SAFARI TIME!
We just got back from our safari to Murchison Falls yesterday. It was awesome! Murchison Falls is a national park up in North Western Uganda. It is an amazing waterfall in the Nile River and a huge game park full of giraffes, elephants, antelope, water buffalo, hippos, crocs, and more.
We had quite the drive to get up there, but it was worth every minute of it. On our way to the camp on Saturday, we took a short hike up to the top of the falls. The road to the falls was a narrow, bumpy, dirt road lined with trees and jungle life. We had to stop the vehicle multiple times to let the baboons cross the road. Haha, can you imagine a baboon crossing sign back home instead of deer crossing?! There are these devilish little flies called Teetsee Flies that swarm into the car through open windows and bite. They bite really hard! We had a pretty entertaining ride constantly rolling the windows up and down and up and down. Every time the van slowed down to go over a bump flies would come in so we had to hurry and shut the windows, but if they were closed for more than a minute we all suffocated from heat and lack of air, so in was a constant open, close, open, close, shoo the flies out... adventure.
"Teetse Attack! Close the windows! Can't breathe, open them! Attack! Close them, close them, close them!" Haha, we got some good laughs out of it!
The water falls were beautiful! It amazed me to see so much water cascading down such a small space. It had so much power, force, and beauty. I seriously love nature!
Back at the camp:
Our camp was in the middle of no where, but we ate some great food and actually had real toilets and running water. We slept in safari tents with two beds per tent. They were really nice, but not very noise proof when it poured during the night. At least they didn't leak! Our campsite was the home to about 30 warthogs. "They pretend to be domestic, but they're not!" -our guide. They warned us not to keep any food in our tents or else the warthogs and even hippos might try to steal it. Yikes! I don't want a hippo coming after me in the dark, or the light for that matter.
Day 2 of the Safari:
Wake up bright and early for the game drive. We set out before the sun was up to get out and see the animals. The sunrise this morning was probably the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. We watched it rise, reflecting off the Nile, as we took a ferry across the river and over to the park. Majestic!
The game drive was so cool! We rode in a fun little 10 passenger van with a pop-up roof. We stood up pretty much the whole 4 hours, peeking our heads out of the top to see all the way around us. We saw antelope, Ugandan cob, bush buck, water buffalo, elephants, giraffes, warthogs, birds... My favorite was probably coming withing 15 feet of two elephants. They were huge! The giraffes were really fun to see too! I didn't expect to see so many of them. Unfortunately we missed the lions, the first van saw two of them, but we were just a little bit too late. There weren't any zebras or gazelles in Murchison Falls either, but other than those, we saw just about everything.
That afternoon, we went on a boat ride out to the base of the Falls. We saw hundreds of hippos and a few crocadiles along the way. They're both kind of creepy because they lurk right below the surface of the water and then pop up and scare you. One hippo popped up right next to our boat and sprayed us. Another, thankfully a little ways away, snapped his teeth at us. Other than that, they were pretty lazy animals and just sat around in the water all day.
Day 3 of the Safari:
Today was the last day of the safari. Most of the day was spent driving back home, but we made a little stop at the Rhino reserve park to track the rhinos. This part was a little different because we actually got out of the van and went looking after the animals on foot. Sweet! There are 9 rhinos in the reserve park. There used to be tons of rhinos in Uganda, but they have been poached to extinction for their horns. We found two of the rhinos in the park, one of which is named Obama. Yes, Ugandans are obsessed with Obama.
After the rhinos, we continued our nice, lengthy drive back home. Pretty stellar weekend!
I read Tuesdays with Morrie on the drive. Highly recommend it! It was such an inspirational book! What is the purpose of life and how can we live it to the fullest? Find out for yourself!
Now we're back to another great week of work! Trying to make the most of every minute!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Playing at the Orphanage
Yesterday we went to an orphanage out past Jinja. We had such an incredible day there. We sang songs with the children, listened to them present their little lessons on HIV/AIDs, sanitation, gardening, and bead making, played games, and then I taught a little dental hygeine lesson. The kids were so thrilled to get their own new tooth brushes and tubes of tooth paste. Thanks family for putting those together! I'm glad we were able to use them for a good cause since they didn't make it out to Haiti. It was so touching to see how happy and smart these kids were despite the challenges they face in life.
Nicole and I caked in dirt after our boda ride
We got so dirty on the boda ride back! If you can't tell, my face is caked in dirty! I love motorcycles though! They are so fun!
We're going on our safari this weekend and I can't wait! It's going to be quite the adventure!
Nicole and I caked in dirt after our boda ride
We're going on our safari this weekend and I can't wait! It's going to be quite the adventure!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Full House!
Last week was just another week in Paradise as usual. We got eight new volunteers for second wave last Sunday, including my friends Katie Liddiard and Jon Richards. It was so fun to see them again! There are now 24 of us living in our small three bedroom house. It's quite cozy and crowded, but the more the merrier, right?!
Work last week was pretty much the same as usual. I spent a couple mornings doing physical therapy with Grace at the hospital and am still really enjoying that. We visited the orphanage one afternoon and played with the children there--Duck Duck Goose, dancing and drums, tag... It's been fun to actually get to know these kids individually as we've gone to this same children's home a few times. I am in love with these two little boys Dan and Mark. They are seriously so cute I want to eat them up. I wish I could take them home with me.
Alex and I taught our back therapy lesson to the Musana Women's group again and to the hospital staff and both lessons went very well. Sometimes it's hard to read people's emotions here since their facial expressions and common phrases are so different from ours, but they were very active in participating and seemed genuinely interested in what we were teaching. One of the Musana women said that she wanted to help us teach our lesson to the women in more rural villages because what we were teaching was so important and they needed that education too. Wow! Things are getting pretty busy with projects and time running out here, so I don't know how much we'll be able to spread our lessons, but at least there's someone who cares and appreciates the knowledge we've shared and will be willing to pass on the things we've taught after we leave.
We stayed in town this weekend and hung out with our local friends from The Youth Outreach Mission, Wilson and Godfrey. They were our tour guides for the day and showed us all around town. We went to Sezziwa falls, some small waterfalls nearby that many Ugandans consider sacred. They worship the spirits of the trees and nature there with small offerings and reverence.
Then we went to the crazy city of Kampala, saw the national theater, the parliament building, and Garden City Mall. Getting lunch at the food court in the mall was one of the most stressful experiences ever, haha. We sat down at a table and within 10 seconds, waiters were swarming us and shoving menues in our faces. I would try to read one, but as soon as I got my eyes on it another one was shoved on top of it and then another, and another, and another, until I had 10 menues and 20 hands in my face and no clue what to order. I decided on Shwarma, a beef wrap sandwhich that we got all the time in Israel. Random for Africa, but it sounded like a nice change and I was too stressed to look at the menues any longer. Not a bad choice! I must say that I like food courts in America much more than Uganda. So much less pressure.
After lunch, we drove to Entebbe to see the zoo and Lake Victoria. That was the first time I've driven out to Entebbe since we first arrived at the airport, and it will probably be the last until we go home. I don't want to think about that last drive just yet. Time is flying by too fast. The zoo was so much fun! How can you go to the zoo and not have fun?! We got to feed monkeys (there were at least 20 running around the parking lot and stealing food out of our pockets and hands), ride camels, see zebras, giraffes, chimps, crocadiles, and rhinos, and even watch the lions play. That was Godfrey's first time going to the zoo and he's 23 years old. I never realized how spoiled I was to have gone to the zoo every summer as a child.
We stopped back in Kampala on our way home for some ice-cream and burgers (I do love ice-cream!) and then made it safely back home.
We went to church in Jinja again this Sunday. The branch here is so awesome. I'm going to miss the simpleness of church here and the love and unity that the small branch has. There has been a baptism almost every Sunday since we've gotten here. The church is growing so quickly! I wonder how long it will be until the church expands to Lugazi? I can't wait to see that day.
Well, I can't believe I'm on the downward slope. We've passed our half-way point and have less than a month left. It kind of makes me nervous. I'm scared to come home. Will I be able to be the person that I want to be and to apply all the things to my life that I've learned the past two months? Will I be able to finish up my projects in time and see a sustainable change in people's lives and accomplish all my goals? Time feels like it's slipping through my fingers faster than I can catch it. I hope I can make the most of every minute here. Life in Lugazi is great! Love you all tons!
Work last week was pretty much the same as usual. I spent a couple mornings doing physical therapy with Grace at the hospital and am still really enjoying that. We visited the orphanage one afternoon and played with the children there--Duck Duck Goose, dancing and drums, tag... It's been fun to actually get to know these kids individually as we've gone to this same children's home a few times. I am in love with these two little boys Dan and Mark. They are seriously so cute I want to eat them up. I wish I could take them home with me.
Alex and I taught our back therapy lesson to the Musana Women's group again and to the hospital staff and both lessons went very well. Sometimes it's hard to read people's emotions here since their facial expressions and common phrases are so different from ours, but they were very active in participating and seemed genuinely interested in what we were teaching. One of the Musana women said that she wanted to help us teach our lesson to the women in more rural villages because what we were teaching was so important and they needed that education too. Wow! Things are getting pretty busy with projects and time running out here, so I don't know how much we'll be able to spread our lessons, but at least there's someone who cares and appreciates the knowledge we've shared and will be willing to pass on the things we've taught after we leave.
We stayed in town this weekend and hung out with our local friends from The Youth Outreach Mission, Wilson and Godfrey. They were our tour guides for the day and showed us all around town. We went to Sezziwa falls, some small waterfalls nearby that many Ugandans consider sacred. They worship the spirits of the trees and nature there with small offerings and reverence.
Then we went to the crazy city of Kampala, saw the national theater, the parliament building, and Garden City Mall. Getting lunch at the food court in the mall was one of the most stressful experiences ever, haha. We sat down at a table and within 10 seconds, waiters were swarming us and shoving menues in our faces. I would try to read one, but as soon as I got my eyes on it another one was shoved on top of it and then another, and another, and another, until I had 10 menues and 20 hands in my face and no clue what to order. I decided on Shwarma, a beef wrap sandwhich that we got all the time in Israel. Random for Africa, but it sounded like a nice change and I was too stressed to look at the menues any longer. Not a bad choice! I must say that I like food courts in America much more than Uganda. So much less pressure.
After lunch, we drove to Entebbe to see the zoo and Lake Victoria. That was the first time I've driven out to Entebbe since we first arrived at the airport, and it will probably be the last until we go home. I don't want to think about that last drive just yet. Time is flying by too fast. The zoo was so much fun! How can you go to the zoo and not have fun?! We got to feed monkeys (there were at least 20 running around the parking lot and stealing food out of our pockets and hands), ride camels, see zebras, giraffes, chimps, crocadiles, and rhinos, and even watch the lions play. That was Godfrey's first time going to the zoo and he's 23 years old. I never realized how spoiled I was to have gone to the zoo every summer as a child.
We stopped back in Kampala on our way home for some ice-cream and burgers (I do love ice-cream!) and then made it safely back home.
We went to church in Jinja again this Sunday. The branch here is so awesome. I'm going to miss the simpleness of church here and the love and unity that the small branch has. There has been a baptism almost every Sunday since we've gotten here. The church is growing so quickly! I wonder how long it will be until the church expands to Lugazi? I can't wait to see that day.
Well, I can't believe I'm on the downward slope. We've passed our half-way point and have less than a month left. It kind of makes me nervous. I'm scared to come home. Will I be able to be the person that I want to be and to apply all the things to my life that I've learned the past two months? Will I be able to finish up my projects in time and see a sustainable change in people's lives and accomplish all my goals? Time feels like it's slipping through my fingers faster than I can catch it. I hope I can make the most of every minute here. Life in Lugazi is great! Love you all tons!
Friday, June 18, 2010
THE BAD PLACE...
Last weekend we went rafting down the Nile! I can't even begin to express how fun/terrifying it was. If you know anything about rafting, they rate each rapid on a number scale according to it's intensity. Class 5 is pretty much the highest class possible to raft and make it out alive--that's what we were rafting. Our team was split up onto two rafts. One of our guides was from New Zealand (what ever jungle fever we were starting to get was definitely washed clean in the river when we met him ;) and the other guide, the one on my raft, was a Canadian who was in the process of adopting a Ugandan orphan and had to stay in the country for three years in order to get custody of the child in Canada. He was a really cool guy and had been a guide for 10 years in Canada which was comforting. The first 4 hours of the trip I was having the time of my life! We were joking and playing and getting a thrill out of each of the rapids and waterfalls we crashed through. Swam in the Nile, accidentally drank some of the Nile, peed in the Nile, ate Pineapple in the Nile... But then we hit "The Bad Place."
The last rapid was literally named "The Bad Place." How terrifying is that! My raft renamed it "The Fluffy Bunny" to alleviate some of our fears, but it didn't help much, and in hind site, "The Bad Place" is the only name that fits. "Hold on guys, we're approaching the bad place, and just so you know, I've never made it through this rapid without flipping the raft." Well that's just peachy. Our guide pretty much told us flat out that we were going to get wet and rocked by the rapid. No lie, we did. No more than three seconds into the rapid we had flipped over and gotten sucked into the waves. Paddles and limbs were flailing everywhere. I felt like a rag doll spinning in a washing machine. Thank goodness I didn't get sucked into a whirlpool like some of the others. They were under for so long that one of them contemplated breathing water. I think I would have gone into shock and died. Fortunately, I got tumbled around for a while, popped up and took a huge gasp of 1/2 air 1/2 Nile water right as another wave crushed me back under again. This happened for a few minutes until finally I had floated out of the rapids and back to the raft. Whew! I survived the bad place with nothing other than a small scar of fear.
We ended on a slightly scarring note, but it really was sooo fun! Despite the layers and layers of sunscreen we caked on, we all got varying degrees of sunburns on our lips and thighs. Luckily mine wasn't too bad, but it's still crumby. Some people got fever blisters though, and they look terrible. Man, this equator sun is intense!
After rafting, we stayed overnight in Jinja, watched two of our team members bungee jump into the Nile, ate delicious American burgers and chocolate cake, cheered on the USA in the world cup, and hit the sack. It was a stellar weekend. Wish you all could have been there!
PS: Just want to let you all know that as I was near to death in "The Bad Place" I was thinking about all of you and how much I love you all!
The last rapid was literally named "The Bad Place." How terrifying is that! My raft renamed it "The Fluffy Bunny" to alleviate some of our fears, but it didn't help much, and in hind site, "The Bad Place" is the only name that fits. "Hold on guys, we're approaching the bad place, and just so you know, I've never made it through this rapid without flipping the raft." Well that's just peachy. Our guide pretty much told us flat out that we were going to get wet and rocked by the rapid. No lie, we did. No more than three seconds into the rapid we had flipped over and gotten sucked into the waves. Paddles and limbs were flailing everywhere. I felt like a rag doll spinning in a washing machine. Thank goodness I didn't get sucked into a whirlpool like some of the others. They were under for so long that one of them contemplated breathing water. I think I would have gone into shock and died. Fortunately, I got tumbled around for a while, popped up and took a huge gasp of 1/2 air 1/2 Nile water right as another wave crushed me back under again. This happened for a few minutes until finally I had floated out of the rapids and back to the raft. Whew! I survived the bad place with nothing other than a small scar of fear.
We ended on a slightly scarring note, but it really was sooo fun! Despite the layers and layers of sunscreen we caked on, we all got varying degrees of sunburns on our lips and thighs. Luckily mine wasn't too bad, but it's still crumby. Some people got fever blisters though, and they look terrible. Man, this equator sun is intense!
After rafting, we stayed overnight in Jinja, watched two of our team members bungee jump into the Nile, ate delicious American burgers and chocolate cake, cheered on the USA in the world cup, and hit the sack. It was a stellar weekend. Wish you all could have been there!
PS: Just want to let you all know that as I was near to death in "The Bad Place" I was thinking about all of you and how much I love you all!
Monday, June 14, 2010
SILVER FISH... Danger! Avoid eating at all costs...
Last week was a pretty typical work week... other than shadowing the surgery I guess. Alex and I worked with Grace a couple times at the Physical Therapy clinic. Grace has really let us take the reigns and have full control in treating some of her patients. It's so fun! I am really enjoying it, and the more I get to know Grace, the more I love her. She is such a fun woman.
Monday was a really heart wrenching day. We spent the morning working with Grace, and we saw the saddest case. Robina, a little 5 year old girl, came in with terrible burns on her hands. She was a victim of child abuse. She was staying with her aunt and ate some food that wasn't given to her, so her aunt put her hands in a pot of boiling water. It made me sick just thinking about it. I never would have put burns and physical therapy together, but now it totally makes sense. When a burn is severe enough, it damages the nerves and the new skin also tends to be so tight. So physical therapy is needed to re-stimulate the nerves and stretch out that new skin. Despite all the trauma she'd just been through, she was the cutest, happiest little girl ever. After working on Robina, Alex and I observed the C-section of a still born baby. I cannot imagine being in the position of that woman, 19 years old and all alone at the hospital going through traumatic surgery and having a still born baby. She was so strong though, and was holding up surprisingly well through all of it. These people never cease to amaze me. After finishing at the hospital, I went around with Francis, the town council leader for PWD-persons with disabilities, to visit the homes of some disabled individuals. We met the cutest little boy named Bryan who can't walk or talk, but he is very sharp mentally. He stays with his grandma and his grandpa who is blind. Amazing people! I can't wait to get the Ability Soap project up and running to help these people who are so deserving and in need to generate a little extra income. We are also working on starting a choir for the disabled children and the children of disabled parents.
On Wednesday and Thursday Alex and I taught our first lesson to the nurses and women of Uganda. We taught them how to properly care for your back and did exercises with them to strengthen their core muscles. I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect... how many people would show up? Would they be interested in what we were teaching them? Luckily, it was a huge success! We had a huge turn out, at least 25 nurses on Thursday, and they were very accepting of the things we were teaching them. They asked lots of questions, took notes, and participated in the exercises. I can't wait to teach them again this week!
Friday:
A few of us went out to Kayunga again this week for our Physical Therapy outreach with Emmanuel. We saw so many patients, and many of them were returning patients from the last time we were out there. They actually did their exercises and had improved a lot! It was so exciting to see the healing effects of Physical Therapy in action and to see how it was benefiting the lives of these people. Work was awesome! Lunch was... DISGUSTING!
They were so kind to feed us lunch, but I would have rather starved to death... or eaten a huge bowl of matoke. They fed us rice with geenut sauce with SILVER FISH. Never eat silver fish! They were little fishes about an inch or two long and they stuck the whole fish in the rice. The stuff smelled like cat food. I had to plug my nose so I didn't vomit. Thank goodness for Novida Pineapple, the best soda ever, it's the only thing that got me through that meal. I'll admit, I didn't actually eat a fish, I scooted the sauce and fish to the side as best as possible and tried only to eat the rice, but the flavor spread onto the rice and it was still almost deadly. We were all gagging it down. I'm so glad we weren't eating with the cooks and it wasn't one of those situations where you are forced to eat all your food. I wouldn't have made it. I've eaten some pretty weird stuff in my life... chicken hearts, snails, fish eyes, grasshoppers... silver fish definitely wins for being the worst!
We went rafting on the Nile on Saturday! Just wanted to let you all know that I am alive and survived the experience. There were a few minutes that I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. I love you all and will write more about rafting when I get a chance!
Welaba Mzungus!
Monday was a really heart wrenching day. We spent the morning working with Grace, and we saw the saddest case. Robina, a little 5 year old girl, came in with terrible burns on her hands. She was a victim of child abuse. She was staying with her aunt and ate some food that wasn't given to her, so her aunt put her hands in a pot of boiling water. It made me sick just thinking about it. I never would have put burns and physical therapy together, but now it totally makes sense. When a burn is severe enough, it damages the nerves and the new skin also tends to be so tight. So physical therapy is needed to re-stimulate the nerves and stretch out that new skin. Despite all the trauma she'd just been through, she was the cutest, happiest little girl ever. After working on Robina, Alex and I observed the C-section of a still born baby. I cannot imagine being in the position of that woman, 19 years old and all alone at the hospital going through traumatic surgery and having a still born baby. She was so strong though, and was holding up surprisingly well through all of it. These people never cease to amaze me. After finishing at the hospital, I went around with Francis, the town council leader for PWD-persons with disabilities, to visit the homes of some disabled individuals. We met the cutest little boy named Bryan who can't walk or talk, but he is very sharp mentally. He stays with his grandma and his grandpa who is blind. Amazing people! I can't wait to get the Ability Soap project up and running to help these people who are so deserving and in need to generate a little extra income. We are also working on starting a choir for the disabled children and the children of disabled parents.
On Wednesday and Thursday Alex and I taught our first lesson to the nurses and women of Uganda. We taught them how to properly care for your back and did exercises with them to strengthen their core muscles. I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect... how many people would show up? Would they be interested in what we were teaching them? Luckily, it was a huge success! We had a huge turn out, at least 25 nurses on Thursday, and they were very accepting of the things we were teaching them. They asked lots of questions, took notes, and participated in the exercises. I can't wait to teach them again this week!
Friday:
A few of us went out to Kayunga again this week for our Physical Therapy outreach with Emmanuel. We saw so many patients, and many of them were returning patients from the last time we were out there. They actually did their exercises and had improved a lot! It was so exciting to see the healing effects of Physical Therapy in action and to see how it was benefiting the lives of these people. Work was awesome! Lunch was... DISGUSTING!
They were so kind to feed us lunch, but I would have rather starved to death... or eaten a huge bowl of matoke. They fed us rice with geenut sauce with SILVER FISH. Never eat silver fish! They were little fishes about an inch or two long and they stuck the whole fish in the rice. The stuff smelled like cat food. I had to plug my nose so I didn't vomit. Thank goodness for Novida Pineapple, the best soda ever, it's the only thing that got me through that meal. I'll admit, I didn't actually eat a fish, I scooted the sauce and fish to the side as best as possible and tried only to eat the rice, but the flavor spread onto the rice and it was still almost deadly. We were all gagging it down. I'm so glad we weren't eating with the cooks and it wasn't one of those situations where you are forced to eat all your food. I wouldn't have made it. I've eaten some pretty weird stuff in my life... chicken hearts, snails, fish eyes, grasshoppers... silver fish definitely wins for being the worst!
We went rafting on the Nile on Saturday! Just wanted to let you all know that I am alive and survived the experience. There were a few minutes that I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. I love you all and will write more about rafting when I get a chance!
Welaba Mzungus!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
You'll Never Believe What I Did!!!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Alex and I scrubbed up at the hospital and watched a C-section! They let us stand right there and watch it all. I was a little nervous at times that I might pass out, but I held in there just fine. Unfortunately, it was a still born baby and that is why they did a C-section. It was emotionally draining to be a part of such a tragic event, but fascinating to see how incredible our bodies are inside and out. I have a sincere love and appreciation for our bodies after taking anatomy and this experience testified to me even stronger that our Heavenly Father created our bodies with a divine plan in mind.
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