Last Little Bit of Uganda

One of the reasons I've been so delayed in writing this post is that the rainy season started early this year in Uganda.. we had thunderstorms all weekend and just got sunshine for the first time on Tuesday! This fog is no joke- the network has been down and it's been hard to get work done (also because all I want to do is curl up with a good book!). However, the Ugandans see it as the opposite- rainy season means it's time to start planting, so they've been out and about in their gardens in the early morning.

Finally, some sunshine- the only thing missing from this picture is the sound of the generator that has to power the entire hospital and its offices on days that the power is out. We are located between the sewing room and the laundry room, so there are always people milling about when we are in the office (hard at work, of course). Also, notice the three phone numbers on the sign- I have yet to meet a Ugandan with only one cell phone number. Even I have two phones and three numbers!

Moreen, the woman who takes care of the guest houses on the hospital campus, has convinced herself that I am going to starve in Uganda. Not for lack of food, of course, but because in these last weeks I've gotten tired of beans, cabbage, and rice. So sometimes she feeds me avocados the size of my face to make sure I'm getting enough nutrition.

Here we are visiting our friend Happy's home in a village about an hour off of the highway and two hours from Ishaka. It was a long day, filled with lots of milk and potatoes, but it was so nice to be welcomed into her home and to see their farm and way of life. This warm hospitality is something I will really miss about being in Uganda!

Here I am with Susan, the Ishaka Health Plan secretary, finance officer, liaisons officer- she does pretty much everything! Susan has been so so helpful to me and Alex during our time in the office. She keeps us up on all of the gossip and also lets us know what's happening as far as office finances and relationships with groups enrolled in the health plan. Not so obvious in the picture is Muhango Daryl- the baby that Susan is carrying (and will deliver very very soon!!). Since we like to joke that her baby will be named after me, and since I told her today that I was very fat as a baby, then we decided an appropriate name would be Muhango Daryl- Fat Daryl. 

I will miss Susan, Muhango Daryl, and Uganda so so much- we are leaving Ishaka in five days, and I will be back home in Memphis in one week (after over 24 hours of traveling- blech). It's crazy! I've had such a fabulous experience here and am so fortunate that I got to spend my summer in such a sweet town in a wonderful country. The people here are among the friendliest I have ever met, and I hope to come back and visit them and eat large avocados with them sometime soon.