Leaving Canada

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We're waiting at the airport waiting for our flight to Montreal. It's been an amazing few days. We not only got to know each other as a team, but we also got to know each other as a group. There was team Bulera and team Busoga going to Uganda. I felt like things were off to a good start when my team leader and I went for a drink to debrief about some of the CTF activities and the up coming trip. We had a bit of a surprise Thursday morning but it all turned out ok. It did put us immediately into support mode. We had a really good group bonding evening on Thursday when we went to the Market together to eat. We had an awesome asian fusion dinner with sushi with a Mexican twist at Kinki's restaurant. Delicious! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the culture and history of Ottawa. I enjoyed the purpose, background, and cultural awareness activities. I especially enjoyed BaGa where we were separated into two cultural groups and given rules about behaviour. Then we had to go observe the other group and report back. I also really found our cultural representatives fascinating. Sarah and her brother, father Christof came to visit us and tell us about Uganda. I learned my first phrases in Buganda (the local language near Kampala). Weybali - thank you for service, Mzungu - white person, and Bzungu - white people. I sat beside Father during supper and I didn't burn. I was even able to see Sonya, my university friend. I felt a little bad not going with the others, but I felt like I needed and wanted to see her. It's good to touch base with someone who has known me for 20 years. I'm glad that even after time, distance, and different directions that we are able to connect. I was also able to hang out with my cousin Sonya and our aunt Ursula. Even though I felt like I should have been with the team, I felt like I really wanted to be around my family and especially being around my mom's relatives made me feel closer to my mom. Sunday morning we did laundry, had brunch, and grabbed a can to the airport. I felt like birds leaving the nest. We had done our ground school training, and now we were ready to fly. Literally and figuratively. I'm nervous and excited.

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