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
