A whirlwind of a week

August 31 (I'm going to date these bc I'm writing them at the orphanage but won't be able to upload them until we go to town)

I'm here at Ekisa! Oh, and it's wonderful - the staff, the other volunteers, and of course the kids!

I already feel like I've been here for several days, yesterday was forever long! The drive to Jinja (only 120 kilometers) away took us a good 3 hours to get to, but in comparison to the 10 and 8 hour plane rides, it was nothing:) When we got here I was I thrown right in meeting everyone and started playing with the kids. That's essentially what we do is just spend time with the kids and love on them, which is great. School starts next week (they were on 'holiday') and a couple of our kids are mainstreamed in a local elementary school, which is awesome! I hope one day I can go check it out:) But for the kids that stay here and can't go to school, because of their lack of special ed classrooms, Emily, one of the girls who started Ekisa, is making lesson plans to do with them here. I'm also really excited about this for the opportunity to help and experience this kind of "classroom". Sure makes me thankful for programs in the US available for kids with special needs:) and that I getto go home and be a part of it!

Then last night we went to a restaurant that overlooked the Nile; it was beautiful! And while we were there we saw a red tailed monkey climbing around in a tree, first siting of wildlife:) Then coming home we didn't get to bed until around 11:15, and I was shocked that I wasn't passed out already from jetlag. Little did I know that it would catch up with me this morning as I slept until 12 haha! I guess it was good for me.

After waking up, we went to a cafe in town to get internet and it was such a cute little place. I loved it:) And over the course of being there for an hour, 3 people, including their pastor (who is from Roanoke, and of course a tech fan haha), came in that the other two girls knew. It was a fun feeling, because it gave me the small- town, Berryville feel of knowing everyone who walks in the door, and such a sense of community, which I am so excited to become a part of:)

Now here's to answers to questions that people have had and other things I've have learned:

- there are 22 or 23 kids here total and range from 3 months to about 11 or 12 years

- the kids disabilities also vary a lot - everywhere from CP, Downs Syndrome, language delays, physical disabilities, TBIs, intellectual disabilities, autism, to spina bifida - but they are all absolutely beautiful and created just the way God intended:) 

- I'm staying in a room in the orphanage for the volunteers and it is so much better than expected..Yay! There are cold showers, but that doesn't come as a shock.

- there is a washing machine, also, yay!

- they drive on the left side of the road

- there aren't as many mosquitoes as I thought there would be

- the roads and dirt everywhere really is a red clay (note to Dad)

- most public transportation are boda bodas, aka the back of a motorcycle, or matatus, aka a van

- the kids and staff call all of the volunteers and white staff, "Auntie ____" and the Ugandan staff are called "Mama___". Everyone has a hard time saying Brecklyn, so I'm called "Auntie B" :) 

September 2

Today I went to church for the first time and I was thrown right into leading Sunday school for the baby class. I kind of wished I had gotten to hear the sermon, especially since it was my first Sunday, but I guess there are plenty to come:) 

The past week has been hard on the staff and other volunteers, because on Monday a little guy named Jojo passed away pretty unexpectedly.then on top of that another little guy named Sam, who has sickle cell, went into crisis and had to be taken to the hospital in Kampala and has been there since Wednesday. So since then there has been at least one or two staff there and always a fear for the worst. He has been going up and down in terms of getting better but we are hoping he'll be coming home soon.

Things I've learned in the past two days:

- Jinja is absolutely beautiful (I'd upload pictures, but hey guess what all that stuff is in my other bag which is still MIA - I'm not sure that truly captures the frustration I'm feeling towards the airports)

- there is a pretty good Chinese restaurant right down the road from us

- there is a cow field across the street (note to Hardesty's) :)

- I have a phone, and it's one of the old school Nokia ones that has snake on it! But I'm not sure my number haha

- the kids can be quite sassy and know how to work it to get what they want, but let's be real what kid hasn't mastered that:)

September 4 

First up, I got my bag yesterday! Ahh, this is going to make these next three months much more bearable haha:)

Yesterday should have been our first day of "school" but it was a bit chaotic  so we started today:) Yesterday a couple of the kids were sick so I went with Emily to take 3 of them to the doctors..what an experience and let's just say I'm grateful for American medicine haha. For school we are breaking it into sessions per say, and we have 2 in the morning, and 1 in the afternoon. It's going to be really fun, and Emily is letting me do a lot with teaching and helping with ideas and stuff which is great! 

Right now I'm sitting in a little cafe called The Keep during the kids lunch and nap time. I also wanted to get into town because usually we eat what the kids do for lunch, but today they were these little fish over rice, so I decided against it haha, apparently it's every tuesday, so Tuesdays may become a popular town day for me. But I came into town by myself on a boda boda :) we have a driver who knows everyone at Ekisa, William, so I called him and he came to pick me up. Since I have a skirt on, this required me to sit sideways on the back of a dirt bike, essentially, and ride to town. I was slightly panicked the whole time to say the least haha.  Drivers here are crazy, pass whenever, use no turn signals, and honk at each other all the time. But nobody's that aggressive or mean like you get in the U.S. Everyone here is so friendly and I have gotten used to being pointed at by kids and being called 'musungo' meaning white person haha. It's funny though because everyone speaks English but people talk very slow and completely enunciate each word. Usually everyone says hi to each other and the question to follow is 'how are you?' which is replied 'I am fine and you?.' It makes me smile because every is very rote but really fun. 

Love you all and thanks for wanting to stay updated! I'm still trying to process everything thats really going on, but for now this is it!!