Even Ugandans think I look like Hilary Duff

I wanted to highlight a couple of recent events that I missed yesterday, so here goes:

So I briefly mentioned the crazy roads and such that took me to the doctor's yesterday. But I just had to share because every time we drive in to Kampala, it's like another world. First of all, Annie (the intern) hired a private driver to take us to the doctor's. The main route was stopped up because there was a bad matatu accident. He decided to take the back way which was of course- dirt roads, filled with potholes and would barely suffice as a driveway in the States. Vehicles pass each other with about an inch of clearance (if that) between their side mirrors. It's quite scary! At one point, we had to pull off to the side of the road for 15 minutes or so while a man with a long, pointed stick (the size of a 2x4) held up the overhead power lines for a line of tractor trailers to pass under. I couldn't help but think I would love for Kenny to have seen that!

On the way back, we were in rush hour traffic which is always amusing because people walk down the lines of cars selling bags of cut up sugar cane, steering wheel covers, airtime for mobile phones, and even hand towels!

Red dirt-stained feet and infected mosquito bites. Or as I like to call it, life in Uganda.

Tomorrow are Student Guild (a.k.a Student Government) elections. You would NOT believe what a big deal they are here. Students get so into it. There are huge, super official campaign posters all over campus. The supporters of the candidates volunteer in the dining hall to serve food and spread the word. During meals, they turn the lights off to show a PowerPoint presentation on the background, campaign goals, etc of the candidates and parade through the place making all kinds of noise- whistling, blow horns, screaming- you name it.

People here are riled up about politics in general. Uganda's Presidential elections are in 2011 and people are acting like they're tomorrow. It's really got me thinking, because most people in the U.S. are so apathetic regarding the politics of our nation. It dawned on me that we don't need to care about politics, because no matter who's elected we know we'll remain in our boring, secure, comfortable lives. Here- who gets elected determines whether your family will have food to put on the table. So of course people are passionate!

Thirdly, I was sitting in worship today when I happened to glance down at the notebook of the girl sitting next to me. She had written a note to her friend on her other side that said, "Do you see my neighbor? She looks like HILARY DUFF!" I get it in Uganda too! Needless to say, it made my day. To top off a pretty spectacular day- my throat is 100% better and after being sick, and not running for an entire week- I ran 4 miles today! Yay!!! I could've kept running too, but it was dark and I was on the track by myself which made me nervous. So yeah, good day.

Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did :)

Back in Commission

Sorry guys! I've had strep the last few days and I've been MIA. But I'm back and feeling much better!

So this one is gonna be short and sweet. Sorry, I haven't really been feeling the whole blog thing lately. But anyway...

Thursday night there was a good-bye party for a girl named Debbie who's Honors College alumni, but still hangs out with everyone in Honors College because she works as a babysitter for some of the staff here. She married a USP student last year (I believe) and is now moving to Chicago to live with him. I didn't know her super well, but it was a bittersweet good-bye because she's really awesome.

Friday, after waiting forever for our transportation to pick us up, 30 or so of us made our way to a rafting place in Jinja. We got there late, ate a complimentary supper since our ride was so late and eventually drifted to bed.

Since I hadn't slept the last few nights I decided to take advantage of the fact that I had nothing to do that day, everyone was leaving to raft and I was in the most comfortable bed ever. I finally woke up when the two other girls, Lillie and Esther asked if I wanted to join them for lunch in Jinja town. I got up around 11:00 am and got ready and we headed out. We had a few ideas of where we might want to eat, but we decided to just wander until we found something that looked interesting. It was a couple miles walk but we ended up settling on a restaurant that served Indian food and pizza. Odd.

I ordered chicken nuggets that I probably should've expected wouldn't be what I thought of as chicken nuggets. They weren't awful, but I guess I should leave my chicken nugget-tasting for Amsterdam and quit trying to cheat.

We began walking back to the place we were staying where a truck would take us to a campground to meet up with the rest of the group and have a BBQ. On the walk back we saw a sign pointing down a side road to a War Cemetery of some kind. We weren't sure which war, but decided to check it out anyway. It ended up being a WWII cemetery and everyone buried there had served in the King's African Rifles and died fighting for the British. It really was a World War...

We made it back afterward, all the while shrugging off sleazy comments and requests for money. We boarded the coaster bus to go to the campground and were joined by a girl from the UK who was also staying there. She had worked in Malawi for a couple months as a law intern, and was now just traveling all around Africa until the beginning of April. It was so interesting to talk to her, especially just hearing about the condition of the legal system in Malawi.

When we got there- the place was GORGEOUS. Most spectacular view of the Nile ever. I just had to stop and soak it all in because it was so surreal. It was one of those "Wow, I'm really in Africa" moments. After we walked around scoping out the place. We saw people swimming in the river and decided, even if we didn't have bathing suits with us, there was no way we were passing up the chance to swim in the Nile. We chilled out there for awhile and it was so perfect. About 5 minutes after we dried off and got out the rest of the group arrived and we chowed down, then headed back to our lodging.

I passed out almost immediately after getting back from exhaustion, plus my throat had been killing me all day. When I woke up the next morning, throat still killing me, we all ate breakfast and boarded an open truck that took us to Adrift, which was the bungee jumping place. We hurriedly paid and signed up, then made our way to the tower. I was the third to jump and was pretty excited because I wanted to be one of the first to go since I've been waiting to bungee jump for forever. Plus, I wanted to be able to chill and watch everyone else go. Actually not as intense as I thought it would be, but looking down before the jump with my toes over the edge was a little intimidating. The guy who'd strapped me in told me I probably wouldn't be able to touch the water because I was too light, then proceeded to count "3...2...1...BUNGEE!" I'm pretty sure I jumped by 1. Such a rush, but way too short-lived.

Once everyone had jumped we got back on the truck, headed back to where we were staying, ate lunch, then boarded the bus back to school. When we got back to school, I showered and passed out, still feeling like crap.

I woke up Monday, knew I had strep throat and went to the doctor's yesterday, just so he could confirm what I already knew and told me to keep taking the antibiotics I've been taking for Malaria. It was the biggest waste of time and money, but the USP intern, Annie, took me out for an early supper afterward and I got a banana milkshake out of the deal! They're my favorite things EVER! So the day wasn't a total waste. It was quite an experience though, and was one of the best examples of how badly the Ugandan infrastructure needs to be improved. If you desire some elaboration, feel free to ask. As for now, I'm wiped out.

Only 49 days left in Uganda! Love to everyone.

Less than 2 months left!

It occurred to me today that 1) I haven't written about my service project at all, and 2)I haven't written in general...for awhile!

Well, my service project is on campus. I could choose between working in the Day Care or the Children's Library...and clearly I picked the library. It's so awesome. It's one of the only Children's Libraries in Uganda and it's so nostalgic being there. There's Roald Dahl books, Magic Attic Club, Dear America, Zoobooks; anything you read as a kid that you totally miss is there. I spend most of the time covering books that people have donated, but Katy S and I have a Sunday School Reading Club where kids are supposed to read a book a week, and then on Sundays they turn in 'assignments' on their books and whoever reads the most, wins! Reading in Uganda is pretty uncommon, so it's good that we can encourage kids to read for pleasure!

Anyway, this week has been rough as far as papers and such. But I've done 3/4, and our class got an extension for my last one until Tuesday which is a huge relief.

This weekend I'll be gone until sometime Sunday evening. We're going back to Jinja to do a white-water rafting/bungee jumping trip. I don't really have the money, or a huge desire to do the rafting, so I'm just gonna use Saturday to relax while everyone else is going down the Nile. Then bungee jumping is on Sunday which I'm super excited about because it's the one thing I REALLY wanted to do here. I know I'm going to be so scared once I get up on that platform, but for now- I'm psyched out of my mind!

I guess that about sums everything up. Wish I had more to share, but I'll tell you all about my adventures on the Nile once I get back!

Another Blog-Worthy Day :)

Yesterday was a pretty fantastic day, so I thought I'd share with everyone.

I woke up, went to Ugandan Politics then to Faith & Action. When class got out at 1:00 pm, I rushed to the Dining Hall to scarf down my rice and beans and then at 1:30 pm everyone that's in my African Religions class got on board a coaster bus and went to visit a mosque just outside Kampala. We didn't actually get to go into the mosque, but instead spent about an hour in a nearby classroom talking to a practicing Muslim. He was incredibly knowledgeable and handled a lot of tough and personal questions really well. After talking to him, it kind of upset me that a few radical Islamic extremists are terrorizing citizens and giving Islam an altogether awful reputation, when in actuality, it may possibly be the most peaceful religion ever.

Since we were already in Kampala, Katie, Bea and I asked our professor if it would be okay to be dropped off at the taxi park. He agreed, and we took a matatu to Garden City where we went to NY Kitchen and got some chicken breast sandwiches and milkshakes. We had heard that there was a craft market near Garden City that was only there every other Friday and wanted to go, but had no idea how to get there. Fortunately, three other USP girls ran into us at the NY Kitchen and had just come from there and gave us directions.

Before we headed to the market, I stopped into a salon in the mall to look at prices for dying my hair. It was only about $20 and they had an actual color selection, as opposed to the box dyes in the stores I looked at. If I got it dyed there and had Katie cut it, I could spend like $100 less than I would at home. I'm trying to hold out until I get home to see how long I can grow it, but I'm not sure I can last at this point.

We made it to the market and spent an hour or so there. After we were finished looking, souvenirs in hand, we made our way back to the main road to catch a matatu back to Mukono. About 5 minutes before we got to town, we broke down and after some squabbling with the conductor who was going to charge us full price, we settled it, and they put us on a new taxi.

We got to Mukono, grabbed some sodas on the way back to campus and the instant we got back, I hopped online. Highlight of my day: talking to my Kimberly for hours. It was the first time we've actually got to talk since I've been here and it was long overdue.

Now I can look forward to working my butt off trying to write all the papers I have due this week. Anyone know anything about Islamic dietary laws? Eh...it was a worth a shot.

Wish me luck!

DAY 7 | My Weekend in a Nutshell

I woke up at 8 am Friday morning because I was the first one to be picked up from homestays at 9 am. I took breakfast with my Papa, he gave me a “thank you” letter he had written for me, and he and my Toto shared the Ugandan name they’d given me- Ainapakin. They told me it meant “peace/comfort” because I had given them so much comfort during my stay. Sweetest thing EVER…and I was so excited I had a Ugandan name!

My Toto gave me the gift she had for me- roasted g nuts and oranges. Almost immediately following breakfast, we heard the Range Rover pull up to take me away. It was a very sad good-bye. I gave my Toto a hug and was on my way. Once I had been picked up, we drove to Dave’s compound to pick him up and I had to say a second good-bye to his family, who I’d grown close to as well. It was a tough morning! The two of us were driven back to Margaret’s, where we boarded the coaster bus and were driven to the spot where we’d meet up with the rest of the students.

It was a lot of waiting around, and Katie was in the last group to be picked up, so when she got out of the van I’d been waiting forever and was so excited to see her. Once we were all present and accounted for me, we boarded the coaster and made our way to Sipi Falls. It was about a 3ish hour drive and when we got there we were given our rooming assignments, time to get settled in, and then instructions on where to meet for tea and debriefing.

We had a huge group discussion about our time with our families, and talked for the majority of the time about gender roles and how they differed in the two cultures. It was hilarious- there were about 5 guys in a group of 38 and they were pretty much entirely terrified to speak up about their take on gender roles. That night we had dinner, and headed to bed soon after.

The next morning I awoke and went to breakfast where I learned Katie had been sick all night. I was planning on doing the all-day hike, but I didn’t want her being by herself all day so I ended up hiking to the first big waterfall and then coming back to check up on her. When I got back I hung out with her for awhile, ate lunch, and ordered lunch for her. When everyone else had gotten back from their hikes, I took off with a small group to go on a tour of a small, local coffee plantation. I don’t even like coffee, but I definitely enjoyed the tour and even drank half a cup (it wasn’t half bad). Unfortunately, the caffeine kept me up ALL night and I slept in way late, missing the worship service and arriving to breakfast when everything had been picked through. We packed up the bus and vans and headed back to campus which was about another 4 hour drive.

The instant I got off the bus, I grabbed my bags, ran to my room and got my butt in the shower. It was by far the most amazing shower I’ve ever taken. Period.

That concludes my week! Hope you enjoyed it!!! And props to you if you actually read everything.