Boy am I tired but all in all the journey getting to
Mbale, Uganda was a success. I started
this lovely adventure on Friday the 13th…. Sketch right? I woke up
around 4:30am and that was a bit of a struggle.
My dad being the good dad he is put all of my luggage into the car and
then I was off. There was a lot of
morning traffic so I was panicking the whole time but my mom reassured that I
would make it on time. Mom knows best and I made it to the airport
by 7 am and I am really glad I was there early.
My original flight plan was to start in Seattle, fly to Texas, then
London, then Nairobi, then Entebbe. My
flight from Seattle to Dallas was delayed and I wouldn’t have been able to
catch my connecting flight to London on time so they put me on an 8:30 flight
to Chicago then to London and then everything else stayed the same. I was happy about this cause that changed
allowed me to be in London for an hour longer!! Anyways, I said my goodbyes to
my mom and I was off. Plenty of tears
were shed during that moment and I felt like a little baby but this is my first
time so far away from my family so I was just a little bit emotional.
The
flights were great!! Traveling internationally wasn’t as bad as I thought it
was going to be. My flight to Chicago
was like 4 hours so a little long but somehow I managed to sleep the whole
thing. I woke up the last 45 min of
it and my ears were pounding. I have
never had trouble with my ears hurting during flights but I am sick so that
probably had something to do with it. My layover in Chicago was alright. My layover was about 3 hours so I had jut enough time to eat and try to charge my phone. It was a little bit of a struggle to actually get it to charge. First I had to go buy a charger because mine broke and second there were no outlet tables available… soooooo I had to sit down
on the airport floor. GROSS!! I was not
happy about it and was trying to decide if charging my phone was all that
important but I knew that if I didn't I would regret it. I was also eating so that
made it even better. I felt homeless and I didn’t like it haha but oh well I guess it made
for a little story.
My next flight was
to London and that was about 8 hours. I was thinking it was going to be miserable but it was actually great. I don’t know how but I slept for like 80% of that flight. I
slept, watched a movie, slept again and I was there!!
London
was fun!! My aunt Joy came and picked me up and showed me her neck of the
woods. We were going to go to the city
but it was the Queen’s birthday so there was too much happening and she didn’t
want me to miss my flight… I was a little bummed but Oxford was fun too!! I was
with her for like 4 hours so a quick little visit but it was nice to get out of
the airport. My next flight was London
to Nairobi, which was about 8 hours as well, and what do you know?? I slept
once again. Haha I don’t know what it is but planes just make me sleepy, I
wasn’t tired until I got on the plane but it makes for quicker trips.
I arrived in Nairobi and that is where I met up with other
people that flew down for HELP international as well... I thought I saw them in London but wasnt quite sure soo the initial hello i'm Keza was a little weird, but whatever. So Africa. Let me just tell you
that the people in here don’t really believe in deodorant and I’m not quite sure
how I feel about it haha actually I know... I think it is gross and that is
something I will never understand but as long as I smell good all is well. We waited in this room
for like 30 min before we could board our next plane. The room was hot, humid, and smelt
awful. Welcome to Africa!!
We got to Entebbe and I couldn’t have been more excited!!! In the
back of my mind I was still dreading the 4 hour drive to Entebbe that we had to take but that was
the least of my worries. We landed, got
off the plane; went to get our luggage and Thank God all my luggage was there. Both my bags were like the first off the
little conveyer belt. I feel really bad
though cause one guy on our team lost one of his bags and this girl lost two of
her bags!!! It sucked and there was nothing we could really do about it. I feel like in America they kinda do whatever
they can to ensure your stuff gets back to you but in Africa it was kinda like
“oh this happens all the time you will get it to you eventually” attitude. So that was a little frustrating.
We
left the airport and went to this hostel to put all our stuff away. We were there by like 10:30ish but we had to
stay in Entebbe because there was another girl flying in at one. So we hung out there, went to a market and
got some fruit and then back to the hostel to chill out which was nice. We went back to the airport at like 1 and
little did we know that this girl’s flight was delayed. We didn’t see her until 3 almost 4. #pissed.
We were starving and tired and it was humid and just miserable. Once we got her
we waited another hour or so to get the lost luggage. Only Chris got his which was great but then
sad too because Katelyn still didn’t have hers.
After
we were all together we went back to the hostel to get all of our luggage. We
loaded up our green machine (our car) and we were off for our drive to
Mbale. Our leader Todd said that that
ride was going to be the best taxi ride we would have the entire time we were in Africa. He said that the taxis are mare for 14 people but there are usually 20-25 people…. So I am looking forward to
that haha but besides that the drive was interesting. Let me just back up and
talk about our “Green Machine”. The
sketchiest thing I have ever seen. It
also sounds like it is on its last limb or maybe shouldn’t even be
driving. It takes about 2 minutes to
start up each time and can only drive at a 0 incline, if there is even the
least bit we won’t make it. haha so
knowing that background, we were all praying that this interesting vehicle
would last 7 hours and get us to our destination.
We drove past Kampala which was CRAZY!!!
There was sooo much going on and just driving past it stressed me out haha there
were so many bright lights, loud music and not everyone was playing the same
music. There were literally people
EVERYWHERE!!! Also another random thing, there are cows just chillin with the
people, like its normal to see cows and people together. It’s strange but I love it.
Also there are goats and chickens everywhere as well haha It’s so cool though
cause that would absolutely never happen in America haha Maybe an hour or so
after Kampala, our driver Mr. Steven wanted to check on our suitcases to make
sure nothing had fallen off. All was
good so we got back into the car and Mr. Steven tried to start the Green
Machine and it didn’t start….. and to top it off it started smoking. So that was
great. Mr. Steven had no oil in his car; we put two liters in it, which I guess
is a lot. He also picked garbage off the
street, stuffed it in some holes, got some white masking tape to tape a wire
and WALAAAA the car was back in action and sounded a lot better. Haha Only in Africa does stuff like that happen.
After
our little moment with the “Green Machine” we got back on the road and we were
off. It was probably like another 2
maybe three hours before we got to the house. It felt so great to pull up to
our house!! We got a tour of our new house for the next 5 weeks, met our new group
members, and unpacked a little bit. I
also took a shower which was great!!! I hadn’t showered in like 3 days and I
just felt nasty. We were allowed to take
a hot shower but that didn’t happen. The water was cold and there was barely
any water coming out but whatever I was clean.
It was a very eventful day and I am so glad I made it here safely!! Everyone is sleeping now and me, Paige and Todd are up
still. Little side note before I go to
sleep. A giant bug just flew in our
living room and I almost had a heart attack.
Todd just went to find out where they are coming from and they are
coming in through the kitchen door. They are so gross!!! Also they fly but they
also lose their wings and can crawl. So
basically they transform which is nasty.
Anyways it’s like 3am here so I should probably try to sleep
now.
I still can’t believe I am in Africa! It is crazy but I have
loved everything so far!!
Peace out homies!! Until tomorrow! :)
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