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)!