Saturday, January 28, 2012

oh... Hello. I wasn't expecting all of this... AMAZING-NESS!

FRIDAY
Breakfast was held on the top of hotel. A huge stork landed on the other side of the hotel and greeted us the only way he knew how, by flappin around. We hopped in another car and drove to the village of Kikholo in the Baduda District. I was surprised at how quickly we got to Jinja, I may have been sleeping most of the ride there. We stopped there and had lunch in this beautiful outdoor restaurant. The food was delicious. I will now be documenting all meals on this trip. 
AAH is in Bumwalakani, which is a parish of the Baduda district. Its goes district, parish then village. 6 hours in a sweaty hot van. We knew we had arrived in the village because the road told us so. The bumpiest roller coaster of a car ride I have had so far. The villagers laughed at how many bags came out of the trunk, it was quite a sight. Crashed on the bed when we got into the house… after a shower of course, a nice cold bucket bath!



SATURDAY
Got to see the school. Started setting up. Patrick and Viola invited us into their home after setting up for our presentation on Monday. Viola had a fresh batch of fruit for us to snack on. It is traditional that they prepare food for guests and it is polite to eat ALL of the food! Their little boy came in from playing in the river for tea and gave Lacey a big hug but was very shy around us. We thanked her for her hospitality and made our way back to the house for the second lunch of the day. Thomas, the Headmaster, came over for lunch at the guest house. I was so exhausted from the long flight I felt my eyes shutting at the table. Headmaster told us about the teachers and the school and how excited everyone was for this workshop. After lunch we ALL crashed into our beds for some much needed horizontal sleep.



SUNDAY
We hiked Mount Nusu and got our butts kicked. I went to the market with Cait and Jennifer to get sugar cane for the girls who had not tried it. We all sat out on the porch and munched on sugar cane as the sun set over the mountains. The air was cooler by the time we finished our plate of sugar cane. Played scrabble with Melideo and Cait, Melideo won.



TEACHER SEMINAR
DAY ONE
We woke up at 645. We had planned to leave at 7 to be at the school by 715 but that did not happen. We left the house at 715 and got to the school at 730. Breakfast consisted of peanut butter, banana, and honey from bees (a special Ugandan honey) it was delicious. The walk to school was so breath taking. There is just green everywhere. The village is thriving but silent in the early morning. You can hear the cows and goats calling out to their masters because their bellies are hungry, but the people remained in their homes. It was interesting to see the difference between the village midday and early morning, you’d think that no one lived there in the mornings. I later found out that there is no one in the streets because everyone for the most part is tending to their crops on their plot of land. Once you have passed the market area the vista changes dramatically. Five minutes into the walk, after passing home after home the right side of the road where there should be houses just drops off. It opens up to this enormous (think football field x 3) luscious green oasis. Getting to school every morning was a pleasure. 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Saturday: On To the Village

Melideo, Kiki, Sophia, Lacey, and myself piled into the car early Saturday morning. Our bags where stacked in the back so high that you could not see out the back window. Emma, our driver looks energized and ready for this long trip. I on the other hand look forward to it with a mixture of exhaustion and excitement. It will take us 6 hours to reach the village. Kiki, Sophia and I stayed up all last night in our fort so we will be able to sleep through this ride. I can only hope that plan will not back fire. I fear that I will be captivated by all the new sights that I will not be able to sleep. Just this morning we saw a crested crane. It looked like a pterodactyl! It was terrifying. I will not be surprised if I have nightmares about that bird!

Friday


WE ARE HERE!! So after the slight turbulence and frightening experience of take off and landing we have reached our destination. I am in good health other than the frantic butterflies in my stomach. This is my first time being out of the county and words can not express what I am feeling right now. Currently I am in the Fairway Hotel located in Kampala. It is a beautiful hotel, although the pictures online are slightly misleading. Its not that hot here. The weather is quite mild with a calm breeze. Sophia, Kiki, and myself have combined our three twin sized mattresses and mosquito nets into a fortress. It is soooo cool in here. Tomorrow begins our journey to the village. I hope they like me there.

Day 1: The Dreaded Plane

So first let me explain that I hate planes. I believe if humans were meant to fly they would have wings. The joy that lays ahead is all that keeps me going. if i survive the flight my next post will be in Uganda

Monday, January 23, 2012

TUESDAY
Waiting… the clock ticks and I watch the hand hit 6. I am off work and its time to head home to meet my parents for our last dinner. They made majadito (unripened plantains mashed with onions and tomatoes and chicharones) and were excited to see me home. Chris came over and had dinner with us and even had a second helping at dinner which is very rare. I deeply enjoyed being surrounded by my family and my best friend. I will miss them greatly when I am away.
WEDNESDAY
Got on the plane. Flew for 21 hours.
THURSDAY
Arrived in Kampala. Got in a van and drove for 1 hour to our hotel. Fairway hotel does not look like its pictures. The hot water ran red from the rust so we did some cold showers for the night. Kiki asked me to wash my hair after I successfully washed mine in the sink with her shampoo. The baby wipe bath was refreshing and got the job done. I washed her hair and laughed uncontrollably when the cold water came on and she let out an ear piercing shriek. Delaura popped into the closet sized bathroom and snapped some pictures of Kiki’s spa treatment. I used my ninja skills to save Kiki’s life mid-wash and smashed a hungry mosquito with my shampoo covered hand. We then proceeded to get ready for bed. We pushed the beds together and made a super fort with the mosquitoes nets elaborately held together with hair ties and bobby pins to cover three beds. Slept for an hour.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

We depart today.

Our flight is scheduled to depart ~5:30pm EST, January 11, 2012.
We are scheduled to switch planes in Brussels, hop to Kigali, Rwanda then finally arrive at the Entebbe Airport on January 12th at 11pm Uganda time.

We will spend our first night at the Fairway Hotel in Kampala and then depart for the village destination of Bumwalakani on Friday morning.

Kiki, Sophia, and DeLaura, my "temporary daughters", have worked very hard and already put in so many hours preparing materials for our workshop sessions.

Wish us luck!
Dr. Melideo

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Thursday Meeting!

We were introduced to the principal of Arlington Traditional School and Cynthia Margeson who were accompanied by Dr. Alice Young. We sat around the table and they exchanged lively stories amongst themselves and we the "girls" listened carefully. After the meeting our bellies were full and our minds stuffed with information about the do's and don'ts of Ugandan travel!

Just the three of us... we chatted about whether or not to call Dr. Melideo by her first name? Will we be sitting next to each other? Who has an extra neck pillow? What is the best shoe to wear on the trip? What are you going to be wearing?....... uh 18hours.... no big deal.