Buvuma Island

I am finally off! I have had a ton of meetings this week with local non-government agencies to discuss various projects. I mentioned before working with a man named Richardson who is over ADUA and we were finally approved as a group for this project. My group consists of me, Kellie, Camille, Alissa, Mike, and Abby and then we will meet up with the organization ADUA and head to the island!

In order to do country development work you basically have to work with a NGO to see what kind of help they need. It took about a weeks worth of meetings with Richardson to decide we could help him, and also to convince the rest of our group that this would be a sustainable and worthwhile project. I assumed that once I got to Africa I would just been thrown into projects, but its been through a lot of research and time that I am finally able to get to work!

We leave tomorrow and will travel about 2 hours by taxi (SUPER crazy and entertaining) and then we are taking an hour ferry ride to the island. I am really excited to see the island and mostly to build relationships with the people I will be educating. We are doing workshops each day to different villages around the island on HIV, milaria, hand washing, jiggers, and other various health-related topics. I am not quite sure what our living situation will be, but the last group that did something similar lived in grass huts. It all sounds like the African dream until they told me they shared the grass hut with RATS!!!!!!!!!!!!! AH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rats are my absolute nightmare! When someone asks: What are you most scared of? I would reply: Cheerios, and sleeping in a room, being in a room, being in close proximity with RATS. Yep people, I am living with the rats soon. Pray for my poor little body and mind.

One thing that has amazed me is how easily humans adapt. I have seen myself and others adapt quickly to the weather (kind of), the food, the people, the culture. Is adaption also possible with Rats? I'm not worried about it . . .

I have a lot of stories from this last week and not enough time to write them, but here are my highlights:

-Taking a boda boda (motorcycle) to Noah Ark orphanage in Mukono. This little 6 year old, Andrew, stuck to me the whole time and kept running to the kitchen to fetch me water and glucose biscuits.

-Visiting a remote village with a local. We took a hike through the jungle for a couple of hours and saw monkeys. We also saw a lady deep in the jungle making moon shine. HA! I got to take pictures of people and meet everyone in the village. First time eating jack fruit and some others that were named weird cool things.

- Eating two fresh pineapples in one day and dipping the pieces in Nutella. Heaven in africa!

-Making an african mix with a local at a music shop. I had him download all of the Lugandan local hits. TOTALLY hip and TOTALLY legal.

-Surviving in a house with 21 people, no space, one shower, no fridge, and lots o' love.

-I ate fries for dinner last night. Yep, just a plate of fries and rice that the cooks made.

-My neighbor kids and I played hopscotch (sp?) and they always run up to greet me.

-I walk outside my house everyday and greet my neighbors bull who is free roaming. It's all good.

-Lugazi is BEAUTIFUL!!!! It's so green and the weather for the most part is like 80 degrees. The people are so friendly and the kids always sing: Bye mzungu, and run up for bungus. I feel at home.

-Dinner at night usually consists of: potatoes, rice, beef, noodle thingys, sometimes mutoke (cooked banana) and sometimes pineapple. I cooked a vegetable soup from fresh market veggies and it was delicious! It was nice to have some veggies. Our cooks Eve and Rosette spend hours cooking for us and they really crack me up when they make fun of our mzungo ways.

-Going to the market to visit Beatrice who I have picked to buy fruit from. She is a single mom and supports 8 children.

-Going to church with Pastor Francis. I loved everyone singing to the beat of the drum and dancing around. The elderly lady laid down on her belly at one point and was there long enough for me to be concerned that she was possibly not breathing anymore. She was just singing praises to Jesus lying down.

-Visiting a school nearby to teach and having the 4-6 year old sing me songs about Jesus. Uganda has such a god-fearing people and it reminds me to include more in everything I do.

Alright, I better get going. Thanks for all of your support and prayers- I have felt so protected here and I know it is through you guys.

webale! (thank you)

Andrea