..and they are buried on their property..so once they are lowered into the ground, people grab the dirt (or whatever it is) are throw it into the hole..which seems like a really neat thing for closure maybe.. anyways, after the burial, everyone stays around the house and eats..it was a very neat thing to witness. A sad thing though, was on our way home, our house mother got a message that her oldest grandmother had passed away also..but I do not think we are going to be able to attend that one due to our orientation.

Before today we have been hanging around the house playing with all the children and then walking into town and working on getting familiarized with the town and customs.. the exchange rate here is 1900 shillings for every 1 USD..in case you were wondering. Oh, a funny thing is whenever we tell someone we are from the States, they are automatically like OOBAAAAAMMMAA!! I am not kidding you, it happens all the time, which is totally ok with me!! We have met sooo many really really nice and helpful people throughout our days…in town and at our house..but there are still those that try to take advantage of us..because here, if you are white, they assume that you are wealthy..you don’t have to be American or English…just not black..but people have been informing us on how much to pay for certain things and such. Our life consists of using wipes for everything…we use face wipes, wipes to substitute for showers and toilet paper, we even have bug spray wipes now!! Ha.

Anyways, I think this is long enough for now and hopefully has caught you up on some of my life here…I am still happy and loving it..tomorrow will be a really fun day because we will begin to find out more detailed information!! Oh yeah, it takes so long to upload pictures and videos so they might be really frequent..we shall see. One great thing about here is that at any minute your plans can change, so making plans rarely works. Our friends here even make fun of how fast we walk in comparison to them…here everything is much more laid back!

Thank you to everyone who has sent me emails and comments…they make me smile every time I get one! We found an internet cafe that is really cheap to use and make phone calls…so just in case you get a phone call from a weird looking random number at an odd time, please answer…it could be meee! Ha. I love you all and will write more soon!!

Peace and much love!!

nothing is going my way with this computer thing...

I am having lots of trouble uploading and posting things...so I will try again later! I love everyone and you will hear from me soon!

Peace and much much love.
I miss everyonnnne!!

the first few days in Jinja, Uganda

just my luck...I just spent about an hour typing out details on my first few days here and then right when I went to post them the internet went down and it all disappeared...so I am going to skip all that and just let everyone know we are here...I am having an awesome time and we have met lot and lots of great, helpful people. I will eventually write more about our house and the town...but I am going to try and upload some photos and videos for you to look at. We did get a cell phone today and anyone is welcome to call...it wont charge us, but you will have to pay the international rates. The number is 256-781431496 (whenever you call you have to do the callings codes and stuff, it gets complicated I think) but your welcome too. I loooove and miss everyone but already feel at home...you dont have to worry about me, I still have a smile on my face!

Peace and much much much loooove!!

today is the daaaay =)

Today is really January 9th..yet it just still seems so unreal to me that I am actually going back to Uganda today, well at least leaving today. We should arrive Saturday, Jan. 10th around 1:30 Ugandan time. The past few days have taken me for a ride with how many different emotions I have felt..but excitement still overriding them all! I hated, hated saying goodbye to my friends and especially to my family and it seems like ever hour I remember something else I was supposed to do or forgot to pack but...TODAY begins a crazy adventure and I couldn't be more ready to step off the plane tomorrow onto African soil! Tomorrow we will meet our host family that we will be living with until school starts in February..so I will let you know how that turns out whenever the next blog goes up. Really there was no point to writing this one, but I still have 3 hours until we leave for the airport and I have to do something because I cannot sleep..I have already rearranged my backpack and purse and I am waiting to take my last long, hot shower..so I guess I will end this one with an I looove you all and will miss everyone sooo much!! Peace and talk to you soon!! (hey, but the next post will actually be coming from Jinja, Uganda! yaaaaay!!)

and just in case anyone is noticing...the time and sometimes dates are for some reason not ever right, so believe me...its Jan 9th and its 1:10am