Hallo

I am sorry it has taken me this long to post anything from Africa. There have been some technical difficulties with internet usage. On my way over i was told by Mandy that i would be able to buy a wireless internet hookup for the guest room where i am staying and i was really happy about that and the possibility of being able to Skype with a few of you back home. So i bought the modem and paid for 3 months of internet (if you pay for 3 you get the 4th month free, i thought it was being smart) then i go to hook it up to my computer and the thing wont download. i even took it to the store and they couldn't do to fix it. They said it is something wrong with my computer and the only want to get it fixed would be to go to an Apple store and as you might guess there isn't one in Jinja. So here i am out 360,000 shillings (which is roughly $180) and still no internet. So instead i have opted for going to the local internet cafe which costs me 3,000 shillings for 2 hours ($1.50 US Dollars) which isn't bad at all.

Anyways... so much has happened since i arrive in Jinja 6 days ago!

I have been spending my days with the children at the orphanage. They have a very steady routine that all the children are very familiar with. I am not sure yet where my help is needed or even when i should be doing, but i have fun playing with the kids (even though i cant understand a word they are saying) and taking pictures of them. They dont see what they look like very often so they love when i take their picture and then show it to them on my digital camera. They point at the camera and say their name over and over again.

All the kids at the orphanage (after they got over calling me Muzungu, which means white person) call me and every other woman Mommy. I feel like i might never escape this nick name (First ADX, then horse camp, then hyp, now Welcome Home). But i have to admit i kinda love it!

One of the things i get to do at the orphanage is show the kids who are being adopted the pictures of their parents that are coming soon. They do this so they can get used to what they look like and start understanding that they get to go home soon! So i sit them down and show them a picture of themselves and ask them "who is this" and they say their name and then i show them the picture of their mom and dad and i say "who is this" and they point and say mommy and daddy! They are so happy it get to see the houses they are going to. Some of them have picture of the pets they will have at home and their rooms. Most of these kids have never had their own room, toys, or clothes. I'm really excited for them.

I am lucky to have with me another volunteer from Holland. Her name is Jenny but in Holland they pronounce in Yenny. It is funny she looks at me and sees that i am white and starts speaking Dutch to me and then i look at her like she is crazy and she realizes she is speaking Dutch to me and that i dont understand. I think she has started to get the hang of the fact that i only speak English. Actually most people here think its very strange that i only speak English. I tell them that i speak some Spanish. One guy i met yesterday started to ask me questions about Spanish words and then told me that he watches Spanish soap operas but doesnt know what they are saying most of the time. I am very rusty in my spanish (lets be real, i was never very good at it) so i can answer some of his questions but i look like an idiot!

Most of the kids that are being adopted are going to Holland so Mandy asked me and Yenny to have class with them and teach them some Dutch words. I am learning about as much as the 5 year old children are learning (again, i'm going to be real... they are better than i am lol). But now know how to say Hello (which is the title of the blog post), mommy (mama), daddy (papa), pee (plosen), poop (poopen), How are you (hoe gaat geet), i am fine (hat geet guede), and goodbye (doie). Yeah i probably didnt spell any of that right... but whatever! Anyways the kids are excited about learning the new language.

In town yesterday Jenny and i met two other white girls our age. One of from Oklahoma and was here on the World Race and the other one is from Canada and is here with WYWAM. When you are white here you stick out like a soar thumb. Everyone you walk by gets really big eyes and says "MUZUNGU MUZUNGU"!! So when i see another white person i too get very excited. It is incredibly easy to strike up a conversation with a random stranger here because more likely they are very excited to talk with you too.

Last night over dinner Jenny and i were talking about home and exchanging pictures of friends and family. I proudly whipped out my scrapbook from my going away party and showed her all the pictures of my friends. She has never been to America before so i was telling her alllll about it. And it was then that i realized how much i freaking love our country. It sounds funny but America is all i have ever really known so i didn't think about how other places are sooo different. As i sat last night contemplating that thought i realized how lucky i am to have the opportunities have had.

The same guy that was asking me about Spanish soap operas was asking me about college in america. I told him what my major was but then as always added that i dont know if i will end up using it in what i choose as a career (especially since i dont know what i want to do). he looked at me like i was crazy! "You dont know what you want to do?" In America it is a fairly typical thing for a college student to change their major many times throughout their college career (i changed mine 4 times) and for someone to change their career many times in their life, but here there are not as many options for making a living... you know what you want to do when you go to college. For him he couldn't even understand how i didn't know what i wanted.

So last night as i was thinking about how much i love my country and how i am so blessed to have the opportunities and the chances in life that soooo many other people around the world can not even fathom. I decided that it was right for me to come home!

yes you heard that right... im coming home! I will finish out my 2 weeks that i paid for at the guest house i am staying at and then spend a few days in London on the way back. But i will be home in now less than 3 weeks!

I will be happy to explain more... but right now Jenny is waiting for me to leave!

I will leave you with this... cherish the times on clarity that you have with the Lord. Cherish the times on the mountain when you feel his presence so strongly. But dont force yourself to turn those things into lessons. I asked myself over and over "what have i learned here" "what am i going to take back with me" and "how will i be a different person from this experience". And i can say i have learned a lot, but most of all that God has been slowly tearing down who i am and building up my character in him. That is the lesson i will bring home.

I hope to write on here again soon! I love and miss you all!