Ugandan Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Hopefully you have enjoyed a long weekend of cool weather, good food and family. Thanksgiving is a time I miss America because the holiday is so uniquely American. Canadians have Thanksgiving but in October, and for us it is the start of the holiday season, a 4 day weekend and a time to be with family (and maybe shopping if that is your thing). My last American Thanksgiving was 4 years ago, here is a picture from that day:

At this point I did not know I'd be moving to Uganda 6 weeks later but was in the interview process. Things for my family have changed since this celebration- now there are two more family members, my parents no longer live in this house, various events and experiences have passed.

In Uganda the 4th Thursday in November is just a regular work day. This should be obvious since this is an American holiday, but it is always kind of surprising to me that most people's lives go on as normal, knowing that in the US life changes rhythms for a weekend.

Our program, which has American staff and students, always celebrate with a big meal to honor the day, this year about 45 of us gathered together. It has become part of the annual routine to have students be in charge of desserts and they come and cook in the staff's kitchens. Here is some baking action in progress:

These cinnamon rolls were amazing!

Lots of activity in my kitchen.

Students were baking at my house from about 9am-2pm that day and then the meal happened after 4pm. It went well with mostly the traditional foods, adapted for Uganda and a large crowd. Unlike the US, we ate outside (in between rain showers) and ended the celebration at dark. A picture of the serving line:

One thing that made this Thanksgiving more special for me was a visit from my friend Christi, who lives in Rwanda! She was able to come for 3 days and be a part of Thanksgiving in Uganda, which made it more special. Christi and I:

Thanksgiving is one of my more "homesick" times for the US and my family. I remember my first year I was especially sad, thinking about everyone celebrating together. Now I look forward to Thanksgiving in the US next year, but I am sure will look back on my Ugandan Thanksgivings and be thankful for the experience and the uniqueness.

Trip to Lira

On Sunday we returned from our weekend trip to Lira. This was with 21 of the students in a practicum class to see different ministries in a different location in Uganda. Going to share some pictures to tell you more about the trip!

The long, but well-paved, road to Lira. It took us about 6 hours each way, a lot of driving for one weekend and we were tightly packed in a 25 person vehicle. Wildlife sitings were baboons, monkeys and rain clouds.

On Saturday we first went to Otina Waa village, a children's home, school and many other things run by an American couple. Here Bob gives the students a tour of the property, he was a very energetic 68 year old man who obviously loves his work!

The great staff from the trip- Jones, Rachel, me and Jordan. Nice leading a trip with these people!

Second stop on Saturday was to Hellen's Shelter. Hellen is an amazing woman who runs a shelter for women and children. Here is the whole group at the end of our visit.

We also got to visit a cafe in town run by friends, and church on Sunday before the drive back. Lira is a beautiful, interesting town in the north, with so much to see and learn from. Hope to visit again before I leave!

What to pack for the weekend?

This weekend I am going with our students to Lira. It is about 5-6 hours north of Mukono and we'll be visiting different sites and people. Planning to bring my camera to hopefully post some pictures post-trip but thought I would use this opportunity to show what I usually pack on my travels within Uganda. As I mentioned in a previous post in July, traveling so much for work and to the States had made me a good packer. I thought showing you some of my key items would give an idea of what trips are usually like! The picture below is of most things I am taking this weekend:

Working from left to right, I'll highlight some must-haves:

1. Travel size everything! This is a must for light packing and still having all the essentials. One key thing is travel size Downey wrinkle release- being well-presented is important in Uganda and this helps me look (somewhat) wrinkle free while traveling.

2. Earplugs. Many places we stay are noisy with other people around, church services, clubs nearby- there is very little noise control. So I wear earplugs a lot at home in Mukono and when traveling to help me get a good night's sleep.

3. Assorted reading material. I always like to bring a few different things- a book, a magazine, my Bible and journal to keep me occupied during down time. Also a good way to relax if a trip gets stressful.

4. Headlamp. Absolute necessity because of uncertain electricity and navigating in the dark. Just bought new batteries after lots of usage on rural home stays so am set to go for this trip!

5. Ipod. I load this up with podcasts and occasionally TV shows for the long bus rides. My favorite podcasts are Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (a funny news/ quiz show) and This American Life.

6. Water bottle. We usually take all our own water on trips since drinking water can be expensive to buy, so this is my refill bottle.

7. Travel pillow and towel. Someone advised me to bring these before I moved to Uganda and they are two of the best purchases I have ever made. The pillow/ towel situation at the guest houses where we stay can be iffy or non-existent so it always nice to have my own.

8. Minimal, simple clothing. I try to bring things that can mix and match and will survive the trip well. I usually bring some jewelry to dress up more plain outfits.

9. Snacks for the road. Some of my coworkers laugh at my little supply of snacks I always bring- usually a mix of dried fruit, granola bars, chocolate- a good variety when I need a change from trip food.

And yes, I fit all this in that backpack! Keeping things compact and together helps with logistics and simplicity. Now I am headed out for the trip. Have a good weekend everyone!

Grateful

Last week was a difficult week work-wise. I won't go in to the details but wanted to focus on a few things that got me through the week and things I am grateful for. Focusing on these things helped me maintain some perspective! So, a few things I am grateful for right now:

1. Friends (especially friends who give you beautiful flowers!) Hopefully it is obvious why I am grateful for friends- the support, encouragement and visits of friends were greatly appreciated this past week. The flowers below are from my friend Susan:

2. Being put on the university generator! It is hard to emphasize what a big change this is- it seems like I can look forward to more consistent electricity, which makes for a pleasanter life, especially in the evenings. Below is the electricity working away:

3. Good music- you may notice on my computer the new Florence + the Machine album is playing, a fun and needed distraction.

4. Books. I love books for down time and being in another world while reading. Below are the two books I am currently reading- one a serious biography and one an epic American novel (the Kindle is getting a break!), both excellent so far:

5. Uganda's natural beauty. I know I have mentioned this before, and it is something I love about living here. Being able to focus on the natural beauty around me is always very life-giving. This is a tree outside my front door, always solid no matter what is going on around it:

So I am choosing to be grateful for these things and to look forward to the more normal weeks ahead!

New Passport

Yesterday I picked up my new passport from the US Embassy in Kampala. It was a fairly easy process to renew here involving two early morning trips to the Embassy. Living overseas my passport has become one of my most important possessions and one I closely guard. Besides letting me in and out of Uganda, my passport has my work permit which makes it legal for me to live and work here. I am a little sad to say goodbye to using my old passport, it has been so many places with me. My two passports side by side:

I just looked through my old passport and it contains country stamps for these places: England, Austria, Uganda, South Africa, Lesotho, Ghana, Rwanda, the Netherlands, Tanzania, France, Ukraine, Morocco, and countless re-entry stamps to the USA. Obviously some of the places have multiples, especially Uganda and Rwanda.

Now looking at my brand new passport without a single stamp in it, I wonder- what it will hold? I know I will get my work permit transferred over and I'll have one more trip to the States while I am here, and one more trip to Rwanda. My new passport expires is 2021, hard to imagine where life will have taken me at that point! Here are my side by side pictures from 2002 and 2011:

Where will I be when the next picture is taken? What will my now empty passport look like? In 2021 I will be 42! It is exciting to think about those years ahead and the new adventures they may contain.

I'll end with a quote by one of my favorite authors, Jhumpa Lahiri, that sums up how I feel thinking about the last 10 years and travels:

"There are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination."