Adventure Whisper: 2014

My mind has been twirling around my most recent adventure outside of the United States. This evening, I had the pleasure of reminiscing with one of my travel companions from my Uganda excursion, Maddie Harris, and my memories rushed back. Back to my first encounter with Uganda.

Our Luggage - Medical Supplies

We arrived late at night...I believe it was roughly around midnight or close to 1am. We had been traveling a long while, and none of us were really sure of the time. One or two of our duffle bags full of medical supplies had not made it with the rest, so Amy and Charlotte stayed in the airport at customer service to fill out paperwork so that we could eventually get the luggage if it were ever to surface. In the tussle of trying to gather our luggage was a group of 4 military men who also had military duffle bags, and we had a time trying to distinguish our luggage from theirs. Some of theirs were these huge black rugged boxes filled with who knows what, but were obviously too large to fit into the scanner, so they had to be rummaged through by hand. The rest of us, Chip, David and Maddie, Sarah Cloud, Jeanne 'Jja Jja Jee Jee' Crawford, and myself loaded up the rest of the luggage on carts and began our journey towards the outside door, but were preceded by the military men. It was no bother to any of us, and Jja Jja Jee Jee, being in her 70's and quite the motherly type, gave them all hugs and whispered in their ears ,'You make it back safely, you hear!' with a motherly smile, and a tear in her eye. 'Your mother is not here to tell you that, so I am your mother for now.' They all allowed her to hug them, and without a word, gathered their luggage and began piling it to take inventory. A rough looking security guard with an A-K 47 and a gargantuan black dog on alert silently strode by, a menacing pair. The sleepy security guard at the front door waking up just in time for them to pass, and then drifting back to sleep, his A-K 47 draped across his lap, barrette tipped to the side, and his boots polished so that the lights reflected off of them. Thus was our introduction to Uganda.

David Ssesublime and Me

Landed in Entebbe, Uganda!

We silently shuffled outside and tried to keep our luggage close, as random men kept coming up to us, trying to take our luggage and asking where we needed to go. A warm smiling face greeted us...and introduced herself. After that, we had several smiling faces, and hugs all around, shaking of hands, and I have no idea who was there and who was not. I am assuming that Big Sam was there. I knew no one before I went, and I did not meet my travel team until the day of our flight. All of a sudden my luggage was taken, and David Ssesublime bounced over to me, hugged me and said, 'Welcome Deanna!' I looked at him with some confusion, 'I am sorry, but I do not remember meeting you.' 'That is because we have not yet met!' he smiled back, and we had a laugh. David Ssesublime was our team leader and the original organizer of this entire trip! Our luggage was packed into two vehicles: a bus and a very large van. Everyone of my team shuffled into the van. I do not blame them. Most of them had never been out of the country, and here we were in Uganda, of all places. It could be disorienting for some, and I can see why they all wanted to stick together. I purposefully hopped onto the bus where all of the Ugandan people were, and made myself at home. I found that some of them spoke english and I peppered them with questions, which they were all more than happy to answer. Suddenly I was awake and full of life...and very thirsty. In the night, with the uninhibited blast of stars overhead, our vehicles left the airport and began the long bumpy journey down the road to Apricot Guest House where we would spend the night. In my bus, we talked and laughed and had a wonderful time. David Ssesublime pointed out landmarks that he said I would have to remember to look for during the daylight hours, and we went over some of the itinerary for the next few days. I could see the weary look in his eyes, but he was genuinely happy to see us. He and I were to become good friends on this trip.
Apricot Guest House was amazingly beautiful, and the beds, being almost rock hard, suited me just fine. I shared a room with Sarah Cloud that first night, and we opened the windows for a wonderful cool breeze filtering into the room. Our beds were covered in mosquito netting - a God Send! - and everything was arranged just so perfectly and simply. The showers, well, the water was freezing cold, but I did not mind too much. I had experienced worse, and I did not expect to have warm water anyway. So, goosebumps and all, I took a shower, and then plopped into bed for a few hours sleep. The next morning would begin an entirely new chapter, and I was so eager to see what Uganda was like. I slept like a bump on a log the entire night.

When I returned to the states, I was asked if I felt that I could have stayed a while longer. I thought about it, but it did not take much time for me to realize that, yes, I would be completely fine staying there for one year, even. I would have loved to have learn the language a little, and I would have liked to have worked with the people more. I felt that even in just the short amount of time that we were there, we were making such an impact. Medical education on the importance of hygiene, and introducing new ideas of health and wellness. The looks in these young female faces when they heard that they did not have to stay home from school because of their menstruation, but that they could continue to come to school and learn despite that, and were given washable pads for it. Or giving each family one electric solar light so that they would not have to brave the toxic fumes and risk the fire hazard of the glassless oil lamps. These simple things that mean so much. I was humbled by the lady who manned the restrooms at the school, because she stayed up one evening and made a broom for me - with my name woven in the handle. My heart was touched so deeply. I do not feel in any way that it was one-sided learning experience, though. Those people taught me so much. The wonder of being genuinely happy in mud huts.

My Interpreters! Brian and Sarah 'Mzungu'

When I went to make medical calls, they welcomed me into their mud houses with pride and offered me food that they could not really afford to offer. One house that I visited, an older man approached me and my friend/interpreter Brian and scoffed at us and said, 'Why is it that, if we come to your country, we are expected to learn the language, but when YOU come HERE to our country, you need HIM to interpret?!' I breathed a deep sigh, because the only good answer that I had was that I did not have ample time to prepare. This gentleman and I spoke for several minutes, and I apologized for the discrepancy between the two situations. My explanation that I had not time to learn his language, and that there was not a lot of learning literature on Lugandan, finally convinced him. By the end of our chat, he gave me a huge hug, grasped my hand in both of his, and welcomed me into his home. When I left that house, he walked me to the edge of the property and the beginning of our trail back to the school, and he thanked me for coming.

I left those people, and I returned to the United States. I am grateful for the opportunity to have gone, and even more so for the opportunity to have learned and seen what I did. I love the fact that I can feel 'at home' pretty much wherever I go in this world, and that some times are rough, but I am made for such things. Sometimes the heart desires things that are beyond the body's capability to fulfill. Growing up I always wanted to be either a Navy Seal or a Ranger. That could not be, for obvious reasons. But my heart yearns for these types of trips, and hopefully I will be able to find longer trips in the future. I have no idea what the future holds, but I am excited to see it! One of my friends once said, 'I cannot just pass by a door that is opened to me. I HAVE to at least walk through and see what is inside.' And I feel the same way. So, with that said, I hope more of these 'doors' are swung open for me, and that more opportunities stroll into my life.

Peace be the journey.