Final thoughts on the trip

I just want to let you all know I arrived home safely. I've been a bit messed up with jet lag for the last two days and am adjusting back to life here in NY. Well, truthfully, I've barely left my apt since I've been home so I am SLOWLY adjusting back to life in NY.


I wrote this in the Brussels airport during my layover on Sunday...

In the Brusslels airport. It is weird to be on my way home to NY. I just went to a store to buy a bottle of water and when the guy said it was almost $6 I just gasped in shock and said out loud "I can't pay that after where I've been!" He looked at me strangely and I just walked away thristy. Intense culture shock. Also, people are on the plane here were so pushy and rude and irritated. It made some of us miss Africans. For all of the dificulties they may deal with on a daily basis, they are a peole full of warmth and cultural bonds and friendly attitudes. Although they are so poor in so many ways, in spirit, they are very rich. In many ways, they are better off than many of us who have tons of money (compared to them) but are stressed or unhappy with ourselves or any of the other problems that come with the luxury of time and comfort.
I am sad to leave my new friends. It has been great to be part of ths community for the last few weeks, working with them, laughing with them, sometimes freaking out with them or just sharing stories of joy or difficulty of our lives back home.....


Back to Tuesday, Feb 23
So, now that I've been home for a few days, I'm seeing how much I need to process all that's happened and what I've learned. I saw a lot of things that are sad and hard to make sense of and also experienced a joy that was so amazing and pure. Reintegrating into life in the US will be a bit of a challenge. I am also very aware of changes I need to make in my life and that is feeling a little scary at the moment. In general, I'm partially excited, partially scared, and partially just really tired.

Thank you all for taking this journey with me. It felt so good to know that people out there were with me and listening to what I was going through. I plan to keep you all posted on what I'm up to next and what comes out of all of these experiences for me. I will also send out photos soon so you can have a visual of what I was up to there.
Until then, be well and take care of yourselves and the people around you.

xo Heather

Birthday, safari, and getting ready for home

I have twenty minutes of paid internet time so I'm in a time crunch but wanted to write something. Oh, I miss the days when I had free interent service at the hotel :)
My birthday was really nice, filled with hippos and wart hogs and giraffes. Also, filled with fun with my new friends, a dip in the lodge's swimming pool and a cake brought to me with singing and a candle :) It was a great end to my experience here.
I will write more when I'm in Brussels on a layover or back home in NY. I head to the airport in a few hours. Please wish me safe and easy travels!
xo Heather

Safari and a different kind of Birthday coming

Well, this is a differnt experience than the last two weeks. I am in a safari lodge, surrounded by lots of weird and cute looking animals. It is our first night here and tomorrow (my Bday) we will be taking a game drive to see giraffes and hippos and elephants and then a boat ride to see crocodiles and other water based animals. Exciting :) We were told very clearly to keep our distance from the animals and we've heard enough stories of tourists who ignored that rule for us obey it! So, tomorrow is my birthday and I was torn before I came as to whether I should stay here for my Bday or head home. Well, I'm glad I stayed for a few reasons. First, I get to see weird animals :) Second, I get to spend more time with my new friends. And third, I get to have 2 days to relax and decompress from our intense work before I head home. I think it would have been hard to head home today without a little downtime here to enjoy myself with no work or difficult situation attached. However, a birthday in intense heat and humidity without my loved ones around? Very weird. I do wish I could see some of you tomorrow. I don't think it's going to feel like my Bday AT ALL. So, I'll certainly want to celebrate when I get home. I need to wear a scarf, coat and hat for it to feel like my Birthday :) And believe it or not, I can not wait to get back to the cold and snow after this heat!!!
And I'm starting to dream about food other than rice, cooked veggies and lentils.
I can not wait to eat sushi and salad and fruit and nuts and even meat!
OK, heading to bed early so I have energy for tomorow.

xo Heather

Our last day of work!!

Today is the last day of our project! I can't believe it. It's been quite a day and is still going. I'm writing this on my 1 hr break before we have our last dinner and a closing celebration. I'll still be here for a few more days on safari and will celebrate my birthday here on Friday :)
We were at the school today and it was so much fun. We played games with kids, danced, sang, played soccer and more! I connected with a few girls today that just melted my heart. They were so sweet and open and happy to be there with us. We are also talking, as a group, about how we can continue to support the projects we've started and helped while here; the Acholi slums, the birthing center, the school, and the orphanage. I am called particularly to the slums and the orphanage. I feel like they need the most help and they are not getting very much assistance at the moment. A few of us just spoke to someone who represents the slums (they call them quarters) and we discussed giving scholarships to some of the kids so they can go to school. The goal is to educate the children so they can have a different life for themselves and not continue the poverty into the next generation. It's kind of exciting to think we may be able to help some of the people we met. A few of us will probably get on this project when we get home. A child's education for one year of school is $800. I hope we follow through with this. We're all aware that we're super motivated right now and that may change as we get back home to our busy lives. However, I hope we can rekindle each other's passion and motivation for this project if we start to fade away from it. Either way, I know we'll all be going on to make our differnce in the world, through this project and/or in other ways.
I'll write more tomorrow or the next day. I just wanted to get some thoughts out there before I got swept up in our evening.
I'm imagining tonight will be really fun and really sad since we're saying goodbye to Seane and Suzanne, our leaders/mentors/friends. Their inspiration and wisdom and silliness and toughness and kindness have kept me inspired, focused and strong for the past two weeks. I am so grateful for them.

xo Heather

Building the school

Today was our first day at the school site. So exciting! The foundation is there and the rest in being built.Hundreds of people from the community were there to help build and to meet and watch us. It was a pretty incredible sight. The women were digging, building and doing just as much as the men. The kids helped out by carrying bricks to where they were needed and our OTM team worked our butts off until we were all dying of heat and our muscles were worn out. We're some strong women but we are not used to this kind of physical work and heat! So, I keep saying "we" but my day today was a bit different from everyone else's. I'm still suffering from some kind of heat exhaustion or something and every time I exert too much energy, I get dizzy and need to stop. So, I had to take it easy today. I took all the photos of the site and played with the kids. I did feel kind of lame not helping out with everyone else, but I really was not ok to do much. I had a great time with the kids though. Right when the camera comes out, they are no longer shy and language doesn't matter. They just want to have their pictures taken and then to see themselves on the screen! It is very cute. I fell in love with this girl, Juliet and her friend Abiba. I included a photo of them. Juliet has this smile that lights up and warms everyone around her. There are always so many kids around and they like having us there so it's a good time. It's not like the orphanage which I am still thinking about. These kids have family and community and moms and dads to go home to. You can see in their eyes that they are loved and cared for.
Tonight we have dinner at the hotel and are getting together to process our experience and talk together as a group.
I'm hoping I feel better by tomorrow and can participate in the building. I'm pretty sensitive to extreme heat so I am certainly out of my comort zone here but I'm here and I'm doing it and I just need to take care of myself. I was telling a new friend, Terri, today that I had an image of me doing too much, getting dizzy and collapsing out in the middle of this field with nothing else around... and no doctor or smelling salts or anything to help. That would not have been good. She at least made me laugh by saying someone would probably yell, "Musungu down!" which means "white person down!" That cracked us up so at least we're still finding the humor in the challenging stuff :)
OK, I'm off to relax and enjoy the rest of the night here....

A Day to Reflect - and Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! We have the day off today which is much needed. We are all exhasuted. It's nice to have a day to rest and reflect a bit. We are all wondering how our lives will be affected when we get back to the US (or Canada). What changes will we make? What will feel good, bad, hard, confusing? For me, I know there are things that I want to change in my life, things that have not been working for me. I'm hoping my experiences here help me to shift my perspective a bit and make necessary changes that will bring my life more into alignment with what I really want and need. We will see... There are also things that are wonderful in my life and I want to nurture those things and celebrate them even more. I'm also wondering what comes next in terms of service, making my difference in the world. I spent 6 months focused on this project and now I'm here doing what I set out to do. My desire to help the world has only grown bigger from my experiences here, so what comes next? I have no idea but I'm eager to see where this all takes me. It's exciting to see how much of a difference one person can make. Most of us think, there is so much wrong with the world so what can I do? or it's too much of a mess so why bother doing anything? Well, I want everyone to know that one person CAN make a huge difference. You just have to belive that to make that difference. I raised 20K and because of that hundreds of kids will have safe drinking water, kids will have a school to go to learn and teachers there to teach them, and new moms will have a safe place to give birth. That's a big deal. It is possible to make a difference. What else are we doing with our time besides buying new stuff and obsessing over things that don't matter to anyone but us in our world of luxury, excess, and sometimes superficial priorities. OK, I'm a little punchy today :) It's just how our culture is. It's not our faults but it's important to step outside of it and look around a bit to gain some perspective. I get caught up in it too. It's just what we know in the US. We are lucky to live in such safe and fortunate circumstances. But, maybe we can all look around and see how lucky we are, shift our priorities and then start to give to others who are not so fortunate. It's also a bit daunting to see how much of a difference one person can make because it gives me a sense of responsibility. Like now I can't ignore it and must do something becasue I know it makes a difference and if I don't, how can I expect others to? We can all turn a blind eye to the rest of the world or we can see that we're not so different from people all over and acknowledge that if we don't help, who will? Who is responsible for helping, if not us? Small non profits and NGOs seem to make a much greater positive impact that big, government or corporate organizations. That's us. People like us can make the most difference. We're all the same all over the world. People are people. Kids are kids. Eveyone deserves a clean place to live, healthy food, safe water and clothes on their backs. And everyone deserves love and support. I still can't imagine what Miriam'a birth would have been like if these four eager, loving white women were not there to rub her back, comfort her, and be with her every step of the way :)
OK, done with all of those thoughts for now. Needed to get all out that out!

Other things....
I'm taking the night off from the group's plan because I'm feeling kind of sick. Not sure if it is the malaria pills, effects of the extreme heat and sun or just exhaustion. or all of the above. I'm hoping some rest in the A/C of the hotel and sleep will make me feel better.

Tomorrow we go to the site of the school which should be great. We'll be building again. I'm hoping there is some shade there somewhere. This heat is intense. Half of the women here are sunburned. I did get a heat rash one day which has thankfully gone away. Anyone who knows me knows I HATE sunburns and don't deal with them well so I'm being extra careful about protecting my super white skin :)

OK, last thing. I finally had some chocolate today :)
Oh, how I missed you, chocolate.
I told people that if they can produce some dark chocolate for me on my birthday (Friday!) then I'll be a happy girl. I can't have a birthdaty without chocolate!

xo Heather

So many kids without parents to take care of them

We went to the New Hope orphanage today. It is a school/orphanage for about 100 kids. These kids either lost their parents to AIDS or were sent to the orphanage because their parents couldn't take care of them, mostly for financial reasons. The kids were so happy to see us and prepared two songs for us. It was really incredible to hear these songs and to know the amount of time it must have taken them to learn them. I have video of it and will show people when I get home. We bought them new mattresses (their old ones were stained and just pretty grosss over all), created a garden so they can grow their own food, and gave them a water system which is important since the water supply there is really contaminated and basically unsafe. Safe water is even more important for these kids because most of them have HIV and exposure to diseases (like typhoid) in the water is particulary dangerous. So, they are really excited to be able to drink, cook, and bathe in clean water. We brought them TONS of books, games, soccer balls, jump ropes. We took photos of them and printed the photos for them to keep and also did fluoride treatments for their teeth. THey had a great time today with us :)
But, what I'm generally feeling now is sad. I could see how hard is was for them when we left. They just looked so sad and some girls were crying. They are used to being abandoned and we came in, brought great stuff, made their lives better, safer, and easier which is SOOO important for them, but then we left too. Of course, we had to leave. We can't stay ther forever but it was just heart breaking to see the sadness come in as we drove away. I'm not sure what to do with these feelings at the moment. It's just the way it is here. It is like this all over Uganda (and Africa in general). The country is made up mostly of children. There are soooo many children here. Actually, one thing that has struck me is that all the kids seem so joyful here. It is kind of amazing. They are just happy kids full of laughter and life. They seem happy with their families, friends, and their big communities. There is a true sense of community and culture here. But the kids today seem more withdrwan and sad than all the other kids I've seen before today. I can't imagine not to have a mom or dad to hold you when you cry or to pick you up when you fall. The orphanage is run by a wonderful man who is doing his absolute best with his limited resources. I guess I need to be grateful that we were able to do something to make their lives better and safer. At least that is something.....

Days out at the birth center

These are my writings for the last couple of days at the birth center site....


Feb 9

I'm writing this outside on the lawn of the hotel/hostel/volunteer center where we are staying for two nights. I'll be posting this when I get back to Kampala and our hotel there.
Today was really exciting :) We got to see where a lot of the money we all raised is going and to meet women in the community there. Shanti Uganda is building a beautiful new birthing center whcih is badly needed here. Natalie, the founder and director of Shanti Uganda told us her story and why she got involved with this. She woked for a big NGO for years and bascially hated seeing how all of the large sums of money that came in were use poorly, not used for what they were supposed to be used for, or just wasted on unnecessary management. She decided to go the grassroots way and start her own small organization. She had been involved with birthing and hospitals for years and saw what a terrible birthing experience most Ugandan women had. First of all, many women die during labor because of lack of supplies, drugs (when really needed), and safe, clean places to give birth. There is also a big culture of fear around birth and the governemnt is kind of supporting that. The government promotes a very clinical, forceful birthing experience and has made traditional birth attendants (women who have helped women give birth at home, in comfortable environments, with support) illegal. I'm still trying to understand why that is. So ,because it is illegal, TBAs do not have access to the necessary drugs to keep HIV women from passing on the virus to ther new babies. You can only get them in hospitals and many Ugandan women are terrifed of hosptials because they hear horror stories from women who gave birth there.
So, Shanti Uganda ia finding a happy medium between the hosptital and the forceful nature of birth there (and in clinics) and the home birth. This center is being built right now and tomorrow we're going to get our hands dirty and build! Today we met women who are part of a women's group at the center. They all have HIV and were looking to learn a a skill to earn money for their families. THey all learned bead making last year. And they are talented! We all went ahopping for bead to bring home, to give as gifts and for ourselves. It is amazing how such little money goes such a long way for them. Some of the necklaces were only $4 and they could be sold for much more. So, we all bought a lot. The smiles of gratitue on their faces was pretty remarkable. But, let's be clear, I am not paiting a picture of these women as victims. Yes, they are victims of their crappy circumstances and their sometimes crappy husbands who have left them and don't contribute to their family and yes, they have HIV and have been sick. But, these are strong, loving, fun women who greeted us wuth a song, a dance, and hugs, laughter and warmth. It was a meeting of two groups of loving women, us and them. We sang for them too. (badly, I'll add :) ) We danced and laughed and taught them some yoga :)
So, now we're hanging out outside before we go to diner at the house of one of the women in that group. I'm looking forward to visiting a home and eating with a family. And then we'll come back to our hostel and try to sleep.
A few of the women in my group had the fortune of attending and helping with a birth today! ONe of the women is a doula in Minnesota and they actually really needed her help today because they are so short handed here. They came back here so excited. They were happy to report that it was a successful birth and all went well. However, the norn hre is not that.THe woman next to this new mom in the clinic was 6 months pregnant and having c0ntractions and bleeing AND HER WATER BROKE. wE WERE TOLD THAT THIS WOMAN WILL LOSE HER BABY BECAUSE THEY DON[T HAV THe TOOLS OR SUPPLIES TO HANDLE THIS situation. AaND THEY ARE ALL SO USED TO THIS HAPPENING THAT NO NE WAS EVEN COMFORTING THIS WOMAN, thEY JUST LEFT HER THERE TO LIE IN AIN ON HER OWN.
So awful .I CAN'T EVEN imagine that.There was another story of a woman who waited on line to give birth last month but was having complicatilns. NO one got to her in time to help so mom and baby both died.
Ok, more tomorrow...

Feb 10

So, today we saw where a lot of the money we raised is going. The site of the birth center is beautiful. I'll post photos when I can. It is halfway built and consists of a community center where there will be classes and meetings, two privte birthing rooms, a check up room, and a separate building where the women's group will make beads and bags to sell. There will also be a garden and outside area where women can walk around and relax while in the early stages of labor. It is a beautiful place. I laid some bricks today and participated in the actual building. Women and children from the village greeted us and came to meet us. A 90 year old women comes to help out in building the center every week. She is so excited to have this in the community. The women in the community have played a vital role in creating the center which I think it so wonderful. We are giving the women want they want and need, not what we think they should have or what WE want. They are so grateful for the center ande come to help build it and create a garden there each week. It was fun to see the children in the village cheking out all these white people coming to work in their community. Apparently, they think of white people as not liking to get dirty and alays wearing shoes. So, they were surprised to see a bunch of us take off our shoes and mushing up the mud with our feet (think I Love Lucy with the grapes, only with mud)



oK, So now I'd like to write about the moment when I'm feeling like this "Holy Shit, I want to get the hell out of here and go back home." I haven't had too many of those but here is one. Imagine this... we're out at the birthing center all day. It amazing and beautiful and we're working hard, getting dirty, laughing and sweating like hell because it is like a zillion degrees out. All is well until I realize that I'm exhausted from heat, getting a headache from heat and dehydration, hungyry, and tired. I can't go inside ( it's all outside in an open field but at least there was a shady spot to sit) or get food (lunch wasn't ready yet) our wash my hands (well we could wash our muddy hands but the water basin to wash in was kind of filled with muddy water too) or comfortably go to the bathroom (there was only a very nice hole in the ground with very little privacy). Ok, so this is all hard enough. (Since mostly women are reading this, I feel fine adding this next part in. And men, you can appreciate us women more for what we have to go throug sometimes) I would like you to now imagine that you have your period and you are in the middle of the bush with no private bathroom, no running water, no garbage can, and just a small roll of toilet paper. Yup, fun times. I will not get into details here so I will tell this amusing story of what I did to any woman out there who would like to commiserate or have a horrifying laugh at my expense :)
SO, when I got back to the "hotel" that day (yesterday) with a huge headache from the sun and exhausted from the challenges that day, this is when I had the thought " I want to go home!!!!"

One other thing that makes me want home or just somewhere else, we have eaten the same mean for EVERY lunch and dinner with the locals here. Same thing every meal. rice, beans, matoke (like a mushed banana but tastes like a potato) and two kinds of potato. All covered in ground nut sauce. That's it. Now, I happen to like this kind of food and I have no problem digesting it. G Nut sauce is great! But, after eating it for the past 5 lunch/dinners straight, I'm starting to crave anything else! Plus, I'm not eating any raw food here because I'm not takihg chances on getting sick so some of the fruit looks delicious but I won't go near it. Some people are, some people aren't. It looks so good though. I'm dreaming of eating watermelon and pineapple. And I haven't had chocolate for 5 days!! 5 days without chocolate. It's a forced detox :) I don't mind it at all. I just want another food option. The only options here and between 3 different knds of potato.



My favorite moment of personal risk taking.
I rode on a motorcycle!!! We all rode on the back of motorcycles that took us to the birthing center yesterday. It was amazing!! Woohoo!! I wasn't even scared to get on it, not sure why. They went slowly and were told not to go too fast with us or they wouldn't get paid. So, it wasn't too scary, just so muich fun!!!! This wasn't like motorcycle riding in the US where you would of course wear a helmet and leather stuff to keep you protected if you fall. This was, hop on the back of the bike and go!! (Don't worry, Mom, it already happened and I'm fine. Can't worry about it now!) I loved it. Best way to get around a Ugandan village :)


Feb 11

Intesne, amazing day. Not sure how much I can write about this now because I need to process it for myself a bit first. A few of us were lucky enough to attend and help with a birth at the local clinic. It was a 17 yr old girl without her fammily or husband there (well her sister was there but kind of hanging out in the background) We basically saved her from having a C section. 5 hours or so of comforting her, helping her, teraching her how to get the baby to drop down so she could avoid their quick jump to a C section, telling her it's all gong to be ok because she was alone, terrified and thinking she was dying. When we first got to her, she was crying in pain on a table, alone. She told us she thought she ws dying, that she had been bad or done something to offend God and that is why she was in this pain. It was hard. It was a lot, But, we were with her the whole time. I can't imagine if we hasn't been there. But it would have been like every other birhtin Uganda, I guess. Also, the place was filthy. dirty, distgusting floors and tables. Anyway, she had a healthy baby girl and was so grateful to us for our help. There is more to tell but I will save it for another time. Her name is Miriam and I will never ever forget her. I am even more appreicate of the birth center we are all building after this expereince today.

Rough Day

So, we're all blogging for yogajournal.com and today was my day to blog. Of course it happened to be a damn hard day.

The following is what I wrote for yogajournal....


It’s day 2 of the Uganda experience and I am exhausted. I actually left the group in the middle of the day today because I was copmpletely wiped out, emotionally and physically. Day 2. We started the day with our yoga practice. The practice felt good in my body. I felt strong and grounded and enjoyed the movement after days of travel and all of that stagnancy on the plane. By the time we got to savasana, however, something had shifted. Normally, savasana takes me to a deeply calm state. However, today all I felt was anxiety. It just popped up out of what seemed like nowhere. What the hell was going on? I assumed that my jet lag and sleep deprivation was catching up with me although that was my rational brain saying that. My emotional brain was freaking out because I just couldn’t have anxiety then! I had so much energy yesterday for our first day and our visit to the slums. I was surprisingly inspired and joyful after that experience. So, here I was this morning at 9 am feeling anxious and not ready for anything today and judging myself for it. Not helpful, of course. Last night in our group processing Seane spoke of how we could expect all sorts of emotional things to come us for us during the 2 weeks and how we should talk about them, be present for them and express them however we needed to, even if it’s some ugly stuff coming up. We have to take care of ourselves so we don’t hold onto it and let it shut us down or close us off. It’s a lot to take in here and we need to acknowledge it and own it for ourselves. So, that was last night, it all made sense. And here I am at 9 am pissed off at myself for getting anxious.
So, I decided, after I got off the mat, to just be open to how I was feeling, breathe through it and move on with the day.
We started the day at Pace, learning about this incredible organization that serves the Ugandan community. Pace’s mission is to use their programs to improve the health of vulberable Ugandans and promote sustained behavior changes. Part of what they do is create and distribute HIV prevention and care packages that include a safe drinking water system, condoms, mosquito nets and antibiotics. A lot of what kills people with HIV are the opportunistic disease that take hold of their vulnerable bodies and destroy their immune systems. So protecting from malaria, TB, and other diseases in important for those with HIV to remain healthy.
They are saving thousands of lives a year through this program. We took a tour of the warehouse and saw their operation. They are no machines doing the packing and processing. It is a dedicated group of workers who care about what they are doing and put their hearts and hands into creating these products for people. I thought about the woman whose family I met and spent time with yesterday, Abalo Betty. She and her entire family have AIDS. The people in the slums don’t have access to many of these preventive AIDS programs and don’t have the means go out and seek it for themselves. There is just so much help needed in this country. It was great to see that Pace is making a positive difference in people’s lives although they are aware that there is much more work to be done as well.
After my experience at Pace, my emotional and physical state were not much better than this morning, actually a bit worse. I was exhasuted, sad and starting to feel physically ill. So, although there was more on our schedule for today, I have learned through the guidance of Seane and Suzanne that if I don’t take care of myself, I’m not of much good and sustainable use to anyone else.
So, I listened to my inner guidance and decided to take the rest of the day off to rest, rejuvenate, and ground myself so that I can go out and be of service tomrrow in the best shape I can be in. There was a reason I was anxious this morning even if I’m not exactly sure what it was yet. But I trust that my body was trying to tell me something. Maybe it was trying to tell me to take care of myself, listen closely to my body, and just accept, not judge, what is going on with me. Well, that’s what I learned anyway. If I’m not taking care of myself, how can I do any good here for anyone else?

And onto a new day…

xoxo Heather




So, we''ll be going out to the area of the birthing center and staying out there for the next two nights. Time for the mosquito nets! I'll be able to write again when we're back on Thursday.

xo Heather

Something amusing :)

I forgot to mention this yesterday in my posting about the visit to the slums.
Our families were all given rice, beans and sugar yesterday.
About 25 - 50 lbs of each!
We "helped" the women carry the food back to their homes.
OK, for all who know me well, as an Alexander Technique teacher (and
pilates and yoga teacher) I kind of pride myself on knowing how to use
my body well. Well this was an amusing lesson for me :)
I picked up the bag of rice I was handed and holy crap, it was
heavy!!! really heavy! So, i tried to find ways to hold it in my arms,
standing well, using my back, my abs, relaxing my neck and jaw - the
whole deal. I was able to feel good like that for about 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, the women I was with that day grabbed their bags which were
almost TWICE as heave as mine, wrapped them up in a sheet, and gently
placed it all on their heads with a grace and beauty I can only marvel
at.
Now, I knew I'd probably get to see some of thes super women in Africa
elegantly carrying thins on their heads but to see it all happen up
close and personal - and also to know how heavy those bag were - was
AMAZING!!! and humbling!!
I was laughing at myself inside the whole walk to their houses. and
they were giggling at me too :) I was teeting all over the place and
tilting back just to keep the bag from falling. Terrible use! Halfway
through, I had to readjust my bag, and 3/4 of the way through I just
gave up. I was going to drop all their food otherwise! One of the
women sent her teenage son to come and help me.
So, I am amazed and humbled and now need to learn to balance things on
my head with that same grace and ease :)
The truth is, they are able to do this because they HAVE to do this to
survive. Their poise and elegance is out of necessity where as, in the
US, we may seek it out because it feels better, looks better, and
helps us, but it is not out of survival like it is for them.
If the can't carry their food, their families don't eat.
Anyway, I had to share that story! I hope my Alexander Technique
friends and colleagues appreciate it :)

First Day in Africa

Today was amazing. We just got back from visiting the Acholi slums and I had to sit down and write immediatly! The Acholi people that live here used to live up in northern Uganda but fled or were forcd out of their homes as a result of Joseh Kony's terrorozing and killing in the area.
So, they have no easy source of income since they were all farmers and now live in a city and they have makeshift homes in the slums.
We were each given families that we would meet and give some chosen donations to. We were told how many kids they had and their ages and we went "shopping" in each other's donation bags to find stuff for them. My first family was a a wife/husband and 4 kids. The enitre family has AIDs and so the parents are not able to work much and have very little. They all share a one room area, kind of like a hut.
First of all, just entering the slums was an experience. I was a little nervous about the whole thing. Would they be happy to see us? Would I be comfortable? Would I have a sense of guilt or depression or something else that's not usefeul but only painful at the moment? None of that happened. Those kids were SOOOO happy to see us! Iwas told they wold be but they REALLY were! :) They are fascinated by white people. (Musungus) They would shout musungu! musung! and come running to us to touch our skin and shake our hands. It was such a warm and loving feeling. It was amazing, really. The kids were so open and trusting and loving. and adorable!
So, we met our two families and went with them to their homes to give our our stuff.
I gave out toothbrushes, notebooks/pencils, shirts, books and we all communally gave food, soap, and de-worming pills.
The second family was a woman and her four daughters. Her oldest one was away in school. Her husband had died. I gave this adorable little girl a t-shirt that was huge on her. She loved it and put it on over her dress and danced around in it :) It was such a moment :)
So, both of these women had a translator come with us (a teenage girl) because they wanted to tell me things. THey wanted me to know that they can not afford to send their girls to school and they need help. The woman with AIDS can not work in the stone quarry like many women do because she is too weak. She makes beautfiul beads but it is not enough money. It was so hard to listen to their stories and not personally be able to do something to help them. One of the girls really realy wants to go to school but her mom can't afford it. I promised to pass their stories along and talk to our group leaders about this common issue. The women were happy to hear thins, but I wsh there was more I could actually do. They were also so grateful for the things we brought the kids. The women were just as open and warm as the kids. They really touched my heart.
As depressing and sad as it was to see how they live, I was also incredily inspired by their open hearts, positive outlook, love for their children, and embrace of me.
OK, I think I'll end here for now.
I have to clean some red dirt off of me so we can go to dinner.
I survived the long plane rides and thankfully had an open seat next to me on both flights. Yeah!
I couldn't fall asleep last night and didn't sleep much of the planes so I think I've slept only a total of 9 hours since Friday when I left. I'm sure that will catch up to me soon!

I'm thinking about all of you at home.

Love, Heather

Flying out today!

Today is the day!

After months of raising money, feeling inspired, and imagining this trip, I am finally and actually leaving today! I've been really excited but also a bit nervous for the last few days.

I'll be sitting on a plane f0r about 18 hours today. Not too thrilled about that but I have a few great books to read (The Book Thief is first, thank you Debbie!) and some good TV shows to watch on my netbook.

I fly to Brussels first and then on to Uganda.

I'll be meeting a bunch of other people in my group in Brussels so at least I have that to look forward to. One of the girls suggested doing some yoga in the Brussels airport during our layover. Sounds good to me! I'll surely need to stretch and move by that point. I always do my best to stretch on airplanes to the amusement of my neighbors :)

I land in Uganda at 10:35 Saturday night. Uganda is 8 hours ahead of us. I'll probably write again after our first day there on Sunday. We visit the Acholi slums on Sunday and meet people living in some difficult circumstances. I'm glad I have a bunch of kids clothes to give to families there.

Please send me good travel wishes for a safe and easy flying experience!

I'm off!

xo Heather