Reminiscence at Midnight

Aghandi [greetings] all!

So I’m sitting in our lounge room [on a quite comfy couch mind you] at midnight, listening to the blaring sounds of the White horse inn [the dwelling place for dinner functions], as they loudly play unrecognizable tunes, to slightly blown speakers, as loud as they possibly can! And I can’t help thinking how much I am going to miss Kabale and all of its quirky joy’s. There’s no noise restrictions here, so I’m sure to hear this quirky joy till around 4am, but being up this late, and being the only one awake, gives me a good time to reminisce over the last 9 weeks I’ve had in Africa; and what an amazing time I’ve had. I feel as if I’ve lived here a lot longer than 2 months, yet, I also feel as if the time has just flown by! The people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve had- they’ve changed me so much.

Today I said goodbye to Audrey. She is leaving to go back to school in Kampala. She was the first Kabalian I met in Africa- she bravely picked me up from the airport all that time ago back in December- quite a feat I must say, as it was her first time venturing out alone, to a place she’d never been, with an unknown taxi driver, to find a strange Muzungu she’d never met! She is such an amazing girl. The best way I can think of describing her is to call her a ‘gentle flower’. Her heart is so kind, and her smile so warm- I’m going to miss her terribly! We’ve had a lot of fun times together! The other day we went out with her man friend Rogers, to a village about 5 km from the end of town, to visit some of her friends. It was great. We ended up walking some of the distance, and Audrey said that I was probably the first white person these people had seen in their village in a LONG time… some go past in car’s, but it is a rare sight to see one walking around! I sure did get a lot of attention, but it was great, as it gave me an opportunity to get lots of good photos! We met Audrey’s friends, and I ended up teaching them all how to play poker! We played with maize corn as our objects of bartering and a lot of fun was had by all! Typical Liv.. corrupting the Africans with card games! I blame it on my mother- she taught me to play with sugar peanuts!

On the way back we came across this old lady- she was the typical African ‘farm girl’. Bare feet, worn hands, hoe in hand and basket on head. She was wearing the most beautiful shawl and head scarf though- I’m so glad I asked for her photo- I’ll post it on face book- she held her hoe so proudly and the character in her face- It was great. I’m finding that every day I see people that have faces to tell a million stories. I wish I had the time and ability to interview them all, just to hear their stories, and capture a glimpse of their lives on film- particularly in the aged here- its like each line on their face represents a chapter of their life- all of which have heartbreak and joy.

One benefit of being a Muzungu here is the ability to make others smile- I think it must have a lot to do with the people of Uganda- but one look in a passerby’s eyes, and a show of my teeth, and I am rewarded with such broad gleaming grins! I love it. Especially when super serious faces stare at me, I love to break them into grinners! It also helps when I call myself a Mukiga [the main tribes people here] as it proves to be a good tool for a laugh or two. Surprisingly I think I’ll miss being stared and pointed at when I come back home- almost makes you feel a little famous! No one will be shouting my name when I return- except perhaps Andrew when he sees his slightly tanned, sleep deprived girlfriend [I’ll be travelling for 30 hours to get home] for the first time in almost 3 months, who resembles what he thinks may be an Albino African, due to the mass of braids in her hair.. but is confused as they are fuzzy and gone ‘poof’ due to altitude drop.. but other than that.. no more feeling famous! sigh! Hehe.

Today I spent my last day with the kids as their ‘madam teacher’. We looked at a verse in the bible about how God answer’s prayers when we trust him, and followed it by the story of Daniel and the Lions den-and they loved it. I’ll never get over how much these kids LOVE God. Even at 4 they put most of us adults to shame, and worship God with such honesty, tenacity, passion and joy. And that description does not even begin to capture the wonder of when they pray! A little 4 year old boy named Dismus [aka ‘The boss’] particularly sticks in my mind- he prays to God with such a belly full of fire and love- his little face screws up so tight and he has so much concentration! These kids have such a real relationship with God- it is not corrupted and it is so honest and pure- nothing distracts them- they are not worried or burdened, and just bring their love to God so freely. No wonder God said the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven are the little children- I think for the first time I truly understand it! Their passion for God is something that has challenged me deeply- and something I will take back with me to Australia. I managed to film it today, so I can’t wait to show it to you all back home! I also had my last class with the [as of Monday] P2 kids! It went well, and now they can speak and read the words cat, mat, fat, vat, rat, bat, sat and hat! As of course they are very important words! But the good thing is they are starting grasp the concept of blending sounds… lets hope it sticks! Its been such a wonderful opportunity for me to teach them- its helped me learn a lot! And hopefully they have as well. Also the above picture is me with the kids… obviously… even though I’ve changed and ‘matured’ a lot this summer- its good to know some things don’t change.. hence my wonderful example of face pulling! Hehe.

Tuesday is my last day with the kids- and I’ll be spoiling them rotten! Well.. sort of! I’m spending Monday baking cakes, biscuits and slices- of which I’ll be bringing down on the Tuesday. The plan is for them to stuff themselves after lunch with the treats, then we’ll go down to the playground and let them run riot for a while, [also a prime opportunity for me to get photo’s of them, and with them, as John and Judith will also be coming]. Then we’ll spend the afternoon watching ‘Curious George’ on a few laptops. I don’t think they’ve watched a lot of movies before, so I think it will be an afternoon for them to remember! These kiddies and the Matrons have had a huge impact on me- I can’t wait to come back in a few years and see how much all the kids have grown and changed!

Tomorrow is my last church service in Kabale- I’ll be saying goodbye to a lot of people. I don’t really like goodbyes, however I am holding on to the fact that it is not goodbye forever- its just temporary- as I have a feeling this will not be the last time I step foot in Kabale!

Well I suppose I better be getting to bed. This will probably be my last blog till I reach Kampala, so cheerio, and see you all soon!

Bye for now, but not for too much longer,
The little Muzungu.

The land of the extraordinary

Hello everyone!

Sorry its been so long since my last blog. I’ve been quite the busy bee! The end of the conference went well. The turnout of 3000 didn’t quite happen, but it was a great turnout none the less, and I think it’s the beginning of something very special to come. Seeing so many different people coming together as one, each learning and growing, and sharing in knowledge and friendship- all I can say is that it was really awesome being a part of it! And as much as it may surprise my friends and family- I ended up being the assistance treasurer! Yes, yes I know, Olivia and math’s don’t really mix… but in this case we did! Because I had this wonderful laptop, I was able to help balance all the incomes and expenditures and help the actual treasurer with reports and account keeping. It was a heck of a lot of work, but it felt good to be so busy and get lots of work done!

The Monday after the conference ended, the Roberts [the family I was staying with] went to Kampala with Pastor Edward, and then flew back to Aus. Then Judith, the Scottish lady that came with us to Queen Elizabeth, came and stayed with me- and what a ball we’ve been having! She’s absolutely hilarious and we just laugh and laugh and laugh. She is even a fellow fan of my favourite tv series- Gilmore Girls- and happens to have seasons 1-4! So we had a little GG session the other night- with Kimani [its Mukiga for fake] chocolate that I’m actually getting used to- and laughs were had by all. What’s great is that no matter how many times I watch that show- I still find something to crack up at! Anyways, Judith is pretty amazing- she’s been through so much here- she’s lost love ones, faced disease and starvation [literally as someone ran off with all their money] yet she has so much strength and is incredibly inspiring! No matter what’s been thrown at her and her husband John [also a wonderful man of God] they remain ever strong in God and his will for them to be here in Uganda. Where most would throw in the towel and give up life here to go back to an easier life, their convictions and faith in God are truly remarkable. They know that no matter what, God wants them here, and they trust him completely with their lives- they live totally by faith and I have been very inspired by their lives. I only hope that when I come to live in Africa one day, that I can have as much courage, strength and faith in God as they have!

I also met this extraordinary lady named Marianne. She’s an 85 year old Canadian and has been a missionary in the Congo for 45 years!!! She was still there for 2 years when the war started, but eventually came here 6 years ago, to be safer. Even at 85 nothing stops her! As I write this, she is preparing to leave to go back to the Congo for a week or so to visit a refugee camp, where she’ll live in a hut, sleep on a thin mat and have only her shawl for warmth! She speaks fluent Swahili and she goes to the camp to visit her friends that she’s known since she came to the Congo all that time ago. I asked her what she does there, and she said “I just be with them. I live with them- I am there to be with my friends”. It sounds simple, but it would mean so much to the people she is seeing- after the trauma they’ve escaped from, having a caring, smiling familiar face around, would certainly bring some comfort. She’s seen so many terrible things, but a theme that I’m discovering here, is that people only use it to make them stronger- in most western countries where we have everything else to rely on, all people have here is God- and their relationships with him are amazing- nothing deters them- it only brings them closer to Him! Just amazing! When she gets back I’ll be going to have some tea with her- I’ve asked that she tell me some of her stories. I’d love to write about them and bring them back to Australia- there are just so many remarkable people here!

Yesterday I met this lady named Heidi- she’s a 22 year old from New York who is here with the Peace Corp for two years. Pastor Edward introduced her to me because she is looking for extra work to do whilst she is here, so she’s going to help at the drop in centre and also with the kids. Pastor Edward asked me to show her the ropes, so she came down with me yesterday and it was great. The kids have taken to her well- and I think it will be good to have someone else doing similar things that I have been doing here, after I leave. That way the kids won’t miss out! God works in pretty awesome ways I’d say- always making sure his kids get looked after!

I also taught my very first ‘proper school lesson’ in Africa yesterday- whilst I’ve taught here before, it’s usually less formal and out in the open, but yesterday we took the P1 kids into their classroom and I taught for an hour on alphabet pronunciation- aka ‘phonics’ for the primary educators reading this [hehe] . It went way better than I thought it would, considering the language barriers, and the kids were even able to demonstrate some of their learning. On Monday I’ll revise the work we did yesterday and move onto blend pronunciation- such as ‘ch’ ‘st’ ‘ck’ all those type of things- then possibly onto some word formation and reading… I hope I’m not being too overzealous, but it’s still worth a try! They are very bright kids and have so much potential, and I have to say, my heart really is in the classroom- [good thing considering my career choice] so it’s been great to get in there and feel like a teacher!

As mentioned Judith and I get on very well, and tend to go a little crazy in each other’s presence… yesterday on one of our crazy whims we started to play jokes on our gardener Junior- he only speaks about 10 words in English, so he must have thought we’d been possessed, but it was hilarious! At one point he was up a huge avocado tree getting some avocados for us, and Judith ran off with his gumboots! He just looked so surprised, as not many Muzungu’s would play tricks like that! Then later that evening he was gathering tree branches from down the road for his firewood, and after he’d dropped some off and gone to get some more, under my watchful eye, Judith ran out and took his branches away and hid them! We then hid behind the curtains, watching and waiting for his return- you should have seen his face! The poor guy, wondering what on earth had happened to his tree branches! When he disappeared out of sight, Judith went and got the tree branches and put them back, but he caught us- luckily he got the joke and had a good laugh. Poor Junior!

Tomorrow I’m going out with Audrey to see some of her friends and then I’ve got to prepare for Sunday. I’ll be preaching at Word of Faith church for a small session on how when God uses someone, he doesn’t care about a person’s age- he looks at the heart of a person. Particularly here, younger people have a lot of limits put on them when it comes to ministry- so I think it’s important to let them know they can make a difference, no matter how old they are. And the same goes for older people as well, and people without qualifications- God will use anyone as long as they are willing and act in his wisdom and guidance. In Job 32:6-8 it says "I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. I thought, 'Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.' But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that gives him understanding, it is not only the old who is wise, not only the aged who understand what is right”. So that is the main theme of the preaching- and I’ll be using how God has sent me to Africa at 15, 16 and now 21 as an example, so I hope it goes well!

So two more weeks left in Kabale- I don’t really like to think about it- I’m going to be so sad when I leave! The friendships I’ve made and the things that I’ve done- I’ll never forget any of this as long as I live that’s for sure! It’ll certainly be weird being back home in Australia- having all that processed food, [but bring on the ice-cream oh how I miss you] humidity and the twang of the Aussie accent… but it will be great to see all my friends and love ones-be prepared for some big hugs! But I know for sure another part of my heart will be left in Kabale- I better be careful- if I travel all over Africa my heart will be everywhere! Anyways, it’s a very special place, and I am sure that one day I will return!

Well I better go, lunch will be ready soon. I’ll write up another blog in a week or so- but I’m going to be very busy. As its my last full week in Kabale next week, I’ll be going to see the kids every day! Ah I love them so much!

Bye for now.
Liv.

Muddy feet, crow presents and safety pins in a veggie patch!

Hey all!

So a bit of an update on my week so far! The conference has gone pretty well! There’s been a nice turnout and I have been very busy!

My day started early yesterday at 7:30am when I left Makanga [where I am living] to head to the conference about 2.5km away. And for Africa, a place you imagine to be quite warm- it was absolutely FREEZING! There was so much fog, and my hands and feet were so numb, I felt like it was the middle of winter in Melbourne! Because we are in the highlands, the temperature can get quite cold. Not that I’m complaining- I rather like wearing jeans and jumpers and drinking hot tea!

I spent the majority of yesterday trying to organize things for registration. I was assigned to help out with a Pastor from another church named Obed at the registration desk. The task required us to have name tags for all of the ushers, worship team, officials and speakers, as well as prepare delegate cards for all of the out of town visitors! This was no small feat! Seeming as we had none of the materials, including cardboard and safety pins, Ps. Obed and I went searching through town to find the required materials. After walking about 3km through town,[of which gave me extremely muddy feet that could have been mistaken for Mukiga feet they were so dirty] and going to about 10 different stationary stores looking for safety pins, we finally had what we needed. Unfortunately when we found the pins in a fruit and vegetable market, we didn’t have enough money to pay for them! Luckily, the nice man at the market allowed us to pay him later on. Then I had to design the cards, get them printed, cut them out and put into their plastic holders or with safety pins so people could attatch them. Organisation in Africa is not really a strong point, as you could tell by the fact we had nothing for registration a day after the conference had started! But as always, most things always manage to get done!

After getting what we needed I headed back home on a boda boda to print out the cards- and in true ‘liv style’ as I was ‘gracefully’ getting off the bike in a skirt mind you, I toppled off and landed in a ditch! But that was not the end of my luck for the day! Later that afternoon once the cards were done, and we were signing people in, [or rather I should say, a Ugandan teacher named Marion signed them in as there is no way I can understand, let alone write African names] a crow pooped on my shoulder! Whilst cleaning it off I found yet another dried present down the back of my shirt! Lovely hey?! I sure am welcome here now! Finally by 7pm I arrived home and my 11 hour day was over. It’s really exciting seeing so many people from different churches coming together as one. There have been some really insightful preachers and workshops. I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the week pans out! Oh and the above picture is of a little boy at the conference named Bright, who was quite fascinated with my Muzungu hand! He was so adorbale- I took heaps of cute pictures of him!

Oh and Pastor Obed has asked me to preach at his church in 2 weeks time! I’m pretty excited- it’ll be my first time preaching to a congregation- I’ve preached to kids many times before, and at a youth group a few times, but this will be a new experience! I can’t wait!

Tomorrow I am taking the kids at the orphanage for a morning of sports, so that should be fun! Its not long now till I return- 2 and half weeks left in Kabale, then 1 week in Kampala with Esther. Oh and I will be visiting my sponsor child, which I think will be a huge highlight of my trip.

I hope everyone is well back home, I’m missing you lots! But I am not really missing anything else! [oh except Moses my cat!]. I think I could get quite accustomed to life here. I’ve even been eating the local food of Posho [maize- kind of like flavorless hard mashed potatoes] and beans- and to tell the truth, I actually like it! Especially when you add some G-nut sauce- peanuts that have been ground up into a paste- yum yum!.

Well have a great week, and thanks for reading! I’ll update at the end of the conference.
God Bless,
Olivia

History Makers in Kabale!

Starting Sunday history will be made in Kabale. For the first time in Uganda, all denominations of Christian churches will be joining together as one at the “River of God conference”. Never before has anything of this magnitude occurred. Pastors from 11 different denominational churches across Kabale have come together for this amazing event. The reason of its significance is that it is opening up new opportunities for Kabale to be changed in a big way- and from this example, and flow, one day the whole of Uganda. By having so many influential people come together, this conference will be unlike anything ever before- as many are now working towards a common goal, and as you would know, 1 ant is strong, but a whole colony of ants working together can do unimaginable things. So this week I will be working hard with many others to help organize the week-long event. During the week there will be teaching, preaching, outreaches during the evenings and workshops on various topics. There is an expectation that 3000 people across Kabale will be attending. I will keep you updated on how it goes! It’s very exciting be a part of something so significant in Ugandan history!

In other news, I’ve had a pretty great last few days. I had my first experience of shopping at the food market- its pretty cool! However the meat section was a little unappetizing! A funny event was on the way back up the mountain, when our boda boda carrying the driver, Luke and myself as well as about 10kg of groceries, not surprisingly almost blew up! There was so much smoke pouring out, and people walking by were going faster, that we hopped off and said not to bother! Quite a few other boda boda drivers were laughing as they flew past! Luke was very dismayed as he was stuck carrying the bulk of the groceries! Luckily about 5 minutes later a friend of ours drove past in his ute. Luke looked as happy as if it was a chariot to heaven! We jumped in the back [another crazy thing about Africa- absolutely NO road rules- we even had 3 people in the front of a ute at one point!] and got our ride home.

Today I went down to Akanyijuka with Luke and we hung out with the kids for a while. We then took them down to the oval and let them have a run around. They are just so cute when they go there- they just go nuts, with so much joy on their faces. We then undertook the challenge of teaching them some dances! First, the nut-bush- they picked it up pretty quick- but I didn’t have any music so I think it would be a lot more enjoyable when we do. We then also taught them heel and toe- but as they are children not accustomed to ‘Australian’ type of dance formations, I didn’t even try to put them in the circle that you’re meant to- it would have been CRAZY! So we just got them in pairs and taught them the moves, and they LOVED it! Especially the “ grab your partner by the arm and spin spin spin!” A cool part about teaching the children dances and songs is that it helps them learn English a lot better- because at the moment they only know hello, and a few songs learnt by rote, so I would like to focus more on teaching them English. So after the conference, Pamellah [the head mum of the orphanage] and I will be getting the children that are behind in their school work and tutoring them. I can’t wait! I’ll be taking about 10 of them at a time and working on mainly consonant and vowel pronunciations, as there are quite a few issues in those areas! For example, the letter ‘r’ often gets confused with the letter ‘l’. Even though it is a little amusing it can cause a few problems, as the word ‘pray’ is pronounced ‘play’- so ‘playing to God’ doesn’t make too much sense! I’m also going to try and do some classes with the teachers in these areas, so when I’m gone they can work on it with the kids.

Tomorrow I’ve got Saturday ‘kids church’ where I’m teaching the kids about Jesus, and who he says is the greatest in the Kingdom of God- ‘the little children’. [Look at Matthew 18:1-5] . Unfortunately kids in Africa are not always held in very high significance- [and this is not by all people, but quite a few]even by people in church- they are often pushed away, and children’s ministry is not really a priority, so I’m wanting to teach them that they are just as important to Jesus, as anyone else!

Also Andrew told me that the newspaper article that was written about my trip, and to recognize the wonderful company that donated my laptop, [pictured above] has been published. I’m told its been printed in most of the local newspapers across Brisbane-pretty cool!

Also a big hello and hug sent to my grandparents Nana and Pop and also to my Pa in Melbourne. I love you heaps and I am praying for you! Feel better soon Pa!

Catcha later!
Olivia

Indiana Liv and the Search for the Jungle of Kymbura

Welcome to 2009! Happy New Year to everyone!

My holidays are over soon, but what a great time they have been. My time away at Queen Elizabeth was just amazing! After a 6 hour drive [in the boot section of a four wheel drive whose starter motor was broken- thus needing a strategic down hill park and man power push to start] we arrived at our destination- the Ecological Lodge at Mweya, with the Roberts, Esther and a Scottish couple, John and Judith [John and Judith will be staying with me at the place I’m at after the Roberts leave on the 20th]. Unfortunately when we got there, the check in people had no idea who we were and had no record of our booking, even though we confirmed, so we went to a place called Hippo Hill Camp- and how awesome it was! We got luxury tents for a 7th of the price of a budget tent! They must not have had enough people for the Christmas period- so we were very blessed! After check in and a bit of a scare from a HUGE hippo outside my tent enjoying a drink, we went on a really cool river cruise. We saw so many amazing animals- elephants, birds, hippos, buffalos, warthogs, antelopes- all kinds of things! That’s where I got this picture of the hippo with its mouth open! Pretty nuts to think with one little snappy snappy smoosh its byebye person! Eeek!

The next day it was my birthday and we went on an early safari where we were met with a beautiful sunrise. I spent most of the time standing up taking pictures through the sun roof- I was hoping my delicious looking meaty physique would attract us some carnivores but I must have been too dusty for them, because unfortunately we didn’t see any lions or leopards, which was a real shame! About 4 hours later we got back to camp and then headed to Kymbura gorge- it’s amazing. One minute you’re in the middle of the plains of Africa and the next minute the plains drop into this breathtaking gorge- it’s hard to describe, but I think it looks like God got out his giant ice cream scoop and took out a big chunk of ground, forming this spectacular drop, full of a jungle 16km long- including many species of monkey, [including chimps whom we were hoping to see] antelopes, hippos and elephants, whom all gathered for the fresh water stream that ran down the length of the gorge.

We began our 4 hour foot trek into the jungle via a very steep descent and yes my lack of coordination added to a few near slides on the gluteus maximus! We finally reached the bottom and entered in- and wow- how beautiful it was! We were met with beautiful green shrubbery and vines and the sounds of hippos grunting and elephants blowing in the distance. Our aim was to find the chimpanzees which had earlier been spotted, so we were headed to that area to see if they were still there. To our great disappointment we never did find them, but we did see a few cute little monkeys bouncing from tree to tree, and had a very close run in with a male elephant grazing through the jungle shrub. It was rather amusing, as our guide [armed with a rifle] was in the lead and disappeared around a corner for a little, suddenly came rushing back saying “we must turn around” and herded us in the opposite direction. As a part of wildlife protection law, people are not permitted to come closer than 8m to any animal, as they might endanger us, and thus unnecessarily endanger the animal- but the look on the guides face told me this elephant was probably very large and quite territorial!

I often imagined myself as Indiana Jones [or Indiana Liv!] as we had to cross a few streams [but for the sake of dramatic story telling we’ll call them rushing rivers with enormous hippos waiting hungrily underneath!] via a rickety bridge with no railing and a fallen tree log. Those that know me well know I’m not a fan of heights or slipping for that matter, so I felt very brave crossing that log! Hehe. We persisted still for our search for chimps, but as it was getting late, we had to head back. Even though we never saw the chimps it was still a lovely walk- and not many would be able to say for their 21st birthday they went on a safari in Africa and trekked through the jungle in search for the chimpanzee!

The last part of my birthday was spent at Mweya lodge restaurant- a 5 star lodge, which was fantastic! The Roberts very kindly shouted me for my birthday for a 5 course banquet [okay I’m the one that made it a 5 course meal!] of salad as a starter, a noodle bar where you choose your noodle, meat, vegetable and sauce and have it cooked for you straight from the wok to your plate, yummy mains, [including my favourite meal- lamb chops!] and dessert, of which I had a round each of a piece of cake and fruit pudding! We all left feeling extremely full- a great end to a brilliant birthday!

The next day, we were heading home, but on the way we wanted to stop by Ishasha national park, for another go at spotting some carnivores. Ishasha is the home of the tree-climbing lion, so we were quite hopeful to see one! I don’t know what it was about our safari adventures, but I think the majority of people on our journey must be dog lovers, as all cats stayed away! We did however find the carcass of a buffalo eaten only the day before, but that was about as close as we came to finding anything of a carnivorous nature!

Our journey home which was meant to be a slightly bumpy 3 hour drive, turned into a 6 hour bump and bounce adventure four wheel driving trek through many a mountain range, as we got hopelessly lost due to some misdirection given from some village people- and our map which should have helped was rather inaccurate we discovered, and even though each village was named, as each village had no signs or rarely people who spoke English, we ended up going around in circles! I actually have some bruises from how bumpy the journey was- but I think it was worth it in the end, as the last hour and a half of our ride was through the most beautiful mountain range I have ever seen. We were quite high up, and the view- wowsa! The surroundings were a pine forest that spilled across the terrain for miles, and just gave one such a peaceful feeling- I imagine that type of place is where God would go to get some peace and quiet! Another cool thing was when we passed through a village, all the village children would run out smiling and waving, yelling “Muzungu, Muzungu!” what I didn’t realise is that due to our getting lost, we ended up being in VERY remote areas, where we were probably the first Muzungu’s these children had ever seen! We finally gladly arrived home, to a hot cuppa tea and comfortable bed! What a fantastic couple of days away! I feel so blessed to have experienced all that we did!

New Years was rather quiet, and we spent it at home- I did however speak to Andrew for Australia’s New Year’s crossover, and it was really weird to realise that after midnight AEST it was still 2008 in Uganda! So I was speaking to Andrew who was in another year to me! How weird huh! They had fireworks here too- not very many, but again very amusing- every time one went off, some neighbors down the road, who were all female, just went nuts- they’d scream crazily and dance around! Its still so amazing to think I’m in Africa- I still have to pinch myself sometimes to know its real!

Today is my last day of holidays- tomorrow I will be going back to Akanyijuka and teaching some more. I actually can’t wait- I’ve missed the kids while I’ve been away! I snuck down with Esther yesterday as it was her last day in Kabale and we hung out for a while with them- they know the Macarena quite well now- much to our Muzungu amusement! Soon I’ll be having another sports afternoon with them, so I will be teaching them the heel and toe dance- I hope it works!

Well I better be off, I’ve got to write up some lesson plans for my teaching in the weeks ahead!
Happy New Years again, and I’ll update soon.
Love the little Muzungu.