So what's it like over there?

Green and beautiful . . .

A place to call home . . .

Micro-entrepreneurship at it's best . . .

Market Street . . .

Just doing life . . .

Weird, creepy crane things that liked to hang around town . . .

Does that answer your question? And yes, there is lots more to come.

While mom is away, the boys will play

My boys had way too much fun while I was gone - with both Grandparents, Uncle Mason and then with my sister and her kids. They day before I got home they went hiking up in Payson Canyon. Can you believe they went without me?

NYC in day

Quick stop in New York on my way home from Africa.  Strange, last time I was in NYC was on a layover too.  Oh well.  So now you're wondering what can you do in New York City in less than one day??

(1) Take a stroll through Central Park.  It's not the same as in the movies.  You have to see it in real life.

(2) Stop by the Guggenheim, it's famous.

 

(3) Visit the Metropolitan Museum.  I never thought I was "a museum person", but the Met really is exceptional.  And for $1, you can't beat it.  If you're in Manhattan, you have to go.

(4) Go to the 'oft seen in movies' New York City Library.  It really was an amazing structure.  Why don't we have libraries like this in Utah?

(5) Make a stop at Grand Central Station.  So many people going so many different places.  Maybe I could live here with all of those options for escape.

(6) Check out the NYFD shop/museum place (especially ifyour hubby IS a firefighter).

(7) Catch a quick peak at the Chrysler building in passing.

(8)Take in the sights and sounds of Times Square.  This is definitely different from any cities around here.  Too bad I didn't have time for a play. :(

(9)  Eat lunch at the Carnegie Deli.  As seen in the book, 1000 Places to See Before You Die.  Another one down, only 900something to go.  And yes, those are gigantic sandwiches that probably couldhave fed 4 people.

Thanks Genevieve (and Sam) for a super awesome tour of New York!

Eye Camp

The first project I got to participate in was one they called "Eye Camp". One of our amazing volunteers had worked hard for weeks to put this together, and this was the first day of it. How lucky I was to be there! We (as in HELP International) partnered with an organization called Sight Savers to do a series of outreach eye clinic days in various small villages around Lugazi. I think there were a total of 14 over about 8 days. It was free to anyone who came and they received vision testing, glasses and/or medication if necessary, and some were approved for surgery which will be provided at Kawolo hospital by Sight Savers doctors. Most of the surgeries were for cataracts, which is easily treatable. We will be providing the transportation to and from the hospital and food for them while they are there.

Simple, yet totally life changing for these people. I can't believe how many of them had been living with extremely poor vision or couldn't see at all out of one eye or both. Also, many of the people suffered from severe allergies that could be helped by a simple bottle of eye drops. I wondered how long they had just simply dealt with these things. Most of these people cannot afford the 25 cents for the bus to the clinic, let alone the cost of a doctor's visit.

Waiting for their turn . . .

When we arrived there were people who had been waiting since 7am. By the time we got started more and more were gathering. That day, we ended up screening over 130 people. When I left Uganda, our volunteers had helped over 1000 people and had 70+ surgeries scheduled. I was so proud of the time, effort and collaboration that went into this and glad that I could participate for the short time I had.

Don't look down

I think I mentioned before what a long trip it is to actually get to Uganda, East Africa - like two days plus. Well, it just so happened, that since it took me so long to get there, it was the weekend by the time I arrived, which for our volunteers means time to play. First though, let me give you the run down of my arrival - get to the airport; get off the plane by means of stairs coming out the side (yes, just like in the movies) and walk into the airport; immigration/customs consists of 3 people sitting at a folding table checking your passport and the card that states you do not have the swine flu; pay another guy $50 for my visa and I'm in. After I gather my luggage, I realize I never talked to the Country Directors about where we were going to meet, not a big deal, but I can't stand being hounded by taxi drivers. Luckily, in every other country besides the US, the luggage carts are free and readily available for use, so I pushed my luggage around and looked for my ride; realized they were probably just late, so I hung out, all the while assuring the taxi drivers that I did have a ride and no matter how long I had to wait I still would not need their services. Just a few minutes later they arrived and we gathered my bags and started the drive toward Lugazi, where the volunteers live. I was so excited to see them! We talked the entire 2 1/2 hr ride about plans for the week - all the projects, the volunteers, the house, the country, our partners, everything! I think my tiredness was outweighed by my excitement.

So as I was saying before, I arrived on the weekend, just in time for a little fun and a break from the work week (even though I hadn't actually done any work yet). We arrived at the house, dropped my bags, ate some food prepared by the team's cook, Mary, and after throwing a few things in my back pack headed out for a five hour journey to meet up with the volunteers. Our destination was a place called Sipi Falls, north of where we were, close to the Kenyan border.

Getting there was typical for a less developed country - squished, stinky mini-buses and drivers who tell you they will take you so far and then in the end decide they aren't going and tell you to switch buses yet again. At some point along our route we realize we are not going to make it to this remote area this late at night without paying a bundle and risking our lives, so we decide to stay in Mbale at a cheap, but safe motel and join the volunteers in the morning. Luckily on our ride there, several of the other passengers direct us where we can find such a place, and one of them, who happened to be a police officer from our town, offered to escort us there. Turns out the only room they had left had one queen bed. No problem, this is what third world living is all about, right? So the three of us slept sideways on the bed under the protection of a beautiful canopy-like mosquito net for only $7.

I was so happy we decided to wait til morning, the hour drive from Mbale to Sipi Falls was absolutely gorgeous. And not having been in Uganda even 24 hrs yet, I was still just soaking it all in and loving it. The little resort where they were staying was absolutely adorable and in a perfect setting.

This is the view as we sat there eating our yummy Ugandan meal they cooked for us.

Sipi Falls is a set of three waterfalls, each one getting successively bigger. The third one is about a 300 foot drop and then the water heads out into this gorgeous, lush valley. So my first full day, I decide to jump off a cliff (ok, not really jump, just a slow drop). For about $20 I let a couple of African men lower me down the rock face next to the last waterfall. Was I scared? Yes, for a minute. But after the first few terrified steps, I realized that it was totally gorgeous and amazing and thrilling. I would do it again in a second. The last time I was rapelling was in high school and I think it was about 75 feet. That was nothing. Not only was it cool to be on the cliff right next to the waterfall, dangling in mid air, but the view of the valley and beyond was absolutely stunning. So amazing that I am running out of words to describe it. Of course, the pictures do not do it justice. It was huge. As you are going down, you only have your feet on the wall for about a third of the way, then the wall recedes and you are just dangling as you go down. Not for the faint of heart, although I would totally recommend it to anyone - it was awesome!

Looking over the edge

zoom in on the little specs at the bottom that are actually people

The view of the valley from the top

Me at the bottom, safe and sound

Bodas, burns and babies

So some of you may realize that I have actually already returned from Africa . . . but since it was nearly impossible to do anything on the super slow and unreliable internet there, my attempts to post were completely fruitless and frustrating. Hence, you will get my experiences piecemeal as I post over the next few days (which is better anyway, because now you will get pictures at the same time).

Oh and by the way, I had an awesomely incredible experience and if it hadn't been for my four boys waiting for me to come home, I think I could have stayed much, much longer. But I am so grateful for this opportunity and thanks to everyone who helped keep things running smoothly on the homefront while I was gone - especially my awesome hubby!

So the following has nothing to do with anything, just randomness from my trip . . .

In Uganda, one of the most popular forms of transportation is called a boda (pronounced boh-duh). It is dirt bike/motorcycle thing where you pay the driver the equivalent of a quarter or fifty cents and you can get pretty much anywhere in town. It is a little scary at times because there are not the traffic laws there are here and drivers will generally use any means necessary to reach their destination - including darting between trucks and buses, passing seconds before oncoming traffic reaches you, and speeding around on the shoulders of the road. Despite this, I rode one at least once a day, long distances and short, dirt roads and paved highways. Sometimes I thought it was kind of exciting and sometimes I had white knuckles. I was totally amazed at the local women who could sit side saddle, holding a baby and groceries and manage to balance and be totally at ease.

Bodas waiting outside the local "supermarket"

Woman catching a ride and transporting water on a boda

One bummer about the bodas - on my second ride I got a nasty burn on my leg from the exhaust pipe, despite having been warned to be careful. Not cool. But that may have been the only downside to my entire trip, so I'll take that over any other myriad of things that could have happened. It is still healing and funky looking, and I'm sure it will leave a pretty little scar, but it will make a great conversation piece, right?

One of my favorite things in Africa: kids carrying their siblings around. Although I am torn about kids taking on that much responsibility, but it is cute to see, because they are always so proud to show you their little baby and they love it when you ooh and aah over their little one. (Yes, one of the babes in the picture is totally asleep on her sister's back.)

This little baby was being held by her 5 or six year old sister, while her mom was learning how to make paper beads in one of our women's groups. The little one kept fussing, so of course, I couldn't resist any longer. I took here for awhile and she totally fell asleep in my arms. When she woke up, it was time for her to do her thing, and since most babies don't wear diapers, I used my jedi-like reflexes and professional mom skills to quiickly avert a poop disaster. Amazingly, I came out clothes and arms clean, although I think the mom was a little embarrassed. She ran out with the babe before I could tell her I have been pooped on many times and it really does not bother me. At any rate, the other volunteers were awed by my skills.

Don't worry, there are many more stories to come and they are not all about poop or nasty burns. And yes, I did work on some actual projects while there, so you will hear about those too.