Happy Easter everybody!
Monday, March 29Last night was horrible. I ate something bad yesterday, and it made me very sick last night. I think it was the eggs I had Sunday morning. My stomach still hurts this morning. I am just going to take it easy today. After I did my blog yesterday, I went to the sauna and pool and hung out with my swimming and sauna friends. The music is good. I am getting addicted to the sauna and how good it makes me feel! Frederick just finished his 3 day de-worming process and has recommended that Kayla and I do the same process when we leave in May. It is something he does every three months. Each day for three days you take 2 de-worming pills, and you must eat very little food so that the worms will be forced to eat the pills. Kayla and I will de-worm ourselves upon our departure….so gross, huh? I know I don’t have worms or my belly would be swollen, but we can’t be too careful. Kayla hung out with Innocent all evening at the pool and he put some great Acholi and Uganda songs on her IPOD. At first she was upset because she realized she lost all the other songs on her IPOD, but now she is excited about all the new songs she has. For an early birthday present, I gave Kayla some money to spend. She has bought herself a beautiful rainbow summer dress, an African purse, and a beautiful necklace and earring set so far.
Grace Amono speaking with a child.
Tuesday, March 30We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant last night. I was telling the chef about a special dish I wanted him to make for me; rice with lots of ginger and extra vegetables. I told him my stomach had hurt all day, and he gave me a special dish that he guaranteed would make my stomach feel better by the morning. It did! My stomach ache is gone. Last night was a late night for us. Frontline Engineering had no power but had much work to do, so my home was turned into an office and the whole gang came to the house until 2 am to do some work that is under a deadline! Even Kayla did her part to help. Everyone was back at my house by 8:30 am to finish up. I went to the market and replenished my supplies of papaya, pineapple, bananas and bread for everyone, because they will be here again tonight. By the time I went to the market, did my laundry, and straightened my house after my guests left, there was no time for the orphanage today. I had to teach my swim class at the pool today at 3:00. I have 8 Gulu University Sport Science students. Today they learned the breast stroke. After the class it rained and got cold, so I especially enjoyed the sauna today. I forgot to mention an incident that happened last week. I stepped on a very large and dirty old nail and it went clear through my shoe and into my foot. I was not able to keep it clean that whole day so by that night it was quite sore to walk on. I started an antibiotic- Cipro 500- for 7 days. It immediately felt better within a day. I needed the Cipro for another infection I have anyway…I have already had a tetanus shot, so I will be fine now. I am leaving for Kampala tomorrow for some business. I look forward to a change of scenery.
Muyenga Hill in Kampala, Uganda- the only picture of Kampala I took! Too busy looking around!!!!
Wednesday-Sunday, March 31-April 4
Kampala was wonderful! I enjoyed the hot showers the most, followed by TV, movies and the news! A real bed was nice rather than the usual pad on the floor. Kampala is the capital of Uganda. It is a very big city; at least to me anyway! It made me a bit nervous to be around so many people, though! I am NOT used to that! Being there made me realize just how remote the living conditions are in Gulu, and it is very evident that Gulu has been left behind 25 years from the rest of the world in construction and technology. The buildings were beautiful and some were quite modern. I saw the beautiful Lake Victoria. I tried to walk to the lake, but realized it looked much closer than it really was….but at least I went for a nice long walk each day. I ate at a nice Italian restaurant and had PIZZA! Wow, PIZZA! It was so good! I even had leftovers to enjoy later. The next day, I had a HAMBURGER! It wasn’t McDonald’s but it was the best hamburger I have eaten in over two months! Oh, the joy of the simple things in life. Now I am back in Gulu and back to beans, rice, sweet potatoes, bananas and the occasional piece of chicken. It is a 5 hour bus ride to Kampala, but the scenery is beautiful, so I didn’t mind it at all. I zoomed around Kampala on a motorcycle taxis (boda boda). It was exciting and quite an adventure; but they tend to go very fast in and out and around the cars on the road. Bodas don’t get caught in the traffic jams, they just go through them! I really didn’t take many pictures this week. I think I am getting used to this place. Imagine taking your camera around with you in the city you live; after you have lived there for awhile, you wouldn’t find things interesting enough to take pictures of anymore, right? I am getting used to seeing the things you might find interesting, but to me they have become everyday events and sites, and how many pictures of that do I need, right?
I only took two pictures in Kampala- this one and the hill one!
It was my son’s birthday yesterday. Happy birthday David! It was also Easter; but the damn Easter bunny didn’t make it to Gulu! Sorry about that Kayla! She had a great time while I was away! She wants me to leave more often! Lucky stayed with her at the house. We had a whole list of rules for them to follow, and we had our spies in place to ensure they followed the rules! Kayla spends the majority of her time at the swim pool when she is not reading to the kids at the orphanage for a couple of hours each day. She is still with Innocent, and they spend time listening to music. He is also the DJ at a club called BJ’s, which Kayla and Lucky like to go to on the weekends. Kayla had a great weekend, and I had a fantastic weekend as well! Today, Monday is a national holiday, so Kayla and I will go to the orphanage tomorrow. Today I had to do work for some clients on my computer, and then I plan to hit the sauna with my sauna friends! Happy Easter everybody!
My son was married last week! Congratulations, Dustin, to the three of you!! Sorry I couldnt be there for your happy day! I will be home soon.
Exciting and fascinating write-up. saunajournal.com
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