Living the High Life in Kampala!

Greetings from the bush!

Well, I've survived my trek up North. Autumn and I were escorted by a little old Indian man to the city of Arua, which happened to be about an 8 hr drive. Turns out Aut had only met the man a couple days prior, so that added a little excitement to our adventure... Didn't know if we were going to end up in a freezer (not that there are many freezers in this country). Just a side note, I've never felt a bit threatened or nervous in this country, which is definitely more than you can say for the states. Abdoul ended up being super nice and we saw 3 different types of monkeys and several elephant on the way over. AMAZING!! (I wish I could share pictures with you all, but it looks like that will have to wait until I get back home). Abdoul had some business ventures to take care of during the day, he is in the process of opening another petrol station in Arua, so we met up with him in the evenings for dinner and the days were ours to explore. We didn't really do much, but walked around the markets and took in the sights. Let me tell you that the climate in the North is definitely hotter than it is in the south. Oh, and Abdoul actually took us to the DRC (Congo) border which was pretty sweet.

So we arrived back in Kampala on Friday night and I met some of Autumn's friends. One actually happens to have parents who are very involved in the health profession, so I sat down with them before I headed back to the bush to try and get some info. on the clinic that we're starting up in Kyetume. They were both extremely helpful and the process looks promising pending a Rotary World Aide grant.

So, I'm definitely back in the bush. Autumn doesn't realize how good she has it! She stays at a very nice place (with toilets, running water, and a shower) with amazing views of Lake Victoria. I think I managed to eat my way through Kampala while there, so the carb diet is actually a welcomed respite.

Not a whole lot to report, however we've had a few funerals the past week. Our AIDS patient passed away on Saturday, so that was a shot to the heart. Her children have a long road ahead of them as orphans, so that's definitely a bummer. We are trying to do all we can here to help ease their pain. Alright, all for now. I might be able to get on the internet more frequently as several people have gone home.

Talk soon.