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!

Nursing clinicals, traveling, and lack of sleep....

The past month has been full of new adventures and learning experiences. From being lost going to a dinner party that was supposed to be a 10 minute car ride turned into an hour and 15 minute car ride with squeezing 20 people into a 15 passenger van but finally arriving to a beautiful large home with an amazing catered dinner by a member of UCU's Eunice guesthouse, to playing in my last soccer game and assisting in a goal, to having movie night, baking banana bread, taking exams and doing endless homework, to arriving in Jinga at a beautiful resort called Sergio's and having two 4 day clinicals at Jinga Regional Hospital in postpartum and labor and delivery and Amani  Baby Cottage, and now in Mbale finishing up my last week of clinicals at Cure Hospital and Mbale Regional Hospital, I find it hard to believe after all that I have done tomorrow marks my one month count down until I leave Uganda. Every day I have to remind myself of how fast time will continue to fly by and each moment needs to be reflective of my love for the people, scenery, weather, fresh fruit, , soccer, bonding between the nursing girls, and the spiritual uplift of true honest faith that the people of Uganda display. I hope to continue to blog and journal about my experiences here when free time presents itself. But for now, here are some pictures from adventures and experiences I have had over the past month...

One adventure after the next

So much has happened in the past week.... I took my first exam last Monday and was generously rewarded by going White Water Rafting down the Nile River the following day! It was a mix of nerves and excitement going white water rafting for my very first time. I managed to stay on board the raft the whole time though we had many close encounters with flipping the raft over. 

Thought I was going to fall out at this point after crashing into a giant wave

 Paddling hard through the rapids with our guide Henry

Enjoying a leisure paddle ride through the rapids!

Later in the week on Thursday I had my second community health clinical in the village of Kalagala with my partner who is a native Ugandan studying nursing at UCU. My partner and I got to see our community  health family make the improvements to their living conditions by dedicating their time towards our advice.

Here's two pictures of my UCU nursing partner with the mother and daughter from the village.

The following morning, Friday, we loaded up our things and went on our way back to Mable for our second home stay. We made a brief stop at a Chinese restaurant and to all of our surprise it was one of the best meals we've had yet! After arriving to the guesthouse at Mission Moving Mountains to drop off some of our belongings we headed off to our home stays. I decided to return to the same home stay in Northern Uganda that I was at before. I was so thankful for the opportunity to go back and felt so welcomed by the community to be back "home." My host father was so gracious. I was able to see his farm, hike up Mount Elgon for a second time and enjoy the view from the cave and river/waterfall, slaughter my first chicken, admire the sky full of stars, play with all the children, and drink so many cups of delicious authentic milk tea with Chapatti!!

After the home stay, the nursing crew and I enjoyed delicious meals at MMM with french toast for breakfast and spaghetti with cornbread for dinner! During the day we "chillaxed" by the pool at a nearby hotel before going to a pastor's house who graciously invited us all over for tea and snacks. Now I am back to UCU campus trying to get back into the swing of things with not just mounds of laundry to do but also mounds of homework to accomplish. 

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 :)