Tuesday January 29th

On Monday, Nancy and I started working in our temporary office in the administration building. The actual office that will be Nancy's (but I will be using it also while I am here) does not have furniture yet. So, two gracious ladies offered us their office for the time being. It is kind of weird having an office and thinking "I have to go to the office today." I guess I never really thought of me ever getting that old to have to say that. But now that I'm here, it is fun to be a part of the "office" world.

Today was a really frustrating day for me. I am not quite sure why, but I think it has to do with the fact that I am a time-conscious Westerner. I value time and respect those who keep it well. Here, everything is done whenever it gets done and you are never quite sure when it will get done. And also, effective communication is very important to me. Knowing who is doing what and when it is going to be done are just things that I value to know, and also (to an extent) expect people to value as well. But life is a bit different here. I am not claiming to be the most punctual person in the world, and for those who know my family, we are not always on time. But a certain degree of time is kept. Usually we will be 15 minutes late, not an hour and a half late. "On Time" is not in the vocabulary here. But God must be teaching me patience.

Now that I have my spilled my guts to everyone, the rest of my day was really fun. I went with Nancy again to her family group (David family). The kids are so much fun and really like to laugh at how bad I pronounce their second name. Their second name is similar to our "last name."

There was a little girl and a little boy who decided they wanted to take some pictures with my camera, but ended up taking a little more than a few. I am posting some of those pictures for you all to see "Life through the eyes of a Ugandan child." I am tempted to give them my camera for a day and see what they end up taking pictures of.

Lately there have been more and more people walking around Kasana. New faces everywhere I turn. With a new school year starting on Monday, it is bound to be a bustling village by the end of this week.

I hope this gives you all a little more information about what is going on down here. Enjoy the pictures. (clicking on them makes them much larger)

Sunday January 27th

Well, we all made it back safe and sound from Kampala. It was a really busy day, but we got a lot done. I witnessed my first open air market yesterday. Everything I learned in my Food Sanitation class was thrown out the window. It was very interesting to say the least.

So far, we still don't have electricity because our solar batteries are bad, and couldn't get new ones yesterday. Hopefully soon we will be able to get the batteries and have light at night. It is amazing how much I appreciate the simple things that I once just took for granted, such as electricity, running water, and ice cubes.

I wasn't sure if I would find it, but I did. ICE CREAM!!! I was thinking that I would have to wait 4 whole months to have ice cream again, but yesterday I found it. (So Betsy, you can have some tonight) Ice cream found, all is well.

Friday January 25th

This week has just flown by. It is already Friday, wow.

With staff training done, the real work has begun. After meeting with the management about what I will be doing, I found that I will be working side by side with Nancy getting everything ready for teams that are coming in. So far it has been really fun and exciting learning about teams and guests that are coming in the months ahead. There are many challenges and little details to iron out, but it is really fun and I am learning a lot.

On February 4th, the teams from North Dakota and other states will be arriving. Please pray that all of the transport and time that they are here would be safe and effective.

On February 14th, another staff member and I will be hosting the team on safari. I am very excited about this opportunity, as is my family. I will hopefully be posting some pictures from that outing, so you all can be looking for those in the near future.

Tomorrow, Nancy, Ann and I are going to Kampala to do a big shopping trip. I could not believe that city when we first drove through it. I thoroughly respect anyone who attempts to drive there. Cars, boda bodas, bicycles, and pedestrians are just going anywhere they want and whenever they want. It is crazy.

It has been so good to hear from everyone through comments here, email, or facebook. It is amazing that I am out in the bush and do not have electricity, fully running water, but I am writing to everyone back home on wireless internet. Amazing.

Tuesday January 22nd

I just got back from our final Envisioning Week event. We all came together for a traditional Kigandan meal (the "K" makes a "Ch" sound, so it is pronounced "Cheegandan") We all sat on mats and ate with our hands...who knew that eating with my hands would be so difficult. It was quite an experience to say the least. And also, none of us could talk during the meal, so I was a little bewildered about what to do.

Now that Envisioning Week is done, I will finally start my job tomorrow. I am meeting with some people tomorrow and will be getting started planning for the ND team that will be arriving on February 4th.

Before I meet with the people about my job, some of us will be going to the Vocational Institute to watch one of the boys weave fabric. If only I had seen the weaving before I had taken my Textiles class...but now I have a real appreciation for it.

It was pretty warm today. It is 10:10 pm right now and it is about 81 degrees, so you can imagine how warm it was when the sun was in full form.

I can't believe it has already been 8 days since I got to Uganda. I think the 4 months that lie ahead of me will be gone before I know it.

Sunday January 20th

It is currently 9:39 pm and is about 77 degrees. I feel like I should be adjusting to the temperature difference, but I think I am feeling warmer than when I came.

We had church this morning from 10:30-1:00. People come from all around to attend, so I am constantly meeting new people.

Later on, Nancy, Ann, and I went to Nancy's Family group (David Family) to meet them all and have supper. I had met some of the children before, but there were so many new faces. They were so friendly and wanted to know all about my family, and about North Dakota. Some of the children had a little guessing game about my age. Some thought I was 18, and some thought I was 32. But when I was their age, I though all the adults were the same in age. (Can I be saying that I am an adult??) After supper, I even got my hair braided a little bit by some of the girls.

I just got the alert that my battery is very low, so I better be going.

Saturday January 19th

It is 11:00 Saturday morning and is about 81 degrees outside. I can't believe it has almost been a week since I arrived in Uganda.
After staff training was done for the day, we all came together for a meal and learned about true English etiquette from one of the staff members. It was fun to be back doing something that I knew. My stomach is not quite used to the food here yet, but hopefully with time it will get better. There is not much on the schedule for today, since we get the weekend off. Tomorrow night, Ann and I are going with Nancy to her family group and I am really looking forward to meeting the rest of the kids I have not met.
I will hopefully write more tonight, so for now, Tunaalabangana (See you later)

Battery life is good so now I can write

I got my laptop battery charged today, so here goes.

Currently it is 9:22 pm and I am writing to you all by candle light. I am staying in Nancy Kirsch's house with her and Ann, who is a nurse. The solar batteries that power our electricity hasn't been able to charge, due to rainy days and tired solar batteries. Hopefully but next Sunday we should be hooked up and ready to go.

On Wednesday all the staff started Envisioning Week, which is training and learning about what New Hope Uganda does and gives good insight into what to expect. The past 2 days have been really good. We start out the day with worship and I love the music. I am so happy that I am familiar with Hillsong music because they seem to like their songs. (To all you Crystal Spring Camp lovers, it is like being at camp every day)

I hope this gives you some insight into what is going on down here. It was good to hear from some of you and have a good night (well night for me, day for you)

I'm here

Greetings from Uganda! I just wanted to let everyone know that I arrived here safely on Monday around 9:30 am (12:30 ND time) and everything went well. I will write more when I have more battery on my computer.