So long camera I [still] love so dear

Well, I am healthy again and don't cringe at the sight of an avocado anymore..but definitely still do not have the stomach to try & eat one yet. Just a week after all that fainting-in-Kampala craziness, the city had something else in store for me:

My bag was stolen on Friday night! A boda boda driver (motorcycle taxi, basically) drove by and snatched it straight out of my hands and then just kept on driving down the street. It was around 8 so it was already dark and he was going too fast for us to even do anything. It took me a couple seconds to even realize what the heck happened, and of course by then it was too late.

At first, I automatically thought about my wallet. I didn't have that much in there, maybe the equivalent of $25 and my IL drivers license (passport was safe at home, thank goodness). Then about 30 seconds later came the realization that my Canon camera was in there too...what I was most worried about in bringing that camera here had happened -it's gone!! Annoyingly, I also had my little digital point & shoot camera in there too cause I was planning to upload some pictures from that camera as well. FML, right?

So while the boda driver is stuffing his pockets with fat wads of cash, I am trying so hard to think on the bright side, to be positive, something... Maybe he has lots of kids to feed, or school fees to pay. Unlikely, I know. It just makes me so upset - I'm back in Kampala today and I can feel myself looking around, untrusting and even angry at times. I don't like that! I don't want to be sad either, so I try to focus on the fact that I still get to be with these kids and that's the reason why I'm here. On the fact the camera itself is replaceable. I realize too that I'm fortunate enough to even think about replacing it, maybe not immediately, but at some point. I am also so glad that I had been able to get most of the pictures off that camera and at least on-line so I can still have access to them. I had planned some cool photo projects for the kids and really hope that is still possible. I think giving them pictures of themselves and with their friends would really be special.

I went back to the police station this morning and they still have hope they will be able to trace my SIM card and track everything down (I thought that's what they said they'd be doing this weekend...but regardless...). Again, sounds unlikely, right? Courtney and Adam's cameras are both still kickin' so I still hope to capture some of what's going on here via their cams. Courtney is even visiting America in December so I'm hoping she can meet my parents to at least get some kind of replacement.

So, yes, this sucks BIG TIME but I didn't need my cameras, IDs or wallet to be stolen to see the obvious lessons here - that I am fine, healthy and things could have been worse. That there are bigger problems right in front of me that I can put my attention to; so many of these kids have issues that I've never had to deal with. Of course I wish this hadn't happened, but I know I can learn a lot without looking through the lens of a camera!

Hope you have a great week!
Heather

So long green fruit I once loved so dear

Just wanted to say hay, so hay...

Things are still rockin and rollin and it's hard to believe it's Oct 1 already, right?

Well, my apologies for falling off the virtual face of the world for a bit. I'm not a trained blogger. I'd much rather put up pics for ya'll to see so I hope you were or are able to check out facebook for the full collection.

In some other news, I fell a bit ill this past week, topping the saga off with a fainting episode in the streets of Kampala. You don't even have to say it, I will: hot.mess.. Not that there is ever a good place to pass out, but Kampala would rank in my Top 5 places to never, ever do it! All kidding aside, I am fine, just wicked dehydrated! I got a nasty infection that I couldn't shake cause my kidneys didn't have enough water. etc etc. I'll spare you other details, but I am on the mend now although still taking it easy. I really think I drink a lot of water, too!

The WORST part of this, you ask? I ate an avocado for lunch on Tuesday before sh*t hit the fan and now I can't even THINK of a 'cado, let alone type it here. WOOF, major bummer there. Hopefully that passes and I can resume eating you-know-whats... :)

Well, back to resting and drinking lots and lots of water. October is shaping up to be busy for work for us. We've connected with 4 other schools and will begin holding trainings on their grounds once a week for the kids. It should be really fun and hopefully we can get some kids more involved in our Center. (Sidenote: Still no further developments on the gov't building going in and us moving out!)

Well, I hope you are all healthy, happy and enjoying FALL! Get creative with those pumpkins and costumes. I'm excited to see some good pics.

Thinking of you,
Heather