There is really nothing more special than meeting a Ugandan acquaintance and have her say to me,"You are looking good! You are fat!" Uganda is not for the ones with low self-esteem.
As we were stuck in a jam, heading to Oasis and Garden City, I said to Apollo, Anna and Andrew, "Now I feel like I am in Uganda!" Jam Jam Jam.
A few things that have changed. There are very few street hawkers with newspapers or other wares to sell on the side of the road. The businesses are now being forced to be 8m back from the road so there is a distance between the streets and the shops. If you are one of the unlucky ones to have a business close to the road, you get a letter informing you that you are too close and then they bulldoze your place. Some places are completely cleared and others are still piles of rubble that others are now using to set up their wares to sell. But the jam... that will never change.
I had to go to the mall (ugh) to get myself a couple of shirts to wear until my luggage arrives. I also asked Andrew to buy me a pair of flipflops for around the house. He and I have the same size feet so while I was looking at shirts, he went to Bata to buy a pair. They are size 12 and would probably fit Corey. Hopefully I won't trip over them over the course of my stay!
I did manage to find two light weight cotton shirts in the men's section at Nakumatt. All the women's stuff was thick or bouffanty or in such incredible colour combinations that even I thought they were too much. A plain black and a plain beige to wear with my one black and beige skirt that will be all I wear until my clothes arrive.
Hopefully that will be tomorrow.
It doesn't feel like I have been away.
I do need some sleep though. Tomorrow there should be more to talk about as I am going underwear shopping. That is always fun. Good night!
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
2 days...
People have been asking me for the past few weeks whether I am excited yet or if I am packed yet. Until the school year is over, I don't really start to dive into in-depth pre-Uganda planning!
I guess I must be excited now as it is 4am on Tuesday morning and I can't sleep! I have so many things going through my brain about what still needs to be done and what is going to happen while I am in Uganda. I have 600 sanitary kits to deliver this year. That will take a major chunk of my time. I am looking forward to seeing my friends and all the people we worked with last year through ISEE. From Andrew's reports, things have been going well for most of our Mama Nguvu candidates but some have fallen on hard times as well with their homes and businesses being bulldozed by the government in an effort to show the international community that they are reducing the number of slums in Kampala. I hope we will be able to sponsor at least another 10 Mamas this time as well.
Things I still need to get... a small purell bottle of sanitizer (I have a big one but it is less subtle to pull that out of my bag each time I feel the need to wash my hands!), a mid-weight zip-up sweater/jacket (it will only be 24 during the day and 16 at night so I'll need something warmer in the evenings, especially after leaving the 39 degree heat here in Kelowna) and of course, a few dog biscuits for Simba for when I arrive. I am not sure when I might get to Game, the Ugandan version of Wallmart, to buy our usual box of doggie treats so I have to be ready for the first few days of comings and goings. The mzungu never leave or come back without giving the dog a treat! The locals think we are crazy.
I finally got my bags packed yesterday. 3 days in advance, not bad. My biggest stressor is always the luggage. At the moment, I have 4 x 50lbs bags, plus a small wheelie carry-on and my purse. BA allows me two checked bags then the other two are $100 each per flight. Westjet is always a wild card. Sometimes the luggage goes through without any charge, sometimes the luggage is charged based on what BA offers, and sometimes the luggage is charged per piece. Apparently, according to the website, the luggage can even be refused. That gets my heart rate up a bit!
Of those 200lbs of checked luggage and 40lbs of hand luggage, my personal items including clothing and toiletries weigh 15 lbs. My computer weighs 5. Then the bags themselves weigh 20lbs. This means that only 40lbs is actually things that belong to me! 150 lbs is sanitary kits and the other 50lbs are items for friends. I guess that's a good thing as I have some major shopping to do for a couple of fundraisers in Kelowna in the fall. Lots of room to fill as I will have my 2 x 50lb bags to bring back for free... until I hit Vancouver of course and check-in with Westjet.
Please, as always, keep in touch via comments on the blog, email, and facebook. Even if you don't think it is important, I love to hear from home. I will also be writing regularly on the ISEE blog: www.iseesolutions.org when I have internet (power can always put a wrench in those plans) and may even have wi-fi if Shamir sends me the password for my phone. Luckily I can get a data stick for the laptop!
"See" you on the other side of the pond!
I guess I must be excited now as it is 4am on Tuesday morning and I can't sleep! I have so many things going through my brain about what still needs to be done and what is going to happen while I am in Uganda. I have 600 sanitary kits to deliver this year. That will take a major chunk of my time. I am looking forward to seeing my friends and all the people we worked with last year through ISEE. From Andrew's reports, things have been going well for most of our Mama Nguvu candidates but some have fallen on hard times as well with their homes and businesses being bulldozed by the government in an effort to show the international community that they are reducing the number of slums in Kampala. I hope we will be able to sponsor at least another 10 Mamas this time as well.
Things I still need to get... a small purell bottle of sanitizer (I have a big one but it is less subtle to pull that out of my bag each time I feel the need to wash my hands!), a mid-weight zip-up sweater/jacket (it will only be 24 during the day and 16 at night so I'll need something warmer in the evenings, especially after leaving the 39 degree heat here in Kelowna) and of course, a few dog biscuits for Simba for when I arrive. I am not sure when I might get to Game, the Ugandan version of Wallmart, to buy our usual box of doggie treats so I have to be ready for the first few days of comings and goings. The mzungu never leave or come back without giving the dog a treat! The locals think we are crazy.
I finally got my bags packed yesterday. 3 days in advance, not bad. My biggest stressor is always the luggage. At the moment, I have 4 x 50lbs bags, plus a small wheelie carry-on and my purse. BA allows me two checked bags then the other two are $100 each per flight. Westjet is always a wild card. Sometimes the luggage goes through without any charge, sometimes the luggage is charged based on what BA offers, and sometimes the luggage is charged per piece. Apparently, according to the website, the luggage can even be refused. That gets my heart rate up a bit!
Of those 200lbs of checked luggage and 40lbs of hand luggage, my personal items including clothing and toiletries weigh 15 lbs. My computer weighs 5. Then the bags themselves weigh 20lbs. This means that only 40lbs is actually things that belong to me! 150 lbs is sanitary kits and the other 50lbs are items for friends. I guess that's a good thing as I have some major shopping to do for a couple of fundraisers in Kelowna in the fall. Lots of room to fill as I will have my 2 x 50lb bags to bring back for free... until I hit Vancouver of course and check-in with Westjet.
Please, as always, keep in touch via comments on the blog, email, and facebook. Even if you don't think it is important, I love to hear from home. I will also be writing regularly on the ISEE blog: www.iseesolutions.org when I have internet (power can always put a wrench in those plans) and may even have wi-fi if Shamir sends me the password for my phone. Luckily I can get a data stick for the laptop!
"See" you on the other side of the pond!
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Two weeks today...
This year, my students are really excited about my work in Uganda and about my upcoming trip. They wrote postcards to their Uganda penpals today and asked about getting replies in the fall. Some were quite worried that I may not be able to find them to get them their replies but I promised that I would find them in their new classes and get the replies to them.
A group of my girls represented Uganda at their mini-World Cup tournament this past weekend. They had t-shirts printed and they waved Ugandan flags. Not all the international teams were so dedicated to representing their country so completely.
They even had a t-shirt for me so we all wore them today. I promised them that I would share the photo with the students in Uganda. I know they (the students here and the students there) will be thrilled.
One student asked me if I was excited about my trip and of course, despite everything that still needs to be done, I can very enthusiastically say "YES!"
Merci mes belles!
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