The Most Rewarding Work

Nothing feels better than returning home late in the evening, covered in red dirt, sticky and sweaty, hungry and exhausted, but happy. Happy because you know you made somebody’s day a little brighter; because you made somebody smile, or laugh; happy because you, through the small and sometimes unnoticed deeds, have truly made a difference.

The most rewarding work is service. Yes there is no finical gain, but the feeling you receive after you serve holds more value than any paycheck you could ever receive.  

That’s how I felt after returning from a very busy day at an orphanage. Spent the day in the hot sun with kids clinging to me, introducing themselves, and like always, inspecting my long hair!

Seeing a child’s face light up when you wave, or kneel down for a quick conversation is the most heart – warming thing in the universe. It’s in these tender moments that I feel the love of Christ and am able to forget about MY needs, and loose myself in the service of another.

I had a little boy walk around with us the whole day, and gracious goodness did he have personality. He was four years old but didn’t speak any English, so when I spoke some Luganda to him his reaction was priceless. I think it was the first time a white person had ever spoken his language, and his facial expression showed just how surprised he was!

What I loved so much about this orphanage is how they all looked out for one other. My Dad pulled out some magic tricks and asked a little boy to be a volunteer. He was young and didn’t know English so the other kids translated for him, and through the other kids we found out he was really shy, so they suggested we use someone else. It was like a real family, the older ones looking out for the youngster, and each of them knew everybody’s name, age and personality. I was pretty impressed, because I couldn’t remember a single persons name!

Though we had no gifts to give them, our presence was enough. They didn’t expect anything, and were content just holding our hands.

I cannot wait to return with my guitar and hit up some tunes with them! They’ve made a fantastic band equipped with trumpets, trombones, saxophones, violins, snares, guitars, flutes and many other instruments that have been donated. And they’re amazing – they would put our school bands to shame back home!

I believe these are experiences every person needs to have, it will eat away your greed and replace it with gratitude.

Cheers

Savannah 

Life In Uganda: Q&A

Q: What’s your three favourite things about Uganda?

A:

1. The people. Everybody strives to make you feel welcomed and be your friend, never have I met more hospitable people in my life.

2. The Culture. Everything from the artwork to the music entices me. If you really love music come to Africa, this country hasn’t forgotten their roots! Honestly, everybody I’ve met loves music, and everybody either sings or plays the drums. It’s beautiful.

3. Demolishment of the clock. There’s no such thing as time here, which is truly a golden thing. You can sleep in, stay up, walk slow or leave late, and nobody cares! Luckily I still have a good amount of the Canadian mindset still in my brain, so I still arrived early – or should I say on time to events.

Q: What’s the worst thing about Uganda?

A: Traffic. We’re stuck in the middle of Entebbe and Kampala – like Central Saanich back home. So we are always getting stuck in traffic jams, whether people are trying to get into Kampala, or going out we somehow get affected. It wouldn’t be so bad sitting in traffic, IF it wasn’t 26 degrees outside, and you didn’t have to inhale the other hundred cars fumes.

Q: What do you miss?

A: Aside from brief homesickness every now and then, and the yearning for some socializing, not a whole lot. Internet would probably be the biggest frustration. It’s really limited, no youtube, no uploading or downloading, and you really have to limit your time. But other than that Africa really changes your perspective, so things you were accustomed to, don’t even matter anymore.

Q: What is the standard diet?

A: Motoke – mashed up bananas. Although it looks like potato’s, and is supposed to taste like banana, it tastes like…nothing. I really don’t like it, but that’s okay because we don’t eat it, though if we did our food bill would go down a lot. And they pour a nut sauce – which we eat a lot, over top which adds some flavor and enough liquid to swallow it. And people eat piles of it because there isn’t any nutrients, so if your portion is to small your stomach still feels empty.

Q: Have you made friends?

A: Yes! Uganda is full of loving and hospital people, it’s hard not to make friends! There are those few people who treat you special just because they want to be friends with a white person, but the majority of people are sincere in their friendship.

Q: Have you ever felt unsafe?

A: Not really. Driving is suicide, but we all know the roads well enough to avoid getting crushed. The guys can sometimes be pests, but my secret weapon is this…guys aren’t used to woman standing up to them, so even just glaring or acting tough and giving them a disapproving glance makes them smarten up. In fact they’re astounded when white girls do that, because deep down under that face of confidence they’re shaking in their shoes.

Q: Is Africa the dangerous place everybody believes it is?

A: Yes and no. Saying Africa is like saying North America! And a lot can vary between British Columbia and Cancun Mexico! Uganda USED to be pretty dangerous, well actually it was really dangerous. Kony was up north and a lot of stuff happened up there. But things have settled down, and I even met somebody the other day who works with a peace party up north, trying to repair the damage – the orphanage we volunteer at has a lot of kids who’ve lost their parents because they were up north when all that poop was going on. But honestly there aren’t people running around with machetes killing people, or stealing and kidnapping happening on every corner. But since we’ve been here there’s been a crazy riot downtown Kampala, but we weren’t affected at all – I’ve never even been to downtown Kampala! And some locals told us to never go in this market because it’s so unsafe the police don’t even enter. But think about home, there was that HUGE Vancouver riot after a flipping hockey game! And there’s certain parts of town that nobody goes to…it’s just common sense. You’re in a big city so obviously you have to be careful, but out where we live you’re completely fine! People just flip out when they see something crazy happen in Africa on the news, and before they read the story they’ve said “It’s just because Africa is dangerous!” But there are reasons behind the events. I mean this year in America there’s been two major shootings! And nobody says “Don’t go to America, it’s dangerous”

And I will add that somebody jumped our wall in daylight and attempted to steal, but couldn’t get anything! Because there are flipping metal bars across your windows, so even if they break the glass they still can’t get in, and the garage is a huge hunk of metal that is always locked, and only stupid people leave things out unlocked. So yeah he might’ve jumped the wall, but he quickly realized he couldn’t grab anything and get away.

Q: If you could change one thing about Africa…

A: Oh boy, one thing is pretty tough! There are sooo many things I’d love to change about Africa, so narrowing down to just one is tough beans.

Something that really disturbs me is the kids that beg on the side of the highway. Just barely able to walk and they’re walking in a flipping zoo of cars asking for money, or sometimes just water! I’d really like to figure out a way to get them off the streets. Kids who live on dirt floors have it better than these kids. I want to punch the parents of these kids, who send them out everyday, with no water and no food. Even the locals get mad at the parents and say it’s child abuse, which it is. I’ll figure out how to get them off the streets, eventually. But yes that is defiantly on the top of my list for “Things To Do.” Even on Christmas Eve the kids were out begging! So sad.

Q: How has your perspective changed?

A: In many different ways! I have a completely new way of looking at life. I felt a little uncomfortable when we were returning home Boxing Day, after staying at a nice resort with a swimming pool and buffet breakfast, and then drove through a village of mud huts and little afro babies walking ‘round with torn clothing. You almost feel sick to your stomach that there are people living in these conditions, while others bathe in luxury. If you want a new perspective on life…come to Africa.

Q: Would I like Uganda?

A: Well this is hard to answer because everybody is different. Whether you like Uganda or not, you should still come, because those who don’t like it, are the ones who really need to be here! Uganda is very likeable, if you’re adjustable. If you want Canada on the other side of the world, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want a life changing experience and a whole lot of valuable life lessons, and a real epic adventure, then yes you’d like Uganda. I’ve been here almost three months, and I still smile when I see little black toddlers hobbling over on their chubby thighs to wave to the Mzungus. Honestly the most adorable thing I’ve ever witnessed in my life.

Well that concludes the questions, have a stellar day!

Cheers

Savannah 

On A Scale Of One To Ten..

Before I came to Uganda we had a Seminary lesson about hardships and were asked to rate ourselves on a scale of one to ten how hard we thought our lives were. The older kids put themselves at about a 5-6 because most of them had school and work to worry about, plus the extra expenses that arrive when you drive a car and go out with friends. Most the people my age put themselves in the 3-4 sections because we still rely on our parents to provide all our needs, leaving school as the only thing we really have to worry about. Yes there were those who placed themselves in the 7-8 sections because they battled with things like personal confidence or being accepted by peers. And lastly our teacher placed himself in the 9-10 sections because he has to raise a family while providing the necessities of life all at once.  At the time as I evaluated the ratings they seemed fair and everything looked in place. Now my perspective has changed completely. I don’t want to use the word disgusted because it’s pretty strong, but that’s the only word that comes to mind when I look back at the things I fussed over compared to the things these KIDS have to encounter on a daily bases! I’ve realized two things since I’ve been here.

1.    Having leisure time is a luxury very few people have. There’s this twelve year old boy Isaac who leaves for school ridiculously early…like 5am and doesn’t return until after dark because he has to walk. His parents obviously want him to go to a good school but can’t afford to board him there. We only saw him on the weekends and even then he always had his little brother Jonathan – one year old with him. Here’s a kid who gets two days off and when he is home he’s babysitting his younger brother. Did I ever see him off playing with the neighborhood boys? Nope. Did I ever see him get frustrated with Jonathan when he interrupted a conversation with crying? Nope. And not only does he have his education and brother to worry about it, he lives in a half finished house with several other families. So the next time you feel like complaining about being busy or stressed and not having anytime for facebook, or sick of babysitting your siblings or sharing a room think of Isaac. Think of the trials he encounters daily and yet his attitude is as golden as the sun!

2.    The things we consider trials could be blessing to those over here. I like working because I love seeing the numbers in my bank account get higher and higher but there are some days I forget why I’m going to work and all of a sudden what used to be a blessing becomes a burden! How easily we are swayed! So yes I had to get up early, yes I had to sacrifice “play time” with work, but the things these kids are willing to do for money is crazy! And then I got thinking about my education…wow. These kids scratch their pockets to find enough for school fees and here I am with unlimited access to knowledge! They are so teachable because they are so eager to learn! I suppose we don’t recognize these things until they disappear!

Well that concludes this post 

Cheers

Savannah 

An Eventful Week

Well this week has been quite interesting with its fair share of ups and downs so I’ll start with the positive!

My Mom and I decided to go on a walk in the beautiful back roads that link to our house, and five minutes into the walk we see a big dead bat! But then another twenty minutes down the road we see this HUGE dead snake! Thank goodness it was dead or I think I might’ve been J (I don’t know why I put this in the positive category!)

Oh and this week I also discovered that no one has hair here! Even though there are ladies with super long braided hair, but it’s all fake! They asked if we put Vaseline in our hair so it won’t snap because apparently their hair isn’t strong enough to continue growing so some ladies put Vaseline in to strengthen it but even then they can get it about shoulder length! So if the hair is longer than a pixie it’s a wig!

We got to go to a big tourist market and look around the shops…but after you’ve been in one you’ve seen all them J I have a feeling if we went there a couple days before departure it would’ve been a lot cooler, but because I have access to all that stuff everyday it’s not as exciting J

This week was the last of school so the roads and all have just been hectic because each school (and there’s a LOT of schools) are having their end of the year performance. Well we were invited to attend Simbwas Primary school performance. So I figured we’d just go there, watch the show and leave…nope. We get there and they’re getting Mom dressed up in their traditional outfits…and as we go to take our seats they announce “Here comes Miss Tanya!” and everybody starts clapping and she takes her seat in a freaking throne in the front and center! Then they had several other chairs set up beside her for us to sit on. Felt like a flipping celebrity! Then they bring us drinks and then (the best part), they ask Mom to give a speech! So Mom goes up there and gives a speech, and then hands out the certificates to the graduating kids – they’re bout 4 years old? And through all my attempts to stay hidden they called me up to hand out some presents to the kids. I’m just so thankful I wasn’t asked to say something!

So on the negative side of things…

After we went to the market we went to paint the Bomgi sign on Simbwas house – yes they’re so generous they let you paint a big blue Bomgi sign right on their house (it actually looks really good!) Well it’s about maybe 2pm and Corey grabs the car keys to open the paint cans, and as he’s popping it open the key snaps in half! Like literally in half. So we’re all like “Oh crap.” (and the can was still closed.) So we decided to call Simbwa and see if he knows anyone who can help but of course the phone lines are down! 20 minutes it starts working again, but Simbwas at a funeral so he won’t answer his phone! So we called Kyle and he came and picked Corey and Liam up on his Boda Boda, and then both boys came up to rescue Mom, Emma and myself. So I broke my vow that I wouldn’t ride a Boda Boda, and most certainly wasn’t planning on being squished between Kyle and Emma. It was a pretty nerve racking experience especially because there was TONS of traffic and I didn’t have a helmet J

This didn’t have this week, just a couple days after it ended and considering I never Internet I’ll just add it in.

Corey has been feeling under the weather quite a couple times, at least once a week. But when I say under the weather I mean unable to move, headaches and throwing up, pretty brutal if you get sick here. Well we’re all expecting it to be malaria or dangy fever because he has all the symptoms – including a rash. Anyways last night while I’m having a fantastic sleep Corey gets sent to the hospital, gets his blood tested…finds out his allergic to the malaria pills!

So you’ll never guess what season it is…Grasshopper! EVERYWHERE you look there’s grasshoppers! When you shake the branch of a tree it looks like it’s snowing…but it’s grasshoppers! It’s pretty nasty. And they’re pretty dumb to because they’ll fly right into you…and they bite, and they make a really annoying sound, like a fuzzy radio. Oh Uganda you are glorious!

Now to end this exciting week I had probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had since being here. We had a big problem with fruit flies when we got here, so we put up those really sticky/sappy things that the flies get stuck on. And holy cow are they sticky! Even if your hands just press against it you struggle to get it off. Well I was leaning against the wall beside one of the sticky things, and I was just watching the T.V when I see this brown thing dangling beside my hair and just flip out!! I start screaming and fall to the ground and yell at Emma “What the heck is in my hair!” and I’m flinging my hair trying to get it…not realizing it’s that delicious sticky sappy stuff! So she grabs the knob at the end and starts to pull it and I can just hear the hair snapping…and soon the knob snaps off to! So after a very painful two minutes of tearing my hair out I attempt to wash out the sap. I held my hair in vinegar until my face stung, then just scrubbed and scrubbed with conditioner and had the shower on jet attempting to get this off. It was just a mess. But after a very long and painful brushing session it was almost back to normal. Though I think I tore a good chunk of hair out! Very painful experience, and of course it had to happen to the person with the most hair!

Well that’s it for now, all these are kind of outdated and none are in order anymore because I just upload them whenever I have Internet. Oh boy do I miss that golden thing J

Cheers,

Savannah 

An Eventful Week

An Eventful Week

Well this week has been quite interesting with its fair share of ups and downs so I’ll start with the positive!

My Mom and I decided to go on a walk in the beautiful back roads that link to our house, and five minutes into the walk we see a big dead bat! But then another twenty minutes down the road we see this HUGE dead snake! Thank goodness it was dead or I think I might’ve been J (I don’t know why I put this in the positive category!)

Oh and this week I also discovered that no one has hair here! Even though there are ladies with super long braided hair, but it’s all fake! They asked if we put Vaseline in our hair so it won’t snap because apparently their hair isn’t strong enough to continue growing so some ladies put Vaseline in to strengthen it but even then they can get it about shoulder length! So if the hair is longer than a pixie it’s a wig!

We got to go to a big tourist market and look around the shops…but after you’ve been in one you’ve seen all them J I have a feeling if we went there a couple days before departure it would’ve been a lot cooler, but because I have access to all that stuff everyday it’s not as exciting J

This week was the last of school so the roads and all have just been hectic because each school (and there’s a LOT of schools) are having their end of the year performance. Well we were invited to attend Simbwas Primary school performance. So I figured we’d just go there, watch the show and leave…nope. We get there and they’re getting Mom dressed up in their traditional outfits…and as we go to take our seats they announce “Here comes Miss Tanya!” and everybody starts clapping and she takes her seat in a freaking throne in the front and center! Then they had several other chairs set up beside her for us to sit on. Felt like a flipping celebrity! Then they bring us drinks and then (the best part), they ask Mom to give a speech! So Mom goes up there and gives a speech, and then hands out the certificates to the graduating kids – they’re bout 4 years old? And through all my attempts to stay hidden they called me up to hand out some presents to the kids. I’m just so thankful I wasn’t asked to say something!

So on the negative side of things…

After we went to the market we went to paint the Bomgi sign on Simbwas house – yes they’re so generous they let you paint a big blue Bomgi sign right on their house (it actually looks really good!) Well it’s about maybe 2pm and Corey grabs the car keys to open the paint cans, and as he’s popping it open the key snaps in half! Like literally in half. So we’re all like “Oh crap.” (and the can was still closed.) So we decided to call Simbwa and see if he knows anyone who can help but of course the phone lines are down! 20 minutes it starts working again, but Simbwas at a funeral so he won’t answer his phone! So we called Kyle and he came and picked Corey and Liam up on his Boda Boda, and then both boys came up to rescue Mom, Emma and myself. So I broke my vow that I wouldn’t ride a Boda Boda, and most certainly wasn’t planning on being squished between Kyle and Emma. It was a pretty nerve racking experience especially because there was TONS of traffic and I didn’t have a helmet J

This didn’t have this week, just a couple days after it ended and considering I never Internet I’ll just add it in.

Corey has been feeling under the weather quite a couple times, at least once a week. But when I say under the weather I mean unable to move, headaches and throwing up, pretty brutal if you get sick here. Well we’re all expecting it to be malaria or dangy fever because he has all the symptoms – including a rash. Anyways last night while I’m having a fantastic sleep Corey gets sent to the hospital, gets his blood tested…finds out his allergic to the malaria pills!

So you’ll never guess what season it is…Grasshopper! EVERYWHERE you look there’s grasshoppers! When you shake the branch of a tree it looks like it’s snowing…but it’s grasshoppers! It’s pretty nasty. And they’re pretty dumb to because they’ll fly right into you…and they bite, and they make a really annoying sound, like a fuzzy radio. Oh Uganda you are glorious!

Now to end this exciting week I had probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had since being here. We had a big problem with fruit flies when we got here, so we put up those really sticky/sappy things that the flies get stuck on. And holy cow are they sticky! Even if your hands just press against it you struggle to get it off. Well I was leaning against the wall beside one of the sticky things, and I was just watching the T.V when I see this brown thing dangling beside my hair and just flip out!! I start screaming and fall to the ground and yell at Emma “What the heck is in my hair!” and I’m flinging my hair trying to get it…not realizing it’s that delicious sticky sappy stuff! So she grabs the knob at the end and starts to pull it and I can just hear the hair snapping…and soon the knob snaps off to! So after a very painful two minutes of tearing my hair out I attempt to wash out the sap. I held my hair in vinegar until my face stung, then just scrubbed and scrubbed with conditioner and had the shower on jet attempting to get this off. It was just a mess. But after a very long and painful brushing session it was almost back to normal. Though I think I tore a good chunk of hair out! Very painful experience, and of course it had to happen to the person with the most hair!

Well that’s it for now, all these are kind of outdated and none are in order anymore because I just upload them whenever I have Internet. Oh boy do I miss that golden thing J

Cheers,

Savannah 

10 Things I Regret Taking For Granted!

10 things I REGRET taking for granted:

Today marks a month of being in Uganda and this last week I’ve really been missing some things that seemed pretty minor here, but would mean the world to me here! So without further ado here are the 10 things I regret taking for granted!

1.    Drinkable tap water! I’d give anything to turn my tap and be able to drink the water that pours out! You don’t even notice how hard it is to brush your teeth with no running water! The process requires you to take a water bottle into the kitchen to pump the drinking water from the container, then steadily pour it with one hand – and in my I brush with my right and pour with my left, which makes it even more trickier because I’m right handed! Tricky tricky!

2.    Internet! It comes as no surprise that I’d miss the Internet, I knew that before I even left because I’ve to third world countries and experienced the frustration of not being able to access the Internet! So to all my friends who are currently draining hours of their time on the Internet…ENJOY IT! Because I’m telling you right now I’d give a million bucks just to have unlimited Internet for ONE DAY.

3.    Plugs! Oh my jolly goodness all I want to do right now is just plug in my flipping computer without searching for one of the four converters we have and then plugging it in to find my outlet is on strike for the day and won’t give me power. Dear goodness I’d just love to have everything charged up and never have to look at the battery life again!

4.    Water pressure! We’re supposed to have quick showers here because hot water is scarce and there’s six of us living in this house, so you have to be considerate about the next in line…HOWEVER, when the water pressure is at 1% and you have hair almost down to your hips it takes a good minute just to soak my hair, then shampooing, then rinsing, then conditioner, then rinse…I sometimes just want to fill 4 buckets up throughout the day and just pour them on after each “cycle” so the process will be quickened.

5.    Friends! I miss talking with people so much it’s driving me nuts! Although there are PLENTY of people here your conversation is so limited not only by the language but the topics which you can talk about. There is very little common ground here so when you find some you really got to keep it going as long as possible J Some conversations can get pretty awkward with the silence.

6.    Solitude. I have always been called an extravert, but I don’t care how much I like people I like my personal space…I like my solitude. I could spend hours by myself in my room and I wouldn’t complain, which is why Emma got mad at me when we were little because I’d go off and play my own little games while she ALWAYS wanted me to play with her. But here I can’t even leave the gate without having someone with me! Which is hard because back home I used to go on walks whenever I got overwhelmed or just needed some space…but here I always gotta have my buddy J It isn’t bad but there are those occasion days when I’d like to have the house to myself for an hour or two. But at the same time I’m to scared to be home by myself especially because our neighbors have now told us to lock the door even when we’re home because people get quite anxious at Christmas time and do some crazy things.

7.    Cold hot chocolate nights! Oh man I’d die to be in the middle of a snowstorm listening to some Christmas music with a warm cup of coco in my hand and a pair of sweat pants with a big hoodie and fuzzy socks on! I just want winter! And especially because Christmas is nigh the craving for a snowfall and some mint hot chocolate! Ah man the very thought gets me anxious!

8.    A piano! I didn’t realize how much I loved the piano until I didn’t have one! The first few weeks I was going through “withdrawals,” and now I’m just panicking I may never afford one here.

9.    Fitting in. You have no idea how I long to walk down the streets without eyes following me like a hawk and without people turning around and starring! I see big parties happening each weekend, friends and family enjoying each other’s company while I strum my lonely ukulele in my room. I’m not complaining…just observing!

10. Freedom. I hate being locked inside a gate and having to wait for someone willing to go outside with me before leaving. However today I did get to go out with Margret – our maid and help her sell her crisps – chips at the market. So I guess it’s not terrible but at the same time I’d like to teleport back to Tatlow Road and walk down to the Ocean, or walk to my friends house without being alert J

A Dream Come True

Ah man this day couldn’t have gone better! Let’s just say today I experienced the Africa I was wishing for! To start the day off it was music day at school, which means they take a huge stereo in the courtyard, crank the music up and the kids practice their dances – they did about 3 different ones. So we walked kids from the age of 2 – 10 do their tribal dances! It was awesome. Some of them got so into it, I don’t think I could move my hips like some of those two year olds. They are born with the beat.

Then after a long morning of watching them dance and sing the dream came true…I rode in a landrover! Holy crap they are tanks! We are allowed to use it all we want even when we move to our house! So stoked. You can’t say you’ve experienced Africa until you’ve driven a landrover! So rad. But the best part of the day was going to the Sanyu Babies Home! We have arranged to volunteer there 3-4 days a week taking on the morning shifts (7am-1pm). We got a tour by a very nice guy James who took us through all the rooms showing us all the different things to do. Oh my are we going to have fun! On our way out James asked if we wanted to hold a baby – it’s pretty much rooms full of babies lying in cribs waiting to be held, fed and changed. Of course I wanted to so I picked up a little girl in the 3-6 month room and just got to hold her for 20 minutes? It was so heartwarming, here are little babies just waiting to be held! Most of their heads are flat on the sides because they’ve been left in their cribs to long. Something as simple as just bouncing a baby in your arms can be the greatest service here.

Emma held a baby, James who had just arrived – James, the tour guide got to name him…so he named him after himself. It was seriously the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen! Next time I’m heading to the newborns room!

Oh and a side note, I’m learning Luganda and I think I’ve finally found a language I can learn! I can already have a 30 second conversation with someone. The kids get quite a laugh when I attempt to speak to them in Luganda J I envy how easily they speak English and Luganda.

Anyways today was awesome!

Oh and yesterday I walked in my room and there was a monkey sitting on the windowsill, I LOVE AFRICA! 

What's For Breakfast?

A big part about adjusting to different cultures/situations is the willingness to try. Before I came here I was super duper picky about sanitation, especially when it came down to utensils and cleaning. The first meal we had was an omelet and I really don’t enjoy them. Then I had to grab a fork that I knew had been washed in cold water mixed in with another 20 forks that probably had food sticking to them…so I was very diligent in placing the smallest portion of my mouth on the fork while eating and attempted to have a quick chew and swallow method. This seemed to work just fine, I hardly tasted the omelet and I hadn’t used much of the fork. Little did I know the next morning we’d have omelets…and the next, and the next. Yum. No ketchup, no salt no nothing. Just plain eggs mashed together. So these last few days I’ve had to get over my dislike of omelets and I put my whole mouth on the fork! I’m congratulating myself. Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll say I’m the pickiest person when it comes to mouth sanitation. I never share water bottles…except for now because there’s no drinking water coming out of taps so that’s another thing I’ve had to adjust to! Man look how far I’ve come in just 4 days! I’m making progress!! Oh and I have a new motto...fast and furious. Works for everything I do, showering in cold water, eating and of course going to the bathroom without a toilet seat and ants and cockroaches. 

GOODBYE

Well as hard as I try to fight the tears they come anyways. I think I've slept a total of 6 hours in the last two days. Leaving for 6 months is one thing, leaving a home you'll probably never see again is another, and leaving your Grandparents that you've lived with for 5 years is a completely other story. Combine them into one and it creates one big pile of emotional anxiety. 

I can't even get excited at this point! We are all maxed out on luggage and my carry on is ridiculously heavy. I'm hoping as soon as we leave the house things will calm down a little because we won't be frantically looking around seeing if we left anything or have that lump siting in the back of our throats. But then the golden part...planes. I have a huge fear of planes. I'm usually the "go getter" in our family and really enjoy traveling and seeing new places, however the love of flying is not in my bones. I've flown to Mexico and Guatemala several times so the whole experience really isn't that new to me. However each time I get off those planes I kiss the ground. I HATE PLANES. Oh well, I guess if you want to see the world you HAVE to get on a stupid plane. 

What's kept me calm and balanced - to some extent is music. This afternoon everyone was buzzing around squeezing the last few items in their suitcases and cleaning their rooms and I just got so overwhelmed I honestly thought I would pass out. So I took a moment and played the piano, got lost in the music and when I stopped I had an incredible sense of peace wash over me. Although music may not do this for everyone I believe everybody has something that brings them peace, whether it's writing, drawing, walking or running. Seriously, we all have the ability to feel peace, we just need to find that thing inside of us that triggers it and we're set for life. 

This is a song that has really helped me these last few days, listen to the words carefully they mean a lot. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fqPcnuVPR8

Goodbye :)

Cheers
Savannah

Tips For Packing:

(These tips I created to benefit those who may be visiting/moving for an extended period of time - at LEAST 3 months.)

1. Quality vs. Quantity. This is something I've learned from previous experiences. When visiting or moving to another location you often have to buy a lot of things and can have a pretty tight budget, therefore you look for good prices. The problem with this is you may buy a standard pair of walking shoes costing around $30, instead of investing in a pair that will last longer and probably be more comfortable for $90. You then may decide to bring several pairs of cheap runners because they'll get worn out and you won't find them on your trip, which then adds to weight in your luggage. Therefore, always go with one good item vs. 2 bad ones. 

2. Will I use this? You have to think about where you're going, not where you are. Although it's really cold here right now and am tempted to pack warmer clothes...until I see its 26 celsius in Uganda :) I also had to consider what guitar I would bring...mine is a GS mini taylor and though I love it to bits because of the size and sound it is a very sensitive guitar. Any change in temperature can stretch and ruin the wood as it's not laminated, therefore I'm taking my brothers guitar which is much more durable. 

3. Organization. Before you even pull out a suitcase lay out the items you'll be packing to understand how much you really have. Also keep a list of things you had packed if you do it gradually, so you don't always keep double checking yourself. If you're a book lover this tip may come in handy. If you pile book upon book it's just going to slide and fumble around every time you move your suitcase. By placing a layer of clothes NEATLY folded and straight and then placing a layer of books on top it gives the books some grip and protection. It also keeps your clothes nice and flat. 

Cheers
Savannah

One Week

One week...one flipping week until I venture across the globe with 150lbs of luggage and a guitar! The reality that I'm leaving this beautiful country hasn't quite set it, and I don't believe it will until I get on the plane...even then it still seems like a vacation. I don't think anyone can comprehend the culture shock or the experiences we will have...that's why I call it a leap of faith. 

Our home is ALMOST all packed up. The other day I had to drink out of a bowl because I couldn't find any cups. We've been eating everything from our freezer and food storage, which consists of a lot of processed food. YUCK. 

I'm so ready to leave it's unreal. Today I was packing up my suitcases and my Mom was very clear that we must distribute things evenly among our 3 bags. When we weighed them to get an idea of how heavy two of them were they ended up both being EXACTLY 38lbs EACH! Beautiful I know. 
I have a small piece of advice for those packing for a long period of time...big suitcases doesn't mean more stuff! I was really concerned about finding BIG suitcases, but in the end you can't put anymore in it if it's over 50lb...even if it's still half empty :( 

Well I don't have the precious time to sit and type even though there's loads of things I want to say :) I'm sure however that once in Uganda I will have plenty of time to update my blog :) 

Cheers
Savannah

Removing myself.

Did you know it's instincts to remove/exclude yourself from your life when you know you're leaving? Well that's exactly what I'm doing right now! Removing myself from friends, from activities and pretty much my life here in Victoria. I don't get the same thrill from hanging out with friends, or going to social events anymore. Possibly because I know I'm just going to leave it all behind! I honestly feel as though I'm 1000 miles away and I haven't even left my doorstep. 

I suppose you could call me a loner :) Now on Saturdays - the only day I don't work (Except Sunday), I find myself happily cleaning my room, organizing my stuff and of course...packing it all up! But the funny thing is, 2 months ago that would've killed me, now I actually ENJOY doing it! 

I'm really getting excited as we approach departure. The fact that we've only got another 4 weeks in this beautiful country is scary...but awesome! I'm finally coming to the realization's that I'm actually moving to Uganda! There's been so much focus on the leaving part, the arriving part was kind of tossed to the side. But now I'm ready to zip up my suitcases, yell farewell to my friends and get aboard this journey I've been waiting so long for! 

Cheers
Savannah 

Preparation

It's approaching faster then I could've ever imagined. One moment we're planning our hobby  farm layout and deciding classes to take for the Fall, the next we are cleaning out rooms and prepping to leave.
So I felt it was essential to dedicate at least one blog post to our preparations...so we don't skip the foundation of this adventure. 

Cleaning Out:
We've lived in this house for 5 years, we've rearranged bedrooms, built many enclosures and upgraded our house/land in many ways. We're clean folks and my mom is very good about her big Spring & Winter cleaning and the day to day junk collecting. But when you've lived in a house for 5 years you tend to just forget about all the THINGS you have. Cleaning out is brutal. I decided to go through my desk, binders and books...holy crap! There's a lot of stuff. 
We also have an crawlspace where we store our Christmas stuff, food storage, luggage etc. Crawling through that hot little space, dragging everything out is just brutal! Seriously, I only lasted 15 minutes? 

Closet: 
In Uganda girls HAVE to wear skirts 24-7, the only place I can wear shorts is in my house. Oh and the guys have to wear pants...no shorts. Now that, that's tough. Living in a country right on the equator and you have to wear pants...wow. 
So, because of this rule I've literally been throwing out my whole closet. I really have no need for jeans anymore, they're impossible to dry and I can't wear them in public...and they're not comfortable :) So goodbye jeans. The only pants I'll keep is sweatpants, they're my babies. 
Me and my sister could not be more opposite...we went skirt shopping for Uganda, and while she was trying to find stylish and pretty skirts I picked up the ugliest, comfiest and the most short - like skirts possible. I'm telling you now, I am gonna look like a local! 

Money: 
I've never been a spender, thank goodness. But I've never had anything to save for either. Right now it's August and our plan is to leave by the end of September. I keep hearing and researching about all these rad things you can do in Africa...Horse Safaris along the Nile, Ostrich riding and of course flying to other countries in Africa like Kenya and Ethiopia. So with only a month or two left of socialization I took a 5 day a week nannying job to make a saving stash before heading out. Once I'm in Uganda I'll have no way of making money - maybe I can teach English in schools, but other than that I'm jobless. So I figured it's better to work my butt off while now so I can enjoy a peaceful year or two in Uganda. 

Language: 
The national language of Uganda is English (Thank goodness!), but that doesn't mean everyone speaks it! Most people there speak Swahili or Ugandan - yes it's a language. People walk up to you and either say "Jumbo!" (meaning "hello" in Swahili) or "Hello!", but with their accents it can be very hard to understand. So with the help of youtube my Mom and Sister have attempted to learn Ugandan...I think it lasted one afternoon and then they gave up :) 

So those are just a few preparations I'm noticing in my household, yes it is crazy and I feel like my world is upside down...however the excitement of taking that first step on African soil is seriously unbearable! 
So if you ask "Are you ready?", my answer is "YES!". 

Cheers
Savannah