It's a wrap!

Well my time in Uganda has come to an end as I am sitting in Brussels airport awaiting my next flight into the USA. The memories made and experiences shared with my nursing girls, professors, and Ugandan friends have been amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better 4 months from traveling in Europe (Ireland and Spain) to Africa (Uganda). Here is a list of my highlights in Uganda:

1) Going out to eat (less than half of the food items on the menu are available and often what you order is not what you expect)
2) Playing futbol with the UCU Lady Cardinals and ending the season in 2nd place
3) Held a chameleon and walked over a tree branch to cross the river leading into the waterfall during a rain forest hike
4) Hiked up Mount Elgon twice during my home stays in northern Mbale
5) Random dance parties
6) Getting attacked with silly string
7) Playing ultimate Frisbee at night
8) Riding on top of a safari jeep throughout the Game Park and main roads
9) Finding a leopard lying on a tree branch right next to a road
10) Driving off road to get close to a family of lions to take pictures
11) Late night volleyball, swimming, and watching Arsenal play Everton with all European soccer fans at Red Chili
12) Singing and dancing on a roof top Indian restaurant
13) Learning how to make Chapati with a Ugandan mother from a Bigisu tribe
14) Drying hair with a standing fan
15) Learning African phrases
16) Teaching and playing soccer with African kids
17) Rafting down the Nile River
18) Repelling 350 feet down a waterfall along Mount Elgon
19) Swimming and tanning by the pool on Thanksgiving and enjoying a delicious meal of pumpkin chickpea soup with a green smoothie and pumpkin pie with ice cream outside
20) Power constantly going on and coming back on
21) Eating dinner in the dining hall in complete darkness
22) Witnessing a student body presidential campaign take place in the dining hall during dinner where all the entrance points were blocked from people cheering, chanting, running around and the school marching band parade around the whole campus
23) Working at the hospitals in Jinga and Mbale as I was able to care for about 30 patients (mothers and babies) each day
24) Almost getting attacked by monkeys dropping from the trees and running all around the ground
25) Zip lining and rock climbing at The Recreation Project in Gulu where child soldiers recovered from their traumatic experiences
26)Walking through the botanical gardens where Tarzan and other movies where filmed and seeing many Colobus monkeys
27) Sitting on the top of two boat rides to get pictures of all the African animals
28) Going to stop at the Equator
29) Going to Cure Hospital’s annual worker recognition party and watching the Mbale School Band perform song and dances with acrobatic moves
30) Being woken up by the Ugandan students and cleaning ladies yelling to communicate each other in the hallways
31) Running on the “pitch” track, hurdling over a tire, going to the gym and doing insanity work outs in the dorm hallways
32) Long and bumpy car rides
33) Learning how to take warm showers when all you have access to is cold water
Steps to doing so:
 Step 1: Gather a water basin
 Step 2: Find a tea kettle
 Step 3: Fill the tea kettle up with cold water
 Step 4: Plug the kettle in and turn it on
 Step 5: Wait 5 minutes for it to heat up
 Step 6: Once ready, pour the hot water in the basin
 Step 6: Place it in the shower area and turn the shower on to cool the hot water down slightly
 Step 7: Enjoy a tub shower with warm water!