diet coke IN AFRICA

I realize I haven’t posted on my blog in quite some time, so brace yourself. This could get long. Last week I used most of my vacation days and traveled to Tanzania with eight of the other volunteers. It was a great week. The first couple of days we stayed in Arusha and did things around that area. The first day we went to their fruit market (where they had unbelievably delicious pink lady apples and KILLER mangoes), a craft village, and we visited a Masai Museum and rode camels. The camel rides were ridiculous and touristy, but really entertaining. The second day we hiked up to a really beautiful waterfall around the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, but getting to the trailhead was the best part. It was raining and somewhere along the dirt road that was quickly turning into slippery mud, our bus realized that it was not actually an all-terrain vehicle and it got seriously stuck. The guides told us the trailhead was just a thirty-minute walk up the road. Right. Thirty minutes translated into over an hour of stepping so carefully as to not slip and eat it before reaching the trailhead. The trail was a little better and most everyone was on their feet for the majority of the hike, but the way down was a different story. The three-mile walk back down to the bus seemed endless and almost impossible. I slipped four times. Others had better luck than I had, but quite a few of us got on the bus completely covered in mud. It was so embarrassing walking back to the bus because everyone who was sitting out on their porch or walking by would stare and laugh at us. Quite miserable and humiliating, but we all ended the day with a hot shower at the hostel in Arusha, and a pizza and milkshake at an American restaurant which made up for everything.
The next three days we spent on a safari through the Serengeti. It was really beautiful. It was actually pretty dry in some areas though, and a lot of it reminded me of areas in Utah. The sunsets and starry skies were unreal though. The Milky Way looked like it does in pictures-cloudy because it’s so bright. And all of the animals were really cool. Our very first day we saw a lioness with her cubs, and then we saw her take down a warthog. It was like animal planet right before our eyes. We also saw a ton of gazelle, hippos, wildebeest, giraffes, zebras, lions, hyenas, meerkats, a cheetah, and other cool animals. After the Serengeti, we spent a day in the Ngorangora crater and camped at the rim. In the Serengeti, the animals were pretty spread out, but in the crater there were huge herds of animals everywhere. There were massive flocks of flamingos which was awesome. The crater was really, really pretty. I felt like I was on a safari in Jurassic Park or something. All in all, Tanzania was fantastic.
We got back from Tanzania on Saturday and the next day was the U.S. Embassy’s 4th of July Celebration. I don’t know if I can adequately describe how fantastic it was. First of all, we walked in and there was real Diet Coke at the bar. That’s right. Diet Coke. Not Coke Light, not Coke Zero, actual DIET COKE. Heidi and I were hysterical. They were 3000 shillings, which is about $1.75 per can, but we didn’t care. And when I thought things couldn’t get much better, there was a beautiful swimming pool, tennis courts, a sand volleyball pit, a great dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers, and acrobats for entertainment. They were really good. I honestly shed a tear of delight during their performance. They were tumbling and climbing on top of each other and pulling out all sorts of Circe de Soleil stuff. The night was finished off with some fireworks and a Disney princess song-filled taxi ride back to Lugazi. I could not have been more pleased with the day. What a great party. I really love Uganda, but that made me realize how much I appreciate America.
On Monday we met with a Women’s Group in our village, Nakazadde. We taught them the body parts in English and sang, “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” Then we painted their toenails and fingernails. That was one of the most fun women’s group activities we’ve planned. The women loved it. We can hardly communicate with some of them, but I can’t help feeling like they’re some of my best friends. They’re always super excited to see us. I just love them.
On Wednesday we went to a school in a little village near Kampala and we helped another organization with HIV testing, vaccinations, immunizations, and administering deworming pills, vitamin A, and multivitamins. First the children would be tested for HIV, then they were sent to a classroom where they were given various vaccinations, then on the way out they would receive the vitamins and deworming pills. I was giving out the deworming pills, and I felt so horrible because by the time they got to me they were crying and hated mzungus, and then I had to tell them that these disgusting little pills were “sweeties” (candy) so they would chew them. They looked at me like I was trying to poison them. I felt really bad. I think we’re going back next Wednesday to help with another group of children, so I decided I’m going to take Smarties that Heidi has and give them to them at the same time as the pills. Maybe they won’t hate me as much and I can redeem the mzungu reputation.
Thursday we finished Betty’s stove in Namengo. We did our first tin chimney and it went really well. We have been bricking the chimneys because many of them are outside, but this is a small one in a home so the tin pipe worked great. I’ve loved working with Betty on her stove. She’s been really helpful and willing to learn and just fun. Heidi and I love to make the ugliest faces we can think of and then take pictures, so while Dan was breaking out a hole in the wall for the chimney, we convinced Betty to do it with us. We were laughing so hard. The pictures are great.
Today we filled in a big stove at Crane’s School near our house. Our guard, David came to learn. He lives about 5 hours away from his family but he is going to see them in September and he told us he wants to build one for his wife. He’s such a good guy. Some of the people here are such great examples of kindness and service.
Anyway, those are just some highlights from this week.
The week before Tanzania I was supposed to be hiking Mt. Elgon with Dan, but he got sick so we came back. We were pretty bummed that we couldn’t hike it, but we had a really fun/busy week which was great. We built a bunch of stoves and set appointments for others. I was exhausted by the end of the week, and so ready for a little getaway to Tanzania. So that’s what has been happening these past few weeks. I’ll try to blog again soon so it won’t be so long!
Amber

still raining IN AFRICA

i'm pretty sure the rainy season was supposed to be over as of 6 days ago, but it doesn't seem to be letting up. today trent, corbin, and i were going to visit some primary schools in lugazi to scope out some new locations for stoves. we try to target schools because they benefit the most people. anyway, right before we were about to leave it starting pouring rain. corbin refused to go out in the rain, but i didn't really want to be in the house, so trent and i braved the storm. we must have looked like completely clueless mzungus. everyone was staring at us as they stood under shelter and remained dry. many of them were laughing. kind of embarassing. okay, really embarassing. i hate to stay in the house though. and we located a school that is an ideal place to build a stove. we probably could have just waited for an hour and then walked there, but i saw it as an opportunity to don my extremely fashionable REI rain jacket.

anyway, the past week and a half has been really busy and really fun. we started and finished a stove for this adorable, hard-working woman in namengo. that was a highlight. also, we (me, heid, ashley, and natalie) taught our first english class to a women's group. we used this storytelling method. we may have looked ridiculous, but i think it went over pretty well. the women were really smart and catching on very quickly. also, last week was my birthday so trent bought a cake from the broadway bakery that he and i volunteer at once a week. lydia, the girl that we are helping with the accounting there, calls me amby, because amber is really difficult for people here to see. i usually get amba, and there's an occasional ambo, but amby has been the greatest rendition of my name that i've heard thus far. anyway, she took one of the cakes that had happy birthday written in frosting and wrote amby underneath. it was hilarious.

on saturday we went to the uganda vs. niger world cup qualifier match in nampoole which is near the capital, kampala. it was really fun. quite honestly, neither team seemed to be extremely talented, but it was still really fun to watch. and before the game started these guys that had almost their entire bodies painted were painting peoples faces. most of us got a red, yellow, and black stripe on our cheek, but this guy also wrote juba on my forehead in bright blue. i thought juba was one of the star players for the cranes, but later i found out that its a city in southern sudan. supposedly you can get good opium there and there's a song about it. so yeah, i guess i walking supporter of a major drug city. great.

this tuesday was martyr's day so we traveled to namengogo (sp?) for the festival. i didn't really understand anything that was going on, but there were hundreds and hundreds of people, and we saw a really cool catholic church. but the best part of the day was this guy who was selling small pineapples on the side of the road for 300 shillings (18 cents). he cut off the outside and then sliced an x through the middle, if that makes sense. then we were able to eat it like corn on the cob. greatest idea anyone has had here yet. plus, not one canker sore. it was most definitely a success. after the festival we went into kampala. that was the first time i have been to the capital. it seemed pretty clean, but there was still no clean toilet anywhere in sight. i'll keep searching,
amber

I can't believe it's been another week in Uganda. Time flies here. Everything is going really well. Projects proposals are near completion and a regular schedule is forming...kind of. Ugandans don't really have a concept of time, and not very many people have cell phones, so appointments and meetings are sometimes impossible to set. However, this past week I had great success in setting up appointments to begin some adobe stoves. This week we are building one at a school in a village called Namengo. It's going to be a pretty big one, because the cook uses three large pots to prepare food for all of the students, so I hope it goes well. We are setting the form on Monday and we are filling in the stove on Thursday. We are also starting a stove at school called True Light in the village where we live, Nakkazade. The weather is so humid here, so it takes about three weeks for the stoves to dry, but once they do, they rock. They use way less firewood and they have a chimney that diverts the smoke out of the house or away from the cooking area, which will seriously improve respiratory health of women who are cooking all day and the children who are strapped to their backs. These stoves are great. I'll be sure to upload some pictures of some of the completed ones.

Yesterday, our group hiked through the Mabira Forest in Jinja. It was actually more of a walk through the forest, then on a paved road (some of us got a little off track), but it was really beautiful. We saw some sweet bugs, like this caterpillar that had a perfectly round bright red head, and then log white furry stuff on it's body. We also got to see some cool birds and really pretty butterflies. There were also some monkeys at the end. We went to Jinja afterward and ate at this American Restaurant. It was heavenly. I swear that almost everything they eat here is mashed, so I was grateful for some solid food.

Also, this week I have been jump roping with Heidi and some other volunteers. I think I'm much less likely to sprain my ankles while jump roping than running, so my new hobby proceeds and we can all breathe a little easier. But who knows, even I could turn something as harmless as hopping over a plastic rope into something extremely dangerous and detrimental to my health.
Hoping that I won't,
Amber

Hobbling Along

After thirty hours of travel, I'm here! Africa is amazing! But, the roads are not paved and yesterday while I was running I sprained my ankle. How convenient. Today everyone is rafting the nile, but sadly, I am not.

The projects are not wuite yet underway, so I'll fill you in on the living conditions and a little bit about what we have been doing.
THE HOUSE: The other fifteen volunteers and I live a house in Lugazi. The house has two showers (one actually gets warm water occasionally), one toilet, the tiniest kitchen you could imagine, is gated and guarded at night, and welcomes insects of various sorts. I thought the cold showers and bugs would get to me, but I'm already used to it.
THE FOOD: We have two great cooks who prepare a delicious dinner every weeknight. The meal usually consists of a few of the following: matoke (boiled plantains), cooked cabbage, rice, beans, eggplant, pumpkin squash, chipote (tortillas) and my personal favorite, freshly-squeezed passion fruit juice.
THE DAY: We are all in the process of writing our project proposals. I will be over women's groups. We have attended a town council meeting regarding children's rights. It was almost four hours long. We have also been working at an orphanage called Hope, doing construction and playing with the children. Yesterday I traveled to Mukono to the Broadway Bakery to see what I can do to help with some accounting catch-up. We don't really have a set schedule yet, so each day is different. I'm hoping the projects will be underway soon. I can't wait to help. Africa is great. more to come...

Two Weeks til Take-off

Yes, it's true. Just two weeks until my departure. How am I feeling? A little bit nervous, but mostly excited. I feel like I'm pretty well prepared, but I still have so much to do before I go.

What I've done so far:
I have attended five trainings, each 4 hours long. These trainings have included topics such as safety and security, development, intercultural communication, project planning and implementation, orphanage activities and recreational therapy, and adobe stove building. I've also attended a few team meetings with my fellow Uganda-bound teammates and I'm so excited about the people I'm working with.

For precautionary measures, I've had just about as many vaccinations as my deltoids can handle, including typhoid fever, tetanus, meningitis, hepatitis, polio, and yellow fever.

I've also gathered a bunch of cool stuff for a "Masquerade" orphanage project we're planning. Sequins, feathers, paint, and white paper masks are just the beginning. I'll have updates on how it turns out.

In anticipation of becoming "one with the earth," I purchased a pair of Chaco sandals online today. Actually, I made my dad do it. No offense to all of you "Z" tan-line-sporting, Chaco-lovers out there, but I just don't think they're the greatest looking shoes on the market. But I'll admit, I've tried them on and they're pretty comfortable, and they seem practical. So I'm giving them a shot. I may just love them one day. Today isn't it.

Most importantly, I've raised the funds necessary for my summer of service in Uganda. Endless thanks to everyone who contributed! I love you all!

What I still have to do:
Tomorrow I have my final checkout at the HELP International office. They'll load up one of my suitcases with supplies to take and make sure everything is set to go.

I also have a few more things to gather for projects, such as medical gloves, scrubs (thank you, Richard Bott and Jenny Crouch), and nutrition education material.

Just two weeks 'til take-off...I better get to work.
Thanks for enduring through this lengthy post!