Got home!
I knew I was reentering the Western world when I heard a little boy on the plane from Dublin yell "Good, we all have our own TV screens! At least we don't have to share them!"
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Closing Time...
Being in England has been fun, Alice lives in an amazing, old, little town on the coast. On sunday I got to have a great conversation with her mom's house church about Uganda, the girls in Kitgum, the state of the world etc. etc.. They were fabulous and extremely thought provoking.
Last night I tried to cook African food, which I was pretty good at in Africa. Needless to say, I failed. They claimed to like it, but probably only because they didn't have the real thing to compare it to. Anyhow, I'm glad that they pretended!
I'm getting a lot of encouragement about the scholarship fund, people seem to think it will work well and that it's what people would be interested in participating in because they would be able to follow the girl closely and see the end result. I'm really excited to get home and focus on the ins and outs of it so we can get things up and running shortly!
Tomorrow I fly out of London/Heathrow late morning. I'll be at JFK by 6pm local time where I'll meet my parents and my brother (who will be in NYC for Brian's graduation from grad school). We'll then drive back to Pittsburgh on Friday. This trip is quickly drawing to an end!
PS. Yesterday was Dad's birthday - Happy Birthday Dad.
It was a shame that I missed it, but thankfully I'll be home for my dog's birthday on Friday :-)
Last night I tried to cook African food, which I was pretty good at in Africa. Needless to say, I failed. They claimed to like it, but probably only because they didn't have the real thing to compare it to. Anyhow, I'm glad that they pretended!
I'm getting a lot of encouragement about the scholarship fund, people seem to think it will work well and that it's what people would be interested in participating in because they would be able to follow the girl closely and see the end result. I'm really excited to get home and focus on the ins and outs of it so we can get things up and running shortly!
Tomorrow I fly out of London/Heathrow late morning. I'll be at JFK by 6pm local time where I'll meet my parents and my brother (who will be in NYC for Brian's graduation from grad school). We'll then drive back to Pittsburgh on Friday. This trip is quickly drawing to an end!
PS. Yesterday was Dad's birthday - Happy Birthday Dad.
It was a shame that I missed it, but thankfully I'll be home for my dog's birthday on Friday :-)
Sunday, December 13, 2009
England
We arrived in London Friday morning, spent the day in the city and then yesterday morning everyone headed to the airport to go back to the States. I was then picked up by Alice and I'm now in her hometown which is amazing. I'll be here until Thursday.
Some things about the Western world:
Some things about the Western world:
- It's cold.
- There are a lot of white people.
- Things are expensive.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Leaving Uganda
Today is surreal. It's like a normal day, I went out, walked around town etc. BUT in one hour I will be on my way to the Entebbe airport. Our flight leaves at 12:30 am tonight and we arrive in London at 6am their time. (Thank gosh for sleeping pills.) We then spend all that day (Friday) in London and on Saturday afternoon the students fly back to the States. I will be staying in England with my friend Alice for a couple days before returning to the States by myself on the 18th.
Again, I'm not ready to leave Uganda. My heart is here. But I have an almost positive possibility for coming back this summer and also for my Education Fund.
Basically everything with providing scholarships for the girls in Kitgum is going well, I now need to sort out specific logistics and find people willing to support this. I have had a great response and hope to keep working on that!
This will not be the last blog entry. I promise to keep with it at least until I get to the States. There is still a lot that I'm thinking about and reflecting on and I will certainly have time to do that here in the next few days!
Good bye from Uganda!
Again, I'm not ready to leave Uganda. My heart is here. But I have an almost positive possibility for coming back this summer and also for my Education Fund.
Basically everything with providing scholarships for the girls in Kitgum is going well, I now need to sort out specific logistics and find people willing to support this. I have had a great response and hope to keep working on that!
This will not be the last blog entry. I promise to keep with it at least until I get to the States. There is still a lot that I'm thinking about and reflecting on and I will certainly have time to do that here in the next few days!
Good bye from Uganda!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Kitgum and Lost Things
I went back to Kitgum again last weekend. A bunch of people wanted to come so it was great. Also, we were fortunate to leave early enough in the morning to miss the severe punishment of house/kampala arrest that the other half of our group had to deal with for the weekend due to someone breaking some rules.
So we got to Kitgum and had an amazing time. The girls were so excited to see us and I just embraced every minute of it knowing that it would be my last time in Kitgum for a while. We did the normal Kitgum stuff: danced/played drums, hung out with the girls, played with the little kids and did other Kitgum kinds of things.
It amazes me every time I go up there how attracted I am to the area.
We had two former Go-ed students come and talk to us about how after they finished school they moved back to Uganda and started a home for street children. It was motivating to realize that they actually followed their desire to come back.
I know God has me here and I'm just hoping I follow through with that call.
Another interesting thing about my life is that I lost two items that are extremely important to me:
1. My Bible - Which I can obviously replace but this one has all my highlights and quotes written in it from when I was a baby Christian that mean a lot to me. Baby Christian means my 16 year old self.
2. My camera which I spent almost a full paycheck on and am in love with. (Fortunately all my pictures are on my computer) But I spent a ton of time picking it out and obsessing over it because it was a hefty investment.
Gr.
Anyhow it's weird that I only have a day and a half here. I'm not ready to go.
So we got to Kitgum and had an amazing time. The girls were so excited to see us and I just embraced every minute of it knowing that it would be my last time in Kitgum for a while. We did the normal Kitgum stuff: danced/played drums, hung out with the girls, played with the little kids and did other Kitgum kinds of things.
It amazes me every time I go up there how attracted I am to the area.
We had two former Go-ed students come and talk to us about how after they finished school they moved back to Uganda and started a home for street children. It was motivating to realize that they actually followed their desire to come back.
I know God has me here and I'm just hoping I follow through with that call.
Another interesting thing about my life is that I lost two items that are extremely important to me:
1. My Bible - Which I can obviously replace but this one has all my highlights and quotes written in it from when I was a baby Christian that mean a lot to me. Baby Christian means my 16 year old self.
2. My camera which I spent almost a full paycheck on and am in love with. (Fortunately all my pictures are on my computer) But I spent a ton of time picking it out and obsessing over it because it was a hefty investment.
Gr.
Anyhow it's weird that I only have a day and a half here. I'm not ready to go.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Things I've been called
Wow two posts in one night. Crazy. Thought I'd write about some of the names I've been called by people here, specifically boda drivers and street vendors.
Hey/How are you/Hello_________ (fill in the blank)
Hey/How are you/Hello_________ (fill in the blank)
- Mzungu (most common)
- America
- Baby
- Mama
- Wife
- Sista
- Obama
- Obama's wife
- Customa
- Jennifer/Sarah/Kate/other very white names
"Baby girl when my eyes did contact with urs my heart was like hoocked up with joy and geuss what u did set my enortions in love because u're beautiful.My dear am wishing to khow more about u and fall heads over hills love with u.I promise u a bravely, faithfully and cheerfully love as i can.My dear... i khow that words don't matter cause it takes a second to say i love u but a lifetime to show it."
^^^Needless to say, I did not respond to this text, or go back to pick it up without a guy with me.
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