this past weekend was one of the most fun yet! my boss invited me along with his wife and another couple to go whitewater rafting down the nile with them...soooo fun! there are 6 rapids, two of which were level 5. they are building a dam within the next year, so the rapids will be gone - it was amazing. we were a pretty mild group, so we didn't flip at all, which was probably a good thing.
our instructor was hilarious...his accent was great. every time we went down a rapid he would yell, "why noooottt?!" and he would go, "ok, time for the mzungus to get wet!" between rapids we would get out and swim around. i asked the guy, "aren't there crocodiles in the nile?" and he goes, "yes...right behind you." there wasn't one, not that i saw anyway.
as we went down the river we saw lots of people washing their clothes in it and taking baths. some boys who were a little too old to be naked in front of stranger, in my opinion, were trying to climb up on our raft and the one next to us. where do you look when that is happening? don't ask me, i just stared at my feet and hoped a naked teenager wasn't going to sit down next to me.
CRAZIEST thing ever happened though. when we got there in the morning, we were paying and i turn around and andrew and dana collins were right behind me. for those of you who don't know them, they are friends of mine from messiah! it was soooo exciting to see some people from home and even more amazing, they are probably moving to jinja (an hour from where i live) in the fall. what a small world. i was surprised at how rejuvenating it was to see people and i was so happy to get to talk with them for a while.
i got back from rafting and just relaxed the rest of the day. i was reading in my bedroom and heard the squeaking and clicking of the rats in the ceiling above me. i just put music on and tried not to think about it, unsuccessfully. BUT, good news...the fumigator is coming this week. PTL!
sunday (yesterday) was also fun - the church i've been going to here does zone sundays where everyone splits up and goes to someone's house in the area they live and there is a mini church service. our zone met at my bosses house and then we had a big lunch afterwards...it was good to meet a bunch of ppl and to also have lunch somewhere besides my living room, :).
more rats last night, but music 'fixed' the problem again. reading some good books, having a toooon of alone time which i'm not quite used to yet, but it's not as bad as i thought it would be. i miss all of you terribly though and i hope america is still fabulous, :). oh, yes, i think america is fabulous...sorry if you don't. at least you have microwaves there. and paved roads.
oh, also, i'm going to mbale on friday - the trip got post poned because we thought the clinic was this week, but it's next week. will be there for 9 days! i'm excited to hang out with the staff and see the uganda hospital, should be fun!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
back in kampala...
after a week away in kijabe, kenya, i am back in the office in uganda. i just got back from a walk to the grocery store for my healthy lunch of a bag of some type of bbq flavored fried corn sticks...not my best decision since being here, but hey, they were about $.50. cheap = lunch for me, :).
i am missing the kijabe weather - it was sooo nice, it reminded me of an early spring day in pennsylvania. it was chilly but the sun was out and every night i had to wrap up in two heavy blankets to be warm - i LOVED it. as of right now, there is sweat trickling down my shins - gross, graphic, i know, but oh so true.
kenya was great. it was my first visit to a CURE hospital and it was so good to finally see what it is i am doing here. it will take a little while to get used to taking not only stills, but video as well. it's definitely not my strong suit here, but i'm working on it. i spent a lot of time in the hospital and then we went to a clinic about 2.5 hours away for one day. there, they treated about 30 kids with club foot, casting them to correct it. it was fascinating. each night, boba and i would sit in my room and watch friends on my laptop. we finished an entire season, :). i read the book, "three cups of tea" while there and it was really inspiring/interesting. it was one lindsey left behind - thanks linds, haha.
i will definitely post photos later - internet is too slow to handle it right now. i am busy editing the hundreds of photos taken and getting ready to go to out hospital in mbale, uganda on saturday. i will be there for another week - on the way there, i'm going water skiing with my boss and his wife and some other staff from CURE. apparently, there are level 5 rapids and there is a chance i might die - guess i will be hanging on tight. miss you all and love you mucho!
oh, in other news...i had a rat in my house. it left me larger than usual gifts at various places throughout the house that i discovered the morning i was leaving for kenya. i put it out of my mind and decided to not think about it and hopefully it would be gone when i got back. welp, upon my arrival home, i found many many many more presents all over the house which REALLLLY grossed me out and also two broken glasses that the brat must have knocked off of my shelf in the kitchen. i spent the whole day yesterday kicking walls and doors to make sure it left a room before i entered and i didn't see it at all. i appreciated my mosquito net waaay more last night than i ever have thinking it wouldn't try to get onto my bed through the net. i left my itunes playing all night so it would know i was in the room (i have no idea what goes on in a rat's thought processes, but last night i thought i was thinking pretty logically). then this morning, still trying not to think about it, i went into the guest bedroom where i have macgyver'd a clothes line to hang my underwear to grab a dry pair. and that's when i saw it - a HUUUUUUUUUGE rat, dead, right underneath my clothesline. thank the good LORD that i had already grabbed a pair before i saw it cuz there was noooo way i was going back in! i was brushing my teeth so i couldn't scream, but i would be lying if i said that a tear didn't trickle down my face! i patiently waited a half hour until my boss came to pick me up and he ever so graciously disposed of the creature. i whined enough about it to him and we're having the house fumigated this week.
the end.
i am missing the kijabe weather - it was sooo nice, it reminded me of an early spring day in pennsylvania. it was chilly but the sun was out and every night i had to wrap up in two heavy blankets to be warm - i LOVED it. as of right now, there is sweat trickling down my shins - gross, graphic, i know, but oh so true.
kenya was great. it was my first visit to a CURE hospital and it was so good to finally see what it is i am doing here. it will take a little while to get used to taking not only stills, but video as well. it's definitely not my strong suit here, but i'm working on it. i spent a lot of time in the hospital and then we went to a clinic about 2.5 hours away for one day. there, they treated about 30 kids with club foot, casting them to correct it. it was fascinating. each night, boba and i would sit in my room and watch friends on my laptop. we finished an entire season, :). i read the book, "three cups of tea" while there and it was really inspiring/interesting. it was one lindsey left behind - thanks linds, haha.
i will definitely post photos later - internet is too slow to handle it right now. i am busy editing the hundreds of photos taken and getting ready to go to out hospital in mbale, uganda on saturday. i will be there for another week - on the way there, i'm going water skiing with my boss and his wife and some other staff from CURE. apparently, there are level 5 rapids and there is a chance i might die - guess i will be hanging on tight. miss you all and love you mucho!
oh, in other news...i had a rat in my house. it left me larger than usual gifts at various places throughout the house that i discovered the morning i was leaving for kenya. i put it out of my mind and decided to not think about it and hopefully it would be gone when i got back. welp, upon my arrival home, i found many many many more presents all over the house which REALLLLY grossed me out and also two broken glasses that the brat must have knocked off of my shelf in the kitchen. i spent the whole day yesterday kicking walls and doors to make sure it left a room before i entered and i didn't see it at all. i appreciated my mosquito net waaay more last night than i ever have thinking it wouldn't try to get onto my bed through the net. i left my itunes playing all night so it would know i was in the room (i have no idea what goes on in a rat's thought processes, but last night i thought i was thinking pretty logically). then this morning, still trying not to think about it, i went into the guest bedroom where i have macgyver'd a clothes line to hang my underwear to grab a dry pair. and that's when i saw it - a HUUUUUUUUUGE rat, dead, right underneath my clothesline. thank the good LORD that i had already grabbed a pair before i saw it cuz there was noooo way i was going back in! i was brushing my teeth so i couldn't scream, but i would be lying if i said that a tear didn't trickle down my face! i patiently waited a half hour until my boss came to pick me up and he ever so graciously disposed of the creature. i whined enough about it to him and we're having the house fumigated this week.
the end.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
mbarara.
did my first assignment this week!! we had a mobile clinic in mbarara - 6 hours on a bus on a dirt road to get there! i had such a great time though...i met all the staff from CURE's hospital in mbale which is only 3 hours from where i live. they were sooo sweet and i know i will be seeing a lot of them while i am here. not just sweet but really fun people - 3 days flew by with them. i can't post a whole lot because i don't know how much longer this internet will be working but life is good and i am leaving for kenya in 24 hours! i will be in nairobi for the week, at least til friday and i will have great internet the whole time and skype. my skype name is rachelho22 if you wanna try and chat.
i am going to try and post some photos from the clinic - if not, take my word for it...these kids are adorable!
Monday, June 8, 2009
uplifting myself.
usually when i think of being encouraged or "uplifted" i think of it involving someone else. africa is teaching me that it can also be done whilst alone. i have had nothing but encouragement, prayers, and kind words from home - you all have been amazing in that. BUT, when it is time for me to fall asleep, i feel alone and start to think about home. and i think that the LORD is really showing me how to make a decision to be cheerful and happy instead of just pitying myself. a new tool that i have implemented is saying something i am thankful for and excited about every time i think of something from home that i miss. simple, elementary, but oh-so-helpful. for today, this is my list.
things that i am missing:
1. chelsea lately
2. family
3. snacks
4. new music on the radio
5. tv - how shallow is my life at home? geeeez, :)
things i am grateful for here:
1. new friends
2. the sun shining every single day
3. tropical fruit, always fresh
4. boda bodas
5. having time to do the things i was always too busy to do at home - go for long runs, read books, RELAX.
i feel better already, :).
things that i am missing:
1. chelsea lately
2. family
3. snacks
4. new music on the radio
5. tv - how shallow is my life at home? geeeez, :)
things i am grateful for here:
1. new friends
2. the sun shining every single day
3. tropical fruit, always fresh
4. boda bodas
5. having time to do the things i was always too busy to do at home - go for long runs, read books, RELAX.
i feel better already, :).
Friday, June 5, 2009
some photos.
forgot to put these up for pat - enjoy!
these are right outside the door to my house - a storm was coming in and i got DUMPED on right after taking them, :).
birthday music.
so - my emotions go in phases here. it never ceases to amaze me how each day i literally go from one extreme of feeling perfectly content to tearing up wondering how i can make 9 months go as quickly as possible.
yesterday was noooo exception. it was my 22nd birthday and i woke up feeling fine that i was here, ready for the day. my boss picked me up and took me to work and then him and boba, a girl i work with, took me out to lunch which was sooo nice. after work i rushed to get ready because a bunch of people lindsey introduced to me were having a cookout.
i got there and didn't know many people and i just really missed home. it wasn't awful, i just had an intense longing to talk to someone from home. then we started eating which, naturally, made me perk up, :). then i was surrounded by 25 people who were soooo kind and making such an effort to make my birthday special and i felt so alone and had one of those moments where i thought i might cry, so i got up and then i heard it - lucky by jason mraz and colbie calliat. no more than 10 minutes later, this huge group of people (i didn't know more than 5 of them) were loudly singing happy birthday to me and my friend laura was carrying a cake towards me. and wouldn't you know, it was a cake that patsy horning makes every single june for our birthdays - a fruit pizza. i could not have asked for a better evening or better people to share it with...thanks lindsey for sharing your friends with me, :).
and this is not the first time this has happened. i have had about five moments when i thought i might cry and the instant i feel a tear well up, i will hear a song - it's the craziest thing! it happened at lindsey's goodbye dinner when everyone was talking about how fabulous she was and i was getting so scared that i wouldn't live up to the standards that she set - then beyonce's single ladies came on and i had to stifle a laugh as i picture our entire soccer team singing and dancing to it. another time the day before linds left we were sitting with a bunch of her friends at a bbq and everyone was talking about how sad they were that she was leaving and i almost walked out of the room when john legend's first cd started playing in the next room, which made me picture patsy sitting at his concert in philly with me. i walked in and joe had just turned on the CD and said, "i know you like him, i was looking for a different one, but this one will do." he had nooo idea how important that was. yet another time i was sitting in my living room and i had been alone for almost 2 full days and i was wallowing in some serious self-pity and just as the tears were coming - a car stopped literally RIGHT outside my compound and jamie foxx's voice singing blame it came blaring out of their stereo and right into my living room. i may have had a dance party by myself, :) while envisioning face rap this to me on the way to pizza hut.
so, the LORD has used jamie foxx to keep me grounded, ha. but seriously, i do not count those things as pure coincidence, especially because crying doesn't stop easily for me once it begins. it amazes me how the music from america is all it takes to remind me that i can do this and that i am not leaving behind everything/everyone. i'm simply taking a break from it, :).
i love you all and miss you. hope to hear from you soon! thanks SO much for all the birthday wishes yesterday, they made it so much easier to be here!
yesterday was noooo exception. it was my 22nd birthday and i woke up feeling fine that i was here, ready for the day. my boss picked me up and took me to work and then him and boba, a girl i work with, took me out to lunch which was sooo nice. after work i rushed to get ready because a bunch of people lindsey introduced to me were having a cookout.
i got there and didn't know many people and i just really missed home. it wasn't awful, i just had an intense longing to talk to someone from home. then we started eating which, naturally, made me perk up, :). then i was surrounded by 25 people who were soooo kind and making such an effort to make my birthday special and i felt so alone and had one of those moments where i thought i might cry, so i got up and then i heard it - lucky by jason mraz and colbie calliat. no more than 10 minutes later, this huge group of people (i didn't know more than 5 of them) were loudly singing happy birthday to me and my friend laura was carrying a cake towards me. and wouldn't you know, it was a cake that patsy horning makes every single june for our birthdays - a fruit pizza. i could not have asked for a better evening or better people to share it with...thanks lindsey for sharing your friends with me, :).
and this is not the first time this has happened. i have had about five moments when i thought i might cry and the instant i feel a tear well up, i will hear a song - it's the craziest thing! it happened at lindsey's goodbye dinner when everyone was talking about how fabulous she was and i was getting so scared that i wouldn't live up to the standards that she set - then beyonce's single ladies came on and i had to stifle a laugh as i picture our entire soccer team singing and dancing to it. another time the day before linds left we were sitting with a bunch of her friends at a bbq and everyone was talking about how sad they were that she was leaving and i almost walked out of the room when john legend's first cd started playing in the next room, which made me picture patsy sitting at his concert in philly with me. i walked in and joe had just turned on the CD and said, "i know you like him, i was looking for a different one, but this one will do." he had nooo idea how important that was. yet another time i was sitting in my living room and i had been alone for almost 2 full days and i was wallowing in some serious self-pity and just as the tears were coming - a car stopped literally RIGHT outside my compound and jamie foxx's voice singing blame it came blaring out of their stereo and right into my living room. i may have had a dance party by myself, :) while envisioning face rap this to me on the way to pizza hut.
so, the LORD has used jamie foxx to keep me grounded, ha. but seriously, i do not count those things as pure coincidence, especially because crying doesn't stop easily for me once it begins. it amazes me how the music from america is all it takes to remind me that i can do this and that i am not leaving behind everything/everyone. i'm simply taking a break from it, :).
i love you all and miss you. hope to hear from you soon! thanks SO much for all the birthday wishes yesterday, they made it so much easier to be here!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
address...
after many requests for this, here is my address:
Rachel Horning
3rd Floor
Bakwanye House
26 Wampewo Avenue
P.O. Box 26292
Kampala-UGANDA
you have no idea how much i will love receiving mail - parts of this experience feel like i've gone back to a time before modern technology, minus the fact that i am on the internet right now, :).
lots of reading and pondering and journaling being done. i am really loving it though. and missing all of you, :).
it costs money to send things, i won't be offended if you don't, but i will without a doubt love you more if you do, :).
oh, and telephone number for when you guys get scared if i don't have internet for two days - 000256779355237.
i will write more later. so many stories i could tell but have no idea if they are funny/worth it. we'll give a couple a test drive with some friends here, then i will pass them along if they meet the standards. oh, most of my friends are british here - english people are funnier than americans i think. and their accents obvi make everything sound much cooler. kk, too much talking, bye for now, send me notes with a return address and i will write baaaaack!
Rachel Horning
3rd Floor
Bakwanye House
26 Wampewo Avenue
P.O. Box 26292
Kampala-UGANDA
you have no idea how much i will love receiving mail - parts of this experience feel like i've gone back to a time before modern technology, minus the fact that i am on the internet right now, :).
lots of reading and pondering and journaling being done. i am really loving it though. and missing all of you, :).
it costs money to send things, i won't be offended if you don't, but i will without a doubt love you more if you do, :).
oh, and telephone number for when you guys get scared if i don't have internet for two days - 000256779355237.
i will write more later. so many stories i could tell but have no idea if they are funny/worth it. we'll give a couple a test drive with some friends here, then i will pass them along if they meet the standards. oh, most of my friends are british here - english people are funnier than americans i think. and their accents obvi make everything sound much cooler. kk, too much talking, bye for now, send me notes with a return address and i will write baaaaack!
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