You know how sometimes when a person doesn't know how to swim someone decides to throw them in the deep end?
That was my day, and I LOVED it!
I woke up before my alarm to the sound of African music coming from somewhere nearby. It was a fun way to wake up on my first full day here!! I had a peaceful morning with lots of time to get ready, have breakfast, and do devotions.
At noon we picked up the pace quite a bit though! Faith, a Kenyan who's lived in Uganda for a while, and Rachel, another short-termer working with AIM, came by the guesthouse to pick me up. We took a boda down to the main road (Entebbe Road) then got on a taxi headed into the city. The taxis are big vans that hold 12 people and they are everywhere!! I asked Faith how she knew the taxi was going into Kampala..she laughed and said "I guess I just knew". Apparently if a taxi is on Entebbe Road and is pointed in the direction of town, that's where it's going! Good to know! =]
Once we got into town we walked up some different streets and Faith pointed out various places to me. There are different landmarks that are good to know in Kampala whether you're meeting someone or just trying to get around. We went to the post office and a book store before we started getting thirsty and hungry. We got on another taxi that was supposed to drop us off at Jinja Road but for some reason or other it kept going...when it finally stopped we got out and got on another boda and headed for Garden City.
Garden City is a big shopping area. It has a bunch of stores and food places in it and it's very modern looking. I was actually really surprised, it basically looks like a mall back home. We went to the food court for lunch and though it looks like a food court back home it was really different!! We found a table and sat down and within seconds we had a bunch of people around us giving us menus. Instead of going up to the place you want to eat at and ordering, they bring the menu to you then when you choose a place the waiter from that restaurant serves you. It was really quite amusing because we had about six different menus in front of us and we had no idea what we wanted...if you look at one thing for too long the waiter from that restaurant will start to think you're going to order it and if you don't look at one menu at all the waiter will open it up for you and basically start reading different things to you!! It was a bit overwhelming but like I said, also amusing. We ended up all ordering some sort of chicken wrap from a Lebanese restaurant that turned out to be delicious!
After lunch we stopped at a pharmacy so I could get some stuff for my sore throat then Faith had to leave. Rachel and I went across the street to another shopping center called The Oasis. She showed me around there a bit then we went to a little coffee shop where a lot of mizungos (white people) go. As we were walking towards the coffee shop a group of men carrying guns was walking through the parking lot. All of the people outside the coffee shop and a bunch of people in the parking lot were gathered watching them. I was concerned, but only for a second; we just kept walking and went into the shop. We never heard what happened and by the time we left you couldn't tell there had even been a crowd. (Don't worry! I was totally fine...besides, if there was a reason to worry I wouldn't write about it in here!!!)
I was really grateful for the time at the coffee shop because I was able to ask Rachel lots of questions about life in Kampala; she's been here since January so she was super helpful!
On the boda ride back I felt like I was going to absolutely burst with excitement! I was sitting on the back of this little motorcycle zipping around Kampala...can't you just picture it?! There were a few places where when you looked around you could see a really beautiful view of the city; it's very hilly so when you're up on a hill you feel like you can see everything! I wish I could have taken a video or something so you all could see it here...actually I wish you could all just come ride a boda for yourself because they are so much fun!!!
So anyways, that was my experience of being thrown headfirst into a foreign city without knowing a thing! I think I did pretty well; especially because I had Faith and Rachel there to show me how things are done!
For now though it's time to let the mosquito net down, put in my earplugs to drown out the barking dogs, and get some sleep!
->if you thought riding in the back of a big red truck was cool, just wait till you get to ride a boda! =]
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
I made it!
I sat in front of the big screens that direct you to the gate staring at the Entebbe flight. It had been on the screen for about an hour but no gate was listed yet. I was enjoying my second helping of yogurt and granola (which tastes even better in London than it does back home!). Well over half of the flights for the evening had been cancelled due to weather but Entebbe still looked promising. Just as I was finishing up my yogurt it popped up; gate B42! I had plenty of time to get there but I still hurried. The flight went smoothly; I was asleep before we even took off! Thankfully there was a wonderful lady sitting mext to me who woke me up for dinner! She even saved my dessert for me when I fell asleep before getting to it! She had exciting plans for her trip to Uganda and we talked quite a bit as we had breakfast before landing. She gave me lots of advice about living in a foreign country and she told me that she would wait at the airport until I found my taxi driver. I was so thankful for all her help! I have a picture that I'll put up once I get my laptop working.
I found my driver really easily thanks to the big sign that said "Molly Smith"! It was exciting to see my own name on a sign like that...sometimes I still can't believe I get to do this!
I have no idea how long the ride to the guesthouse was; I was so busy trying to see everything that I paid no attention to time. It looks a lot like the bigger cities I've been to in Haiti and Jamaica, though it's certainly distinct in some ways.
The guesthouse is perfect. Its small but very nice and very comfortable. I have pictures of my room that I'll put up later. (I love my room!! It's so pretty!) I've been able to talk to the couple that's running it for the weekend a little bit which has been really fun; they have a beautiful little girl that is quite entertaining! I love listening to conversations about life here and the work they and the other missionaries do.
After I got here I met with Karen, the short-term coordinator, to talk about some different things. I got my own cell phone and filled out some paperwork. Then I got to go on my first boda ride!! A boda is kind of like a motorcycle. You sit on the back behind the driver and hang on to the seat under you. Karen and I both rode on the same one, three people on one bike! She said sometimes you'll see even more than that piled on one boda. We went to the grocery store down the road from the guesthouse; it was much more modern than I had anticipated and you could find just about anything there! She showed me all the different fruit I'll be able to buy; mangoes, pineapple, oranges (which are green here, it's very strange looking!), avacados, bananas, and a few others that I can't remember right now! She bought me a mango which I'm very much looking forward to! I was able to use the ATM after that and bought some airtime for my phone with the Ugandan money I got out. She said that I'll be using the Ugandan money here all the time rather than my card so I'll have to get used to talking in the thousands and hundred thousands when I'm buying things. For example, I spent 20,000 on the airtime today; sounds like a TON but really it was only about 8 dollars.
Karen then treated me to fresh mango/pineapple juice from a coffee shop and we talked a little more about what I would be doing here. She explained that I'll be living with Florence; a Ugandan woman who is the director of Mukisa. Currently a girl named Cat lives with her. She's lived there for about two months and will be leaving in two weeks. Karen said that Cat will be able to teach me basically everything I'll need to know while I'm here, how to get around, how much to pay for different things, stuff like that. I'll get to meet her on Sunday and I'm definitely looking forward to it! I'm grateful that our stays here overlap so she can fill me in on everything!
When we got back to the guesthouse we had lunch then I had time to relax until dinner. I called my mom and Garrick for a little bit which was such a nice surprise because none of us thought that we'd be able to talk while I was here!! I took a much needed nap before dinner but woke up more exhausted than I was before I fell asleep!
Speaking of being exhausted, I still am! I'm going to shower then head to bed for the night! =] My first night in Uganda!! =]
I found my driver really easily thanks to the big sign that said "Molly Smith"! It was exciting to see my own name on a sign like that...sometimes I still can't believe I get to do this!
I have no idea how long the ride to the guesthouse was; I was so busy trying to see everything that I paid no attention to time. It looks a lot like the bigger cities I've been to in Haiti and Jamaica, though it's certainly distinct in some ways.
The guesthouse is perfect. Its small but very nice and very comfortable. I have pictures of my room that I'll put up later. (I love my room!! It's so pretty!) I've been able to talk to the couple that's running it for the weekend a little bit which has been really fun; they have a beautiful little girl that is quite entertaining! I love listening to conversations about life here and the work they and the other missionaries do.
After I got here I met with Karen, the short-term coordinator, to talk about some different things. I got my own cell phone and filled out some paperwork. Then I got to go on my first boda ride!! A boda is kind of like a motorcycle. You sit on the back behind the driver and hang on to the seat under you. Karen and I both rode on the same one, three people on one bike! She said sometimes you'll see even more than that piled on one boda. We went to the grocery store down the road from the guesthouse; it was much more modern than I had anticipated and you could find just about anything there! She showed me all the different fruit I'll be able to buy; mangoes, pineapple, oranges (which are green here, it's very strange looking!), avacados, bananas, and a few others that I can't remember right now! She bought me a mango which I'm very much looking forward to! I was able to use the ATM after that and bought some airtime for my phone with the Ugandan money I got out. She said that I'll be using the Ugandan money here all the time rather than my card so I'll have to get used to talking in the thousands and hundred thousands when I'm buying things. For example, I spent 20,000 on the airtime today; sounds like a TON but really it was only about 8 dollars.
Karen then treated me to fresh mango/pineapple juice from a coffee shop and we talked a little more about what I would be doing here. She explained that I'll be living with Florence; a Ugandan woman who is the director of Mukisa. Currently a girl named Cat lives with her. She's lived there for about two months and will be leaving in two weeks. Karen said that Cat will be able to teach me basically everything I'll need to know while I'm here, how to get around, how much to pay for different things, stuff like that. I'll get to meet her on Sunday and I'm definitely looking forward to it! I'm grateful that our stays here overlap so she can fill me in on everything!
When we got back to the guesthouse we had lunch then I had time to relax until dinner. I called my mom and Garrick for a little bit which was such a nice surprise because none of us thought that we'd be able to talk while I was here!! I took a much needed nap before dinner but woke up more exhausted than I was before I fell asleep!
Speaking of being exhausted, I still am! I'm going to shower then head to bed for the night! =] My first night in Uganda!! =]
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Update from Terminal 5
So far, so good!
I got to GR yesterday with my mom and Garrick in plenty of time for my plane. We had lunch together, my mom bought me a book for the plane (thanks mom!!), and we took some pictures together. I knew it was going to be hard to say goodbye, but my goodness I was not prepared for the tears that followed! As soon as I had to walk away from them I just started crying. It's not that I didn't want to go, because I do! It was just hard knowing that it would be a long time before I see them or anyone else that I know. The guy who checked me in said "You know, they'll miss you too" then he told me to make sure I turn around and wave goodbye before I walk up the ramp. I found my gate just as they announced that it would be delayed an hour. Thankfully I had a six hour layover in Chicago so I wasn't worried. I got online, tried to post the Mark Harris lyrics, but it wouldn't work. The plane ride went quickly and then I was in Chicago!! I found my way around then grabbed a salad from McDonalds. The Wi-Fi was seven dollars so I went without the internet. Then came the best part of the Chicago airport...ice cream! =]
Once I was at my gate I called Garrick and my mom one last time to say a final goodbye, though it wasn't really a final goodbye because as soon as we hung up I was texting them like crazy until the plane took off! It was an exciting moment when the plane lifted off, no more U.S. for two and a half months!! The plane ride was nice, I could hardly sleep though which would be annoying but I have a ten hour flight ahead of me still so I'm sure I'll sleep then. The bad part of that flight was that my ears got all plugged up like they needed to pop. Yuck!!! I felt so weird because I could hardly hear the people around me..it was like I had earplugs in. When we landed in London I couldn't stop smiling. I'm in LONDON!! I walked all around my terminal to see what there was to do then found a good seat and pulled out the laptop! Now you're all caught up!
Some of my favorite moments so far have been reading the letters I was given before I left. I've yet to read one without crying (like I told my mom, I've been an emotional crazy person!! Really though, they aren't bad tears, so don't worry!) but they have meant SO much to me. I was even given a homemade crossword puzzle to do on the plane! Speaking of that, I'm going to need some help from the creator because I couldn't finish it!
Thank you to everyone for all the prayers so far...they have been felt! I cannot describe the comfort I feel by knowing that no matter where I am; GR, Chicago, London....and soon Uganda, God is with me!
My battery is about dead...so goodbye for now, from Terminal 5
Molly<3
I got to GR yesterday with my mom and Garrick in plenty of time for my plane. We had lunch together, my mom bought me a book for the plane (thanks mom!!), and we took some pictures together. I knew it was going to be hard to say goodbye, but my goodness I was not prepared for the tears that followed! As soon as I had to walk away from them I just started crying. It's not that I didn't want to go, because I do! It was just hard knowing that it would be a long time before I see them or anyone else that I know. The guy who checked me in said "You know, they'll miss you too" then he told me to make sure I turn around and wave goodbye before I walk up the ramp. I found my gate just as they announced that it would be delayed an hour. Thankfully I had a six hour layover in Chicago so I wasn't worried. I got online, tried to post the Mark Harris lyrics, but it wouldn't work. The plane ride went quickly and then I was in Chicago!! I found my way around then grabbed a salad from McDonalds. The Wi-Fi was seven dollars so I went without the internet. Then came the best part of the Chicago airport...ice cream! =]
Once I was at my gate I called Garrick and my mom one last time to say a final goodbye, though it wasn't really a final goodbye because as soon as we hung up I was texting them like crazy until the plane took off! It was an exciting moment when the plane lifted off, no more U.S. for two and a half months!! The plane ride was nice, I could hardly sleep though which would be annoying but I have a ten hour flight ahead of me still so I'm sure I'll sleep then. The bad part of that flight was that my ears got all plugged up like they needed to pop. Yuck!!! I felt so weird because I could hardly hear the people around me..it was like I had earplugs in. When we landed in London I couldn't stop smiling. I'm in LONDON!! I walked all around my terminal to see what there was to do then found a good seat and pulled out the laptop! Now you're all caught up!
Some of my favorite moments so far have been reading the letters I was given before I left. I've yet to read one without crying (like I told my mom, I've been an emotional crazy person!! Really though, they aren't bad tears, so don't worry!) but they have meant SO much to me. I was even given a homemade crossword puzzle to do on the plane! Speaking of that, I'm going to need some help from the creator because I couldn't finish it!
Thank you to everyone for all the prayers so far...they have been felt! I cannot describe the comfort I feel by knowing that no matter where I am; GR, Chicago, London....and soon Uganda, God is with me!
My battery is about dead...so goodbye for now, from Terminal 5
Molly<3
Find Your Wings (By Mark Harris)
This song was played in church on Sunday and my mom and I cried through the whole thing. It so perfectly describes the love that my mom and dad have given me. I don't want to try to explain it any more than that, the lyrics do a beautiful job..
It's only for a moment
You are mine to hold The plans that heavens has for you
Will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray
For all that you might do
But most of all I want to know
You're walking in the truth
And if I never told you
I want you to know
That as I watch you grow
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings
May passion be the wind
That leads you through your days
And may conviction keep your strong
Guide you on your way
May there be many moments
That make your life so sweet
Oh but more than memories
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings
It's not living
If you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer as you fly
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings
It's only for a moment
You are mine to hold The plans that heavens has for you
Will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray
For all that you might do
But most of all I want to know
You're walking in the truth
And if I never told you
I want you to know
That as I watch you grow
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings
May passion be the wind
That leads you through your days
And may conviction keep your strong
Guide you on your way
May there be many moments
That make your life so sweet
Oh but more than memories
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings
It's not living
If you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer as you fly
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings
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