A School Day

6:00 am rise and shine and eat some breakfast. Breakfast is typically bread with butter and bananas. One day a week we have pancakes. This was a pancake day. A great start!

7:10 head for the school taxi/bus. Check out the school uniforms.

Our short walk to school.

7:15 arrive at bus stop with our fellow WCIA classmates.

7:20 to 7:45 Bus arrives

Taxi/bus has 20+ in it, meant for 14 (Americans would think 14 was tight)

Wow and that is just getting the kids to school. It is hard to explain all the differences from America but safe to say it is all different for us. You know they will be fine, but you still say a small or long prayer depending on your day that your kids will be ok and wave goodbye.

8:00 school starts. Their subjects include Math, Science, Social Studies, Bible, Literacy, Language and Soccer.

9:30 snack of tea (which our kids are starting to like) and either bread, fruit or porridge.

Here is Henry's in his class. He has 12 students, that is his teacher in the front.

Here is Avery's class she has 8 in her class and she made the girl count 2. The other girl Sharon just right of Avery was very excited.

1:00 lunch of rice and beans or posho and beans. Special occasions include cabbage. Posho is a cornmeal like starch. No forks or napkins, so you eat with your fingers. Our kids seem to like this, we asked and they said they would do what all the other kids do. Not sure I would be so brave.

Here is the bathroom, don't forget to ask the teacher for toilet paper before you go.

4:15 bus arrives unless it rains and then it can be later like after 5.

5:00 arrive back at bus stop. 5 minutes later arrive home. Time to wash and polish shoes, mom cleans off uniforms and socks (they only have one uniform). Kids shower and get pajamas on.

7:00 Dinner, kids work on their homework and we recap our days.

8:30 Bed. End of a great day and wonder why you worried in the first place.

 

Uganda Pictures

 

Here is a link to our album of all our best pictures from our time in Uganda. Click here to check it out.

Note: if you click on a picture you will see a comment of what it is. This is denoted by a comment box or number on the picture.

We will keep adding pictures.


Enjoy!

 

A New Lens

When I sat down to write some thoughts for this week, it took me awhile to decide what to focus on.  Our move here still being so new, there are still thousands of experiences and thoughts to process each day it seems.  It is difficult to know what to share and how to share it.  But, I felt that my personal focus this week was one of trying to look at things differently that I did initially upon our arrival.  I was moving past the shock of all things different, to a new place that opened me to seeing the beauty and simplicity of life here; that while there is a ruggedness to existence, there is so much routine, love and just being real.  

These are just a few examples that I hope might make sense about how my mind is re-orienting to the world we live in now:

-instead of meeting kids and focusing on how their clothes might look a bit dirty and mismatched, like boys wearing girls shoes, etc. to just look into their beautiful eyes and see the joy and love they have in their hearts and how when the kids you don't even know get the biggest smiles when you drive or walk by and they call out Mzungu and wave like crazy and say, "I see you!"

-when Troy and I were taking the time to worry about what Avery and Henry would do at lunch at school when we found out the kids don't get any silverware to eat their posho and beans with, we were reminded by Avery that they didn't want to bring a fork along, they just wanted to be like everyone else.  

-instead of feeling intimidated to buy something from the local stands right on our road, Avery and I now look forward to visiting our new favorite stand that has a young girl working that has such a beautiful smile, and you tell her that pineapples are our favorite and we'll buy some if she gets some.  And instead of worrying about the quality of the food, you notice how good and fresh it tastes.  And if you end up getting a lime or an orange when you thought it was a lemon, oh well, you use the lemon. 

-at first I wondered how long it would take to make new friends in a place so different and far away, and then every single person you meet makes you instantly feel like you are part of their family and that you belong here.  You have great conversations shelling g-nuts or riding in the back of the truck.  You see your kids laughing at stories they tell.  I was told at church today by more than one person that I was just meeting for the first time that we are so loved.  

-instead of seeing the kids' church Fruit of Repentance that we attended today for the first time as just a small shed made of tin and sticks, that you see the beautiful flowers surrounding it as you walk up the path and that you feel the love of God just pouring out of everyone's hearts during worship.

-and instead of wondering what we have gotten ourselves into, you start to see a vision developing of how you can be integrated into the great work taking place here.

There are still so many adjustments to be made, but I think my heart is opening more and more each day to the fact that these changes and my reactions to them are greatly impacted by the lens through which I choose to view them.  And yes.....sometimes I still just really need that little piece of normal at the right moment, like that little Snickers bar  or an email from someone at home.  :)  

Now I'll end by completely switching gears and just jot down a few things that are "normal" in our new routine.

• Laundry day is Tuesday.  They wash all our laundry by hand, except our socks and underwear, which we have to do on our own and I am behind on again.....And you pray that there is hot weather on these days as it can take things a long time to dry on the line.  We've had lots of rain this past week.
• The menu is set at the house.  It's usually bread and little bananas set out for breakfast, but we had a few surprise treats this week with pancakes one morning and little sausages another.  Dinner is at 7:00 pm and the menu for the week is Monday: Irish (potaotes with veggies in a sauce)  Tuesday:  Rice & Beans, Wed:  Local Foods (myatoki, g-nut sauce, rice)  Thurs:  mashed potatoes, meatballs and gravy - MY FAVORITE!  Friday:  Spaghetti, Saturday:  Rice with peas and carrotts  There is also often a cabbage salad of some sort and fruit for dessert (watermelon or pineapple - the pineapple here is absolutely incredible!!!)  We are on our own for lunch each day, so we usually just grab a chapati, rolex, or kikamondo at a stand or find a "restaurant" close by with local foods.  Lunch is not as predictable and is just whenever it works, usually around 1 or 2.  Sunday we are on our own for meals.  
• We have a driver that CLD hired for us for September.  We just have to pay for gas, which is an everyday thing here, as any trip is usually almost an hour.  We most often take the truck since we can fit lots of people with riding in the back.  We had 16 in there the other day.  Someone is always coming along or hitching a ride to save money on transport.  The more the merrier!  The other vehicle is the Super Custom, which is a van.  Although we haven't had any problems yet, I guess it is a bit less reliable and on the verge of a potential breakdown.  CLD also owns two taxis, one of which will take the kids to school every day.  After September, we'll be on our own with driving, so hopefully Troy who can drive a stick shift will be ready to take all our lives in his hand on these crazy roads!  The school takes about 30 minutes on average to get to, and the farm about an hour.  But, they are both easy to find as they are straight outside of Nansana on a main road.  Thread of Life is more of a mystery as it's much more challenging to get to, but probably takes about 20-30 minutes as well usually.  
• The kids school day (which starts tomorrow) will look like this.  They'll get on the taxi at the top of the hill at 7:10.  Class starts at 8:00.  They have a snack (I think either fruit or maybe a hard boiled egg) at 9:30.  They have lunch at 12:30 for an hour.  Posho and beans Tues - Thurs, and special days on Monday (rice and beans) and Fridays (eggs).  They brush their teeth after lunch.  Class is over at 4:00 and they'll get on the taxi to come home, arriving at the top of the hill about 4:45.  Friday is a half day and classes end at 1:00, and the teachers have staff development those afternoons.  Not sure how we will fit in homeschooling after these long days?  They have uniforms and all of the kids just have one set, so I guess Avery and Henry will learn to keep them clean as we can't just throw them in the washer at night!  They have soccer on Mondays and Wednesdays.  Avery will have 6 in her class, including her and Henry I think will have 11.  They are in their last term of the year and their new school year begins in January.  They go 3 months and then have a month off, so December and April the kids will be on holiday.  

Sure there are lots of things I'm leaving out, but just wanted to give a glimpse of some daily routines.  Be sure to ask any questions that you're wondering about!  

Once again, this ended up being longer than I intended.  Thanks for reading.  Have a wonderful week!  Please keep us in your prayers as Avery and Henry begin school this week as this will be the last big transition for them.  

~Heather

Courage

Here are some thoughts from Avery and Henry today that I thought were pretty cool to share.  They were working on writing a first draft of an essay on courage since a lot of the books we are going to read in our homeschool curriculum have courage as a theme.  Touched my heart as I read them and hope you enjoy their thoughts.  

Courage - by Henry Greenwood

Some people struggle with courage.  The dictionary says that courage is the ability to do something that frightens one.

Courage is hard because you have to be brave.  I think that my family had courage because we moved to Africa for a year.

You might not think this was hard but we moved halfway across the world.  We left our dog, friends, and house.  Our family came here to help people we don't know.  It is scary to have a new house and school.

Courage is hard but I was brave and it brought me to a great place.

Courage - by Avery Greenwood

Everyone has courage, you just have to search for it!  At least one thing in your life is brave, not all things are easy for us in life.  There always has to be a challenge to do.  The dictionary has really great definitions of courage.  1.  The ability to do something that frightens one.  2.  Strength in the face of pain or grief. 

Courage is brave like doing something you might fear.  Opening your heart and doing something big.  Doing the right thing even though you don't want to.  Trustworthy listening and trusting someone who's doing something courageous.  I think courage is pretty much doing anything big, to doing something you fear, or going through something hard in life.  I thought of a person to me that is very courageous.  Her name is Kyan, my best friend.  Kyan to me is courageous.

She has broken her arm before, that would be scary.  Second, she did gymnastics, which probably I could never ever do.  Third is she moved to a different place in Colorado, which was hard but I still see her a lot.  Then, she had to go to a new school which she said she cryed a lot and had to meet new friends.  That is why I think she's courageous. 

Courage is hard to do for people and I agree it's not easy but I know you always can make it possible and I know you can!  Anything is possible in life, anything, especially COURAGE!

Safari Pictures

Here is the best of our Safari pictures.  Enjoy.  We sure did.  Safari was in Tanzania:  Lake Manyara National Park, Tangire National Park and Ngorongoro Crater

Troy

A little I know after almost a week in Uganda

• that when you go to the slums, there are kids playing in an empty lot that would be condemned in the states but these children playing there are full of smiles and laughter. And when you are there you play with kids like ring-around-the-rosy or lift them up in the air as high as you can until your arms hurt and you feel well that you helped ever so little.
• that a restaurant is literally a small room with a couple empty chairs, old sofa and a table or two.  Their are no signs, no menus - in my past life I would never have entered but now we sit down and eat.
• that when we go out I have only twice seen another Mzungu (white person) and the children all call out "Mzungu, Mzungu."  This is a strange and a sometimes overwhelming experience: the fact that we are different, there is a name for our difference and you hear it all the time.
• that when we went to the school, there are so many surface differences like no carpeting, no glass in the windows, no running water, no electricity, no flush toilets but when you look harder and under that surface at a classroom you see drawings of the maturity stages of a fly, how wings on an airplane work and other teachings that were done with the intent for learning just like you would see in an American classrooms.
• that when I sat in a class of five grown men that are giving up almost a year of their lives and a significant amount financially to learn to farm, that I saw such eagerness and determination.  They wanted to learn and even though the class was in English, a second language for each of them, they were trying so hard to learn a better way for themselves and their families.
• that babies are left, that children can be given up in hopes that some non-profit can give them a better life than a parent can.  What a terrible, heart-breaking choice to have to make. 
• that the giving of just money has created something that just doesn't work, that can't be sustained.  I am learning that we have to focus on given something else instead of just money -- maybe if we tried giving our hearts?
• that our children just continue to amaze me with their adapting, accepting and enjoying a different everything.
• that there is a great deal of love here and the people of CLD have so much to offer and teach.
• that I know really so little and that there is so much to learn but for now I'm going to focus on giving my heart and being a friend and seeing where that leads...

Troy

One Week In

We have officially made it a week.  This is by far, the most amazing and challenging week that I've had in my life in a long time now.  Not really sure I have anything to compare it to.....let me try to describe all the crazy thoughts in my head right now.  It is Sunday, and we returned to Arusha, Tanzania today from our safari.  

A few facts first.  We had two quick days in Uganda and then on Wednesday flew into Mt. Kilimanjaro airport.  A driver picked us up and drove us into Arusha where we stayed in a lovely hotel Mount Meru the first evening and met our safari guide.  We drove out on Thursday morning in our Toyota land cruiser to begin our adventure.  We visited three different national parks during the next three days, spending basically a day in each.  First, we drove about an hour to Lake Manyara for our first day of safari.  It was the smallest of all the parks, and an "appetizer" safari according to our guide.  It had a lot of lush vegetation, so was fun to try and spot all the animals within the trees and different areas.  It felt almost like a dream to see giraffes, elephants, monkeys and more right in front of us!  The excitement on the kids face was priceless, and to be honest I felt like a kid, wondering if we were actually seeing this stuff!  Each day we would safari for about five to six hours, breaking for lunch at a spot inside the park, with a lunchbox that the hotel had packed for us.  The kids thought the lunch boxes were great fun and were always curious to see what was inside for the day that was a new adventure in food for them to try.  I have decided I have quite a bit of things I could learn from my kids, as by today, I was really just hoping to open that lunchbox and see a bag of Doritos and a chocolate chip cookie!  

Anyway, our accommodations for the first two evenings of our safari days was a tented camp.  It was a bit scary each day as our guide turned off the road towards wherever we were staying.  Keep in mind we had just stayed at a luxury hotel the night before and now the next evening we are turning onto a typical African dirt road that looks like slums along the way.  But, it turned out okay.  Not 5 star by any means, but very rustic and a unique experience to have monkeys and mongoose right outside your tent door.  One thing we have discovered is that people must not travel in Africa very often with their children, as each place we stayed they had to put us in two separate rooms as the rooms only had one large king or two twins.  So, the kids and I opted to "get cozy" and talk dad into us all cramming into one of our tented rooms with the king bed.  We just felt a bit safer.  As we were staying in a local area called Mosquito River, it also made at least me a bit more nervous about the potential for mosquito issues.  So, since we kind of feel continually unclean here anyway, we coated ourselves with Deet that evening on our way to dinner.  But, a pleasant surprise was more hot water in our shower later to be able to get rid of the Deet smell before climbing into our mosquito netted bed for the night.  

Day 2 safari took us to Tarrangarie National Park.  It was about another hour drive.  The most amazing thing to process on that drive was how the Maasai tribe lives.  I will now have to read more about them, but this is a main area where they live.  They are a wandering people known for their way of life with nature and for herding livestock.  All along the highway you would look out onto the plains and see a herd of goats or cattle just grazing.  You then knew to look closer and you would see typically two Maasai children that were watching the herd.  These children often looked as young or younger than Henry, with either 
then one older child or adult.  They are easy to spot as they wear colorful tribal cloth for clothing.  It just made me wander what this life is like and how they endure it.  How many miles they walk in their lifetimes and how they know when to go home.  What do they do if something happens and they are miles away from their hut village?  I cannot even imagine.  The boys go to school I guess, although I saw no schools in sight, and the government is trying to encourage the girls to go also, but there is resistance, as a family receives a certain 
number of head of livestock when they offer their daughter to marry around age 15.  Their 
prestige is judged by the total number in their herd.  

Anyway, it was another amazing day of animals.  Incredible elephants and zebras.  This park was more open and plains like, not as much vegetation.  The highlight of the day was after lunch (at which a monkey stole Avery's mango juice box right from the picnic table) when our guide started racing in the jeep somewhere after talking on the radio.  We knew it must be something exciting, and it was.  We saw a cheetah and her baby.  

That night we returned to the same tented camp and then headed. Out the next morning for our final safari day.  We were headed to the Ngorongoro Crater.  Can't even really explain it.  You might just be better off googling it.  Our guide John had warned us it was going to be much colder as we drove up into the mountains to e rim of the crater, which I think he said was about 7,000 feet.  It is hard to keep all these conversions straight between shillings, kilometers, kilograms, Celsius, etc.  It was was an hour drive up to the rim of the crater, and then another hour drive down into the crater floor.  These drives are definitely not for the weak in stomach. It was basically like an hour long roller coaster ride.  I am still amazed none of us got sick throughout these days, especially considering our changes in diet that were going on simultaneously.  

The crater was amazing.  More animals yet that we hadn't seen.  Started off with some lions that were just absolutely majestic.  Then, the other highlight of the day, even though it was from afar, was to see a black rhino.  Supposedly this is very rare as 80% of people coming to the crater are coming to try and see a black rhino, which is one of the big 5, but only about 20% do, so we were in that lucky 20% I guess.  Kids were very psyched, as was our guide.  The animal that eluded us was the leopard, which our guide had told us we only had about a 1% chance of seeing as they hide in all the vegetation.  And during the three days, Henry got his bird fix seeing an amazing number of species of birds which our guide could always tell us what they were so we could look them up in his field book.  Overall, for 3 days of safari, when many people do 14 days, we saw an incredible amount of animals and felt like it was definitely one of those once in a lifetime experiences, that will unfortunately make going to the zoo never the same for us again.  

After our last safari day, we stayed at Rhino Lodge outside the rim of the crater.  It was more like a hotel with actual rooms, but very rustic and we again all crammed into one of our two rooms.  The electricity is only on ther from 6 - 9 am and 5 - 9 pm, so we had a wood stove in our room for heat.  It was also very unique to have at least 50 water buffalo just grazing on the property after dusk off the deck by the restaurant.  The kids did not get to experience elephants just walking by our back patio though, as they warned us may happen.  

That brings us to today, which was really just travel back to Arusha where we are spending tomorrow also as there are no flights from Tanzania back to Entebbe on Mondays, so we will fly back on Tuesday.  For tonight, we just said goodbye to our guide, skyped family and enjoyed a luxury hotel again and didn't venture out on our own for dinner, and instead just opted for a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was definitely what I needed, as it was the most American like meal I've had to this point.  My stomach has been trying to adjust and I haven't been willing to make many risky eating choices.  The whole family has been enjoying some Pepto tabs these last few days which thank goodness seem to do the trick.  

Okay, I mentioned just starting with some facts and now I have gotten very carried away rambling about them and even probably left out about half.  Now going to just briefly comment on where my thoughts are.  Luckily I ended the day a much different place than I started.  I had a lot of downtime on the drive to just think and that can get me into trouble.  I was having a day when the worry was trying to consume me.  Worry that I am going to get sick from the food because the standard of cooking and general hygiene here is so minimal, worrying that I am going to get malaria because I got a few mosquito bites in the last couple of days, and just general worry about what we have gotten ourselves into.  But, then I think God answered some prayers and brought me a nice bed and meal tonight just when I needed just a bit of normalcy to face tomorrow with.  

These past few days I have just been struggling with the incredible juxtaposition of images I have been experiencing.  We have spent an amazing week seeing some of the most beautiful landscape and animals that God has created, but then I am really struggling with the dirtiness and despair that seems all around such beauty.  The constant smell of burning, either to cook, or to burn huge piles of trash.  Trash just everywhere you look, and people living amongst it.  Visiting local markets with food just out in the open in such filthy conditions that people are buying to feed their families.  I have yet to see a normal house (other than the one we live in) that is more than a hut either built out of sticks, grass or crumbling cement blocks.  I know that my perspective is not by any means complete after just one short week, but it just makes me question how we all live in the same world, yet are living such completely unequal lives.  I know there is poverty all over the world, it just seems so commonplace here.  I need to research more on what percent of the local population is living like this, because it is absolutely heartbreaking to me.  Troy and I were talking tonight about how it seems like there should be a middle ground somewhere.  So many of us have       so much excess in our lives and these people have so little.  So many people in the world are working towards equal access to basic human needs like food, clean water and shelter, but then I see what I have witnessed these past few days and I wonder if we are making any progress?

Way too big of questions to tackle this late, but will continue to process, and trust that God will provide a renewed sense of spirit when it is needed, just like he did for me today.  I believe that is how many of these people endure their daily lives.