first post from uganda

Where to start? I've been in Uganda for almost 4 days now. The journey went well--no delays, I actually slept on the airplane, all my luggage arrived, and the trip to Kasana was easy and surprisingly quick. 

So...here I am! I'm currently living in a family's house with a housemate, H. She's lived here for several years, so I'm enjoying the ability to soak in her knowledge in the evenings. Beyond that, she's also pretty chill. ;)

Jet lag is nasty in the mornings--it makes waking up really rough. Otherwise, it hasn't been too bad. 

We're starting school on Sept. 3, the same day as third term for Ugandan students, due to a mini-staff retreat at the end of next week that I'll be attending. So I have a few more days of preparation-yay! 

The most exciting part of my new life thus far is the chickens we are babysitting for the family whose house we are watching. They moan like dying cats when they are hungry (which is about 6am daily). And then there's Fred, our resident escape artist. He has figured out how to fly the coop and thus performs his own version of Chicken Run multiple times daily. 

the wayward chicken

We emailed Fred's owners today about chicken disciple. This repeat offender may require corporal punishment.

Excuse me while I go chat with Fred about boundaries...

keeping up with the jones's

Something that I struggled with during camp and that I foresee only intensifying as I move to Uganda is the fact that I have friends elsewhere that I want to keep. Where is the balance between investing fully where I am and investing into folks back home? And it's not even folks 'back home,' because my people live in Alabama, Virginia, Washington DC, Canada, and more!

Blogging is a nice general way to let people know what's happening with me, but it's not very personal. Sending emails takes a little more time and adds a layer of personalization, but it's still just words on a screen. Hearing someone's voice over the phone is amazing in its ability to rekindle friendships; seeing someone chat with you through a webcam is even better. A personal visit once a year would be nice, but I'm pretty sure I would spend all my time traveling and none of my time working if that were the case.

It's the Girl Scout dilemma: how does one 'make new friends but keep the old'?

Being a military brat, you'd think I'd be a pro at long-distance friendships. Ironically, I've found that some folks who spent their whole lives in one area are better at staying in touch with their far-flung friends than those of us who moved every few years. Perhaps they were never forced to learn the lesson of 'too many people, too little time.' Or perhaps they simply never faced the heart-breaking reality of an empty mailbox week after week, despite friends' promises to write.

So as I'm landing in Uganda, eager for this new adventure, a message to all my friends "elsewhere": I miss you (especially now, as I'm tired and lonely after 30+ hours of solo travel!). But sometimes it will hurt so badly to miss you that even writing you an email will make me burst into tears. Sometimes in this new life of mine, I'll feel like there aren't words or pictures to express what I'm experiencing. Sometimes, the time difference will discourage me from talking to you; sometimes, I'll simply be too busy with new and exciting events to communicate.

But please don't think that I'm ignoring you or worse yet, forsaking you! Even if you don't hear personally from me for months, don't think I'm letting the friendship die. Just think of me as collecting experiences to share next time we see each other.

Because we will see each other again. A year from now, when I return to the States homeless and jobless, I might just end up at your door, offering African stories, pictures, cooking, and culture in exchange for a sofa.

And because we're friends, I'm pretty sure you'll accept that offer.

cake in an orange

While at the beach, we experimented with a little dessert I learned at camp, aptly titled "cake in an orange." 

Cake in an ORANGE???? What kind of crazy idea is THAT? 

Camp people. They been around one too many fires.

All the ingredients you need!

Well, I have the witness of 5 non-camp people that Cake in an Orange is actually pretty tasty. And two of them are almost gourmet dessert chefs. So don't judge before you've tried it. 

First you scoop out the inside of the orange. I'm still working on how to do this without decimating the yummy part of the orange. Tips appreciated.

It's am empty orange!

Then you mix up the cake batter flavor of your choice and pour it into the oranges!

Don't forget that cake batter rises. It has been known to rise right out of the orange and onto the oven coil. 

Wrap the batter-filled orange in foil and cook for 25-30 minutes in the oven, or in a fire, or on a grill. 

Voila! Enjoy your cake in an orange! 

Bad memory like me? Here's the recipe in a nutshell:

Buy oranges and cake mix (1 box will fill 12 or more oranges; we had a whole pan of leftover batter with 6 oranges). 

Scoop out the inside of the oranges. Eat the yumminess.

Mix up cake batter and pour it into the empty orange shells. 

Wrap each orange in aluminum foil.

Cook for 20-30 minutes, either in a fire, oven, or on a grill. 

Enjoy with a spoon!

calm before the storm

My alarm blasted into a dreamless sleep at 3:35am the day after camp ended. Exhausted from 8 weeks of non-stop fun and a late night of packing my car with half of my earthly possessions, I briefly considered claiming cell phone malfunction and returning to bed. It'll take the whole vacation just to recover from 4 hours of sleep, my woozy brain reasoned.

I resisted the temptation. I stumbled through the dark yard 30 minutes later, stifling a yawn as I climbed into a fully-loaded car. My traveling buddy had offered to drive first, so I quickly returned to sleep, waking a few hours later as the sun rose to aid my search for coffee.

I love car trips with a good friend--we can range from deep conversation that distract us to the point of missing turns to laughing at fellow drivers in crazy traffic jams to singing our favorite songs five times in a row. Though the day started rough, it ended beautifully, with the beach, pizza, and the Olympics. And the week only improved from there--a week relaxing at the beach was the perfect break between leaving camp and moving to Uganda.

Finally at the beach house! 

Jumping for joy...we're at the beach!

Sunsets are so much easier to see than sunrises...

Now I have a reason to return...no one told me parasailing could have been an option!

Thanks to my adopted family for inviting me to the beach year after year until I could finally come! Let's do it again in another five years...

what i've been up to

Hey friends.

It's been a while. 

I was at the beach in North Carolin-more about that later. And then I visited a friend along my way to Alabama, where I've landed for a few days.

What I've been doing the past three days is best illustrated by pictures.

All of this:

Went into these: 

Now excuse me while I collapse on the sofa with mental exhaustion.

the present, the future...and the past

The present

Just finished the second-to-last week of camp. A highlight of this past week came from the creek where I've lead at least 13 creek hikes in the previous six weeks. Over the last weekend, a tree fell down, and as the group climbed over it during a hike this week, I studied the half of the trunk left on the bank. The tree had been completely hollowed out--by termites or beetles, I'm not really sure--and weakened to the point that when a strong wind blew, the tree simply ripped in half. Beyond being something new and cool to show the kids, it also provided a quick spiritual lesson! A person can look solid on the outside, but if his core isn't strong, if his heart is empty of God, any storm that hits him will rip him completely in half. 

This picture is from a few weeks ago, but here's to prove that I'm conquering fears: five years ago, I could barely climb a rock wall. Now I'm climbing them blindfolded.

Climb by faith, not by sight!

 The future

When I arrived at 'home base' tonight I found a package waiting for me, the first of several. I've been growing more excited (truly, actually excited!) about moving to Uganda since Wednesday, and when I saw this package, I literally squealed with delight. The family I'll be teaching is having some curriculum shipped to me since paying for an extra airline bag is far cheaper than shipping to Africa. I ripped open the box to oooh and ahhh over each book. Any doubts about teaching I had are quickly disappearing. I'm SOO excited because I love school!!

10th grade history, literature, and Bible. YAAAY!!

The past

Receiving that package brought back memories of my own schooling, when we would receive a giant box of books in late summer, which I would plead with my mother to allow me to open and read just one book. Just one book, Mom! Please!! I was always so excited to start school so we could finally read everything.

Apparently, once a geek, always a geek.