Day 10!

Sunday May 27^th 9:20 pm

Today has been better than I could have expected. Our morning started by getting up and packing up our suitcases. We moved all of our suitcases into our professor’s cabin and left with only our backpacks. At MUBS we had our typical breakfast of toast, biscuit/cookie, and fruit and then it was time to depart for the rural village.

This time instead of going deep into the heart of the village, we stopped at the school where they also hold church services. When we arrived they were just finishing up their morning mass and so we prepared to talk about clinic plans. One of Dr. Bishop’s classes prepared clinic designs for the clinic they are preparing to build and it was our responsibility to present the plans to the community members. The members then gave us feedback on what they liked, disliked, or thought was missing. We needed the MUB students to help us translate because most of the community members didn’t speak English, but it was a really good and eye opening experience.

While some of the health care students who are doing work with the clinic for their project were conducting interviews, we got to play with the kids. I got to hold some cute babies and met some really nice kids. One that wouldn’t let go of my hand was named Rachel (I miss you sissy) and she was super precious. We taught them some hand games, some played soccer, and we played duck duck goose and simon says. We also sang some songs and talked about America.

After our wonderful morning and early afternoon we loaded up the bus to continue our journey to Jinja. We arrived at King Fischer’s resort, which I would not necessarily consider a resort. The rooms are small and there are lots of bugs all around (including dead bugs in our mosquito net), but the absolutely breath taking view makes it better.

 When we arrived, we took a quick walking adventure to see where we were staying and then quickly changed into our swimsuits to lounge by the pool. We all got drinks and enjoyed some quality bonding and sun time by the pool. In fact it felt so much like a relaxing vacation that it was easy to forget we are actually in Africa.

After “swimming,” it was time for dinner. We had a buffet at King Fischer’s that consisted of French fries, beef kabobs, fajita type food, and some fruit. It was so good that we inhaled it and went back for seconds. The ketchup even tasted somewhat American, which was enough to make a lot of our nights.

Once we were actually full for once, Dani, Megan, Micah, and I retreated to our rooms to watch a movie and head to bed early. We took ice cold showers and now our ready to sleep with some lovely bugs. The alarm is set for 5:30 am so we can get up and watch the sun rise over Lake Victoria. I am super excited and continue to be amazed by the wondrous things this country has to offer. While some people are getting more and more ready to come home, I fall more and more in love with The Pearl of Africa daily.

~Mary