Day 12 - Sick. Again...

This morning I woke up very ill again. This time, eight others others were sick as well. We took the morning off and after throwing up a bunch, most of us felt a bunch better... too much information I know. At two o'clock, everyone came back on the big bus. The afternoon event was cancelled and we skipped the book launch at MUBS tonight to meet the Prime Minister. Today was a very good, well needed rest! I tried eating some food, and after a small handful of cereal, I felt sick again. All the meals are exactly the same here, and I don't think I will eat anything else the next ten days. That is probably a lie because I might get hungry. Anyways, as much as I would love to be healthy again, I love Uganda and am not excited for this next week to come to an end!

Day 11 - No title

Today we got to go to the first hour of a student church service at MUBS. It was really great, I really liked the music! Then we headed to a special needs orphanage and school. It was really sad. I spent all my time there with a boy named Peter. He is fifteen years old and in a wheel chair. I talked to him for a long time. At one point he wanted to be a doctor, but was told that people in wheel chairs can not be doctors. Robinah and I told him that that is not true. He can be a doctor, he just needs to study hard. He wants to be a doctor once again. I hope to keep in contact with him. Then we ate a picnic lunch at Lake Victoria. It was very relaxing! Then we went to a reception at the Chairman of MUBS country home. It was VERY nice!

Day 10 - Rural Visit

Today was our rural visit. We went out to the village that Dr. Senteza grew up in. Half of us got on the back of boda-bodas (small motorcycles) to ride out to one of the farms. A man taught us how he grows cocoa and showed us around his farm. It started to rain in the middle, so we all stood in a little hut or under the overhang in front. I made a little friend. She was so cute! I played with her for about an hour, and she spoke no english! Jeff had a black Mamba (poisonous snake) slither up his back! Afterwards, we went to someone's house in the village for dinner. It was very good! Then we walked through the village. Four young boys walked with me the whole time. The oldest was 13. He was very protective of me. He told me that this boda-boda gang thing that drove through steals white people, so he wouldn't let me walk right next to the road. His mother has died. He has a younger brother and sister, and his dad abuses him. He is a P6 in school and the smartest in his class. He wants to be a lawyer, but when he talks about going to highschool his dad beats him. He is a christian but his dad is not. Please pray for Evano and his father and his brother and sister.

Day 9 - DANCE!

We started out the day with a talk with an expert on gender issues in Uganda. It was very interesting and I had a lot of very different views than the speaker. After lunch, we met with the Inspector General of IGG. IGG is the organization that fights corruption in Uganda. In the evening, we had a cocktail at MUBS with the president of MUBS. It was so much fun!!!! The entertainment and food was great. I ate with the religious leader on campus and had a very good conversation. In Uganda, the professors can start class by preaching the gospel and praying. How cool is that? He told me I had a great smile and challenged me in the way I live my life. I will be attending his church on Sunday. After dinner we all danced! It was dark out and the reggae music was very loud. It was so much fun and all the Ugandan professors were dancing as well. It was great! Afterwards, some MUBS students came back to Red Chili and some of us spent a few hours with them. Robinah, one of the students, gave me her sweater yesterday because I said I liked it and she said we are good friends. It was so nice of her and I love all of our new friends so much!!

Day 8 - Kampala International Hospital

As many of you already know, Thursday was an exciting day for me... I went to bed Wednesday night with some side pains, and woke up in the middle of the night in a lot of pain. In the morning, I could hardly walk and was in more pain than I have ever been in. Dr. Senteza took Susan and I 4.5 hours back to the capital city, Kampala, where we visited the hospital. We spent 4 hours there. I had scans and a blood test, but everything came back clean. It was not my apendix or ulcers like expected, thankfully! The doctor gave me three different medicines to take along with my malaria medication! So hopefully it starts to work!! -- It is now day 10 and I am feeling much better. Thank you for your prayers!

Day 7 - Jesus is a winner man!!

Today was the best of all so far!! A small group of us got up at six this morning to head over to Mbarara Primary Mixed School to get some prework done before the rest of the group arrived at nine thirty. We washed and sanded the walls in the buildings we were cleaning, painting, and fixing up. The older students helped us work until the assembly at ten o'clock. I met a young boy named Joan, and a young girl named Aminah. We became very good friends and I spent a lot of time with them through out the day. At the assembly, the students sang the Ugandan National Anthem for us and we sang ours for them. I video taped their singing, but accidently deleted it (Sorry Dad..) :( Oh well, I came out of the day with 192 more pictures than what I started with. The students were so excited about the digital cameras. They enjoyed getting their pictures with us and taking pictures themselves. I promised the students I would develop the pictures and mail them when I get home. I also gave Joan my W.W.J.D. bracelet.

Throughout the day the kids I met continued to bring me salted kernals of corn. I just couldn't say no, though I knew I should not eat them and now I am fairly sick from them. Oh well, it was so much fun!! The kids were so excited about the candy we brought, the 500 kids all mobbed the 24 of us with candy. My arms are scratched and one little girl went down. The kids around me learned to be patient because I would only hand out candy to kids who were being nice.

I did not help work too much in the late afternoon.. but I got to talk with the kids a lot. A group of boys sang for me a song they sing in church. The lyrics are, "Satan is a loser man, a loser man all the time. JESUS IS A WINNER MAN, A WINNER MAN ALL THE TIME!" I love it and it has been stuck in my head ever since. :) I cannot wait to tell you all more when I see you in person!

Oh- encouragement for anyone who sponsors a child - I was talking to a MUBS student we are traveling with and he told me how he was sponsored for six years as a child. He expressed his deep gratitude and appreciation. He said he would not be attending a University with real plans for his future if it were not for his sponsor. When I get home I will be writing a letter to my families.. and I am not just saying that this time!

Day 6 - Animals!

Today we hit the road early and went to Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is the biggest national park in Uganda. There are 11 villages in the grounds because they were there when the park formed in 1952. In 1989 13 people died in one village due to a lion attack. We took a two hour boat ride/ safari. We saw a ton of elephants, hippos, buffalo, birds, and some crocodiles. It was a lot of fun and we are all very sunburnt! We then ate lunch, where our tables and everything was covered in harmless ants. FYI the ant hills here are two and a half feet tall.... I will never again complain about the ants in the states. Then we took a game drive through the park and saw a ton of gazelles and kobbs, but never any lions... On our way back to Mbarra (the district we are sleeping in for four nights) we stoped in a village and bought plantains off the heads of women in the village! Oh, and the toliets keep getting better! Today we had a toilet that was a hole in the ground and the size and shape of a brick... Good night!!

Day 5 - Kabele

Today we rode three hours in the bus to go to a district called Kabele. It was a long bumpy bus ride, but the scenery was beautiful! We stoped along the way to learn about the agriculture here in Uganda. It is facinating. The terrain is very steep, so they have small plots of farm land surrounded by large bushes. The bushes prevent erosion. This district has no electricity or running water, so they must walk all the way down to the middle of the hills to the spring or well and carry the water back up to their homes. Hardwork, labor, and sweat are everyday occurances for all men, women, or childern here, rich or poor. One of the reasons I think the kids are so cute here is that they are very content. Since we have arrived I have not witnessed one of the hundereds and hundreds of children I've seen cry, whine, or complain. They know that their parents will provide them with everything they can and that is enough. I think another depression in the U.S. would bring us Americans down to the reality of most of the world and enstill a strong work ethic once again. Anyways, once we reached Kabele, we got in motor boats for a two hour boat ride. It was beautiful! Lake Bunyoni is the deepest lake in Uganda and the third deepest in the world at 6,500 feet deep. On the way back to the hotel we stopped in a village to use the restroom.. which is always an adventure!

Day 4 - A Zebra!!

Today was a day set aside for traveling. We spent 10 hours on our way to the southwest of Uganda to a district called Mbarra. However, the time went fast. I sat and talked and learned so much with Allen and Shamimu. They are wonderful. We stoped at the equater to take pictures and shop. We also stopped at a local restaurant with some not so westernized bathrooms. We also took about a two and a half hour detour to drive through a national park. We saw lots of animals, but never our main target, the zebra. Two of the MUBS students were really funny and kept yelling, "A Zebra!" We would all get excited and jump to one side of the bus to find a couple of gazelles or warthogs staring at us. We got to see the crested Crane, Uganda's equivelent to our bald eagale. It was beautiful! We also passed many types of villages we had not seen yet. It is so fun to wave at all the people who just stare at us.. the kids are a blast! We are spending four nights now in the Lake Side Hotel.

Day 3 - Let's go CRANES!!

We started up the morning with a presentation and discussion with Patrick Bitature, Uganda's top entrepreneuer. It was really exciting. Everything we do ties with my previous favorite thing, which is a really good thing! The MUBS students were VERY excited to meet Mr. Bitature. He has had a really tough life and has accomplished many things to get to where he is today, including the Reign of Terror under Amin. Directly following the discussion, Miria, Bashir, Samuel (3 MUBS students) and I went to take pictures in the really nice hotel and almost missed the bus. Afterwards, we ate a wonderful Ugandan meal back at MUBS and headed off to a Futbol game. We watched the Ugandan Cranes defeat the Kenyan team. It was really neat to see the passion that the Ugandans had for their team and their country. The stadium is one of the largest in Africa. It was sad though, because the poverty stricken families of Uganda lived all around the stadium. One of my favorite moments of the day was when one of the Ugandan students, Michelle, and I realized we have on of the same favorite bands - Hillsong United!!

Day 2 - The Kabaka

I have not posted in a few days to internet connection problems, adapter problems, and a brown out. But it is better late than never! On day two we went to both the Bugandan parliment and the Ugandan parliment. Buganda is the largest tribe in Uganda. Recently, relationships with the central government have caused riots and other problems. But we are safe now! Both parliments were very interesting and I learned alot! I am even changing my research paper to cover the relationship between the tribes and the government and how it relates to sustainable development. At the Buganda parliment we met with the minister of education and then went to the Kabaka's palace. The Kabaka is one of the many names for the Buganda King. We saw lots of little kids who nearly attacked the Drake students for candy to touch our hands. However, as cute as they were, I sat this one out to spend time with the students from MUBS. I think that is most of what happened this day, but the relationships we are making with the students here are great! I am so excited to get to know them even more!

I will add Day 3 later. Today is Day 4 and we are heading west for four days, will be crossing the equator!

Hello Sister!

Our first real day in Uganda was fantastic! We spent the morning at Makere University Business School. We ate breakfast with our colleagues from MUBS and they gave us tours of their campus. It was great! They were all so nice and the campus was really neat! The dining halls and canteens were all outdoors under tents and coverings. The students were all studying for their finals outside!

After MUBS, we headed downtown for lunch and the market. We ate at an American style restaurant (they wanted to make us feel at home :)) We then split into groups to go to the Owino market. The Owino market is the largest outdoor market. It was PACKED. It was so overwhelming! I have never had so many people touch my legs, grab my hands, and touch my face. Some of it was because we were white and some because the vendors wanted us to buy from them. I heard the phrase, "Halo Sister!!" over and over again. We did not buy anything at the market because it was too much to handle. But it was a great experience and taught us a lot about the culture here in Kampala.

We got back to Red Chili at about 7. We all ate at the restaurant/bar and went right to bed. Today we will be heading to discussions with the parliment and the Bugandan royalty! It will be an awesome learning experience and it will be neat to hear and understand the viewpoints of the Ugandan people.

Emily

Welcome to Uganda!

After 36 hours of traveling since I left Rosemount, and 18 spent in the air, we have arrived safe and sound in Uganda! It is so exciting and I cannot wait to meet the MUBS students and explore the city tomorrow! I don't think I could begin to describe the city to you, so I won't. But the smells, sights, sounds, and feelings are not familiar at all. The children all came right up to our bus in the middle of the street and waved. It is really exciting! We are staying at the Red Chili Hideaway and my roommates are Loren, Susan, and Brooke. We will have lots of fun!

I am off to go crawl into my mosquito net to sleep :)

Emily

On Our Way!!

We are on our way! In 19 minutes my dad will be driving me to Des Moines, IA. We will pick up Lauren and head to our first plane to Detroit. From Detroit we will head to Amsterdam, and then to Entebe, Uganda. I am excited and I don't think it has hit me yet that we are leaving already!

Below is our class blog. It will probably be much more detailed than mine. Each one of us will take one day to update the class blog.
http://mubs-drake-seminar.blogspot.com/

Thank you for all your prayers. Please continue to be praying for our travels and our time in Uganda.

Emily

Saying Goodbye.. or see ya later!

I feel like since I started this blog a few weeks before my trip, I should probably give you something to read. So here we go...

Seven days until I will be sleeping in my own bed (well probably the couch) in Inver Grove Heights, MN. It is so unreal that my first year of college is coming to an end. I can honestly say that this year has been one of the best, most challenging years of my life. I have radically changed this past year. While I have learned a lot in the classroom, the majority of what I have learned has been through experiences, conversations with friends and mentors, and my time spent with the Lord. I have been challenged to really live out what I have believed for the last 19.5 years.

Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross, so that I, a sick sinner, could have eternal life. It is only through His grace that I have a real and everlasting joy. The only appropriate reaction to His mercy and grace is to give my whole life to Jesus Christ, to glorify Him in all that I do, and to share this truth with the world.

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." - Acts 20:24

2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Anyways, after six days with my family and friends in the (651), I will head back to Des Moines to catch my plane to Uganda! As the trip gets closer and closer, I get more and more excited and nervous. Today I bought student travel life insurance for $22. I feel like that is not enough money for a life's worth of insurance.. but I suppose it didn't burn to much of a hole in my pocket. :)

- We are supposed to bring little gifts for the people we meet in Uganda. Some suggestions given were books and little Drake gifts. I am thinking about making bracelets to make it a little more personal. If you have any ideas of gifts they might like please let me know! Thank you!

x Emily