Days {1 - 4}

I'm still in a state of mind where this whole experience feels surreal. I can't seem to wrap my head around the fact that what I'm looking outside of my window is Uganda, Africa. Never would I have thought this is where God would lead me. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to begin blogging, but I've been on a plane since Monday, and just arrived and slept the day away yesterday. But! Here's a recap of everything I've experienced thus far:

Monday - June 4th

This was the big day! I woke up not even phased by the fact that this was the day I would be saying goodbye to everything that made my life "comfortable". This was the day that I would officially answer God's calling.

I started the day by waking up after having only 4 hours of sleep to finish up my 'Thank you' cards, then proceeded to do my last minute shopping.. I couldn't believe that I still had to run around and get things done the day of my trip! Only me.. anyway, once the shopping was done, my mum and I headed back to my house so that I could now finish packing my last minute things. Jeremy came over shortly after, and he brought gifts with him! I finally got my first pair of Toms - thanks boo! (: Around 4.30pm, we left the house to depart to the airport - we got about 10 minutes from my house when I realized that I had forgotten my ticket at home! Thankfully we weren't too far away, so we went back for that, and finally hit the road. The drive to Chicago was a long one.. I think this is when the idea of me going to Uganda finally hit me - which I think made the drive seem much longer than it actually was. About 10 minutes from the airport, I received a call from Lauren (one of my friends that's here with me) to find out that our flight was delayed until 12.30am! On the bright side, I no longer had to rush my goodbyes - thank goodness. But when we arrived at the airport, we ended up unloading and tried checking in at the wrong terminal.. so we took the train to the actual terminal, then decided to find some food! On the way back to the first terminal we went to - go figure.. we ran into Becky and Lauren who had been in the airport since 3 in the afternoon. Got some photos taken and then were on our way again. My last American meal was McDonald's, hah, how appropriate. It was really nice being able to just sit down with my mum and Jeremy at the airport, just to be able to chat before my big departure. Around 9.00pm I had to head back to the correct terminal so that I would be able to go through security and get where I needed to be. Saying goodbye is probably one of my least favorite things to do, and saying goodbye to 2 of my favorite people was no easy task. Thankfully my mum has a way of always making me laugh, which made our goodbye a little more relaxed. And saying goodbye to Jeremy is always awful, even when I leave for college - this situation was no exception. Finally, we were all done with hugs and whatnot, and it was finally time to walk through those gates. The site of them brought tears to my eyes. I have never done something like this before, sure I've gone to Florida on my own for 2 weeks, but there is no way that someone could mentally prepare themselves to leave everything behind to go to Africa for two and a months. After a few more hugs, I was able to walk away from my mum and Jeremy - I couldn't bring myself to look back.. on the other side I met up with Lauren and Becky. I was able to skype with Liz for a little bit, then it was finally time to board the plane, at 12.15am. For the next 7.5 hours, I would be on a plane headed for London, England. This flight was a little rough. It was too cramped, and by the time I was on the plane, I was completely crabby and exhausted. In the middle of the night, I woke up feeling like I was going to be sick - so I headed to the bathroom. It was being used, so I leaned against the wall. I felt so sick, and I was dripping sweat, even though the plane wasn't that hot. Next thing I know, I'm being woken up on the floor. Apparently, I fainted and a flight attendant managed to catch me. It was nothing big - they think I was just dehydrated, but I think I was feeling a little claustrophobic as well. So they brought me some food and ginger ale, and then I managed to fall back asleep. (No worries, I'm completely safe - no harm done!)

 (@ O'Hare Airport with Mum)

(@ O'Hare Airport with Jeremy)

(@ O'Hare Airport with Becky and Lauren)

Tuesday - June 5th

We arrived in London around 3.30pm. We had to walk through customs to get our passports stamped, then headed downstairs to purchase our Heathrow Express tickets to head into the city. Once they were bought, we hopped on board and shortly after arrived at Paddington Station. By this time, we were all starving, so our first stop was to find a restaurant. Luckily we found an authentic English pub down the road from the station - I don't remember the name of it, but it sure was good. Lauren tried the classic Fish n Chips, whereas Becky and I had tried a Mozzarella, Tomato, and Pesto sandwich with chips (fries) - which ended up tasting very excellent! We originally had planned for a bus tour around London, but seeing as our flight from Chicago was delayed we were a little short on time. So instead, we ventured to Hyde Park. Oh, I forgot to mention is pouring rain while we there, a little "Welcome to London" shower. After a stroll through the park, we stopped at a little souvenir shop so that Lauren could purchase some goods. Then we proceeded to head back to the airport! This was the first time I was able to get wifi, so I was sure to let a couple people know that I had made it London safely. By the time we got to the airport and through security, we only had around an hour and a half left before our flight left. I was finally able to start drying out my shoes, seeing as the were completely soaked from the lovely rain shower. I also bought an apple and some popcorn so that I was able to take my Malaria medication. Before we knew it, we were boarding the plane. This next leg of our trip was 8.5 hours, and unfortunately, I was only able to sleep for 3. I'm not entirely sure why, this flight was much more roomier than our previous flight. I watched "Big Miracle" - the movie about the family of whales that were trapped, it's a decent movie. Other than that I was just "attempting" to sleep. 

 (@ the pub we found in London)

Wednesday - June 6thFinally, we are in Uganda. I woke up to a beautiful sunrise outside of the plane window. When we landed, the first thing we needed to do was buy our visas because we'll be here for two and a half months. After that, we collected our bagged - thank the Lord they had luggage carts, seeing as we each had 3 bags! Imagine me trying to carry all of that around, no way. Once we walked out of the arrival gates, there was a man hold a sign that said "Amani Baby Cottage", this was Joshua. He was nice enough to drive 3 hours to come pick us up from Entebbe just to drive us all the way back to Jinja. The ride was very interesting, we were riding in a van - and let me tell you.. Ugandans do not abide by any driving laws. Cars and Bodas (motorcycles that act as taxis) zoom in and out of traffic as they please. But we drove through a couple of big towns, and wow.. that experience alone was extremely eye opening. The thing I remember most was the amount of red dirt around, and the copious amounts of shacks where locals were trying to sell their goods. I noticed that half of the people were hard at work, and the other half was just sitting around enjoying what they were doing. From what I could tell though, is that Ugandans are a hardworking people. And I definitely admire that, another thing I admire is the sense of resourcefulness that saw amongst everyone. There were no garbage cans, there seemed to be designated areas where trash was thrown, and then occasionally I saw it being burned. We did get caught in traffic at one point, and there were men walking along the road coming up to the windows trying to sell us their products, for example newspapers. Considering their surroundings, I saw a lot more smiles than not. And that's something that honestly warmed my help. I feel like that's something I would love to take away from this experience - it could seriously be so much worse, but it's not and I need to appreciate that more. After the 3 hour drive, we finally arrived at Amani! We were greeted by Sandra and Helen, and were shown our room! On the way into our house, you couldn't help but notice the babies rolling around on our living room floor. Probably one of the most heart warming sights ever. Our room is super comfortable! There are 2 sets of bunk beds, it's Lauren, Becky, myself, and Susan - who is the Night Monitor which makes sure that volunteers are doing what they need to be doing. We have our own toilet and shower, but no bathroom door. So, it seems as though I'm going to be getting a lot more close to these girls than I had anticipated. We had our first Ugandan lunch, which consisted of rice, beans, some greens, and a root that honestly has no taste. Truthfully, it was quite good in my opinion. I managed to get my internet working, so I updated Facebook, then fell asleep. I was woken up around 7.30pm by Lauren and Becky - we had all taken a 5 hour nap! I skyped with Jeremy for a little bit! Showered and then turned in for the night! It was beyond amazing to finally sleep in a normal position. Thank the Lord for a safe arrival, and for this absolutely awesome opportunity He's given me.

(@ Entebbe Airport - my feet on Ugandan soil for the first time)

(@ the drive from Entebbe to Jinja, local businesses)

Thursday - June 7th (today)

Well, since I had slept for 5 hours in the middle of the day yesterday, I woke up at 3.00am. I tried and tried, but seriously couldn't fall asleep for the life of me! But, later on, maybe around 6.30am - I started hearing the birds outside, and there was a small glow around the trees making everything more apparently. Eventually I heard the cries of the babies who live on our floor with us. Overall, I think it was a great way to somewhat wake up (: With the exception of our local rooster, who had started his wake up calls around 4.00am, and the turkey who decided to chime in later on in the morning. Naturally, I was the first awake, and decided to get dressed and ready for my first day as an Amani Volunteer. For breakfast, I had peanut butter toast topped with bananas, and then a bowl of FRESH pineapple! I'm not going to lie when I say that it was probably one of the best breakfasts I've had. We pray as a team every morning, which is something I'm highly looking forward to.. I need to pray more, and it was actually a goal I had set for myself for the summer. Then after prayer, Lauren, Becky, and myself had orientation which just went over the rules, rents, expectations, ect. Finally, after that - we were able to spend time with the babies. Amani has pre-school for them 9-10.00am, basically teaching them numbers, words, crafty activities. Then we have play time outside, which is when all of the children run up to you calling you "Auntie" and hanging all over you (: This is probably one of the times I've felt so absolutely loved! I'm assigned to the Boys C room, which is the 3-5 year old boys, and man.. are they roudy! Then we get them ready for lunch, and send them in for naps. Then at 4.00pm we have more time with the kids doing miscellaneous activities with the kids. Today, Lauren and I, and 2 other volunteers took our 4 children to Surgio's - the local pizza shop for a soda. The kids got so incredibly excited to be going to town, and for getting a soda. Then more play time, and finally dinner and bedtime. Thursday nights we have bible studies with the other volunteers, so tonight was our first. It's so great knowing that I'm serving with such God-loving women. During lunch time, Sandra took us into town to exchange our money and took us to the market to buy some food to make dinner. But, we took our first boda rides today! They were fun! A little scary - but fun. Needless to say, I'm exhausted and in dire need for sleep.

(@ Amani - my Ugandan shillings)

I'm sorry this is such a long entry, but I just wanted to keep you all in the loop! Keep me in your prayers! I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you guys! (: