Home Sweet Home!!

I have reached Mbarara, mostly safe and sound.  Along the way my camera was lost/stolen.  I am going to go for the stolen option because I was really careful about where it was.  I am going to look into seeing if it was found anywhere... but I think it is gone.  Which is SUPER sad.  I will try to get another within the next 2 months.  But for the moment, we might have to go without pictures!

I have officially moved into my own little round house!!  It brings me great joy.  I will have one roommate, a woman from Kenya who is coming to also staff the DTS.  I cleaned the house with all the energy and cleaning ability of an American Woman!  I SCRUBBED, it was sooo dirty.  It felt really good.  I think I am going to become a clean freak here in Africa.  Next goal:  Ant killing.  I don't cohabitate with ants, I refuse.  I will win.

It is good to be back, people are so happy and surprised to see me.  Father and I didn't really tell many people I was returning.  It made for some very fun faces when they saw me!  So I am getting settled.  I don't have internet yet at home... the one I am using now is expensive.  But I think I will just have to bit the bullet  and pay the 40 dollars a month for internet at my place.  Meh, if only the whole world was free wireless!

The mountains around the community are BEAUTIFUL.  Because the rainy season has started, the air is clear.  So you can see all the mountains... i didn't know that the whole town of Mbarara is surrounded by mountains, but it is!!  It's very beautiful.  I love it.

So we will have some training later this week.  Then the students come on Monday!  ... then begins the craziness!  

Packing for the last time

This morning, I put my backpack together ... one last time.  

It feels good to know that I won't have to pack again for a while. 

I'm not sure what this week will look like... plans are sort of up in the air.  But I think it'll be a good week to get to know Mbarara and get settled before the DTS starts on Monday!

Under Construction

As you can probably tell, my blog is under construction.  It will be very nice and pretty in probably about a week.  Until then, I hope you can bare with me on the different options I'll be trying!

Thanks!

Home Sweet... no.... Kindergarden Friends on the bus

I was "suppose" to be on an air plane today. But everything changed I guess. I am sitting in a familiar room, in a familiar city after a LONG journey.

I went from Arusha, Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya. It took about 7.5 hours by bus, the roads are bad. I spent the night at the back packers in Nairobi and then took the day Monday to go computer shopping. I got a Acer 4810TZ...my new baby. So that's what I am writing you on now! I took a night bus at 8 pm from Nairobi to Eldoret, which is in the far west of Kenya. I arrived in Eldoret at 3:45 am!

Bahati came and picked me at about 6:30, there were some cold hours of waiting! We had 2 very lovely days together. Just hanging out, laughing a ton, talking, killing GIANT mosquitoes, ... it was lovely. I got to watch "High School Musical" (the first one) one day while she was at work. It was perfect. Enormously enjoyable.

Today I got on the bus around 12 pm... of course it didn't leave until 1:30 pm. But the journey was fine... I talked a bit to my seat mate and tried to read while holding my new backpack/computer on my lap. At the boarder crossing (Kenya to Uganda) I asked a white girl if there were any papers around to fill out. Another girl in line said No, they hadn't given any out. So I got in line behind her and we started talking.

It was amazing! She is doing very similar work to me!! We have a very similar vision for what we do, we are both Catholic and wanting to make an impact in the world... she has been all over too, but for a longer while than me. We ended up switching seats on the bus so we could sit by each other. We talked and talked! It was so wonderful... then she offered me one of her ear phones so we could listen to good African reggea music... I felt like I was in kindergarden becoming best friends with someone I just met. It was a really good feeling.

She'll be living in Kabale, which is only 2 hours from Mbarara. She is a lot of fun, and I am super excited that at the start of my new life... I've found a friend.

So now I am peacefully in Susanna and Peter's home... again. Happily using their Orange internet. Tomorrow are some exciting meetings. It is good to be back in Kampala!!

I have a "partnership" meeting with Cornerstone Leadership Development to discuss what roll I'll have in relation to their organization as I do work with some of their programing, alumni and current students. It should be a good meeting. Then I'll go to Cafe Pop for a bit... get some yummy food and use their free wireless to download all the stuff I need. Hopefully in the afternoon I will get to visit the Cardinal of Kampala... a good friend who I met in Masaka. He is a very cute, friendly and kind old man. Perhaps we will have tea.

Then I go to Mbarara on Saturday...I think. :)