things I will not miss

Dear people,

Today is my last full day in Uganda. This afternoon I made it to Kampala and will be staying here until I head out tomorrow afternoon from Entebber for Venice after a layover in Dubai. I am excited to see my family and I think ready to leave. Sometime after I get back I'm going to make a list of things I will be and am missing in Africa. But here are a couple of things I will surely NOT miss...

1. the chickens stuffed under the seats and pecking at my feet during the rides on public transportation

2. the lack of napkins

3. the dust and dirt constantly coating my body and inside my lungs as soon as I step out onto the road

4. washing laundry by hand

5. carbs and the lack of salad or any type of vegetables

6. lack of clean water

7. sweating constantly

8. smelling bad constantly

9. not sleeping

10. perpetual invasions of personal space.

:) This isn't meant to be negative. I am sad to be leaving but there are some things that I'm looking forward to not having to deal with for a little while.

Love,
Jen

136 pages and many to go...

And that is just the final report.... I'm not a big fan of sitting in front of a computer my last few days in Uganda.

A night in the village...

Last night I escaped to Walakuba, one of the five villages that has been home to a group of UVP Healthy Villages Initiative volunteers this summer. This last week has proved to be an emotionally difficult one. I have spoken with some of the other volunteers and I know that I am not alone in this sentiment but that doesn't make it any easier. I think we've all been doing a lot of reflecting and attempting to process the past couple of months, wondering if we have really done any good here. For me, the questions in my mind are: Have I done what I was supposed to do here? Have I been faithful to God's purposes for me in Uganda and the people I have been surrounded by? You come to a place like this with certain expectations. However, nothing about this summer has been anything like what I had thought it would be. And I tried to set myself up for that because I have had enough experiences in this type of setting to understand that things rarely turn out the way you plan but I'm still struggling with a lot of disappointment and frustration with both myself and the situation. Furthermore, as the day approaches for me to leave, I really don't know what to do with my last moments here. I have an incredible amount of work to finish before I leave- the eCare final report, which is already 100 pages in length, the IRB proposal, the health center profiles that I'm trying to compile, studying for comps - but I also have so many people to say goodbye to and I'm afraid that I've spent so much time stressed out and upset here that I haven't experienced Uganda. And now, it feels too late.

I went to Walakuba because I wanted to experience staying in a village at night, something which is absolutely beautiful in an almost eerie kind of way. Sarah kindly gave me her bed to sleep in and I was able to relax a little. Besides the fact that I dropped my phone in the mud and had to trek back to retrieve it under the cover of complete darkness and rain (which amazingly enough was a successful mission... thanks Mateo), it was a nice night. Actually, the night before last I was also able to get a small taste of another village, Bugabula, because a couple of the team members needed a lift there and I accompanied them so Medie didn't have to drive back alone. Medie insisted on picking up hitchhikers along the dark dirt road the whole way back but don't worry mom, I'm still, clearly, alive.

Now I'm in Jinja with a cup of coffee trying to get some work done, covered in mud and altogether quite dirty and not smelling too great. I will go back to Iganga tonight, tomorrow we have another neonatal resuscitation workshop at one of the health centers, Tuesday a debriefing meeting and Wednesday head to Kampala so that I can make it to Entebbe in time for my flight on Thursday. Crazy.

Time to get to work.

sunrise

As I run down the dusty dirt road these early Ugandan mornings, I often wonder if the people I pass- the men riding their bike bodas, women & children filling up jerrycans at the pump, kids walking to school- notice the hot pink turning to bright orange to yellow sun rising over the cornfields. I have never in my life seen such beautiful sunrises. It gives new meaning to the verse tattooed on my skin. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky above displays His handiwork. Day to day pours out speech. Night to night reveals knowledge..." Psalm 19. The night sky is similarly breathtaking. With the lack of light polution, I see more stars than you can possibly imagine. Everything is so beautiful. Uganda is beautiful. It is easy to pray then too, even with the trail of children and teenage girls who decide to join me on these morning runs. "Mzungu byyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeee" is what the kids chant everywhere we white skinned people go. It is muscial and makes me smile. I say "jambo" "good morning" as I jog by and they laugh and laugh. Only two weeks left and while I think I'm ready to go, I still get sad thinking about leaving this.

marabou stork

The scariest creature ever. (Click on the link)

my worst nightmare

TERRIFYING. I don't even know what else to say.

safe motherhood education photos