This week marks my six month anniversary in country. Woo
hoo! To commemorate the occasion, some mystery insect or plant decided to pay
my neck a visit, but it forgot that I’ve only been here six months, not seven.
Silly insectiplant.
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| Happy anniversary to me! |
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| The girls at camp catching the "white ants" (termites) |
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| White ants after the wings have been removed and they have been fried. Yum? |
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| The winning dish: matooke hash with Dorito tempura battered tomatoes and mangoes |
1)
Fort Portal. Picture the giant mountains of Utah
and the greenery of Oregon and you have this beautiful little village in
western Uganda. The wind was in my hair. The crater lakes were near my feet.
Jenna waited on me hand and foot. It was blissful.
2)
In-service Training. My whole crew of PC
volunteers together again. Classes by day. Partying by night. No sleep. Lots of
dancing and yoga and volleyball. No more cliques, just lots of love and
friendship. Other than a nasty cold that decided to pay a visit and hectically
planning to run some of the training sessions, it was glorious.
3)
Camp GLOW. About 100 girls between the ages of
13 and 18 and a handful of counselors and staff. Classes on leadership, on
human rights, on assertiveness. Matching t-shirts. With the girls 24/7.
Exhausting. Rewarding. Two moments that made me realize how blessed I am to
live in the U.S. and deeply sad for the women here: 1) When the girls were
making the argument that if someone has money, they have the right to make you
their slave and do anything they wish to you, and 2) When the girls unanimously
agreed that if God gave them a choice, they would choose to be men. Genuine
bonding with 7 beautiful girls who caught a glimpse of what it means to be the
future leaders of Uganda.
4)
Murchison Falls National Park. Rolling, green
plains covered in trees and every kind of wildlife imaginable. Two lionesses
with a freshly killed kob that had a perfectly round hole in its side. A late
night run-in with a giant hippo near my tent. The most powerful waterfalls I’ve
ever seen. A boat ride on the Nile River. Watching stock-still crocodiles with
their mouths wide open. Seeing warthogs run, tails straight in the air, then
stop and simultaneously drop those tails. Watching the elegant and somehow
awkward run of a giraffe. Seeing a huge elephant tromping down the road right
in front of you, birds lining its back. The snorting call of hippos half
submerged in the water. The best, most relaxed group of people I could ask to
travel with. I have rarely felt so peaceful, and I cannot begin to describe how
utterly and immeasurably happy I am to know that places like that exist in the
world.
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| Murchison Falls |
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| A bit of the beauty that is Murchison Falls National Park |
Fun Fact:
When running from a predator, the hartebeest will make it
about 4 km before it forgets why it was running and stops.
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| Hartebeest |
Shout Out:
Just a little shout-out to my blog's biggest mom fans: Brittany's mom and Heidi's mom. Brittany is a beautifully tanned, generous host and a sweet momma to her new dog. I unlocked the vault for Heidi, which means she is trustworthy, a good listener, and a true friend. I feel so lucky to know these two lovely ladies. Good job, moms!
Just a little shout-out to my blog's biggest mom fans: Brittany's mom and Heidi's mom. Brittany is a beautifully tanned, generous host and a sweet momma to her new dog. I unlocked the vault for Heidi, which means she is trustworthy, a good listener, and a true friend. I feel so lucky to know these two lovely ladies. Good job, moms!
