Uganda

I made it safely to Uganda and am staying with the Omanyo family who are so wonderful. Davis works for CRWRC, Beth is a physical therapist and they have four girls in high school and college, two of whom I met this morning. To say the plane ride was long yesterday would be a huge understatement. From Seattle to Entebbe (including a four hour layover in Amsterdam) it took almost 23 hours to get here.

So far, I'm feeling healthy over all, just a little tired and my stomach is a little off, but I think the most noteworthy thing that has happened in my 12 hours of being here, is me having to face one of my biggest fears within minutes of landing in Uganda.

As we landed, the flight attendant came on the PA, welcomed us to Uganda, gave time and temp and then said "We were surprised as we landed to see a billion bugs outside the plane." I thought that maybe he was exaggerating or that maybe enormity of a billion got confused in translation, but what I saw out the window truly was bugs of biblical, locust-like proportions! Like a snow storm, they had descended on the Entebbe airport; their clicking wings were almost deafening and not only did they almost block the light from the lamp posts with their army like numbers, they covered the ground completely so that every step I took was done with a dramatic and deathly crunch.

The thought of staying on the plane another minute was slightly worse than the bugs, so I decided to get off. I got off and headed towards the baggage claim. It may not sound like a big deal, but having to walk through a sea of them, crunching them underfoot, really was a challenge for me, but one I am proud to say I survived. I made it through and thanked God for the fact they didn't have any stingers, got my bag (which is always a huge victory that it made it all the way from Seattle) found the driver and went to the Omanyo's house. Day one in Uganda, done!

So today is day two and I am at the CRWRC office this morning settling in a little, checking email, etc. It's good to be here. I think Uganda will be my home for a few weeks, and then possibly off to Kenya. I'm really looking forward to writing and having the privilege of hearing people's stories. Internet access is great here in the office, so hopefully I'll be updating my blog often, maybe even daily. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. When you see a bug today, think of me :)

-Kristen