a journal entry... (feel free to laugh out loud, that's why i included it!)
so i am in a guest house in kigali.
with not towels. and geckos.
wearing the same sweatshirt everyday
and clothes for the second or third time!
i didn't even bring bug spray to africa!
really aimee? WOW!
plus i have no pants or shorts, even at night my nightgown makes me vulnerable... to bugs!
bugs. geckos. centipedes. NO bed net. :(
Lord, keep me strong tonight.
and oh ya, i think i smell... welcome to africa!
You are going to stretch me.
i am already uncomfortable.
laughs. cries. smiles. tears.
this semester will contain them all!
(that night sar and i laughed ourself to sleep, because if we didn't we might scream! and don't worry, i am dealing a lot better with all the culture shock now!! :) )
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
AFRICAN RAIN SHOWER. literally.
we arrived at lake bunyoni, aka. the most gorgeous lake ever! it was a windy dit road through lucious forest that then came upon a lake surrounded by tall vibrant green mountains with small houses/ tents around it. the lake itself was mirror-blue with canoes and an island.
the moment we arrived it started raining, then pouring. me, kimber, sar, and dana all got into our swimsuits and washed our hair in rainwater from an african thunderstorm at a resort lake in the mountains! :) amazing!!
so freezing. so cleansing. so a once-in-a-lifetime expereince!
now we are sitting on our porch listening to the rain clank and drip on our tin roof and watch it glide oer the edge in between us adn a view of the lake. the thunder is tumultous and outrageously loud following flashing bolts of lightning across the whole sky. i love it! i feel so blessed!
the moment we arrived it started raining, then pouring. me, kimber, sar, and dana all got into our swimsuits and washed our hair in rainwater from an african thunderstorm at a resort lake in the mountains! :) amazing!!
so freezing. so cleansing. so a once-in-a-lifetime expereince!
now we are sitting on our porch listening to the rain clank and drip on our tin roof and watch it glide oer the edge in between us adn a view of the lake. the thunder is tumultous and outrageously loud following flashing bolts of lightning across the whole sky. i love it! i feel so blessed!
recollections from rwanda
I am back from my 10-day trip to Rwanda. It was awesome, difficult, a blessing, and fun! I am glad to be back in Uganda, where we have a semi-routine, although we are leaving for home stays this Friday! J I will try to sum up what I saw and learned in Rwanda, but there was SO much that I can only try to give you a small piece of what occurred there….
When we left early last Saturday morning I had butterflies in my tummy.
The night before when we were supposed to cram everything into a tiny backpack, there was a power outage for most of the night!!
Thankfully by the grace of God we had a small amount of electricity and were able to SEE what we were packing…
Our drive was about eight hours, across the equator and into Rwanda.
What a difference between Rwanda and Uganda (see my blog for my comparison list!)
The trip was AWESOME in so many ways.
It was a great chance for all of the American usp students to bond!
I feel like I can integrate into the ucu community much more confidently now that I have formed good friendships and am comfortable that I am supported here!
I can’t believe all the cool people that I was able to meet and the places I was able to go!
What a BLESSING!!
I went across the equator; was welcomed into a rural church in kibungo; met the Bishop of Gahini (where the East Africa Revival began); visited the national genocide museum in kigali and a memorial site of a school massacre outside Butarre; went to a lecture at the national university of Rwanda; listened to the stories of two genocide survivors who had amazing testimonies and even ate dinner with one; went to awesome ministries like an orphanage, a women’s center, and a missionary business called “cards for Africa;” heard from lawyers from the gacaca process (of reconciliation post-genocide); and lastly the mufti of Rwanda about inter-faith dialogue. WOW!
I never would have learned so much nor had such amazing contacts if I had not come as a student… I felt so blessed to have such opportunities.
The trip was DIFFICUILT in that I stopped feeling ecstatic about being in Africa, and realized that it was to be my daily life for four whole months. The laundry, clothes, food, and bugs weren’t going away anytime soon! J I felt homesick a lot, especially when I felt most out of my comfort zone. I miss my family… I love each of you… more than I thought I did!! J honestly, one of the hardest personal (and yet most insignificant and lame) struggles that I had was with how much I wish I had packed to Uganda and especially Rwanda. I had only three skirts and three shirts for ten days… and did no laundry. My clothes were awful and dirty (actually my roomie and I did laundry tonight and we saw the BROWN water!), it was very easy to start complaining and fantasizing about food or clothes that I wanted from home. But I realized that I consciously had to hold my tongue… because how selfish is it to think so much about myself in light of what I was learning and seeing.
The trip was FUN because I got to hang out with forty awesome people. And I formed some really great friendships. I got especially close to Sarah and Kimberly (my roomie), and we shared lots of good laughs and conversations. “11 touches”- it is psychologically proven that it is necessary to have 11 physical touches from people in one day to be right in the head J … before I was lacking this, but many girls filled that gap for me this week!! From sharing a bed with someone to simply getting a hug, or a sweet back rub, it was very great!! Plus shower times… always a way to bond… washing each others hair and taking swimsuit showers in an african thunderstorm. BONDING!! J
i love you all. and would love to hear from you, although it is sometimes hard to reply!! :)
God Bless!
When we left early last Saturday morning I had butterflies in my tummy.
The night before when we were supposed to cram everything into a tiny backpack, there was a power outage for most of the night!!
Thankfully by the grace of God we had a small amount of electricity and were able to SEE what we were packing…
Our drive was about eight hours, across the equator and into Rwanda.
What a difference between Rwanda and Uganda (see my blog for my comparison list!)
The trip was AWESOME in so many ways.
It was a great chance for all of the American usp students to bond!
I feel like I can integrate into the ucu community much more confidently now that I have formed good friendships and am comfortable that I am supported here!
I can’t believe all the cool people that I was able to meet and the places I was able to go!
What a BLESSING!!
I went across the equator; was welcomed into a rural church in kibungo; met the Bishop of Gahini (where the East Africa Revival began); visited the national genocide museum in kigali and a memorial site of a school massacre outside Butarre; went to a lecture at the national university of Rwanda; listened to the stories of two genocide survivors who had amazing testimonies and even ate dinner with one; went to awesome ministries like an orphanage, a women’s center, and a missionary business called “cards for Africa;” heard from lawyers from the gacaca process (of reconciliation post-genocide); and lastly the mufti of Rwanda about inter-faith dialogue. WOW!
I never would have learned so much nor had such amazing contacts if I had not come as a student… I felt so blessed to have such opportunities.
The trip was DIFFICUILT in that I stopped feeling ecstatic about being in Africa, and realized that it was to be my daily life for four whole months. The laundry, clothes, food, and bugs weren’t going away anytime soon! J I felt homesick a lot, especially when I felt most out of my comfort zone. I miss my family… I love each of you… more than I thought I did!! J honestly, one of the hardest personal (and yet most insignificant and lame) struggles that I had was with how much I wish I had packed to Uganda and especially Rwanda. I had only three skirts and three shirts for ten days… and did no laundry. My clothes were awful and dirty (actually my roomie and I did laundry tonight and we saw the BROWN water!), it was very easy to start complaining and fantasizing about food or clothes that I wanted from home. But I realized that I consciously had to hold my tongue… because how selfish is it to think so much about myself in light of what I was learning and seeing.
The trip was FUN because I got to hang out with forty awesome people. And I formed some really great friendships. I got especially close to Sarah and Kimberly (my roomie), and we shared lots of good laughs and conversations. “11 touches”- it is psychologically proven that it is necessary to have 11 physical touches from people in one day to be right in the head J … before I was lacking this, but many girls filled that gap for me this week!! From sharing a bed with someone to simply getting a hug, or a sweet back rub, it was very great!! Plus shower times… always a way to bond… washing each others hair and taking swimsuit showers in an african thunderstorm. BONDING!! J
i love you all. and would love to hear from you, although it is sometimes hard to reply!! :)
God Bless!
Friday, August 31, 2007
traveling to rwanda
i am leaving for rwanda tomorrow, for over a week.
it is supposed to be very emotional, if you know anything about the genocide, we will see lots of post peace and memorials.
i love all of you.
please continue to pray for relationships to form that are godly, and for adjustment into this culture and place.
thanks all.
i will post pics as soon as i can!
love aimee
it is supposed to be very emotional, if you know anything about the genocide, we will see lots of post peace and memorials.
i love all of you.
please continue to pray for relationships to form that are godly, and for adjustment into this culture and place.
thanks all.
i will post pics as soon as i can!
love aimee
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
expectations vs. dreams
everyone knows the devastation of broken expectations.
and everyone tries to avoid setting themselves up for disappointments by not allowing themselves to expect anything.
but i would like to meet someone who has been successful at that.
it is impossible (at least for me) to go into a situation tabula rosa.
tv clips. conversations. pictures. classes. all these leave an imprint on your mind, even if you don't know it or want it there.
implicit and explicit expectations.
i tried my hardest not to have expectations, which wasn't entirely difficult on a specific basis (since i knew hardly anything about the trip), but i found that i had many.
you don't realize what expectations you had, until it is not met.
and in creeps the disappointment. failure feeling. and frustration.
we had a talk about these and i just wrote a paper about mine.
it was very helpful to identify them so that i can recognize that they may happen and God may have different plans. :)
also tonight my friend sarah talked about a "dream"
and that frame of mind is what i believe should be taken instead of creating an expectation of any situation (because who can honestly know what to expect!).
to have a dream is different than having an expectation.
because a dream is a hope or desire, that you wish to be fulfilled but are not counting on it or thinking it will complete your life.
an expectation on the other hand is something that you think will happen and assume that it will happen. so much so that when it doesn't you don't know how to feel or react.
it was a very enlightening though process for me.
as many of you know i can become very disappointed when an expected thing fails ot happen.
praise God!
explicit expectations for uganda:
to make friends with USP students
to grow in my relationship with God and concrete my faith
to know God's will for my life after this trip
i think now that those are dreams and hopes for my stay here.
but they cannot realistically be expectations because i have NO idea what God has me here for or what HE wants to do in me or through me.
implicit expectations (the ones you never knew existed until they are uncomfortable or different)
uganda (southern uganda to be specific) is not a destitute or hopeless country
kampala and mukono are not like the villages you see in Invisible Children
the people are not native, they are just like us in so many ways!
expectations can make or break anything, even my semester, so i am thankful that i have at least recognized the change in thought that needs to occur, and pray that i can APPLY this everyday so that i can have an open mind for what God has in store for me!
and everyone tries to avoid setting themselves up for disappointments by not allowing themselves to expect anything.
but i would like to meet someone who has been successful at that.
it is impossible (at least for me) to go into a situation tabula rosa.
tv clips. conversations. pictures. classes. all these leave an imprint on your mind, even if you don't know it or want it there.
implicit and explicit expectations.
i tried my hardest not to have expectations, which wasn't entirely difficult on a specific basis (since i knew hardly anything about the trip), but i found that i had many.
you don't realize what expectations you had, until it is not met.
and in creeps the disappointment. failure feeling. and frustration.
we had a talk about these and i just wrote a paper about mine.
it was very helpful to identify them so that i can recognize that they may happen and God may have different plans. :)
also tonight my friend sarah talked about a "dream"
and that frame of mind is what i believe should be taken instead of creating an expectation of any situation (because who can honestly know what to expect!).
to have a dream is different than having an expectation.
because a dream is a hope or desire, that you wish to be fulfilled but are not counting on it or thinking it will complete your life.
an expectation on the other hand is something that you think will happen and assume that it will happen. so much so that when it doesn't you don't know how to feel or react.
it was a very enlightening though process for me.
as many of you know i can become very disappointed when an expected thing fails ot happen.
praise God!
explicit expectations for uganda:
to make friends with USP students
to grow in my relationship with God and concrete my faith
to know God's will for my life after this trip
i think now that those are dreams and hopes for my stay here.
but they cannot realistically be expectations because i have NO idea what God has me here for or what HE wants to do in me or through me.
implicit expectations (the ones you never knew existed until they are uncomfortable or different)
uganda (southern uganda to be specific) is not a destitute or hopeless country
kampala and mukono are not like the villages you see in Invisible Children
the people are not native, they are just like us in so many ways!
expectations can make or break anything, even my semester, so i am thankful that i have at least recognized the change in thought that needs to occur, and pray that i can APPLY this everyday so that i can have an open mind for what God has in store for me!
Monday, August 27, 2007
ucu.
i am now on the campus of UCU.
my roommate is ironically the same girl that i roomed with in kampala... kimberly. :)
she is awesome and thank you all so much for your prayers for putting me with a special one!
wow.
the campus is BEAUTIFUL!
there are rolling hils and flowers. and brick building!
it seems like a little town full of Christians because there is a church, 4 cafes, houses, etc.
i keep having to remind myself that i am in africa.
today however, was the first day that i finally felt like the MINORITY!
we went to the town of mukono on a scavenger hunt looking for the essentials...
toilet paper (BLUE!)
soap
gum boots (rain boots... yay for puddle stomping!)
and mmore.
everyone looked at us and some honked and waved and def stared.
my favorite part was when we went to the market behind the main roads
because it was exactly how i would have pictured africa.
i love the feeling... but again we were the minority
and there were funky things for sale, like raw meat or gizzards with flys... gross!! :)
rain comes suddenly and HARD!
we were having class in a tin roof classroom and had to leave the class because it was too loud to hear anything! :)
puddle jumping to come very soon!
the food.
breakfast: sweet potatoes and tea
lunch: rice and beans with a purple peanut sauce and today there was beef and corn malt meal stuff
and sometimes sweet potatos and cassava (which is a starchy root... i am eating a root! crazy! :) )
dinner: rice and beans wiht a purple peanut sauce
and tea time at least once a day, in the morning! it is awesome to just break to sit and talk!
and soda in glass bottles is a semi-staple!
i love the food.
good thing i like rice and beans a lot. :)
tonight four of us cut one girls hair really short.
kimberly my roomie did a really good job!
it was so funny because none of us knew what we were doing
we just held pieces up and chopped!!
"thankfully curly hair is forgiving!"
it was tons of fun and a really random, college dorm thing to do!
mosquito nets.
i feel like a princess. protected. secure.
but it is also weird because you feel like a mummy.
when i got up for the bathroom, i didn't let myself look around too much
in fear of finding a gecko or a bug near my bed!
eek!!
thankfully, i have not seen too many.
although, i did kill a cokroach! :)
we are going to rwanda on saturday, so i am not sure when i will write again.
but i am having tons of fun.
i love sarah my friend. i am excited to become better friends these four months! :)
love love love.
aimee
my roommate is ironically the same girl that i roomed with in kampala... kimberly. :)
she is awesome and thank you all so much for your prayers for putting me with a special one!
wow.
the campus is BEAUTIFUL!
there are rolling hils and flowers. and brick building!
it seems like a little town full of Christians because there is a church, 4 cafes, houses, etc.
i keep having to remind myself that i am in africa.
today however, was the first day that i finally felt like the MINORITY!
we went to the town of mukono on a scavenger hunt looking for the essentials...
toilet paper (BLUE!)
soap
gum boots (rain boots... yay for puddle stomping!)
and mmore.
everyone looked at us and some honked and waved and def stared.
my favorite part was when we went to the market behind the main roads
because it was exactly how i would have pictured africa.
i love the feeling... but again we were the minority
and there were funky things for sale, like raw meat or gizzards with flys... gross!! :)
rain comes suddenly and HARD!
we were having class in a tin roof classroom and had to leave the class because it was too loud to hear anything! :)
puddle jumping to come very soon!
the food.
breakfast: sweet potatoes and tea
lunch: rice and beans with a purple peanut sauce and today there was beef and corn malt meal stuff
and sometimes sweet potatos and cassava (which is a starchy root... i am eating a root! crazy! :) )
dinner: rice and beans wiht a purple peanut sauce
and tea time at least once a day, in the morning! it is awesome to just break to sit and talk!
and soda in glass bottles is a semi-staple!
i love the food.
good thing i like rice and beans a lot. :)
tonight four of us cut one girls hair really short.
kimberly my roomie did a really good job!
it was so funny because none of us knew what we were doing
we just held pieces up and chopped!!
"thankfully curly hair is forgiving!"
it was tons of fun and a really random, college dorm thing to do!
mosquito nets.
i feel like a princess. protected. secure.
but it is also weird because you feel like a mummy.
when i got up for the bathroom, i didn't let myself look around too much
in fear of finding a gecko or a bug near my bed!
eek!!
thankfully, i have not seen too many.
although, i did kill a cokroach! :)
we are going to rwanda on saturday, so i am not sure when i will write again.
but i am having tons of fun.
i love sarah my friend. i am excited to become better friends these four months! :)
love love love.
aimee
Saturday, August 25, 2007
uganda. first two days!
hello all!
i am safely in uganda. but beyond this i don't know where to even begin....
the smells and the sights and the food are all AMAZING!
i keep having to remind myself that i am actually in uganda. :)
i didn't expect to email this soon. so here is a brief synopsis of my time here so far!
after 21 hours of flying and meeting 37 awesome people we are in kampala.
last night was rough because although i was exhausted, i could not fall asleep.
i was sleeping under a mosquito net.
but i think it was the time difference and the overwhelmingness of the day hitting me.
i missed you mommy! :)
this morning i woke early (suprisingly) and sat on the veranda with my Bible and the warmth of the sun hitting me!
it was wonderful!
then to top that i off, i got a HOT shower! :) YAY!
(let me tell you- i was is great need of it after all that traveling)
we are sleeping in a guest house that overlooks kampala and lake victoria.
it is beautiful.
everyone ate breakfast and TEA.
then we sat under a straw hut and had our first USP session.
we broke into groups and were able to share why we were here.
very cool!
then we had a tea break.
tea. tea. tea.
i think i am going to like tea!
we drink it at least two times a day!
it hit me later today that the small headache i had was from all the caffeine.
:)
finally, i WILL be a tea drinker! :)
later we went to the tombs of Buganda's kings.
and to the city.
my first impressions of africa are that it is similar to mexico.
def not the same, but similar.
we drive on the other side of the street.
and cars don't stop for you.
it's crazy!
no lines either... (isp no lines song... :)
i am so excited for all the people i have met already!
everyone is so sweet. genuine. and passionate about trying new things and Africa.
seriously, i feel SO blessed!
right now we are all on the internet listening to awesome worship songs being played by people.
and everyone is just singing along.
it is very beautiful!
i sat next to sarah and jason on the plane rides.
sarah has a nikon d40 so we are buddies for sure! :)
i have an awesome roommate for these two days named kimberly.
she is very cool and we both like to journal a lot.
i have also made a dear friend already, named sarah horvath (there are FOUR sarah's!)
we hang out a lot. but still try to branch off to others too.
we have a mutual agreement of our friendship which is so awesome.
and relaxing. and refreshing.
funny story today sarah and i got ice cream in town.
and the minute she licked it, it went SPLAT!
right on the interns foot and on the floor of the restaurant. hehehehe
it was so sad.
so in the picture posted on picasa (sign in as visitor if it asks you)it explains why her ice cream cone looks so pathetically empty!
fun times! :)
i feel blessed already to be with such cool people!
and the program seems to be very cool.
we are heading to UCU tomorrow.
and we are getting our roommates for the semester.
i am excited. but also nervous.
please pray that i would be placed with who God puts me with.
and that i would be content and okay with whoever it is!
sorry if this email is very scattered. it is very hard to concentrate and connect my thoughts.
most importantly... i am safe. and loving it!!
please pray:
that i would not have any expectations. but would experience everyday with an open mind.
for my roommate.
for relationships to form or disintegrate based on who God has me be friends with.
for me to meet God everyday. and of course to have my faith strengthened and q's answered.
that i could sleep tonight!
also, that i would remember to use sunscreen regularly... i am already a little burned!
and PRAISE that i already have some good friends and feel pretty connected! :)
i love you all.
and hope you are doing well!
love aimee
a few pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aimeejane44/UgandaUploadOne
i am safely in uganda. but beyond this i don't know where to even begin....
the smells and the sights and the food are all AMAZING!
i keep having to remind myself that i am actually in uganda. :)
i didn't expect to email this soon. so here is a brief synopsis of my time here so far!
after 21 hours of flying and meeting 37 awesome people we are in kampala.
last night was rough because although i was exhausted, i could not fall asleep.
i was sleeping under a mosquito net.
but i think it was the time difference and the overwhelmingness of the day hitting me.
i missed you mommy! :)
this morning i woke early (suprisingly) and sat on the veranda with my Bible and the warmth of the sun hitting me!
it was wonderful!
then to top that i off, i got a HOT shower! :) YAY!
(let me tell you- i was is great need of it after all that traveling)
we are sleeping in a guest house that overlooks kampala and lake victoria.
it is beautiful.
everyone ate breakfast and TEA.
then we sat under a straw hut and had our first USP session.
we broke into groups and were able to share why we were here.
very cool!
then we had a tea break.
tea. tea. tea.
i think i am going to like tea!
we drink it at least two times a day!
it hit me later today that the small headache i had was from all the caffeine.
:)
finally, i WILL be a tea drinker! :)
later we went to the tombs of Buganda's kings.
and to the city.
my first impressions of africa are that it is similar to mexico.
def not the same, but similar.
we drive on the other side of the street.
and cars don't stop for you.
it's crazy!
no lines either... (isp no lines song... :)
i am so excited for all the people i have met already!
everyone is so sweet. genuine. and passionate about trying new things and Africa.
seriously, i feel SO blessed!
right now we are all on the internet listening to awesome worship songs being played by people.
and everyone is just singing along.
it is very beautiful!
i sat next to sarah and jason on the plane rides.
sarah has a nikon d40 so we are buddies for sure! :)
i have an awesome roommate for these two days named kimberly.
she is very cool and we both like to journal a lot.
i have also made a dear friend already, named sarah horvath (there are FOUR sarah's!)
we hang out a lot. but still try to branch off to others too.
we have a mutual agreement of our friendship which is so awesome.
and relaxing. and refreshing.
funny story today sarah and i got ice cream in town.
and the minute she licked it, it went SPLAT!
right on the interns foot and on the floor of the restaurant. hehehehe
it was so sad.
so in the picture posted on picasa (sign in as visitor if it asks you)it explains why her ice cream cone looks so pathetically empty!
fun times! :)
i feel blessed already to be with such cool people!
and the program seems to be very cool.
we are heading to UCU tomorrow.
and we are getting our roommates for the semester.
i am excited. but also nervous.
please pray that i would be placed with who God puts me with.
and that i would be content and okay with whoever it is!
sorry if this email is very scattered. it is very hard to concentrate and connect my thoughts.
most importantly... i am safe. and loving it!!
please pray:
that i would not have any expectations. but would experience everyday with an open mind.
for my roommate.
for relationships to form or disintegrate based on who God has me be friends with.
for me to meet God everyday. and of course to have my faith strengthened and q's answered.
that i could sleep tonight!
also, that i would remember to use sunscreen regularly... i am already a little burned!
and PRAISE that i already have some good friends and feel pretty connected! :)
i love you all.
and hope you are doing well!
love aimee
a few pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aimeejane44/UgandaUploadOne
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