For my ninth birthday one of my friends gave me a small pink diary – complete with its own lock and key. I wrote in that diary everyday for almost a whole week. Sorry that I haven’t posted an update in while – apparently a lot hasn't changed since I was nine.
A lot has happened - or at least I thought a lot had happened until I sat down and tried to remember it all.
We celebrated THANKSGIVING with a big team lunch. I even got to spend the holiday with my parents who had come to Uganda for a short visit. My parents stayed for about two and a half weeks – just long enough to get over the jet-lag. Since there isn’t much do, we had plenty of time to sit around and talk..(nap, read books, quiz each other on random facts about Ted Williams, make up facts about The African Queen and call home to make sure Andrew was installing the hardwood floor correctly). We had an especially enjoyable time on our jaunt to Murchison Falls in northern Uganda. (For pictures, see my photo link to the right.)
The weekend before my parents’ arrival, our entire team went on retreat to a “resort” called The Hairy Lemon. This “resort” is its own island in the middle of the Nile River. We had to ride in questionable wooden canoes to even get there. Unfortunately, this resort didn’t have electricity or running water…(do you understand? There was NO toilet…) But, it did come with an unlimited buffet of insects, curious monkeys, and a weekend of bathing in the Nile River. While over half the team came home with a complimentary case of malaria, I contracted a serious infection from a bug bite on my ankle. Because of my bad habit of scratching anything that itches – this infection quickly spread to other spots on my arms and legs. By the time Mom and Dad arrived the next weekend, I was in a full blown feverish infected state. So, on their second day in Mbale we visited a local health clinic where I received excellent treatment from a Ugandan doctor costing less than $25 (complete with blood work and an injection of something that worked wonders). Of course, now I am all better – but the secret is out and EVERYONE tells me to “Stop Scratching!” To which I inevitably reply “But, it itches!!” I feel like I’m nine years old again.
Well, that’s about as much as I can write at one sitting – which is also probably more that most are willing to read. Happy Holidays Ya’ll!
