Showing posts with label awkward and awesome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label awkward and awesome. Show all posts

September 5, 2017

Awkward + Awesome


View from the top of the birthday hike.

Donald shows his cartoons.


Awkward
  • When you enter your bathroom, look up in the rafters and casually greet Marvin the rat on your way to the sink.
  • Vehicle breakdowns... all the time. 
  • Trying to climb a mountain. As the rain gets closer... and closer. 

Awesome
  • Introducing Donald (he's 6) to cartoons. YASSSS!
  • Having a six year old shadow follow me around all working days and making everything a little cuter. 
  • MEXICAN FOOD THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW. PRAISEEEE HANDSSSS. 
  • Having your friends celebrate the very end of your birthday month with wine toasts + sweets + songs with a beautiful view. 
  • Homemade pizza in the middle of Africa. WHAT. 


L- Jerrod and R- Baby Joseph having their photo caught.

When work is interrupted by Donald and his love for cartoons, oops.


August 8, 2017

Awkward + Awesome

Awkward:
  • Saying farewell to my family and then ugly crying all the way back to the North. Six hours and all people. 
  • On today's episode of WTF Uganda we have.... Peeing in a hole that has no toilet paper but does have a toilet brush in every stall. Seriously WTF Uganda. 
  • When your ride leaves you at work when it's time to go home...
  • Having a baby sitter (or what feels like one) as you wander around. 
  • When you're in your fancy glamping safari tent and a Gecko appears to shower with you. 
  • A rat crawling across the floor of your bedroom so obviously you trap it in the bathroom using peppermint oil (cause google says they hate it and GOOGLE KNOWS ALL OKAY) and half a can of bug spray. I WAS WORKING WITH WHAT I HAD PEOPLE. [Sidenote: it died that night HOORAY! Shoutout to the guard who came in all brave cause Lord knows that was not me I trapped it people that's my role]. 

Awesome:
  • A family that's willing to come spend two weeks in the middle of Africa with me!
  • A lovely safari + early birthday celebrations!
  • An awesome birthday full of fun + a little bit of America.
  • Having family that I'm so close to we can communicate about all the awkward things with just a look. SO SWEET I TELL YOU. 
  • A God that so knows my heart He set up a safe place to spend ushering in year 27.
  • A roomie that celebrates birthday's like a boss, is excited about cooking and wants to eat cookies and stare at the stars with me. 





July 25, 2017

Awkward + Awesome

Awkward:
  • When the pantless man around town that you've dubbed Red Shirt Man suddenly acquires a brown shirt instead. WHAT. 
  • When you have to give greetings on Sunday afternoon. Which is your lazy day. Which means you don't have real clothes on. Awesome. 
  • When you spend a serious amount of time wondering if your co-worker is pregnant. Are you? Aren't you? Some things are taboo across alllll cultures. 
  • Awkward small talk on a SIX HOUR CAR RIDE. Jesus be near.
  • Getting all prepped for your family's arrival only to have it delayed. YAY AIRLINES. 

Awesome:
  • Quick phone calls with your best friend that make it seem like you aren't half way across the world. 
  • People who know you + love you even when you feel funky and blehh. 
  • My family being IN UGANDA WITH ME. 
  • Togetherness with the family. 
  • Safari and a mini- vacay for me/big vacay for the family!
  • Early birthday celebrations when I've never really gotten birthday month before. 
  • Boomerangs with the cutest kids on the planet. No, I'm not biased at all. 








Here's to being awkward + awesome always.

July 11, 2017

Awkward + Awesome

Awkward:
  • Any kind of sickness in Uganda. 
  • MAYBE KIND OF NOW BEING ALLERGIC TO BACON LIFE IS SO SAD I CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU. 
  • When people see the Mzungu (white person) and immediately ask for money. I work for a Non-profit and don't get paid. I know that's still lucrative here but just saying. 
  • Having to be social. Some days it is just so hard.
  • Being the token Mzungu and getting invited to all the things.

Awesome:
  • HOLIDAYS. 
  • A surprise day off- because cars break down. 
  • Two surprise days off- because cars still break down. 
  • A pool + a safari lodge + and living in a beautiful place where a pool overlooking the Nile River is a thing. 
  • A God that completes good works in us even when we don't deserve it.
  • Multiple road trips this month! PRAISE HANDS. 
  • Having Samuel + Abel back at the village!

Dance Party.

Meet Samuel, one of our new boys. He was supposed to be taking a serious photo. It wasn't going well, so obviously he's my favorite.

Donald thought it was a photoshoot for him and not our new boys.

Muhammad one of our new boys + Donald.

L to R: Abel, Jerrod, Samuel.

Abel and Jerrod.

Giggling at football games.

June 27, 2017

Awkward + Awesome

Awkward:
  • Hearing a crash in your room, running in with your flatmate to see.... nothing... and then realizing THERE IS A RAT IN THE CEILING. JESUS BE CLOSE. 
  • Creepily looking up to the crack in the roof every time you enter the bathroom because you now have a real fear a rat will fall from the sky. 
  • Hearing any noise at all that you automatically assume is a rat. 
  • Dramatically throwing the door to the bathroom open because you think you'll catch the rat in a moment like Ratatouille the movie. 
  • Obviously having a fixated problem this week right?
  • Getting stopped on our run for a guy to ask, "Madams may I attack you for a moment?" We obviously don't know the actual meaning of the word attack I'm guessing? Ummm no you cannot. *Cue walking faster*.

Awesome:
  • Daily workouts with my flatmate. 
  • Being such good friends with her as well! 
  • Being able to cook. Even if cheese is non-existent here. 
  • My family officially and finally having plane tickets! 
  • Boiled Peanuts (or at least an attempt at them)! 
Sharon is such a cutie.

Watching the football match.

Watching the football match.

These guys love taking photos [Denis].

Peter at his Engagement.

Feeding our new boys.

Reading with Jerrod.



June 20, 2017

Awkward + Awesome

Awkward:
  • Driving through town and a topless woman reaching in the window and pulling out a hunk of my hair. Yes this is exactly what happened. No I am not exaggerating even a little. WHAT IS LIFE HERE.
  • When you take up running with your flatmate and suddenly every Ugandan decides they want to try and run with you. Just no.
  • Getting hailed on and rained on during yet another walk. Which is fine. Except we were 3 miles out... 3 miles of rain + hail. YAY SO FUN. 

Awesome:
  • A new place of my own- HUZAHH!
  • Sharing a kitchen with one fabulous lady and getting to cook dinner together every night. COMMUNITY ROCKS Y’ALL.
  • Upcoming trip planning.
  • Having a known community and not feeling so alone in the middle of Africa.
  • A God that has already started blessing my crazy planner heart and dropping nuggets of knowledge about what’s next on me [even if they are straight up terrifying].
  • Having my own place- did I already mention that? 😉
  • A kitchen with a legit fridge and stove!
  • A generator for when the power goes out so we’re never in the dark for long.
  • Hot showers after you’ve run three miles in the rain.
Walter + photo inception.
Stephen at pool day.

Sharon loving pool day!

Daniel is full of style.



April 11, 2017

Awkward + Awesome

Awkward:

  • Thinking your avocado has been thrown out, saying lots of fun words in your head, then finding it in the freezer. WTF. Oops.
  • Frozen avocados becoming guacamole, that was a fun time. 
  • Trying to get some sun and in the 45 minutes you were outside getting sunburn instead, #equatorlife. 
  • STILL NOT HAVING THE DRESSER. WHAT. IS. HAPPENING. UGANDA. 
  • Almost getting "skin taxed" into paying more because I'm a mzungu. Jokes on you- I don't need it! 

Awesome:
  • Homemade cookies- TWICE in one week! Insert dancing emojis here! 
  • Successfully mending the hole I ripped in my yoga pants while rock climbing. 
  • COMING HOME THIS WEEK HALLELUJAH. 
  • Mini road trips with friends on my way out of the country! 
  • Getting some quiet time to chat with Momma, always good for my soul. 
  • Road trips to cities I've been wanting to explore and a scheduled FLIGHT HOME that takes off in just a few days! 
  • Friends that are so very willing to join you on these road trips! 
  • Getting to play tag with the kids at the village on my last night in town. 
  • A going away party that I was totally surprised by! 









xox.

April 4, 2017

Awkward + Awesome + An Update

Awkward:
  • Being sick at all in Uganda. Enough said. 
  • When you're sick and a very sweet and caring person offers to take you to the hospital here but the only way that is happening is literally over my dead body because you've seen that place and you're never going back. Okay? Okay. 
  • Learning I’m apparently going to have give up pizza cause my stomach can’t take cheese now. DUMB.
  • Ugandan cheese in general HAHAHAH NO.
  • Four hours to cook dinner- I’m so not about that life.
  • Still not having a dresser- EVEN AFTER HE WAS ARRESTED OMG.
  • Not being able to go down one road in town cause Fred had that man arrested. AVOID AVOID AVOID.
  • Time management in Uganda- ha.
  • My body’s new thing where it hates all food. Okay cool. That’s fine. Water is great. It’s not like Jesus is the BREAD OF LIFE OKAY. Not water of life, just saying.
  • My new inability to fall asleep til the wee hours of the morning. Cool. 



Awesome:
  • T-10 days days til I'm back in Florida. 
  • When the radio works in the van.
  • YOU FINALLY HAVE A NAME THAT IS NOT MZUNGU! PRAISE HANDS PEOPLE.
  • Talking to two of your besties in the same week. BOOM.
  • Days to sleep in.
  • Friends that are also American doctors who will check you out and give you good meds from the States.
  • Searching and sending allllll the recipes to everyone at home so they know how this furlough is going to go.
  • Headphones so when you binge a new show on Netflix and you discover it’s basically not at all child friendly you can still watch it. I’m addicted, sue me.
  • My planner. For being a serious boss and making it through the Ugandan struggle.
  • Okay I’m stretching this week, is it horribly obvious? I just want to be home y’all.
  • T-Minus one week until I’m driving out of Lira!






xox.

March 28, 2017

Awkward + Awesome + How I Accidentally Got Someone Arrested



Awesome:
  • A weekend away and getting to see other parts of Uganda. I like Lira but there is so much here not seeing it is a waste. 
  • SUPERMARKETS WITH FREEZER SECTIONS AND CHEESE OKAY IT WAS AMAZING EVEN IF I COULDN'T BUY IT CAUSE I WASN'T PREPARED FOR COLD FOOD. 
  • Pringles at same grocery store. 
  • Swimming pools where you kick off and side doesn't wiggle. [My first swimming pool experience here was basically a hole with a tarp in it, when you pushed off the side the whole rubbery thing moved. Shiver. It was awful.]
  • Live music and fun restaurants! 
  • Getting to help homeschool some friend's kids this week. I forgot how much fun teaching can be! 
  • Instant mashed potatoes and making them in a mug. It's like a microwave mug cake except not at all. But still super awesome. 
  • Cinnamon Rolls that are as big as your face and only cost $0.43 in American Dollars. Holla. 
  • Running and playing and listening to the giggles of little ones at SGU.

Driving over the Nile River. 

Nile River.


Pool Life.



These faces.








Awkward:

  • The bathroom in our hotel room in Gulu. Seriously. You'd sit on the toilet and your knees hit the wall. Ummmm what? Picture below for evidence because seriously it was unbelievable, even for Uganda. 
  • Trying to turn on the shower in the hotel room and instead having water come out of the sink but never out of the shower head. Okay that's cute. 
  • My normal footpaths become overcome with mud after it rains so I walk them like I'm on a balance beam just praying I don't fall flat on my face in front of 293849 Ugandans [who would laugh, understandably]. 
  • Ugly crying basically anywhere in Uganda because these people don't often have emotions like that: awesome. 
  • And for my most awkward Ugandan moment to date: Accidentally getting someone arrested. Yes this is real. I'll be here all month folks. So for a little context. When our NGO president was here in January he discovered that I'm an organizer at heart (this includes color coordinating but hey that skill isn't in demand in Uganda) so he so kindly ordered a dresser to be built for my stay here so that I don't have to live out of suitcases [Seriously isn't that the sweetest? Cue Tears right?] Well, he ordered it and put a down payment on it before he left in January it's now nearing the end of March and I still have not seen this dresser. We stop by the workshop frequently but mysteriously the guy building it hasn't been there this is my shocked voice. [Read: It's easy to see the Mzungu coming from a mile away to have friends cover for you.] The last time Fred and I went to check on it Fred told him if it doesn't done when we came back he was involving the police. Fast forward TWO MORE WEEKS and we go back to... nothing. So Fred says he'll handle it. I go out to the village to work and continue on with my day. Oh Uganda. It's such a fun place. Fred comes out to the village later only to inform me that he was late because HE HAD RODGERS ARRESTED WHAT. So he gets the officers to arrest Rodgers and then leaves him there for a majority of the day. Only to then go bail him out and drive him back to the workshop himself all the while discussing how he can't lie to people and he needs to have this piece done by Thursday at 4pm or he's having him arrested again and this time taking him to court and not bailing him out. 
  •  So how is that story my fault you ask? Well it partially just isn't cause he didn't do his job. But it also is because I woke up yesterday realizing I have four weeks left before I'm gone for a month. Four Weeks. And if I don't push for this now we may never see it and the money will just be lost. So I mentioned to Fred that we need to get serious. And serious it got. 
One of the most bizarre bathrooms I've ever been in. That towel is sitting on the toilet. Yes that space for legs and bodies is RIDICULOUSLY small. 
xox.