Hey friends! Mallory again. I'm back at the mall, trying to kill some time. We had to move out of our flat today, but our flight doesn't leave until tomorrow night. We're staying at a very sketchy hotel until then, so I'm not sure what we're going to do to occupy ourselves given our very little money remaining. We're going to see another movie ("I love you, man" which i've already seen once!) and that should be good.
After spending a month here, I am certainly ready to go home. This experience has been one of the most challenging and eye-opening things I have ever done, but I am more physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually tired than I have ever been in my life. I think after awhile you get saturated with everything and you just can't hold any more: the HIV+ patients and orphans, our favorite waitress who works 16 hours, 7 days a week for only $2 a day, the lack of reliable electricity (ours went off twice yesterday and we're in the nicest part of town!), the constant stares and drama of being a white person in this town/country/continent. I'm not looking forward to the crazy flight home (Entebbe to Nairobi to Brussels to Newark to Columbus!), but I AM looking forward to seeing my family, Tyler, sleeping in my own bed, having a hot shower, and eating soooo much good food.
Our last day at the school was absolutely amazing. It was obvious how much of an impact we've been blessed to have on the kids. More than our teaching, the kids were touched by our willingness to come to Uganda and care for them. So many of the kids here are one of many (average household has 7 kids!), many are orphaned, and most are put to work as soon as they can walk to the well to fetch water. Our ability to dole out hugs, bring them balls, and give them time to make story books with colored paper and crayons returned a sense of childhood that most of these kids had given up years ago. I think the simple fact that they know we care about them is really important in this "every man for himself" kind of country. Arafat, the boy we are sponsoring, started crying as we left. He is 12 and hasn't seen his parents in 2 years. It feels good knowing that, more than anything else, our presence has given the kids hope about Americans, and a renewed sense of why it's important to do well in school.
Yesterday we went to a birthday party!! Brian Derek, who is Centurio's son, turned 6 years old. We arrived and he was dressed in a little pin striped suit!! It was PRECIOUS!!! There was eating and drinking and dancing, and it was such a great finale to the trip. Seeing Brian's excitement upon opening his gift was amazing. Most days, Brian runs around the school with the wooden stick to push around a bicycle tire. Deepa, Ally, and I got him a race track from the mall which has a few battery-operated car. I don't think I've ever had the experience of giving a gift to a child to who has never had an actually toy before. His face lit up brighter than anything I've ever seen. At $25 US dollars, his gift was FAR more than anything he would ever recieve otherwise, and his excitement was vibrant. It was a really happy moment.
I had a very interesting meal the other day that the teachers made me at school: 8 or 10 unripe bananas covered in kidney beans! Eek! I ate about a 1/4 of it and had to quit.
On thursday we had a big end-of-project party where we got to invite all of our favorite people we've met. Deepa and I invited Centurio (the project coordinator who works at Kibuye school), our favorite waitress Doreen, another teacher Mzee Zeddy and his wife, and Peter who was our fearless tour guide for the first week. It was SUCH a good time. Being able to sit back and think about the relationships I've formed and how far I've come was awesome. Without a doubt, God has blessed me with courage, strength, and patience for this journey, and I am infinitely thankful for the experience I've had here. You guys have been a great support, and I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon!
Welaba!! (Good bye!)
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Week 3 down!
Hey all, it's Monica again.
Mal has been on a safari this weekend, so she hasn't been able to make it to the internet cafe at the mall. She has some very exciting updates, though, so I hope I do them justice!
After a rough couple of days (understandably!) Mallory was very happy to get out of the routine and the city for this weekend's safari! She left first thing Saturday morning for about a 5-hour drive across Uganda, to a state park that had lodging, a "game reserve" (where the safari was), and one of Africa's tallest waterfalls. Upon their arrival, they hiked to the top of the waterfall, and then headed to bed for a good sleep before the big safari! Before Mal left, she said the lodging options were either 1) a hut, or 2) a "permanent tent"... we couldn't figure out what the difference is between the two! I'm not sure which one Mal ended up staying in.
On Sunday morning the whole group wokeup at 6am for the sunrise over the Nile(!!!) and then they began their safari. Mal said that the sunrise was "beautiful!", the Nile was "ridiculous!", and that the only bad part so far was that she had a bad breakfast and puked on the bank of the river shortly after sunrise. We told her that that was okay because one time Aunt Penny puked on a landmark too... she promptly replied with "Hobo's!?!?!" - a "seedy" restaurant that we always pass on the way to Grandma's house. That was the correct answer. haha I guess that's an inside joke.
During the safari, Mal got up close and personal with a lot of different wild animals. I will try to remember a good portion of them:
-zebras
-lions
-tigers
-giraffes
-gazelles
-wart hogs
-crocodiles
-hippopotomuses... hippopotomi?
-spider monkeys
-elephants
There's probably a lot more... I'm sure Mal will clarify and/or let you see for yourself when she posts pictures when she gets home!
This morning (Monday) Mal was able to do something that truly was like a dream come true for her... Now, I don't know how many of you know this, but part of Mallory's desire to go to Africa was instilled in her by her 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Murphy. In her 5th grade class, Mrs. Murphy taught extensively about chimpanzees and gorillas, and the work of Jane Goodall in preserving the natural habitats of these primates and in saving them from extinction. Well, Mal was hooked then, and has been ever since. Approximately 12 years later, Mal entered the Jane Goodall Institute of Uganda this morning and spent 3 hours "chimp tracking." They followed a trail of partially-eaten fruit and "fresh stool" (gross!) to a clearing where there were a handful of chimps. Mal said she took a ton of pictures, and that the whole thing was kind of an out-of-body-experience. All of a sudden she found herself literally crawling through the African jungle, wishing she had one of those large machetes to cut through the bush. Who would've thought!?
One more cool tidbit: Something that is interesting about Uganda is that 84% of the population self-identifies as Christian. Mal said it's cool because many of the "matatus" (little taxis) have sayings on the back like "God is good!" or "Jesus is Lord!" or simply "John 3:16". So, Mallory has enjoyed being able to talk to the Ugandan children about her faith and their faith, and has also enjoyed seeing (black) Jesus icons all over the place. This weekend, however, she got an opportunity to share her faith with two people who aren't believers in Jesus. On the safari she met a 22 year-old guy who was from Amsterdam, and a woman in her 20s from London, who is Hindi, as she is of Indian descent. They were talking about religion, and Mal felt like she really should jump in and tell them what she believes, especially since the rate of atheism and agnosticism in Western Europe is staggering. (The guy from Amsterdam said he thought it was about 80%). So, she started talking to them, and they eventually asked her what her thoughts and beliefs were. She took the time to tell them all that she could (she said she really wished she had the "knowing God personally" book- for all you campus crusaders! haha), and they were really intrigued. Both mentioned that they had never heard before about why Jesus had to be sacrificed, and thought it was "really cool" and "made a lot of sense" how everything fit together. Nothing radical happened, but Mal was happy that she took a leap and shared with them. She was also shocked and surprised that two people from first world countries had never had the opportunity to hear the GOOD NEWS, since it's easy to assume that those areas have been reached and to concentrate on much of the third world instead. Mal has certainly experienced quite the opposite in her time in Uganda. Interesting.
So, I guess if you've been praying for Mal, you might want to consider adding the Dutch guy and the English girl to the list, along with the orphans, the AIDS women, and the patients at the convent, if you're keeping track! Whew!
Well, that's all for now. Mal comes home a week from tomorrow and none of us could be happier! Thanks for prayers and thanks for checking in!
Mal has been on a safari this weekend, so she hasn't been able to make it to the internet cafe at the mall. She has some very exciting updates, though, so I hope I do them justice!
After a rough couple of days (understandably!) Mallory was very happy to get out of the routine and the city for this weekend's safari! She left first thing Saturday morning for about a 5-hour drive across Uganda, to a state park that had lodging, a "game reserve" (where the safari was), and one of Africa's tallest waterfalls. Upon their arrival, they hiked to the top of the waterfall, and then headed to bed for a good sleep before the big safari! Before Mal left, she said the lodging options were either 1) a hut, or 2) a "permanent tent"... we couldn't figure out what the difference is between the two! I'm not sure which one Mal ended up staying in.
On Sunday morning the whole group wokeup at 6am for the sunrise over the Nile(!!!) and then they began their safari. Mal said that the sunrise was "beautiful!", the Nile was "ridiculous!", and that the only bad part so far was that she had a bad breakfast and puked on the bank of the river shortly after sunrise. We told her that that was okay because one time Aunt Penny puked on a landmark too... she promptly replied with "Hobo's!?!?!" - a "seedy" restaurant that we always pass on the way to Grandma's house. That was the correct answer. haha I guess that's an inside joke.
During the safari, Mal got up close and personal with a lot of different wild animals. I will try to remember a good portion of them:
-zebras
-lions
-tigers
-giraffes
-gazelles
-wart hogs
-crocodiles
-hippopotomuses... hippopotomi?
-spider monkeys
-elephants
There's probably a lot more... I'm sure Mal will clarify and/or let you see for yourself when she posts pictures when she gets home!
This morning (Monday) Mal was able to do something that truly was like a dream come true for her... Now, I don't know how many of you know this, but part of Mallory's desire to go to Africa was instilled in her by her 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Murphy. In her 5th grade class, Mrs. Murphy taught extensively about chimpanzees and gorillas, and the work of Jane Goodall in preserving the natural habitats of these primates and in saving them from extinction. Well, Mal was hooked then, and has been ever since. Approximately 12 years later, Mal entered the Jane Goodall Institute of Uganda this morning and spent 3 hours "chimp tracking." They followed a trail of partially-eaten fruit and "fresh stool" (gross!) to a clearing where there were a handful of chimps. Mal said she took a ton of pictures, and that the whole thing was kind of an out-of-body-experience. All of a sudden she found herself literally crawling through the African jungle, wishing she had one of those large machetes to cut through the bush. Who would've thought!?
One more cool tidbit: Something that is interesting about Uganda is that 84% of the population self-identifies as Christian. Mal said it's cool because many of the "matatus" (little taxis) have sayings on the back like "God is good!" or "Jesus is Lord!" or simply "John 3:16". So, Mallory has enjoyed being able to talk to the Ugandan children about her faith and their faith, and has also enjoyed seeing (black) Jesus icons all over the place. This weekend, however, she got an opportunity to share her faith with two people who aren't believers in Jesus. On the safari she met a 22 year-old guy who was from Amsterdam, and a woman in her 20s from London, who is Hindi, as she is of Indian descent. They were talking about religion, and Mal felt like she really should jump in and tell them what she believes, especially since the rate of atheism and agnosticism in Western Europe is staggering. (The guy from Amsterdam said he thought it was about 80%). So, she started talking to them, and they eventually asked her what her thoughts and beliefs were. She took the time to tell them all that she could (she said she really wished she had the "knowing God personally" book- for all you campus crusaders! haha), and they were really intrigued. Both mentioned that they had never heard before about why Jesus had to be sacrificed, and thought it was "really cool" and "made a lot of sense" how everything fit together. Nothing radical happened, but Mal was happy that she took a leap and shared with them. She was also shocked and surprised that two people from first world countries had never had the opportunity to hear the GOOD NEWS, since it's easy to assume that those areas have been reached and to concentrate on much of the third world instead. Mal has certainly experienced quite the opposite in her time in Uganda. Interesting.
So, I guess if you've been praying for Mal, you might want to consider adding the Dutch guy and the English girl to the list, along with the orphans, the AIDS women, and the patients at the convent, if you're keeping track! Whew!
Well, that's all for now. Mal comes home a week from tomorrow and none of us could be happier! Thanks for prayers and thanks for checking in!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Mwagalanega: Love One Another
It's Mal again!!!
Today I experienced one of the hardest moments of my life. Instead of going to Kibuye to teach, Deepa and I went to
The first two home visits were ‘typical.’ The first was a woman in the Nsambya slums who was 70 years old. She complained of gastrointestinal pain and general weakness. Her daughter in law was caring for her, and therefore was up to date on her ARV (anti-retroviral) treatment. She was given some vitamin A and magnesium to help with her ailments. Her house was maybe 8’x8’ big.
The second woman was in worse shape. She was only 29 years old and has been living with HIV for 5 years. She has a daughter in 5th grade and was moved to HAART (highly active anti-retroviral therapy) shortly after her diagnosis which means a cocktail of three drugs. She was feeling pretty bad so Sister Joy (the nurse) decided to put her on a glucose and saline drip. She got the IV bags out of the car and I watched her carefully string the IV bag through a gate covering a window so that it hung at an appropriate height using a piece of cloth. It was truly surreal the need for proper medical equipment here.
The 3rd visit was sooo intense. We arrived to find that the woman who needed medical care had passed away on Friday from complications from AIDS: only 4 days ago. The grandmother insisted that we see the daughter of the recently passed woman. As a young cousin brought the girl out, she started SHRIEKING. Sister Joy explained that she was scared as she most likely recognized the “ambulance” (the van we were riding in) as the vehicle that took away her mother’s body only 3 days ago. She was only three years old and absolutely inconsolable. Then sister Joy informed us that “you are nurses now” and that we are not allowed to cry because it is not allowed to show sorrow in front of the family. The young cousin, a girl of only 12 years old, is now the caretaker of the 3-year old orphaned girl. Her mother died at age 26, while waiting to start the ARV therapy. It is unknown whether or not the 3 year old, Angel, is positive because they are scared to test her for fear that she will be positive as well. Eek.
After that we went to the Good Samaritan Sisters Convent and home for the destitute. I thought things couldn’t get any more intense…then they did. The home is run by Catholic nuns who care for the orphaned, the disabled, and the elderly. Here is a sampling of the people we saw:
-A man with no lower body. He was covered in a sheet, and Sister Joy thinks he was either malnourished in the womb and didn’t develop properly or was in an accident and had to have his legs amputated
-2 children with (I’d guess) Cerebral Palsy and malnutrition who were so badly contorted that they could barely move their heads. They were laying on mats on the floor, covered in flies as they could not move their bodies to shake the flies off of them. I talked to one girl, Dora, and she was cognitively sound. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to see.
-An old African man who spoke to us in french…yeah, I don’t really know about that either.
-Tons and tons of people in worse shape than you could imagine, living in spaces smaller than dorm rooms, with absolutely no family or support.
Overall, the experience was incomprehensible. I was taken aback by the tremendous need but also by the tremendous love and support given by the sisters in the face of such little resources. I literally wanted to fall to the ground and pray and ask for God’s blessing on these people…I’ve never felt such a strong feeling of helplessness in my life.
So, please count your blessings today. Your life is absolutely full of them—head to toe, inside and out, backwards and forwards full of blessings. And pray for these people: for Mary and Zaituni, the two women with HIV, for Angel the 3-year old recently orphaned toddler, and for the women and patients at Good Samaritans Convent.
Thanks, and know I love you all sooo much.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
hey all!!!
hey!!! It's actually Mallory this time!! I'm sitting in an internet cafe at a place called Garden City, which is a mall that's heavily frequented by foreigners (muzungus aka white people). I had a pretty decent pizza for lunch, got a great new purse made out of gorgeous african fabric and life is good. I really appreciate all of the support I've received through your comments on the blog! Here are some thoughts about my experience so far:
-This is, by far, the craziest thing I've ever done. Deciding to spend a month on the other side of the world, in a developing country, where I don't know the local language and am separated from just about every material comfort I've known has to be the craziest decision I've ever made. That said, I'm growing in unbelievable ways as this trip has challenged me more than anything else in my life.
-The city is NUTS. There is no order to anything. I told Monica that every day is a survival of the fittest challenge. There are no road signs, no real police...just straight natural law and a few soldiers walking around omniously with machine guns. Eek. The idea that pedestrian has the right of way is absolutely foreign. If you are in the street, they will hit you. If you're not paying attention, you will be pick-pocketed. It's been tiring being brave and on alert all the time. Your prayers have certainly been helping1!
-The kids here are so joyful. Over 70% of the population here lives on less than $1 a day, and you see these kids with no shoes, no lunch, no school books and yet they are excited, joyful, and full of life. It's been a great lesson in contentment.
-For $80 you can sponsor a child for a YEAR's worth of primary school, including lunch, school fees, and school materials. Please consider making this investment. I'll have information when I get back.
There is a lifetime's worth of stuff I could write about my experience here but my time is running short (50 cents for 20 minutes of time!!) so here's a list of things I'm looking forward to upon returning to America:
-Dependable and easily accessible indoor plumbing everywhere
-Having hair that's under control
-Food that is not made from plantains, corn meal, or sweet potatoes
-Seeing your beautiful faces!!!! HUGS!!!
-CROSSWALKS
-Having a car
-Not sleeping under a mosquito (or mos-kweee-toe, as they say here!) net
Things I will miss about Africa:
-Buying a week's worth of grocerys for 15 dollars
-the kids!!
-The mystery rash I currently have going on my right arm...jk.
-Passionfruit juice
-Handmaded beaded necklaces for $1.50
-Centurio, Brian-Derek, Brenda, Isaac, and Peter
-Dancing!!
And a bunch of other things. Hopefully I can update again next weekend. Miss you all SOOOOOOO much and love you all MORE. Keep the prayers coming! Webale and welaba (thank you and goodbye)!!!
-This is, by far, the craziest thing I've ever done. Deciding to spend a month on the other side of the world, in a developing country, where I don't know the local language and am separated from just about every material comfort I've known has to be the craziest decision I've ever made. That said, I'm growing in unbelievable ways as this trip has challenged me more than anything else in my life.
-The city is NUTS. There is no order to anything. I told Monica that every day is a survival of the fittest challenge. There are no road signs, no real police...just straight natural law and a few soldiers walking around omniously with machine guns. Eek. The idea that pedestrian has the right of way is absolutely foreign. If you are in the street, they will hit you. If you're not paying attention, you will be pick-pocketed. It's been tiring being brave and on alert all the time. Your prayers have certainly been helping1!
-The kids here are so joyful. Over 70% of the population here lives on less than $1 a day, and you see these kids with no shoes, no lunch, no school books and yet they are excited, joyful, and full of life. It's been a great lesson in contentment.
-For $80 you can sponsor a child for a YEAR's worth of primary school, including lunch, school fees, and school materials. Please consider making this investment. I'll have information when I get back.
There is a lifetime's worth of stuff I could write about my experience here but my time is running short (50 cents for 20 minutes of time!!) so here's a list of things I'm looking forward to upon returning to America:
-Dependable and easily accessible indoor plumbing everywhere
-Having hair that's under control
-Food that is not made from plantains, corn meal, or sweet potatoes
-Seeing your beautiful faces!!!! HUGS!!!
-CROSSWALKS
-Having a car
-Not sleeping under a mosquito (or mos-kweee-toe, as they say here!) net
Things I will miss about Africa:
-Buying a week's worth of grocerys for 15 dollars
-the kids!!
-The mystery rash I currently have going on my right arm...jk.
-Passionfruit juice
-Handmaded beaded necklaces for $1.50
-Centurio, Brian-Derek, Brenda, Isaac, and Peter
-Dancing!!
And a bunch of other things. Hopefully I can update again next weekend. Miss you all SOOOOOOO much and love you all MORE. Keep the prayers coming! Webale and welaba (thank you and goodbye)!!!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Week 2
I hope you all enjoyed the pictures in the last post! I wish I had more to share; Mal said she's been taking a lot of pictures, but just hasn't had the computer or internet access to upload them. So, prepare for many picture updates when Mal returns in a little over two weeks!
If you recall, I mentioned a story about Alfred the rat in the last post. Well, I am pleased to inform you that Alfred met his maker soon after my last posting. Unfortunately, Alfred breathed his last breath in Mallory's UNDERWEAR DRAWER!!! Mal sent me a text message to my phone and it said (direct quote) "I found Alfred dead in my drawer and all of my clothes REEK now. Sick nasty doesn't even begin to describe my feelings. I am so skeeved out. Upside is that he is dead!" Apparently Alfred bit his way through the back of the drawer and then probably suffocated in the African heat... then layed there for hours until Mal discovered him late that night. GROSS! Someone kindly removed Alfred from his resting place and Mal has since washed all of her clothes, and refrained from opening the drawer again.
As it is Friday today, Mal has finished her second week of school... she is halfway done! Most of her days are kind of the same, but she wanted me to tell you of some new "friends" she has made.
Apparently there are a couple of teachers at the school who live in the school's compound, and as a result, their kids (who are too young to be in class yet) just kind of run free while school is in session. Well, the kids discovered Mallory and Deepa a couple of days ago, and they are FASCINATED. They haven't seen anyone who's white (or Indian, for that matter) before and they just LOVE them. Mal has started referring to the kids (who range in age from 1-4 years old) as "the ducklings" because the kids just follow Mal wherever she goes. Today a couple of Mal's friends from the program at Vandy were able to come to the school, and they played with the "ducklings" while Mal and Deepa were teaching. She said it was SO cute because Mal's friends were running around and about 30 seconds after they would pass, all the ducklings would come toddling behind them. Adorable!
This weekend Mal is kind of laying low... she's going to the mall again, and I think her group is going to see a performance at Uganda's National Theatre tomorrow evening. She's really excited! On Tuesday she's also going back to the mall to see Angels and Demons. Who knew that they have first-run movies in Uganda!? That's weird because it often takes months for movies to come to continental Europe... Mal's excited for a little taste of home, though, being able to see Tom Hanks on the big screen!
That's all for now! Thanks for checking up on Mal!
If you recall, I mentioned a story about Alfred the rat in the last post. Well, I am pleased to inform you that Alfred met his maker soon after my last posting. Unfortunately, Alfred breathed his last breath in Mallory's UNDERWEAR DRAWER!!! Mal sent me a text message to my phone and it said (direct quote) "I found Alfred dead in my drawer and all of my clothes REEK now. Sick nasty doesn't even begin to describe my feelings. I am so skeeved out. Upside is that he is dead!" Apparently Alfred bit his way through the back of the drawer and then probably suffocated in the African heat... then layed there for hours until Mal discovered him late that night. GROSS! Someone kindly removed Alfred from his resting place and Mal has since washed all of her clothes, and refrained from opening the drawer again.
As it is Friday today, Mal has finished her second week of school... she is halfway done! Most of her days are kind of the same, but she wanted me to tell you of some new "friends" she has made.
Apparently there are a couple of teachers at the school who live in the school's compound, and as a result, their kids (who are too young to be in class yet) just kind of run free while school is in session. Well, the kids discovered Mallory and Deepa a couple of days ago, and they are FASCINATED. They haven't seen anyone who's white (or Indian, for that matter) before and they just LOVE them. Mal has started referring to the kids (who range in age from 1-4 years old) as "the ducklings" because the kids just follow Mal wherever she goes. Today a couple of Mal's friends from the program at Vandy were able to come to the school, and they played with the "ducklings" while Mal and Deepa were teaching. She said it was SO cute because Mal's friends were running around and about 30 seconds after they would pass, all the ducklings would come toddling behind them. Adorable!
This weekend Mal is kind of laying low... she's going to the mall again, and I think her group is going to see a performance at Uganda's National Theatre tomorrow evening. She's really excited! On Tuesday she's also going back to the mall to see Angels and Demons. Who knew that they have first-run movies in Uganda!? That's weird because it often takes months for movies to come to continental Europe... Mal's excited for a little taste of home, though, being able to see Tom Hanks on the big screen!
That's all for now! Thanks for checking up on Mal!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Photos!
Here's Mal with a member of the Kika Dance troupe learning some new moves!!! She looks like she's doing it right, doesn't she? Below are a couple more pictures of the dance troupe experience... there aren't too many that show Mal specifically, but it's nice to at least see some of the surroundings. These pictures were posted on a different blog from Mal's Kampala Project supervisor. If you want to see more, you can find them at: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/oacs/kampala/gallery/
There's Mal on the right in the brown!
The band that played for the dance troupe!
A couple of other updates:
-Mal has had a new friend join her in the apartment she's staying in, along with 6 other girls... a rat named Alfred! He has only been spotted once, but he's been leaving Mal and the girls gifts of droppings and helping himself to their food! Mal said that the maintenance people came and set a trap today, so hopefully he won't be their roomate much longer!
-Mal wanted me to tell you all the breakdown of what she's been doing at the school.
-The first part of the day, she and Deepa work with special needs kids (about 10 of them) for an hour on learning to read and speak english
-After that, Mal works with 3 more special needs kids who need even more attention, including a 12 year-old boy who was never taught to read, and a 29 year-old woman who got West Nile Virus/Encephalitis and is developmentally delayed as a result.
-Next, they work with a whole class (of about 65 students!) teaching them for 2 hours... english, health, and social studies mostly.
-Lunch! Mal and Deepa normally go to an Irish pub that serves fried chicken!
-After lunch they are off of teaching duty, and in the last couple of days have been learning to make beads. Mal has been enjoying this time a lot!
Mal also wanted me to tell you a funny story, which is that she got proposed to at lunch today! The place that they go is very crowded, and apparently once all of the tables become occupied, it's not uncommon for strangers to come up and sit beside you if you have empty chairs. So, this man joined Mal and Deepa for lunch, and he was very interested in talking to them about America... he asked Mallory, "If I move to America, will you marry me!?" and Mal said "well... I'm actually already married" (HA!) because that's what she was told to say if anyone asked. She flashed her fake wedding ring too for emphasis. And the guy said "Already married? What are you, 17?" and Mal said "No, actually I'm almost 23." haha So then he got the hint and backed off. She thought it was funny.
Also, she told me yesterday that she had the kids at the school guess how old she is, and they guessed... 14!! hahaha she was like "You guys are 12! You're crazy if you think I'm only 2 years older than you!" So that was funny too.
That's all for now; I will post more updates as I get them!
Friday, May 8, 2009
One week down!
Hi all!
Monica again; I think I will be updating the blog from now on, just so you all know. I've also been reading the comments to Mal over the phone (aka Skype) so keep them coming! She enjoys hearing from everyone!
Well, Mal has survived her first work week in Kampala and at the Kibuye school! She is THRILLED that it is the weekend and that she'll have some time to get organized, relax, and do some exploring outside of the city!
This weekend she's doing a couple of things:
-going to a "mall" to pick up some of the items that she's still missing from her missing luggage (hopefully some food, as well as shampoo and conditioner, face wash, etc)
-Visiting some tombs... I didn't write down which tombs she said they were, but she said it's a pretty big deal and supposedly really cool...
-Going to see the Kika Dance Troupe! She is SO excited about this, as her group will get to watch a performance AND have a lesson in native Ugandan dance! She's been learning a couple of steps from her kids at school, but this will be great to be able to put them together!
On Friday, Mal had a great experience during her lunch break from the school. Instead of going out to lunch, she (and her partner at the school, Deepa) were picked up by two women from Vandy and brought to a place called the NACOA center, which a center for the National Coalition of Women with AIDs in Uganda. The center was set up with the financial support of Vanderbilt University, so Mal and her friend were able to take a little tour of it. One part of what the NACOA center does is provide space for these women to make homemade jewelry, which they are then able to sell to support their families and pay for their medical costs. The group from Vandy that goes to Kampala every year also picks out and buys A LOT of jewelry and then sells it on campus throughout the year at various festivals and such. Well, today Mal and her friend got to be there when the two women from Vanderbilt presented the NACOA women with the money they raised for them thoughout the year by selling of the jewelry at Vanderbilt... It was only about $500, but that's the equivalent to 1 million Ugandan Shillings. Mal said that the women were crying and singing and raising their hands in praise for this donation, and it was so beautiful for them to be a part of it. One million shillings can go FAR in Uganda, as Mal said her 1/2 hour taxi ride each day costs 700, which is the equivalent of about 30 U.S. cents. CRAZY.
Something else Mal wanted me to tell you is that she peed in an African toilet yesterday. That means it was a hole in the ground. She was traumatized but also proud of herself for doing it.
A couple of funny stories from her school:
-Mal has a favorite student named Arafat, who is actually an orphan who lives at the school. Because of this, he's really smart because he listens in on all of the other classes. Well, Arafat likes to talk to Mallory about America (he's 12)... yesterday, he said "Mallory... do you know Obama is like the son of Martin Luther King, Jr.?" and Mal said "Really, why is that?" and Arafat said, "Well, Martin Luther King said that he had a dream... that one day there would be a president from Africa!" and then Mal said "Um, well, kind of..." haha!
-Another day, Mal was showing the kids some of her U.S. coins, and she had out a penny, a nickel, and a dime. Apparently all of the kids were intrigued, but Arafat was the most intrigued... he pointed to a penny and said "who's that on there...? ...Bill Clinton?" HAHA
-All of the kids also have a funny obsession with Arnold Schwartzenagger and Michael Jackson... one of the kids told Mal "Miss Mallory, if I go to America, I'm going to meet Michael Jackson... I'm going to ask someone where I can go to meet him and shake his hand." Mal said none of them seemed to have ANY idea that he's not black anymore. Haha!
One final note... on her way to the NACOA center today, Mal was able to get outside of the city of Kampala for the first time. She said it was obvious that the kids in the villages that she traveled through had never seen a white person before in their lives. First they stared, then they started to follow her wherever she went. As they were leaving to go back into Kampala, one of the little kids waved goodbye and said to Mallory, "bye bye muzungu!" "Muzungu" is the word for "white person" in a lot of different African languages. Because Mal's partner Deepa is Indian-American, Mal gets a lot of the stares on her own. Funny.
Please keep praying for Mal as she goes into her second week. She's adjusting to the food, the weather, and the sleeping arrangements, but finds the experience of getting to school (the taxi park... I'll explain later) to be intimidating and scary. She certainly appreciates your prayers! Thanks!
Monica again; I think I will be updating the blog from now on, just so you all know. I've also been reading the comments to Mal over the phone (aka Skype) so keep them coming! She enjoys hearing from everyone!
Well, Mal has survived her first work week in Kampala and at the Kibuye school! She is THRILLED that it is the weekend and that she'll have some time to get organized, relax, and do some exploring outside of the city!
This weekend she's doing a couple of things:
-going to a "mall" to pick up some of the items that she's still missing from her missing luggage (hopefully some food, as well as shampoo and conditioner, face wash, etc)
-Visiting some tombs... I didn't write down which tombs she said they were, but she said it's a pretty big deal and supposedly really cool...
-Going to see the Kika Dance Troupe! She is SO excited about this, as her group will get to watch a performance AND have a lesson in native Ugandan dance! She's been learning a couple of steps from her kids at school, but this will be great to be able to put them together!
On Friday, Mal had a great experience during her lunch break from the school. Instead of going out to lunch, she (and her partner at the school, Deepa) were picked up by two women from Vandy and brought to a place called the NACOA center, which a center for the National Coalition of Women with AIDs in Uganda. The center was set up with the financial support of Vanderbilt University, so Mal and her friend were able to take a little tour of it. One part of what the NACOA center does is provide space for these women to make homemade jewelry, which they are then able to sell to support their families and pay for their medical costs. The group from Vandy that goes to Kampala every year also picks out and buys A LOT of jewelry and then sells it on campus throughout the year at various festivals and such. Well, today Mal and her friend got to be there when the two women from Vanderbilt presented the NACOA women with the money they raised for them thoughout the year by selling of the jewelry at Vanderbilt... It was only about $500, but that's the equivalent to 1 million Ugandan Shillings. Mal said that the women were crying and singing and raising their hands in praise for this donation, and it was so beautiful for them to be a part of it. One million shillings can go FAR in Uganda, as Mal said her 1/2 hour taxi ride each day costs 700, which is the equivalent of about 30 U.S. cents. CRAZY.
Something else Mal wanted me to tell you is that she peed in an African toilet yesterday. That means it was a hole in the ground. She was traumatized but also proud of herself for doing it.
A couple of funny stories from her school:
-Mal has a favorite student named Arafat, who is actually an orphan who lives at the school. Because of this, he's really smart because he listens in on all of the other classes. Well, Arafat likes to talk to Mallory about America (he's 12)... yesterday, he said "Mallory... do you know Obama is like the son of Martin Luther King, Jr.?" and Mal said "Really, why is that?" and Arafat said, "Well, Martin Luther King said that he had a dream... that one day there would be a president from Africa!" and then Mal said "Um, well, kind of..." haha!
-Another day, Mal was showing the kids some of her U.S. coins, and she had out a penny, a nickel, and a dime. Apparently all of the kids were intrigued, but Arafat was the most intrigued... he pointed to a penny and said "who's that on there...? ...Bill Clinton?" HAHA
-All of the kids also have a funny obsession with Arnold Schwartzenagger and Michael Jackson... one of the kids told Mal "Miss Mallory, if I go to America, I'm going to meet Michael Jackson... I'm going to ask someone where I can go to meet him and shake his hand." Mal said none of them seemed to have ANY idea that he's not black anymore. Haha!
One final note... on her way to the NACOA center today, Mal was able to get outside of the city of Kampala for the first time. She said it was obvious that the kids in the villages that she traveled through had never seen a white person before in their lives. First they stared, then they started to follow her wherever she went. As they were leaving to go back into Kampala, one of the little kids waved goodbye and said to Mallory, "bye bye muzungu!" "Muzungu" is the word for "white person" in a lot of different African languages. Because Mal's partner Deepa is Indian-American, Mal gets a lot of the stares on her own. Funny.
Please keep praying for Mal as she goes into her second week. She's adjusting to the food, the weather, and the sleeping arrangements, but finds the experience of getting to school (the taxi park... I'll explain later) to be intimidating and scary. She certainly appreciates your prayers! Thanks!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Hi everyone! This is Monica, updating on behalf of Mallory. She hasn't had as much access to the internet as she thought she would, so she asked me to put an update on here so her loyal followers would not be disappointed! Here are a couple of noteworthy things:
Okay, so I got one of those on there twice and I'm not sure how to get it off. Oops.
-She arrived in Entebbe, Uganda approximately 24 hours after her scheduled arrival time. She and the two friends that were also on the later flight were picked up in Entebbe and driven to Kampala, where they will be staying for the remainder of the trip! She got in at about 8:30pm local time and ended up going to bed (under a mosquito net, of course) at around 11:00pm.
-She had to wake up on Monday morning and go straight to work at the Kibuye School... not the best situation, but she's been managing. She said there were two funny things about the school. 1) There is a giant picture of Barack Obama and "Yes we can!" outside the front gates, and 2) there is a giant picture of a black Jesus hanging on the cross. She said she took pictures of both. I told her that I guess Jesus was closer to black than he was to white, so maybe they aren't any more far off than we are! haha
The Kibuye School has been "a piece of Heaven" for Mal in Kampala, as she says that she really feels that her presence there is needed and appreciated. The kids just stare at her because she's white, and today they thought she was the coolest thing ever because she taught them how to play hang-man. HA! She's teaching 7th graders (how's that, Meredith!?) and has gotten feedback from her superiors at the school that the kids are really learning and enjoying what she's doing.
-Something else that's really cool is that one of the teachers was talking to Mal about how they have some African children in the village who are blind and who have been unable to go to school... he asked Mallory what children in America do if they are impaired, and she explained to him about Braille and about special education courses and things. He told her that he had heard of Braille but that no one in the community knew it, so the kids could not learn it. GOOD THING MALLORY KNOWS BRAILLE! She told him that she could teach them, and the man was so excited. It is so funny how Mallory just felt this random calling to learn braille a couple of months ago, and now here she has a chance to use it. God works in mysterious, awesome ways!
Here's a chart of braille letters and symbols for your reading enjoyment... Actually, Mal wanted me to put it on here so she could access it for a refresher. But you can look at it too; it's pretty interesting. 
Okay, so I got one of those on there twice and I'm not sure how to get it off. Oops.
-Mal has been struggling a little bit with getting organized, getting used to the living arrangements, and (as expected) getting used to the food. She would like your prayers for these things, and also that the other students over there will be supportive of her in some of her "neuroses" (her words) such as her anxieties, her food issues, her sleep things, etc. Overall, she is enjoying her experience at the school, and it is the other "living" things that have been kind of challenging and getting her down. So, prayers are greatly encouraged!
That's all for now. I will update more if and/or when Mallory wants me to!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Amsterdam!
Hey friends! I'm currently in Amsterdam on my layover between flights. I should be sleeping but unfortunately the booth I found in the food court was apparently not comfy enough because I couldn't fall asleep. Here's an update on the last 24 hours:
-My flight was delayed FOUR hours in columbus, and then we sat in the plane for another 3. Because of this, I missed my connecting flight to Brussels and got to spend a night at the Holiday Inn. I was rebooked on a flight to Amsterdam, and will leave here at 11am our time to arrive at Entebbe at 8:15pm their time.
-Dad came up to visit me this morning in Newark and that was GREAT! After dealing with luggage issues (we think one of my bags headed through to Brussels...eek!), we got to go into the city and see a Broadway matinee, eat at Sbarro, and get some Jamba Juice! It was a great break from the airport drama of the day before.
-I'm excited to get to Africa eventually but I'll tell you what, this whole "travel halfway around the world" thing is really draining! I'm exhausted already and still have a 9 hour flight ahead!
-Luckily, 2 other people from my trip were on this flight as well so I did not have to make the trip alone. This is another huge blessing!
Well, I guess that's about it for now. I look forward to updating you all later from Kampala! Thanks again for your prayers and support: I can assure you that I've felt it in my heart so far!!
-My flight was delayed FOUR hours in columbus, and then we sat in the plane for another 3. Because of this, I missed my connecting flight to Brussels and got to spend a night at the Holiday Inn. I was rebooked on a flight to Amsterdam, and will leave here at 11am our time to arrive at Entebbe at 8:15pm their time.
-Dad came up to visit me this morning in Newark and that was GREAT! After dealing with luggage issues (we think one of my bags headed through to Brussels...eek!), we got to go into the city and see a Broadway matinee, eat at Sbarro, and get some Jamba Juice! It was a great break from the airport drama of the day before.
-I'm excited to get to Africa eventually but I'll tell you what, this whole "travel halfway around the world" thing is really draining! I'm exhausted already and still have a 9 hour flight ahead!
-Luckily, 2 other people from my trip were on this flight as well so I did not have to make the trip alone. This is another huge blessing!
Well, I guess that's about it for now. I look forward to updating you all later from Kampala! Thanks again for your prayers and support: I can assure you that I've felt it in my heart so far!!
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