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| The Colin Hotel |
Yesterday, IT finally happened. IT happened on the way back from town with my friend Judy. First, let me give you a little bit of background. Certain things are hard to find here directly on or around campus, so I usually walk into town a few times a week to get some things that I need. I am not sure how long the walk is, but it seems to be about 1.5-2 miles and involves some pretty good hills. In town there is also a resort with a pool where you can pay to swim and get PIZZA!! The resort is not fancy and the food is expensive, but you pay for such luxuries. I ordered a Hawaiian pizza and it was sh25,000 (about $9). It is not a large pizza, more of a personal size, but I usually eat two pieces and take the other two home. I did the same yesterday. I ate my two pieces and read my book while Judy swam. Then we headed back through town to get groceries, some household things, and stop by the tailors. I noticed that I was getting a little sweatier than normal, but it was hot and the sun was shining directly on us. As we headed back up the large hill toward campus, I felt IT...sharp pains in my stomach and noises like a monster had taken up root in my abdomen. Now, let me preface this by saying EVERYONE gets sick. It is a part of life here and especially true the first few weeks of coming here. So, when you hear that someone is sick, you empathize and thank God you are healthy. But I have done very well. I have had no issues and I have eaten in a lot of places and have not always boiled the fresh food like the CDC told me. I have eaten in the canteens, restaurants, and the dining hall. I am religiously boiling my water and making sure the food is hot. We were about a 1/2 mile from home when I informed Judy of my changing stomach situation. She looked at me with empathy in her eyes and asked if I could make it back to the apartment or did we need to find a pit latrine. Now, if you follow my blog, you know a pit latrine is a hole in the ground like the one of the left in this picture.
Most of you also know that my biggest fear is being sick and having to use a pit latrine. All of the toilets on campus are like the standard toilets we have at home, so I have yet to have to use the feared pit latrine. As we got closer to campus, I thought maybe I could make it to one of the campus toilets. I squeezed my cheeks together and looked desperately for open bathrooms. The bathrooms in the chapel were open and I ran inside. As I sat down and my lunch began to leave my body, I knew I was pretty sick. I will spare you the details, but it was disgusting! It makes my stomach turn now just thinking about it. When I looked up, I realized there was no toilet paper. Generally, here in Uganda if you can find a standard toilet, it usually does not contain soap or toilet paper. I usually don't carry toilet paper because most of the time, we have it on campus. Then, I remembered I had a travel size of wipes in my bag. Needless to say, I used multiple wipes in order to clean myself up to make it back to my apartment without making a scene. I wasn't convinced I could make it back to my apartment without stopping, but I couldn't sit in the chapel bathrooms all day either. I made it back to my apartment, used the bathroom several more times, took some medicine, and laid down for a nap. Although my stomach is a little rumbly today, I feel better. I guess that serves me right for eating expensive pizza instead of Ugandan food.
Church was AMAZING this morning! The worship is led by students and it is so inspiring. There are two services, 7:30 and 9:30, and they were both packed. It is nice to see the campus alive with students again. There were a lot of staff on hand too, to welcome everyone back. The preaching here is very direct with most of the politeness markers removed. It is refreshing to hear people speak honestly and openly. My favorite part of service is where they call the children up to the stage and pray for them before they head off to Sunday school. It is admirable to see the way adults hold children up in this culture. The kids are super cute. I love kids. They are so uninhibited, innocent, and friendly. They always wave to the Americans and say hi. They are absolutely adorable. I might have to bring some home!!
Well, I need to get off of the blog for now and start working on my lesson plans for tomorrow. Tomorrow is our first day of class and I am excited to meet all of my students. I am sure I will learn more from them than they will learn from me this year. Happy Sunday!
