Friday, March 1, 2013

a most excellent adventure, part 2

Sorry for the delay in update! The internet has been pretty sucky the past week. 

But today it's working, so here are the promised waterfall pictures from camp!

a camp road...we walked down the road a bit to reach the trail
hiking thru the Ugandan jungle...my housemate Hannah leads the back half of the crew
Some crazy trees in the forest! These trees have above-ground roots...and they were big enough to hide inside! 
Bambino, a camp dog, joined us on the hike.  
The waterfall. 
 Funny story of God's providence: Musana Camps actually purchased the land with the waterfall on accident. They had intended to purchase another piece of land, but the lawyer in charge of the transaction made a 'mistake.' Though frustrating and expensive, it actually has turned out to be a great addition to Musana Camps and evidence that God can redeem earthly mistakes!

And a final picture for you: sunrise over Lake Victoria, from the guesthouse at Musana. They're hoping to purchase the inlet you see in this picture so they can have the whole cove, preventing hotels and discos from being built next door and disrupting the peaceful atmosphere of camp. 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

a most excellent adventure, part 1

Last week, I went to Musana Camps, NHU's Lake Victoria location. 

Musana panorama - wow.
A short-term team had come from the Dakotas to work there, so I joined the group from Kasana that went to visit them (not because I knew the Dakota people, mainly because I had the week off work and might as well go to camp as stay here!). 


While at camp, I did all sorts of baking and dish-washing to help out. But I also was able to take some time for rest and exploration. Below is a picture of the 'adventure walk' that Julia and I took one afternoon.

Off we go!
The team was working hard creating a new road, fixing cars, painting houses, building culverts and walls, and doing lots of handy-man work in general. 

dump truck! 

Creating a new water system
Later in the week, the whole group took an adventure to the waterfall that's on Musana's property...pictures of that coming soon!


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

a new obsession

I consider myself a pretty well-traveled person, considering my age and station in life. There are always more places I want to go, though--with a life goal of joining an elite club of travelers, new locations and experiences are a must!

Within the continental U.S., I only have 4 states left to reach my goal of visiting all 50 states before age 30! And now, thanks to my roommate and a few others, I feel like I'm ready to hit that most intimidating of states: North Dakota. 


Apparently this game called Farkle is quite popular there...and we've discovered that I'm surprisingly talented at this game of chance and risk. 


North Dakota Farkle champions, watch out!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

as much as i love spiderman...

...I really am not a fan of his relatives. 

I found this guy in my bathroom the other day:


I really didn't see many bugs during my first few months here. I'm beginning to think that might have been God's special grace for a new tropical resident...

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

i live in a zoo...

Some of the animals that I interact with daily...

This cat is surprisingly aloof for how friendly she appears...


Baby goat. On a tire swing. I've officially seen it all.

Monday, February 4, 2013

how to bath a dog...Ugandan style

A few weeks ago, I came home from school to discover my neighbor in the yard giving the dog a bath. So obviously, I ran for my camera, because it's not every day that you see a dog bathing in Uganda.

The question is, will the double basins work?
Jerrycans & washbasins : good for anything! 
This was a truly international dog-washing crew: a Brit, several Ugandans, and an American dog.

In case you're wondering, dog-bathing is pretty similar the world over.


And dogs seem to feel the same way about bathing around the world: