These are just a few fun stories from recent times...
Last night I had a lovely dinner with Fr. Emmanuel who just returned from a very long trip in Italy. It was the first time I really got to sit down with him since he'd been back. Elizabeth and Gertrude had made delicious fish, and Sr. Linda had made a chocolate cake with honey instead of sugar. It was extra good when I put my chocolate pudding on it. :)
The dinner was full of laughter and fun. At one point I brought up the ENORMOUS block of cheese which was at that moment taking up one whole shelf in the refrigerator. I had been drooling over it all week, craving CHEESE. But I hadn't gotten to ask Fr. if it was fair game. So I had just been dreaming about it.
He said of course it was free for eating. Then he proceeded to tell us the hilarious story of actually bringing the cheese back with him from Italy. Apparently he hadn't had the 10 extra kilos he expected, so he ended up sneaking a 3rd carry on, which solely contained the 8 kilo block of cheese and some candles! Apparently security got a bit concerned over this very solid object in his bag, but laughed when they saw the enormity of cheese, not a bomb! We laughed so hard, and this morning Sister and I began the incredible enjoyment of glorious cheeeese!! (I'm about to go have lunch of mac and cheese, I am so happy)
A few days ago, I went down into the cow farm to the pavillion. It's the place we use for New Dawn, but we don't ever use it the rest of the year. It's a large area, and it's a great place to be alone or to have a good chat with a friend. I was meeting one of my friends down there and was wanting to sit out on the ground near the pavilion. I brought my kitenge (clothing protecting blanket) so that we could sit on it and not get dirty.
Well we went to sit and within 2 seconds both of us went running, screaming towards the pavilion steps! SAFARI ANTS!!! We were covered. I have no idea how they move SO FAST. They were everywhere, literally. From between my toes to in my dreads! Both of us were covered... in our clothes, shoes, underwear...everywhere is not an exaggeration!
Safari ants hurt like nothing else. They basically burn you when they bit you. Thankfully the bites don't stay or become welts, they just hurt when they get you. They will walk all over you and then suddenly you will feel them in some terrible place! Even as I was crawling into bed later that night, I felt/found one between my toes!
I had only had one other encounter with them, and that was in Bikira outside of Masaka this past August. I slept through the attack, but my hosts told me the next morning that we had been invaded by these terrible creatures and they had had to battle them for over an hour!
Once and a while you'll step in the wrong place and get a few on you. Then there is a sort of dance you do as you try to brush them off of you. It is so painful!
But I had never been covered with them before. It took us over 20 minutes to de-ant, and we still found more even as the conversation progressed.
So that's just a little look at the adventure which is life in Africa!
Last night I had a lovely dinner with Fr. Emmanuel who just returned from a very long trip in Italy. It was the first time I really got to sit down with him since he'd been back. Elizabeth and Gertrude had made delicious fish, and Sr. Linda had made a chocolate cake with honey instead of sugar. It was extra good when I put my chocolate pudding on it. :)
The dinner was full of laughter and fun. At one point I brought up the ENORMOUS block of cheese which was at that moment taking up one whole shelf in the refrigerator. I had been drooling over it all week, craving CHEESE. But I hadn't gotten to ask Fr. if it was fair game. So I had just been dreaming about it.
He said of course it was free for eating. Then he proceeded to tell us the hilarious story of actually bringing the cheese back with him from Italy. Apparently he hadn't had the 10 extra kilos he expected, so he ended up sneaking a 3rd carry on, which solely contained the 8 kilo block of cheese and some candles! Apparently security got a bit concerned over this very solid object in his bag, but laughed when they saw the enormity of cheese, not a bomb! We laughed so hard, and this morning Sister and I began the incredible enjoyment of glorious cheeeese!! (I'm about to go have lunch of mac and cheese, I am so happy)
A few days ago, I went down into the cow farm to the pavillion. It's the place we use for New Dawn, but we don't ever use it the rest of the year. It's a large area, and it's a great place to be alone or to have a good chat with a friend. I was meeting one of my friends down there and was wanting to sit out on the ground near the pavilion. I brought my kitenge (clothing protecting blanket) so that we could sit on it and not get dirty.
Well we went to sit and within 2 seconds both of us went running, screaming towards the pavilion steps! SAFARI ANTS!!! We were covered. I have no idea how they move SO FAST. They were everywhere, literally. From between my toes to in my dreads! Both of us were covered... in our clothes, shoes, underwear...everywhere is not an exaggeration!
Safari ants hurt like nothing else. They basically burn you when they bit you. Thankfully the bites don't stay or become welts, they just hurt when they get you. They will walk all over you and then suddenly you will feel them in some terrible place! Even as I was crawling into bed later that night, I felt/found one between my toes!
I had only had one other encounter with them, and that was in Bikira outside of Masaka this past August. I slept through the attack, but my hosts told me the next morning that we had been invaded by these terrible creatures and they had had to battle them for over an hour!
Once and a while you'll step in the wrong place and get a few on you. Then there is a sort of dance you do as you try to brush them off of you. It is so painful!
But I had never been covered with them before. It took us over 20 minutes to de-ant, and we still found more even as the conversation progressed.
So that's just a little look at the adventure which is life in Africa!
Wow! From the highs of cheese to the lows of ants. Thank you for describing your life so beautifully to us. It's amazing to think that exactly a year ago we were sitting side-by-side at an Easter service. It's amazing to see how much God has done in the past year!
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