On my way back :)

Just an quick update :) I am at Pearson airport heading back to Uganda. It was great to be back in Canada for a few weeks and spend some awesome times with family and friends :) But I am very excited to now be going back to Uganda.

There are only 31 days left until our wedding!! I'm getting super excited :) 

End of Term 1

Friday marked the end of the first term for schools in Uganda. The kids came to school for an end of the term assembly and to pick up their exams and report cards.

I also got a picture with the P3 class which I have spent the most time with. They have been an awesome class to teach and Sarah (their teacher) has been wonderful to work with. I am looking forward to seeing them again in June. :)

Road Trip

Last week, Henry and I travelled up to Lira, which is located in Northern Uganda. It was wonderful to see where Henry grew up and to meet and get to know some of his family.

Here is a picture journey of our trip:

We took one route to get to Lira through the eastern part of Uganda (which was about 450 km) and then took another route back home (about 420 km). It was great to see so much more of this beautiful country. This is a picture of our route that Henry drew.

Along the way up, I got to see some interesting wildlife. There were monkeys that came right up to our car when we stopped because they thought we were going to feed them.

We also saw so many of these cows that have the largest horns I have ever seen.

A common site along the drive were women carrying large baskets of items on their heads along the side of the road.

Along the way up to Lira, we stopped in Mbale and I was able to meet Henry's aunt Helen who is a primary school teacher.

Once in Lira, we travelled about 30 km to a smaller town called Aduku which is where Henry grew up. I got to spend some time and meet with a few of his aunts and uncles on his mom's side of the family. In the pictures below are his uncles David and Samuel and his aunt Sarah.

One thing that I found very interesting was that in Lira there are less motorbikes as boda-bodas and instead regular bicycles. The bicycles are modified so there is a padded seat on the back for passengers. Everywhere you looked you saw these bicycle boda-bodas.

On our drive back we got to see Karuma Falls.

To end this blog post, here is a picture of my wonderful driver from the trip :)

Hard to Say Good Bye

Yesterday, I had to say good bye to two wonderful ladies who have become very dear friends. I had the privilege to live with Miriam and Diana for the past two months at the guesthouse. They are both nurses from New Zealand.  It has been so wonderful to get to know them and to be able to share this experience with them. They are both such kind, caring, and loving women and I am really going to miss them. Although, I was very sad to see them leave, I am excited for the them as they continue on with their adventures and can't wait to hear how it all goes. :)

Making Bracelets

I had a wonderful time this past week making bracelets with the P3 class in Kiyindi. :)

 

 

 

 

Shoes! :)

This past week I was able to give out many of the kids shoes that I had brought with me to Uganda. I worked with the sponsorship department in Kiyindi and was able to give the shoes to some children who did not have any shoes. There was lots of smiles and laughter in the room as the kids were trying on shoes. Thank you to everyone that donated shoes for me to bring. The kids were so thrilled with their new shoes. :)

 

 

 

 

The Wet Season has begun…

 

The rain has finally started for the season. It has been very dusty, dry and hot for several months, and the much needed rain has finally come.  It is great for the crops that very much need the rain, but it has made the drive to school very interesting. Since the roads are dirt, the rain turns them into a slippery mud slide. This past week, on our way to work we ended up getting stuck in the mud for a couple of hours until it was dry enough for us to spin our tires out of it. We then continued to slide along the road in parts. While sitting on the side of the road stuck, I witnessed several taxi go sliding by, a few of which I thought were going to tip over. I was able to capture a few videos of them making their way along the road in front of us. Unfortunately, my internet connection has not been good enough to post them (I tried a few times), but here is a picture of one of the taxis sliding off the road.

 

 

 

Also, while waiting in the car, a pig wandered out and since it was so muddy decided to have a mud bath in the middle of the road. J

 

 



 

 

 

We're Engaged!



I have some exciting news! Henry and I are engaged! J We went for a trip into Jinja (which is a big tourist area) and went to this really nice restaurant for lunch with a gorgeous view of the lake and that’s where he proposed J We are planning the wedding for July of this year.

 

Adventures on the Taxis

Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to travel by taxi a few times with some very interesting stories. Taxis are quite different here in Uganda, to begin with they are 15 seat Toyota vans. It is very common to find a taxi with 20-25 people packed into them (even though they clearly state on the side that they are licenced to carry 14 passengers), since the driver wants to make it worthwhile to drive from one location to another. When catching a taxi is it actually better to look for one that is quite full as it will be leaving soon, otherwise you could be sitting and waiting a half hour or longer for the van to fill up enough to go. As you are driving along, the taxis stops and picks up more people and somehow people manage to squeeze in (sometimes 5 people along a bench seat).  Even though they often try to overcharge us because we are white, it is still very cheap to take a taxi. Depending on where you are going, the most it has cost us is 3000 shillings each (which is just over a dollar). There have been many adventures on the taxis, from stopping to change a tire, live chickens, and random babies sitting on the seats.

On one ride when we got in (Miriam, Diana, and I), there was a baby just sitting on the seat. The mother ended up being in the front of the taxi, but we ended up having a very cute baby with us for the journey J

It is also very common to find live animals on the taxi (mostly chickens). Most of the time you can just hear them, but sometimes you find yourself seating next to a person holding an untied chicken in their lap.

There is never a dull moment on the taxi rides, lol J

 

 

Fridays at the Clinic

The past couple of Fridays I have been going to the clinic in Kiyindi with Miriam and Diana (the nurses from New Zealand that I have been staying with). Every Friday, the clinic runs an immunization clinic and about 60 to 70 moms bring their babies in for immunizations and a check-up. My job has been to weigh the babies and record the weight in the books for the mothers. It has also been wonderful because I have the opportunity to hold a few babies J I have really enjoyed helping out at the clinic and plan to continue going on Fridays with Miriam and Diana until they leave at the beginning of April.

 

 

 

Feeding Monkeys in Jinja

Last Sunday, I travelled to Jinja again. This time I went with a team of 18 people from the UK (there ended up being 25 of us total who went). We visited the source of the Nile and went for a boat ride from the source of the Nile to the hotel we ate lunch at. One really great part of the day was that we got to feed a big group of monkeys bananas at the source of the Nile. The monkeys were very used to humans and would come right up to you and take the bananas out of your hand. It was amazing! J Especially since I have always loved monkeys, it was awesome to be that close to them. The monkeys were very quick to peel and eat the bananas and come back for more. J

Fun Times Painting

Last week I also had the chance to teach an art lesson to the P3 class. I taught the class how to draw a picture of an owl and then the next day we painted our pictures. The kids were so full of excitement and enthusiasm to be painting.

New Slates

Last week, I got to join in on a lesson with the top class (similar to senior kindergarten in Canada) using the new slates that the primary school in Kiyindi had bought using money that was generously donated. Both the teacher and the students were thrilled to be using them. Previously the teacher would have taken the students outside to complete a similar lesson with the kids writing in the dirt. There were lots of smiles all around that day. :)