Rwenzori Moving School

For the last 2 weeks I've been in Kenya teaching Lilli and Patton (Travis has been attending a medical conference here). I have LOVED spending some time in Kenya where I lived for a summer as an intern 3 years ago. Teaching on the go has been a fun adventure. Here are a few photos from our school days in Kenya!

What I've Noticed

Normally I miss a lot of the things that happen around me as I would not consider myself to be very observant. Last week I actually commented that I miss a lot in Bundibugyo when we are walking because I stare at the ground the entire time looking for lines of Safari Ants to avoid. However, this weekend in Kampala I have noticed a few things…

A truck that said, “Water Is Life” with water gushing out onto the road and into the gutter.

People shoveling raw sewage onto the street (which I noticed because I was looking to see where the dreadful smell was coming from…NOT ok).

A sign in a parking garage that said, “Caution! Flammable Substance!” And my thought was…what?! where!? Is the whole garage going to explode at any moment?! (I quickly found my way to the exit.)

There are SOOOO many signs here that either make NO sense, have numerous misspellings, or are just inappropriate (but usually not on purpose). There will be a blog post in the future with a collection of these signs.

Seeing men walking around carrying automatic riffles just seems normal.

Pulling in front of oncoming traffic doesn’t even cause me to flinch any longer…they’ll stop…usually.

When there is a car accident a mob of people will quickly surround the scene of the accident and all start yelling...hmmmm...I don't get this one.

You can transport ANYTHING on a motorcycle. Seriously...furniture, refrigerators, bikes, a life sized wooden giraffe, live animals, an entire family...seen it all.

Waiting in line for 30 minutes at the bank to find out they can’t even do what I needed is not even annoying, just typical. (And the five people that got in line in front of me was fine…maybe they had to go run an errand in between waiting or something…typical.)

Waiting for my food for 45 min to an hour doesn’t even phase me anymore. I can’t even fathom the idea of “Fast Food” working in Uganda. (I think when I get back to the US I will be blown away by how quickly things happen.) Today I ordered an iced tea and I went and ran errands and came back for it 30 minutes later to find that it was almost ready.

Ugandans are super friendly, polite, and helpful (for the most part…occasionally I do hear them mocking me as I walk away, repeating what I said in a high nasally voice, which is how Americans sound to them).

I LOVE living here.

Uganda From Above

Last week we had some visitors come to Bundibugyo, and they had a MAF flight come pick them up at the end of their trip to take them back to Kampala to catch a flight home (the only airport in Uganda is just outside of Kampala). I needed to be in Kampala this week anyway (the Johnsons are attending a conference and I will be teaching Rwenzori Moving School) so I asked if I could squeeze into the plane with them and spend a couple extra days in Kampala. What a treat it was to fly across Uganda, see how beautiful Bundibugyo is from above, and enjoy a smooth one hour ride (instead of the bumpy 8 hour drive we normally have). Enjoy the pictures from the flight :)

Lilli and Patton seeing me off at the airstrip

The kiddos were excited to see a plane in Bundibugyo!

Preparing for takeoff 

The beautiful jungle of Uganda :)

Love those Rwenzori Mountains

So thankful to be flying over the Bwamba Road instead of driving on it :)

Kampala is in sight!

Just one hour later and we have arrived!

The MAF airstrip

Happy New Year Bundibugyo Style

Here's a link to Anna's Blog conveying the events of our New Year's Eve celebration :)

Happy New Year!

More Ants...Again...

This afternoon Anna and I came into the house through the back kitchen door and immediately noticed ants on the dishes. Initially I though…oh man, I guess we shouldn’t have left any dirty dishes out. Then we noticed ants covering the sink, and the clean dishes, and the entire counter, and the walls, and the floors…lines of ants were pouring through the windows. We ran screaming out of the room realizing they were Safari Ants…the biting kind! We started brushing off our legs and feet to ensure they weren’t crawling on us. Then we went to work. We got out the Doom and started spraying it all over them. The Doom brought out the roaches…Anna, who is braver than me, stomped all the roaches to death while I squealed like a little girl. Josh and Anna then proceeded to pour kerosene on the lines of ants outside to deter them away from the house.  Oh how I hate Safari Ants…

Safari Ants on the rocks outside our kitchen door. This is just a teeny tiny pile from the colony :(

Christmas By Photos

RMS Christmas Party

Eating cookies and watching The Grinch

Caramel apples at the RMS Christmas Performance

Our neighbors who we sang Christmas Carols for

The team on Christmas Eve :)

The team on Christmas Day

The Night Before Christmas In Bundibugyo

Anna and I wrote this as a Christmas gift to the kiddos on our team :) 

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

The Night Before Christmas In Bundibugyo

“Twas the night before Christmas when all through house,

 Every creature was stirring, especially a mouse.

The kitangi stockings were hung in the windows with care,

In the hopes that the rats would not chew a new tear.

Lilli, Patton, Aidan, Kym, and Lydia said good night,

They were tucked into bed and turned out the light.

Soon they were sleeping all snug in their beds,

While Mosquitos were buzzing right near their heads.

When out in the yard there occurred such a bark,

That Patton sat up and strained to see in the dark.

Lilli and Patton flew down their ladders in a flash,

Tore open the shutters and let out a gasp.

When what to their wondering eyes should appear,

But 4 dogs, 3 cows, and one lost little reindeer.

The little one Aidan joined in the fun,

And before they knew it they were all on the run.

More rapid than cheetahs the children they came,

And they whistled and shouted and called them by name.

“Now Bhotu, Now Bella, Now Rudolph and Chloe,

Here DMC, and Truffle, and Oreo and Jesse!"

So over to the Bougainvillea they ran in a race,

To get Kym and Lydia to join in the chase.


And all of a sudden they jerked to a halt,

Santa Claus appeared right on the spot.

Why he was in Bundi they all wanted to know,

He came for Rudolph to guide him through the snow.

He was dressed in kitangi from his head to his foot,


And his clothes were all tarnished with dirt and soot.

Matoke, beans, and maize he had in his sack,

He picked it up and threw it onto his back.

When he spotted the kids he asked for their help,

He knew Rudolph was with the dog he heard yelp.

So the kids ran down the moonlit path,

Guiding Santa to find Rudolph at last.

Then, Santa hitched Rudolph up to his sleigh,

And away he flew as the kids jumped out of the way.

And they heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight;

“Merry Christmas to all, And to all a good night!"