It's Christmas Eve day. Doesn't feel too much like Christmas around here. We're celebrating Christmas Eve with the Norwegians in Buziga. Lot's of Norwegian traditions that we are experiencing. Going to start by having a Christmas pastry for breakfast, porridge for lunch, go out for dinner, then come back to have dessert and open presents. Tomorrow night the Australians and us are hosting a volunteer dinner at Suubi (potluck style). It's going to be lots of fun. Just got back from watching the Christmas Cantata "The Tale of Three Kings" at Watoto Church. It was absolutley amazing.
Went to Speke resort on our day off on Monday. Got gloriously sunburnt. Don't know how well we're achieving our goal of being black. Although the smoke and ash that blew in over us might help. Don't know what it was from, but it really affected me. I totally lost my voice yesterday. On my way to recovery now. People can actually understand me when I speak now. Also got to see our first monkey at the resort. He was so cute jumping along the wall. Mike (our main taxi driver) told us about a place in Entebbe where you can feed monkeys. Might have to go check that out sometime.
Security is getting pretty tight around here. Terrorist threats increase as Christmas nears. Keep praying for our safety and for the safety of all Ugandans. Thanks again for all the love and prayers.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Let it snow let it snow -CDB
Well I don't think we are getting any snow here, but at least you guys back in Smithers are :) 27* vs your -5, jealous? I wouldn't be, well its not to hot i suppose, but Christmas just won't be the same!!
So its been just about a week since we last updated this, this would be due to a not so hot internet connection out at Suubi (it only works when we don't care to go online!!) Other then that Suubi is great, and lots of the kids from bullrushes are moving out to Suubi sometime this week!! I'm so excited, it will just make Suubi that much better!! On friday they took out a kiddie pool in the yard so I sat and played in it with them, and for the first time in my life i got tanned not burned!! jealous? lol. But i didn't drink hardly any water so i got really dehydrated, hardly slept at all that night, so i spent all of saturday in bed, sunday i got to sleep in and by the afternoon i was feeling fine. Monday a bunch of the babies moved into the village so that was cool, and we will hopefully get to go and visit them sometime. Monday evening 7 volunteers from Suubi went into town to watch The voyage of the Dawn Treader and have dinner. Tuesday was the day of the staff Christmas party, wow what a day!! We had no idea what was happening untill 9:30 when the bus showed up, had to get all the kids ready and went into town with every kid and nanny and volunteer, got to Bullrushes and fed them lunch then they where put to bed and we ate a quick lunch and went to take over from Beatrice who was looking after all 11 special needs and 7 babies by herself, who where in a new environment with no cribs to sleep in, needless to say they didn't sleep all that much, i was holding one of the babies from bullrushes when i got recruited to help the other volunteers with the other rooms (hippos :D) so i went and sat out by the pool while Kristine changed diapers and Nannie made bottles, I tried leaving Divine to change the elephants who had no helper but everytime i left divine screamed so loud so i only changed 2, in the end I ended up give 11 kids bottles, and feeding 10 kids there afternoon snack, single handedly!! now thats life skills!! Amie and 2 other volunteers where kept quite busy trying to keep the 18 Suubi kids happy while the nannies enjoyed their party... We finally got home at 6:30 working almost 12 hrs, what a long day!! We slept good last night!! This morning we worked and then at lunch time left and took a boda (motorcycle) and matatu (taxi/bus) in to town and Amie and I walked up to the Muzungu (white people) mall and enjoyed a excellent internet connection :D
Lately we have been discussing how things are different here and what we will have to get used to back at home
1. Not being like royallty and having kids come running waving at us, and everyone asking how we are.
2. We don't refer to people based on their skin colour -Muzungu
3. Flagging down cars for rides
4. Bardering is not normal
5. the difference between dollars and shillings you 1,000 shillings vs .50cents (i've already said $50,000 numerous times)
Greetings from Africa
Christina Dawn
So its been just about a week since we last updated this, this would be due to a not so hot internet connection out at Suubi (it only works when we don't care to go online!!) Other then that Suubi is great, and lots of the kids from bullrushes are moving out to Suubi sometime this week!! I'm so excited, it will just make Suubi that much better!! On friday they took out a kiddie pool in the yard so I sat and played in it with them, and for the first time in my life i got tanned not burned!! jealous? lol. But i didn't drink hardly any water so i got really dehydrated, hardly slept at all that night, so i spent all of saturday in bed, sunday i got to sleep in and by the afternoon i was feeling fine. Monday a bunch of the babies moved into the village so that was cool, and we will hopefully get to go and visit them sometime. Monday evening 7 volunteers from Suubi went into town to watch The voyage of the Dawn Treader and have dinner. Tuesday was the day of the staff Christmas party, wow what a day!! We had no idea what was happening untill 9:30 when the bus showed up, had to get all the kids ready and went into town with every kid and nanny and volunteer, got to Bullrushes and fed them lunch then they where put to bed and we ate a quick lunch and went to take over from Beatrice who was looking after all 11 special needs and 7 babies by herself, who where in a new environment with no cribs to sleep in, needless to say they didn't sleep all that much, i was holding one of the babies from bullrushes when i got recruited to help the other volunteers with the other rooms (hippos :D) so i went and sat out by the pool while Kristine changed diapers and Nannie made bottles, I tried leaving Divine to change the elephants who had no helper but everytime i left divine screamed so loud so i only changed 2, in the end I ended up give 11 kids bottles, and feeding 10 kids there afternoon snack, single handedly!! now thats life skills!! Amie and 2 other volunteers where kept quite busy trying to keep the 18 Suubi kids happy while the nannies enjoyed their party... We finally got home at 6:30 working almost 12 hrs, what a long day!! We slept good last night!! This morning we worked and then at lunch time left and took a boda (motorcycle) and matatu (taxi/bus) in to town and Amie and I walked up to the Muzungu (white people) mall and enjoyed a excellent internet connection :D
Lately we have been discussing how things are different here and what we will have to get used to back at home
1. Not being like royallty and having kids come running waving at us, and everyone asking how we are.
2. We don't refer to people based on their skin colour -Muzungu
3. Flagging down cars for rides
4. Bardering is not normal
5. the difference between dollars and shillings you 1,000 shillings vs .50cents (i've already said $50,000 numerous times)
Greetings from Africa
Christina Dawn
Thursday, December 9, 2010
December 9 - AKM
We're all settled into Suubi. I absolutley love it here. The air is so much cleaner, the view is beautiful and we live right above the baby home so we don't have to pay for taxis. Kids are so much fun. They're all older and can walk around. Apparently the older kids from Bulrushes are supposed to be moving here sometime soon. Not sure exactly when. They are trying to make Suubi more of their main baby home and Bulrushes more for kids who need to be closer to the hospital.
Went to the church right in the village. Was much smaller than Watoto Central Church. I think I like being in the smaller group. I found the big group and big lights slightly distracting at the other church. They are both good though.
This evening we just came back from the Childrens Cantata. Was so fantastic. Told the christmas story and also included a unique adventure for the wise men. They were very lost and were flying all over the world looking for the baby Jesus. Such a funny story. The kids did a great job. Only a few little oopsies like wise mens hats falling off. Very glad we went. Hopefully we can see the adults Cantata as well.
Planning some swimming for the kids here. Already have grown attached to the babies here. Keep praying that we can make good connections with these children and show them love. Thanks for all the support back home.
~Amie
Went to the church right in the village. Was much smaller than Watoto Central Church. I think I like being in the smaller group. I found the big group and big lights slightly distracting at the other church. They are both good though.
This evening we just came back from the Childrens Cantata. Was so fantastic. Told the christmas story and also included a unique adventure for the wise men. They were very lost and were flying all over the world looking for the baby Jesus. Such a funny story. The kids did a great job. Only a few little oopsies like wise mens hats falling off. Very glad we went. Hopefully we can see the adults Cantata as well.
Planning some swimming for the kids here. Already have grown attached to the babies here. Keep praying that we can make good connections with these children and show them love. Thanks for all the support back home.
~Amie
Friday, December 3, 2010
Ssuubi -CDB
Ok so Tuesday we went to work and Amie wasn't feeling well so we went home early and both had naps, which probably was a mistake, because come bed time I wasn't tired at all! Tuesday night we went and tried to straighten my hair and blew a fuse on our transformer, put in a new fuse, tried that again... blew that one too, tried it with out the transformer and destroyed the surge protector... smoke, sparks and a blown breaker. What we learned from this? hair straightners are not on the next trips packing list!! And hopefully ill go home with a working one!! As for the transformer we can buy new fuses for like .15cents so thats no problem and hopefully there aren't any surges!!
Wednesday we went to work, and had a volunteer meeting at the church, It was basically a workshop on child care protection, and met some other volunteers, one girl from vanderhoof, what are the chances? After the meeting we went to the craft market and bought some gifts for our advent calendar with the norweigens, then we went to go have a birthday dinner with all the volunteers.
Thursday was our day off and we honestly did nothing, sat around, read and slept which was a nice change. Then today, Friday, we went to work and they have a bunch of nannies being trained so there where like 6 people in each room it was crazy!! I started feeling sick though so we went home at 12:30, and missed the best lunch of the week, just fyi, every work place the employer supplies the meals for the employees, great idea right? Anyways we missed Rolex, which is egg wrapped in a chapati... so good!! Went home and had a nap, and when i woke up i found out that we are moving to Ssuubi, I am glad we are moving but it would have been nice to stay in Kampala for december as we where busy planning christmas stuff with the norweigens... but we can hopefully come back for christmas day... so that will be good. So we spent the afternoon repacking everything we had and decided that we would go with the girls and mitch to the beach for the evening as it was our last night with mitch and with the girls for a little while. So tomorrow we finish packing and hopefully are picked up around 2pm, which could be anytime between 2-4... pray for us to be able to settle in again, and to get to know the kids! We won't have internet there so we won't be updating that often, if you would like to send us mail, which we would love!! Our address is
Watoto Kampala
attn: Christina/Amie
box 26366
Kampala, Uganda
On top of the no internet we also won't have a washing machine, and more often then not, electricity and a shower!!
God bless you all!! and thanks for your prayers!
-Christina Dawn
Wednesday we went to work, and had a volunteer meeting at the church, It was basically a workshop on child care protection, and met some other volunteers, one girl from vanderhoof, what are the chances? After the meeting we went to the craft market and bought some gifts for our advent calendar with the norweigens, then we went to go have a birthday dinner with all the volunteers.
Thursday was our day off and we honestly did nothing, sat around, read and slept which was a nice change. Then today, Friday, we went to work and they have a bunch of nannies being trained so there where like 6 people in each room it was crazy!! I started feeling sick though so we went home at 12:30, and missed the best lunch of the week, just fyi, every work place the employer supplies the meals for the employees, great idea right? Anyways we missed Rolex, which is egg wrapped in a chapati... so good!! Went home and had a nap, and when i woke up i found out that we are moving to Ssuubi, I am glad we are moving but it would have been nice to stay in Kampala for december as we where busy planning christmas stuff with the norweigens... but we can hopefully come back for christmas day... so that will be good. So we spent the afternoon repacking everything we had and decided that we would go with the girls and mitch to the beach for the evening as it was our last night with mitch and with the girls for a little while. So tomorrow we finish packing and hopefully are picked up around 2pm, which could be anytime between 2-4... pray for us to be able to settle in again, and to get to know the kids! We won't have internet there so we won't be updating that often, if you would like to send us mail, which we would love!! Our address is
Watoto Kampala
attn: Christina/Amie
box 26366
Kampala, Uganda
On top of the no internet we also won't have a washing machine, and more often then not, electricity and a shower!!
God bless you all!! and thanks for your prayers!
-Christina Dawn
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