This is a picture of some of the men in my life. They're quite sexy and I have multiple photos of them to prove it. Yesterday night I received this letter. I'm not sure if you'll be able to read it, but don't worry I don't really understand it anyways. It gave me and the other volunteers a good laugh trying to rap it out loud! Yes the song is about their shorts and numbers... pretty random! I know I wasn't suppose to show it to anyone (as it says in the letter) but I just had to share their awesome song!

Jinja

We went swimming in the Nile! Absolutely gorgeous. Although I'm pretty sure we saw a crocodile in the water... Luckily we were out of the water when we noticed the creature. We didn't go back in after that because we were too afraid haha. This was one of the most relaxing trips I've ever been on. Even though our trip was just a couple of days, it was great to get away and explore. 

Another great part about this trip was the food. We ate directly over looking the river. I had a typical breakfast I'd normally eat at home: granola, bananas and yogurt... It was incredibly satisfying... I cannot stop thinking about it. But we're back at the orphanage with the Uganda food. Which don't get me wrong, it's absolutely delicious! Just sickening after you eat it 3 times a day... everyday... I also had delicious spring rolls in Jinja that were only 2,500 UGX! Equivalent to $1 CAN!! Ridiculously cheap! And that restaurant had wifi! That was a first! 

Sipi Falls, Mbale.

Absolutely gorgeous. We stayed at the Crows Nest, a remote hostel with a breathtaking view across from one of the falls. This is the life: greenery, hills, clear water and tranquility. Who needs hot water or electricity? In the morning we hiked for over 2 hours eventually standing directly under the falls in the caves. It was an amazing view with the sound of water pounding all around us. On our way home we are stopping off in Jinja to take a dip in the Nile!

Time

One thing I will never be able to adapt to, or get over is African time. People in Africa do not care about the clock. If they say they'll be there at 9 am, they might just arrive at 1 pm. I learned this the first day I arrived. My project coordinator called me and told me he would arrive at the orphanage at 9 am to start the orientation. Me, being the keener that I am, set my alarm, got up early and was ready all before 8:30 (in case he arrived early). 4 hours later he arrived, without an apology and continued on as if it was 9 am. I know traffic and transportation in Uganda isn't easy, and driving disasters happen spontenously.. but don't give a time if you cannot commit. My daddy and sister would love African time, since they're both always late. My date for the wedding was suppose to pick me up at 11am. He came at 1pm and he told me the ceremony started at 1:30... we did some errands ans got to the church at 3:30... We missed the ceremony lol. But it was his friend getting married so it didn't completely bother me. Gah, I can't handle people who don't respect time! And that's practically every African...

Tomorrow Emily and I are venturing off to Sipi Falls. It's about a 4 hour bus so we packed books, apples, chips and jelly donuts (whicht I'm extremely excited to devour!). It's an early morning for us so I'll say good night!

Sick

Moments like being sick are when you wish you were home. I let Emily do a malaria test on me (just to be safe) and thankfully I don't have malaria. It's probably just a flu but I feel like crap. The other day I slept in till 4pm. The kids laughed at me when they saw me come out in my pjs at 4pm because I had to use the washroom. I was invited to go to a wedding tomorrow. I hope I'm better so I can enjoy every moment of this African wedding experience!

Moving

Last week my roommate Emily and I changed rooms because every time it rained, our room would flood. It's rainy season, and having a wet bed and clothes everyday wasn't ideal so we agreed to move. Our new room is very spacious and I feel much less claustrophobic. Our old room was like a dark wooden box and when it rained, everything would smell like damp wood. Here are a couple of shots of our new pad!

I Hate Titles

At what point does your body begin to acclimatize? I've been in Africa for 3 weeks and the heat is still torture. Like today, it's only 10:30am and I'm beginning to sweat. I packed over 5 long sleeves but so far I have only worn 1. Some days I will wear shorts and a tank in the morning, and go to sleep with them because the temperature is still warm. The other day at 9am I was working in the garden and the temperature was comparable to Vancouver's 2pm on a hot sunny day. But we are now entering the rainy season so things may change. In rainy season it can be excruciatingly hot at one moment and then rain storm the next. The rain storms can be nice if you're under shelter. It's a nice loud, aggressive kind of peace (if that even makes sense). Currently the temperature is continuing to heat up, and with my Ugandan senses I predict it is going to rain. I am going to grab some more water and a cold drink before I head back to the orphanage soon.

Currently they are playing Sometimes - Britney Spears at the internet cafe. Nostalgic much?

Tomorrow is Parent's Day at the orphanage. I am excited to meet some of the kids families, which I'm sure the kids are extremely excited about too. Unfortunately the kids are not allowed to leave the orphanage grounds. Which I cannot imagine because only after a full day at the orphanage I get restless and need to leave or do something. Sometimes I crave a run. But the roads and fields here not smooth enough to run on so I run around our dining porch. The kids just stare and laugh at me, but I've gotten use to that.

Technology

Currently I'm helping Isaac create a Facebook and e-mail account. Craziest thing. He's never used the internet before, let alone a computer..and he's 18! I just showed him what a mouse is and how to use it. He is struggling to maneuver his mouse over the "Proceed" button. We live in such different worlds. It's just like how the kids are so fascinated with all the volunteers smart gadgets. Where we live, it's so common to own an iPhone or laptop...no one looks at these objects in aw. In developed countries we don't appreciate things as much as we should. I found that even after my first day, I began to appreciate things more. Going to the Red Chilli Hostel I look forward to having a nice cold refrigerated drink and a light in my room for before I sleep - Things that we just expect in life.
Something else that I miss is, ice. Two days ago Gideon was kicked with a football (soccerball) in the chest and Yesterday Solomon slammed his finger in a door. Automatically my remedy for these pains would be ice but ice doesn't exist here. The only thing I could do was give them a kiss and hope that that magically helped them feel better.

As of me? I'm good. I think I got a tan from hand washing my clothes outside yesterday. The kids like to stare and laugh at our terrible "muzungu" (white person) technique. The first time I washed my clothes they stunk after they dried but this time I think they're clean. The kids didn't laugh as much today, I think that means I'm getting better at this.