My life from the other side of the world

I have finally been able to receive a decent connection so I decided to take the opportunity to update you all on my recent experiences!

The past weekend Friday through Tuesday I spent in Mbale, Uganda. When we arrived on Friday afternoon to the guesthouse where we going to be spending both Friday and Monday night at, I was blown away by how beautiful the place was. There was a screened in porch, large living room equipped with couches, a TV, a fan, and bookshelf, a little kitchen, 2.5 baths (might I add there was some hot water!), and 4 bedrooms that contained 4-5 beds/bunk beds each. For  breakfast and dinner at the guesthouse, we enjoyed some American comfort food of slopppy joes and french toast! Needless to say I did not want to leave.... But the next morning we were going to be leaving for our home stays in the village. Over breakfast in the guesthouse at Mission Moving Mountains (MMA), I told my professor I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. This led to me staying with a host family in Northern Uganda where I was one of the only students to stay by themselves. The house I stayed in was very small, made out of cow dung and sticks, with no electricity or running water. My host family was incredibly generous and a joy to talk to although there were many instances with the language barrier. However, right when I arrived they asked me what foods I like and don't like and not to feel obligated eating something I didn't want which made me feel so welcome and cared for. During my time, I was constantly meeting all the village people and kids. One of the biggest challenges I had was being surrounded as well as grabbed, poked, pinched, pulled, kissed and even licked... by some of the kids in the village. The kids followed me almost everywhere I went and even when I would tried to take a little nap they would poke their heads into my room or through the window in my room and whisper, laugh, and shout Muzungo (white person). As time went on, I enjoyed delicious Chapata with almost every meal (like a tortilla but way better) and even had the opportunity to make it with another woman in the village. Other foods my family prepared for me were pork (with the fur still attached....), beans, rice, matooke (mashed bananas), cabbage, bananas, pineapple and lots and lots of tea. Other experiences I had were pumping water into buckets from a well 1-1.5 miles from my home stay and carrying it back, doing the dishes, making passion fruit juice, going to church and being asked to give a testimony in front of the audience, and last but not least my favorite part of the home stay was being able to climb up Mount Elgon to see a cave then walk along the mountain to the river and waterfall which was filled with breathtaking views. Later, I found out that on the other side of the mountain was Kenya. Overall, I was very grateful for the experience and I look forward to the next home stay. I am now back on campus at UCU about to leave for my community health clinical in a small village called Buntaba to do assessment and learn about the health needs from the people living in that community. I hope to share more stories soon and continue to have improved internet connection (fingers crossed power stops going out every so often)!

Beginning of my time in Uganda

After a rough flight from Brussels to Uganda, the students and our professor arrived in Uganda on September 3rd. Once we got all our luggage together and boxes for our textbooks, we took a 16 passenger bus to our place of stay for that evening which was a Catholic Convent in Kampala. The bus ride was as expected... very bumpy and chaotic. The bus stalled about 50 feet from the gate to get into the Catholic Convent with the bus tipped in a giant hole. From there we walked with our belongings to the Convent where we had rooms equipped with storage spaces and bathrooms for each student to stay. The next morning we enjoyed a typical Ugandan breakfast then packed up and went on our way to the city center of Kampala for shopping before heading the UCU campus to unload at our dorms. I am staying in a crapped room with 4 roommates. On our floor we have 3 showers, 3 sinks and 2 bathrooms (squatty pottys). the people on campus are very friendly though it takes some getting used to with the constant staring. One of the biggest adjustments along with not having a toilet is the food. Every meal except for breakfast consists mainly of beans and rice with meat once week and never any fruit. One of my favorite things about the dining hall is tea time. The chai tea here is so delicious and I look forward to it every day! Also, some of the other girls and I have been running and setting up times to go to the gym which has been really fun! Though I have not officially started school yet (I will on Monday), there have been lots readings, some assignments (forum postings) and a quiz to complete. Before settled down into my studies, I have been enjoying walking around and getting a feel for the campus life and checking out what they have to offer for welcome week. During welcome week they have had a bunch of market stands to gather school supplies, clothing, shoes, jewelry, bedding, and much more. After days of just venturing within the campus gate, we went shopping around the city center of Mukono where we stocked up on groceries and other essentials including a fan for every room. All in all, I am pleased with how things are going and how well I am beginning to adjust. I cannot wait to start my clinical experience and hopefully fulfill another role on campus of joining the women's soccer team! I will do my best to continue posting on my blog throughout my semester in Uganda and hope you continue to enjoy reading my blog :)

My week in Spain!

I wish I could have blogged earlier when I was in Spain to describe all that I did and saw during my time there. However, my time in Spain was nothing short of amazing! I arrived in Barcelona Spain on August 26th and stayed the night at a really nice hostel called Casa Gracia. The following morning we took an early train ride to Valencia which was a 5 hour ride and no seats were open for the first 3 hours of the journey so sleeping when we were already exhausted was not an option especially since we had to keep a close eye on our luggage. Once we got to Valencia we had a difficult time locating directions to our hostel. After a long period of waiting and trying to figure out directions, we walked 30-45 minutes with all our luggage up to our hostel where we spent 2 days in a mixed bedroom. The first night we went to the beach and put our feet in the Mediterranean Sea then had dinner along the coast. I tried Paella (famous rice dish) for the first time which is well known in Valencia. Little did I know the Paella at the restaurant was served with squid and squid ink which coated the rice. It had a very unique taste but overall I kind of liked it. After spending the evening at the beach we checked out more sights around the city center and even watched a soccer game! That same night at the hostel they told us about a Flamenco dancing show at a place called Radio City which was walking distance from the hostel. So that same night 4 other girls and I went to the Flamenco show and had a blast! The next day we did a walking day tour and saw some incredible buildings, churches, monuments, and markets. During the time there we also bought Gelato which was as amazing as I've been told, checked out the different shops and attended an after party for the Tomato Fight. The next morning we took the train back to Barcelona and luckily caught it 10 seconds before it was about to depart! Once we got back to Barcelona we returned to the hostel we stayed at on our first night, Casa Gracia where we had private rooms so we didn't have to worry as much about locking up our belongings. Throughout the remainder of our stay in Barcelona, we went on a walking tour where we got to experience unbelievable views of the city and coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, attended a Spanish cooking class where the cook took us to the market to see all the ingredients that we were going to be preparing in the dishes along with all you can drink Sangrias, went to the Gaudi's Museum, went to a local beach where I played a little soccer, went on a sailing adventure where we were able to jump off the sail boat in the middle of the Sea and swim, checked out the local shops, watched an elaborate water fountain light show, and went kayaking/ cliff jumping/ and snorkeling on our final day in Spain! Though the language barrier was difficult a lot of times in Spain, I enjoyed every minute of my time there and all the people we met along the way :)