Eventful few days!!

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So been busy since I last posted!!! And finally today the weather has been a little cooler and I'm able to function between 12 and 3pm!!

So I mentioned the Italian-American company 'Salini' who are constructing the dam, either way went last Friday round their camp just outside Jinja, was kinda strange but nice! They are very hospitable but you get the feeling that if you bad mouth them then you'd be killed in your sleep! So we are told that the United Nations are coming to give their approval to the dam over the weekend, and they want to see the orphange etc where all the moneys going to. So Friday did a mad dash to Kampala to try and find some nice clothes (impossible in Uganda - but did get some makeup which is something!) and found ourselves on the Fri night having drinks with 4 UN people including the Prime Minister of Burundi (yes I know you've never heard of the place! I hadn't either, google it!!!) which was a little surreal and showing them around the orphange on the Saturday.

After too many hours of smiling and saying all the right things we went camping to Hairy Lemon which was great, a proper get away. Swam in the nile then found out there wasn't any showers there so smelt baaad for the rest of the trip. It was very quiet, just a few kyakers there (they go up and down the nile and are very 'extreme').

Got back on Sunday and I was beginning to feel pretty ill, I've had mild food poisoning which quickly turned bad then got a fever and went all stupid! So got dragged to hospital and put on a drip and tested for everything imaginable!! As soon as the Salini guy heard I was ill he insited on coming to the hospital and making the hugest fuss you can imagine (even more than my Mum would have done - yes it is possible to fuss that much). I'm fine now just got bruised hands where they put me on the hugest IV's you've seen. What I couldn't believe is that all the treatment and tests I had, plus I kept the clinic open late on a sunday night all came to less than 30pounds!

Work at the orphange is good, getting to know the kids names now. What has been hard is firstly realising that once the kids are too old for the orphange (7/8yrs) they are either sent back to their extended families (not necessarily a great thing) or else there is physically nothing more that they can do - there is no such thing as an orphange for older kids here. Very hard to think that any good work that's being paid for and done now is probably going to be undone and realistically these kids are probably going to end up on the street. Our currant mission is this one boy, about 3 years old who needs non-emergancy surgery (which will cost about 100quid) which the orphange keep putting off, I think we're going to take him to Kampala and get it done and just pay for it ourselves, it's heartbreaking having this kid crying all day until he falls asleep on you.

So tonight it's all about the Obama celebrations, going to a BBQ and the local bar which should be good, there's some American military guys here who will probably be partying hard I imagine. Then working this week and it's one of the Aussie girls birthdays this Friday so going away for the night quad biking just out of town. Plus got a Salini event and the archbisop of Kampala is coming to approve the dam/orphange so got to attempt to find some appropriate clothes!

Definately over the culture shock now - infact I think if I went into a supermarket and had choice I would be more shocked. Getting used to handwashing everything then ironing everything (to kill the bugs), and to everything taking longer.

Also starting to sleep normally!! Except we're staying next to a big gospel church, which at first was great, got really excited over all the singing, which goes on all night - now I think I might cut the wires to their sound system in the night - they sing the same some for 3-4hrs!

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Comments

[Han]

aahh!! katie, I hope you feel better soon. Thats really scary. Miss you lots and hope you have fun and stay safe. Theres crocs in the nile y'know! Han xxxx