It's amazing how bearable a trans-Atlantic flight becomes when you know you have another eight hour flight to follow it. It seems merely a warm-up as opposed to the eight hours of sleep-deprived frustration it normally is for me. Although sleep deprived it would remain to be since I decided against taking an Ambien since there were less than six hours left and I didn't want to deal with the supposed grogginess of waking up midway through an Ambien-induced coma. In the end I got about 4 hours of bad sleep but I managed to stay awake during my layover in Amsterdam. As previously stated, my bad luck with international calls followed me into Europe and after many unsuccessful attempts, wrong numbers, busy tones, wrong phones altogether, I finally got through to my parents. As I sat waiting for my flight I was surprised by the demographics of the passengers. Most people were European or American--there were very few Africans. For some reason I thought I would be in the minority.
I feel silly now for being so nervous and worried about my trip. Everything went off without a hitch. The flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe was just as nice as from Atlanta to Amsterdam--again I don't know what I was thinking. We got into the Entebbe airport and getting through the visa line was smooth sailing. I found an ATM and was able to take out money and then I found Zane outside waiting for me. Zane and his wife are missionaries in Entebbe. They have adopted three babies from Amani and they let volunteers stay at their house when we get in late. It was 9 pm when we left the airport. One surprise--Ugandans drive on the left side of the road (a remnant from the country's British colonial past)! Driving was absolutely terrifying as we got into the little town where they lived within Entebbe. People were walking all over the street, only illuminated by our headlights. Drunk men dangerously swayed into the path of our car and the horn was well-used. Zane had to flash his lights at several people, but having lived there for four years, was totally non-plussed. I, on the other hand, wanted to close my eyes until it was over. Zane said it would be worse when Abdullah picked me up in the morning and we drove through Kampala on our way to Jinja.
Zane and Summer lived in a nice compound (yes, it was a compound, complete with a guard). Their house reminded me of the houses in Belgium. I had the front living quarters and they lived in the back quarters, separated by a small courtyard. I took a shower and went right to bed. I work up about 2:30 and couldn't sleep for awhile but the next thing I knew I was waking up to the sound of the day guard sweeping the yard outside my window, and Erin, the six-year old talking to the kittens. As I lay there, Summer began passionately discussing something I couldn't quite make out. When I went to their side of the house for breakfast I found out what is was. Just to give you perspective about how grave the orphan situation is in Uganda (over 2 million orphans), that morning a baby had been found abandoned in a pit latrine. While this was somber news, it gave even more meaning and mission to my trip.
Abdullah arrived at nine and we started our trip to Jinja. Everything looked different in the light. While the main roads are paved, all the parking lots to the small buildings and the land on either side of the road is just dirt. The buildings are crudely built, many look like they are falling apart or in the process of being built or possibly somewhere in between. As we drove I noticed that many buildings had ads on them for Coca-Cola or cell-phones or paint. Apparently paint production is a major industry in Uganda as evidenced not only by the ads but also the bright colors used to paint the buildings including a shocking fuschia color that seems to be the fad at the moment. It took an hour and a half just to get through Kampala. Traffic was slow due to the crowded streets full of both cars and pedestrians. The smog and smoke of the city was horrible--I felt like I had smoked a cigarette by the time we got through. I kept coughing and felt congested. Overall, my impression of Kampala was that it was dirty and busy and I had no desire to go back.
After driving through two more towns on the outskirts of Kampala we passed through a lush, jungle-like part of the countryside that was like driving through a national forest. Then the forest gave way to fields of sugarcane and tea. The tea leaves were the brightest, most brilliant green color I have ever seen. Passing out of the fields we crossed over the White Nile and drove into Jinja. It's a much prettier town than Kampala, more trees and nicer buildings. As we arrived at Amani a few of the toddlers came out to greet us. Debbie, the administrator at the orphanage, showed me up to the guest house and got me settled. The house is nice with hardwood floors and high ceilings. There are seven of us living here, although the living area is the main hang out for all the volunteers whether they are staying here or at a nearby guest house. Debbie took me into town and I did some grocery shopping. We also stopped to look at a few of the craft markets. There are beautiful things made here and I can't wait to do some shopping. We ran into Emily, another volunteer, and Debbie set me loose with her. We stopped in a few more stores and then Emily introduced me to boda-bodas. This is the most popular, cheapest, and readily available form of transportaion in the village. Emily wanted to take a motorbike boda-boda but there weren't two available so a guy on a bicycle boda-boda offered to take me. This wouldn't have been so bad if women weren't required to sit side-saddle on the back cushion. I was left with the feeling of being severely off balance, unable to put my feet anywhere, and unsure of where to hold on. As we departed from the side of the road we picked up speed going downhill and I was pretty sure I was going to fall off and die. When we pulled into the driveway I breathed a sigh of relief and decided that I would walk into the village and back from now on, glad to have both feet on the ground and for the exercise.
When Emily and I got back the morning shift had ended so most of the volunteers were in the guest house finishing up their lunch. It was neat to meet everyone and hear their story of where they are from and how they found out about Amani. All but two of the volunteers are female and most seem like they are in college. They come from all over the world--Holland, New Zealand, England, the States. I think we're going to have fun, or rather I think I'm going to enjoy getting incorporated into their group, since most of them have already been here for a few weeks.
I'll post more later about my shift with the toddlers since I've just about exceeded my time limit on the house computer. It's a trip seeing these little Ugandan three and four year olds running all over the place. I'll post some pictures too!
I feel silly now for being so nervous and worried about my trip. Everything went off without a hitch. The flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe was just as nice as from Atlanta to Amsterdam--again I don't know what I was thinking. We got into the Entebbe airport and getting through the visa line was smooth sailing. I found an ATM and was able to take out money and then I found Zane outside waiting for me. Zane and his wife are missionaries in Entebbe. They have adopted three babies from Amani and they let volunteers stay at their house when we get in late. It was 9 pm when we left the airport. One surprise--Ugandans drive on the left side of the road (a remnant from the country's British colonial past)! Driving was absolutely terrifying as we got into the little town where they lived within Entebbe. People were walking all over the street, only illuminated by our headlights. Drunk men dangerously swayed into the path of our car and the horn was well-used. Zane had to flash his lights at several people, but having lived there for four years, was totally non-plussed. I, on the other hand, wanted to close my eyes until it was over. Zane said it would be worse when Abdullah picked me up in the morning and we drove through Kampala on our way to Jinja.
Zane and Summer lived in a nice compound (yes, it was a compound, complete with a guard). Their house reminded me of the houses in Belgium. I had the front living quarters and they lived in the back quarters, separated by a small courtyard. I took a shower and went right to bed. I work up about 2:30 and couldn't sleep for awhile but the next thing I knew I was waking up to the sound of the day guard sweeping the yard outside my window, and Erin, the six-year old talking to the kittens. As I lay there, Summer began passionately discussing something I couldn't quite make out. When I went to their side of the house for breakfast I found out what is was. Just to give you perspective about how grave the orphan situation is in Uganda (over 2 million orphans), that morning a baby had been found abandoned in a pit latrine. While this was somber news, it gave even more meaning and mission to my trip.
Abdullah arrived at nine and we started our trip to Jinja. Everything looked different in the light. While the main roads are paved, all the parking lots to the small buildings and the land on either side of the road is just dirt. The buildings are crudely built, many look like they are falling apart or in the process of being built or possibly somewhere in between. As we drove I noticed that many buildings had ads on them for Coca-Cola or cell-phones or paint. Apparently paint production is a major industry in Uganda as evidenced not only by the ads but also the bright colors used to paint the buildings including a shocking fuschia color that seems to be the fad at the moment. It took an hour and a half just to get through Kampala. Traffic was slow due to the crowded streets full of both cars and pedestrians. The smog and smoke of the city was horrible--I felt like I had smoked a cigarette by the time we got through. I kept coughing and felt congested. Overall, my impression of Kampala was that it was dirty and busy and I had no desire to go back.
After driving through two more towns on the outskirts of Kampala we passed through a lush, jungle-like part of the countryside that was like driving through a national forest. Then the forest gave way to fields of sugarcane and tea. The tea leaves were the brightest, most brilliant green color I have ever seen. Passing out of the fields we crossed over the White Nile and drove into Jinja. It's a much prettier town than Kampala, more trees and nicer buildings. As we arrived at Amani a few of the toddlers came out to greet us. Debbie, the administrator at the orphanage, showed me up to the guest house and got me settled. The house is nice with hardwood floors and high ceilings. There are seven of us living here, although the living area is the main hang out for all the volunteers whether they are staying here or at a nearby guest house. Debbie took me into town and I did some grocery shopping. We also stopped to look at a few of the craft markets. There are beautiful things made here and I can't wait to do some shopping. We ran into Emily, another volunteer, and Debbie set me loose with her. We stopped in a few more stores and then Emily introduced me to boda-bodas. This is the most popular, cheapest, and readily available form of transportaion in the village. Emily wanted to take a motorbike boda-boda but there weren't two available so a guy on a bicycle boda-boda offered to take me. This wouldn't have been so bad if women weren't required to sit side-saddle on the back cushion. I was left with the feeling of being severely off balance, unable to put my feet anywhere, and unsure of where to hold on. As we departed from the side of the road we picked up speed going downhill and I was pretty sure I was going to fall off and die. When we pulled into the driveway I breathed a sigh of relief and decided that I would walk into the village and back from now on, glad to have both feet on the ground and for the exercise.
When Emily and I got back the morning shift had ended so most of the volunteers were in the guest house finishing up their lunch. It was neat to meet everyone and hear their story of where they are from and how they found out about Amani. All but two of the volunteers are female and most seem like they are in college. They come from all over the world--Holland, New Zealand, England, the States. I think we're going to have fun, or rather I think I'm going to enjoy getting incorporated into their group, since most of them have already been here for a few weeks.
I'll post more later about my shift with the toddlers since I've just about exceeded my time limit on the house computer. It's a trip seeing these little Ugandan three and four year olds running all over the place. I'll post some pictures too!
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2 comments:
Sounds so exciting! I'm glad you made it safely! Can't wait to read more about your trip.
Carrie :)
See, I said you'd make it ok! I love the description!
Rob
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