Questions

So I was asked to write a bit about what it's like here. I was asked some questions and have done my best to answer them.

 I was asked: is it hot? 

Here's a screenshot of my weather app as of when I started writing this blog. It's been consistently around 80 every day and mid to upper 60's at night. If you're directly in the sun, it's very, very hot. Luckily, there is a lot of shade on our property and I find myself sticking to the shade when I can. I miss fall. Everyone is posting pictures of all of the leaves changing color and people from LVC are on fall break...It's hard to imagine that because it's nothing like fall here. 

I was told I don't look tan.

I guess I'm not really tan. If you look at my arms compared to my legs though I do have some color. But because I'm in the shade a lot, I never really put sunscreen on unless I know I'm going to be going somewhere where I'm in direct sunlight for a while. I've also never been one to get extremely tan, that's just the way God made me. So while it's easy to wish that I had a nicer tan (especially because, come on, I'm in Africa, practically living on the equator), I'm trying to jut be happy with the way God created me :) 

It was mentioned to me that it seems like I'm always in a white shirt.

Well, I pretty much always am. I was told before coming here that I needed to wear skirts down to my ankles and a white shirt pretty much every day. So I packed a lot of white shirts. I quickly get very dirty every day. My clothes get covered in the beautiful red Ugandan soil, as well as food, drinks, squished bugs, snot, and pee. Taking care of 50 little ones for 9 hours each day means you get down and dirty with them haha. The white shirts can be soaked in a cleaner so they become white again, while it is harder to clean/keep the color the same for colored clothes. The clothes also hang on the line to dry so sometimes the sun alters the color as well. I generally wear my white shirts to work in and then my colored ones during my free time. My skirts are all colorful and fun though, you just don't get to see those in the pictures I take/post haha. Although I am working on gathering photos where you will be able to see some of my skirts... I guess I can share some of them now.

The kids (the younger ones really) like to fight over Auntie Betty's lap. God made me with big thighs and hips (curvy just like my mom!) so there is plenty of lap to share...but even still, sometimes it's hard to find a spot!

Just taking a nap...

Spacing at the end of the day

Those moments when you just have to face-plant

Auntie Betty is under there somewhere...

Some random things you might find interesting... 

Fruits and vegetables are super cheap here. I'm definitely going to miss that when I come home. Some of the fruits and vegetables are different here as well. For example:

Oranges are green. 

Lemons are green. 

Pumpkins are green. 

Um what? That's just confusing. 

Sweet potatoes here are not orange and are basically the same color as an irish potato. The sweet potatoes are sweeter and starchier than the ones at home (they don't get mushy when you cook them). 

There is a fruit called jack fruit. It's a strange looking fruit that is bright green and almost prickly on the outside and is extremely sticky. It's yellow on the inside with these huge seeds. The fruit itself tastes kind of like banana laffy taffy. Everyone loves it here... I really do not like it. 

A rolex is not a watch here, instead it is a delicious food item consisting of a chapati (similar to a fried tortilla I guess you could say) with an egg cooked with cabbage, tomato, carrots, and maybe some other vegetables, and then rolled up together like a crepe. I enjoy mine with chili or hot sauce most of the time (sometimes ketchup). Super cheap and super good! You can go to vendors on the street in town and they make it right there in front of you. 

Indian food has a huge presence here. There are multiple Indian restaurants, you can get Indian food at pretty much any restaurant (not just the Indian ones), and you can buy Indian food in the supermarkets. I had no idea before coming here how much of a presence India has here. 

Malaria isn't as awful as everyone back home makes it seem. It's basically like having the flu extremely badly but as soon as you start taking the medicine, it only takes you a day to get better again. Trey has had it once since I've been here. He recognized the signs right away, had one day where he was bed ridden, and was up and going the next. I'm pretty sure a Ugandan has it on average 5 to 6 times a year. I do get bit by mosquitoes all of the time (I hate those darn little things) but knock-on-wood I have not gotten malaria yet.

The animals here are different than at home. Ants, beautiful birds, frogs, lizards/geckos, deadly snakes, and monkeys are all pretty common here. Ant bites hurt. They are awful and I would never wish them on anybody. There are many types of water fowl here (because I can see Lake Victoria from the compound I live on) plus parrots and beautiful tiny birds that are very colorful. Some make strange noises and others have pretty calls that sound similar to Rue's whistle from the Hunger Games. The little geckos make your home their home as well. They often like to locate themselves on the ceiling but I've found a tiny little that likes to hang out in my room on my mosquito net in my bed before. Their entire bodies wiggle back and forth when they move and it cracks me up. People here are very afraid of snakes, and they have more reason to be because often times they are very deadly snakes. Black and green mambas are pretty common here. If you get bit and don't have access to antivenom, you will die in about 20 minutes. Monkeys aren't often seen right by our compound, but we have had a monkey run through our yard before. Cows, goats, and chickens are also very common. They just wander everywhere. There are many wild dogs here that just roam the streets.  Most Ugandans are afraid of dogs because they're used as guards on the compounds. 

A black mamba in a tree. I never want to get this close again...

A caterpillar with some crazy eyes! 

A monkey that ran through our yard

A praying mantis just chillin

Moo

Hopefully this has helped answer some people's questions. If you have any that I didn't answer, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to do so! Thank you all for thinking and praying for me. God bless <3