More Tidbits... and pictures!

                                                The KIDS!!

                          Little Annette(4),Nancy(6) and Robert (2)

                                    Annette and Little Annette                      

REDDING(9 Years)

                                               Emma(7 Years Old)

For your information: Although Uganda has it's own language called Ugandan (or as the Brits call it, Lugandan) most people know how to speak English. But nonetheless, there are still common Ugandan words that are incorporated in your daily vocabulary.

Different Ugandan Words:

Muzungu - White Person 

Funny story: Last Friday, I went to a local market to find some bedspreads for the youngest Mickler, Robert. I went with just Downie and we went to downtown Kampala!! Whilst wandering through the market, we were grabbed by the arm, and greeted with a warm, toothy grin accompanied by a shout, " Muzungu!!". Apparently they think that along with our skin color comes money...they should see my bank account!! :) Some people who I talked to later about the market said that they , "couldn't stand all the shouting and grabbing.". Personally, I just thought it was comical!!!

Matoke- Signature Ugandan Meal

Let's say, when I saw my first plate of matoke, my appetite wasn't entirely slimulated. It's basically a combination of mashed up green bananas (with the occasional banana tree leaf) and a sauce called g-nut sauce-also known as ground up peanuts! I must admit though, I was pleasantly surprised,it was quite tasty!!! 

Sebo-Polite way to address your elder (It's translated as Sir and you would say it to a male)

Often when asking a question or addressing a bota bota(motorbike driver)in regards to directions, you would say, " Sebo, can please turn here." I try to use it as often as I can and I think that they appreciate it too!!

Muyenga-The area in which I live

Most Ugandans don't know streets name and the best way to explain a direction is to tell them that you live in a specific area. So for example, I live in Muyenga, that's where I tell them to drive and then once I am in the area, I show them the exact direction. Kind of a trick of the trade that you learn...haha. :)

Second Week in Africa....and PICTURES!!

                                                                       Lake Victoria!

                     The view of Lake Victoria about 100 feet from our campsite..it was so serene!

A deserted boat on the edge of the lake.

Nancy and Redding [Pictured] ( And the rest of the kids) all decided to draw beards on their faces....of course I had to join in with them!!!

The journey continues...

The last place I left off on blog was that I was going to visit the community based orphanage called Jordan House. I went there on Wednesday morning and was very impressed with it. The founders of the orphanage are from Australia and New Zealand, they have lived here now for 3 years. The orphanage is based about 15-20 minutes outside of Kampala. When I called it a "community based orphanage" I say that because that is their mentality. They have a sort of  "always open doors" concept. Most orphanage that I have seen, have been rather secluded from society . They have chosen to shelter the kids and (maybe?) protect them from outsiders. But as I was talking to Jenny Barton ( The wife of Russell Barton, the founder), I found their vision so refreshing. Someone told me the quote, " It takes a village to raise a child." They had mentioned how that phrase must have come from Africa, because it is so applicable! The Jordan House encourages the community to come in during the day , volunteer and interact with the children. Obviously, there is some sort of structure and schedule, but I was refreshed by their perspective. Also when I was there, I met two great girls, Susan and Chelsey, from Oregon! They are living here for 9 months volunteering at the Jordan House. I had the privilege to walk through the village and also meet the Ugandan staff of Jordan House-very charming people. :) 

On my way home, I took a bota bota (African motorbike) with the two new girls I had just met. We ended up spending the evening together and had a delightful conversation over dinner! I found that they were very similar to me and we just hit it off. On the way back, I made the awful mistake of getting off the motorbike on the RIGHT side ( mental note to all you future Africa travelers). We had been driving for over 25 minutes and the exhaust pipe was steaming!!! I accidentally put my leg up against it and burnt it quite badly!!! When I got home, I made sure to clean it and get it all bandaged up! I laugh about it now, just because I am glad that I did it right away, so I know better to not do it in the future!! :) Minor injury! Thank you Lord! ;)

This weekend was great.

FRIDAY: I spent the morning just hanging out with little Annette. Then I went to the kid's swim meet in the afternoon. The evening we went to a bbq hosted by a middle aged Kiwi ( New Zealander). In his house-also a guest house-there was a volunteer mission group of young people from New Zealand. Great people and so interesting to meet. They had spent 3 weeks in the country rebuilding a church building. 

SATURDAY: I had a meeting in the morning with Lexi Smith ( a friend of the Micklers) and we discussed a volunteer project for me while I am here. It's called African Style. It's a ministry that involves village women making jewelry, place mats and woven baskets. Right now I am asked to go into the village this coming week and visit the ladies, talk with them and help to organize the program at little bit. It's kind of neat to come here and not have a specific schedule. I am eager to meet the ladies and understand who they are and maybe be able to make some sort of impact.  African Style basically "hires" the ladies to make jewelry, then packages it up and sends it to some where in North America, where someone else has a "arts and crafts" party and tries to sell it. It's kind of an interesting ministry. If any of you are interested in more information, just drop me an email and I can give you the website and some more specific details.  My email is annettevantil@gmail.com .

On Saturday afternoon I took the 5 kids and went with them and Bobby to the mall and out for lunch. Downie was at the house doing some recording for an upcoming worship cd, so the house needed to be quiet! :) It was a fun and busy afternoon! When we came home, we enjoyed a great bbq with some of the Mickler's close friends!! After that, I headed out the the Food for the Hungry guest house and hung out with some new friends that I had meet a few evenings before. It's been great to get around and kind of be a neutral person ( meaning no specific organization that I'm with). I've enjoyed getting to know all these new people around my age who ar love to travel and love Africa!! :) Around 11:30pm , I went over to a Susan and Chelsey's (The American girls). house and spent the night!

SUNDAY: This morning I took a bota bota ride to church ( In a skirt!! Believe it or not!!) with Susan and two other young people I had just met! Aaron ( who is doing a music program in Jinja-located about an hour away) and Megan ( who was on her way out to the States after 5 months). We went to Calvary Chapel Kampala and I absolutely LOVED the music. So spirited and uplifting. I felt like I was at a concert! It had a perfect balance of meaningful lyrics with a great African beat!! This afternoon I had the privilege of meeting a Korean couple named Oliver and Ellen. They had us over for lunch. It was such a great cultural experience as we were able to eat authentic Korean food!! One thing that Oliver introduced me to was the art or drinking Chinese tea! It's like a 4 hour ordeal with a leisurely setting, relaxed conversation and many different kinds of teas! One that I tasted had been aged and was over 10 years old! It was a very delicate and interesting event! 

So all this to say, I have been having such a variety of experiences and having been immersing myself as much as possible in the culture!!

I miss you all though...if you would like to send me a more personal message, my email is annettevantil@gmail.com!

Until later....

My first week in the "Pearl of Africa"...

The story continues...

This past weekend was filled with many adventures in a place called Jinja. We had the wonderful privilege of camping on the edge of the Nile ( it's actually the white nile, not the blue Nile-I wasn't corrected until I was halfway through my weekend, no worries). Our camp site was quite nice for a developing country I must say, including short grass, fire pits and even a pool and bathroom facilities if so desired. About 100 steps away from our very nice campsite at the Kingfisher Safari Resort-the name derives from the famous kingfisher bird-a mental note to all you non-birdwatchers , there was a stone path leading out to Lake Victoria. When you stand at the edge of the path, you are able to see Lake Victoria meeting the Nile river. The locals call it the "Source of the Nile". On the 2 day of our adventure, we were able to take a boat ride along the Nile. (* One MAJOR highlight of the weekend). Here are some interesting tidbits that I learnt from our guide:

~ If you put an object at the start of the nile, it would take 3 months for it to reach Egypt (where the nile ends). 

~Uganda's main source of energy and electrical power is from the dam on the nile?

~ There is a white nile and a blue nile.

~The distance from one side to the other is 4,000 miles. 

Other highlights of the weekend were countless dips into the pool with the kids, piggyback rides (for the kids), stories and songs around the campfire, roasted marshmallows, and soccer games. 

All in all, it was a great time to spend my first weekend in Africa, getting to know the Mickler family better and asking as many questions as I possibly could about the country, culture and customs. Mom wrote me an email this morning asking me about the weather and the sounds. My goal is to update to all of you as I progressively learn different words and see new and exciting things, so please join me in my small and great discoveries.

1) Bota Bota ( A motorbike-fastest and more hazardous way of travel)

2) Matatu (A van with about 15 seats-apparently there is a set rate for travel around town-good mental note) 

3)Ugandan Shilling ( Exchange rate is about 1.600 shillings to one US dollar)

4) Ebus-The morning glory-My current African alarm clock. The sound they make could be compared to a monkey mixed with something else. 

5) Hip hop/African Style music is often heard when driving down the road in town.

6) The people in the restaurants and stores most often call me "Madam" and are very respectful and have a quiet demeanor. I find this baffling as most of these people who are serving me are twice my age and I should be calling them Madam and Sir. :)

7) Along with the their quiet demeanor come their voice in hushed tones. I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but I have a slight problem with hearing. This presents a problem as I have to work twice as hard to try to hear what they are saying to me...I guess it's good practice right??

This week holds many new discoveries and people to meet. Tomorrow morning I will be heading off to Jordan House, a community based orphanage. I will update as soon as I can....and I'm still working on the pictures. 

Cheers!

Finally arrived in Africa!!!

Hello Readers!!

Today is my second day in Uganda and I'm loving it...Let me recapture the last bit of the trip for you:

Day 1(Travel Day):

The trip began on Tuesday morning in Listowel, Ontario. I had spent the night at my sister's house and she was going to drive me to the airport that afternoon. Low and behold, we had car troubles and were a little stuck.  Thanks to Kevin ( A friend of Grace-Emma) we were able to use his car!!  So we set off on our journey to the airport. It was quite an eventful trip involving a quick stop at Starbucks and singing "Sound of Music" songs. Haha..I love you too GE! :) We arrived at the airport ahead of schedule, I checked in my luggage, said my goodbyes and was off to go through security and find my gate!! Once I boarded the plane, I sat down next to a local farmer from my area ( Drumbo, Ontario). We had a enlightening conversation about environmental changes and his trip to Poland. Quite interesting actually...Once I arrived in Amsterdam, I found my gate within 10 minutes. I had about  3 hours to kill. I decided the scope the duty free shops and buy some Dutch dropjes. When I was standing in the line, the cashier told me the price in Dutch. I gave her a puzzled look and I am assuming she connected the dots. It's funny that she would make that mistake eh?!??! 

Day 2 ( Travel Day)

Because of the jetlag I don't quite remember when one day ended and the next began, but I did board my plane heading to Uganda ahead of schedule. The plane was about half full, so the seat next to me was empty. I was too opposed to that as I needed to catch up on some much needed sleep! After a 9 hour flight, I arrived in Entebbe, Airport. I waited in line for customs about 5 minutes, got my visa and passport signed and was off to find my backpack! My backpack came within 10 minutes and I was greeted by Downie and Bobby Mickler! On the way to my new "home" ( Pictured above) I caught up with Downie and Bobby and was giving the rundown on my stay and what I would be doing! It was just so good to be here and I already loved the country! I went to bed pretty much right away..:)

Day 3( First day in Uganda)

I woke up to the bustling of the Mickler family. I got out of bed and was greeted by all the kiddos. The four girls-Redding( 9), Emma (7), Nancy(6) and Annette (4) all headed out to school. I was left with Downie and the youngest Robert (2). Downie and I caught up and drove into town to pick up some food for this weekend. The plan for this weekend is to head out about a hour and a half from the city and go camping on the Nile River. (Apparently, here in Africa, there are 2 Niles-the blue and the white) We will be camping on the blue! 

I will try to post some more pictures after the weekend!! 

By the way, Africa is amazing. The people are so warm , the culture is very interesting and the food is incredible. More to come....

Packing!!!

The "backpack" that will hold all my belongings for the next three months...

My "little piles" (according to my sister) of stuff...

My flight to Africa leaves at 5:55pm on Tuesday, September 16th! I will be posting more pictures as soon as I can!