My Parasites are Going Home

Quick post tonight because I am EXHAUSTED.  But there a couple important things I want to cover here.

First, we have exceeded our fundraising goal!  We raised over $17,000 in total.  So amazing!!  I really badly wanted to make that goal before I hit Uganda, and it has happened!!  It gives me a lot of hope and confidence that this project is really going to succeed.  Or at least that I'll be able to do some good in trying.

Second, I am in transit.  I'm currently spending the night in the Washington Dulles airport.  In just spent an awesome three days with my best friend from college, Sarah at her home in Denver.  We saw a fabulous musical starring one of her amazingly talented friends from high school, ate so much good food that I won't get until....who knows when, snuggled her beautiful new baby girl, and of course talked and talked.

On my way to the airport from my parent's house with all my stuff in all my early-morning glory.

Sarah is an incredible and supportive friend, and has volunteered to take on selling some of the paper-bead jewelry I brought back in December from my beautiful Ugandan women.  I can say with near certainty that whatever I make from selling that jewelry will go straight to paying a Ugandan's salary.  So if you're at all interested in buying some, make sure you have liked my facebook page!  (www.facebook.com/recyclingforhope)

Saying goodbye to my 12-year-old puppy.  I will miss her more than nearly anything else.  

But for now, I am sleeping in the airport.  I was trying to figure out why all my friends out here are so dang responsible and I don't have anyone out here chilling with me in the airport at 2:30 am....  I'll have to work on finding some irresponsible friends :-)  My flight out here went well, though they almost didn't let me on the plane.  United Airlines told me my flight had been revoked by Ethiopian Airlines.  I nearly went into cardiac arrest.  After much panic and a few high-stress phone calls, we found out Ethiopian apparently just has a ridiculous policy that all their travelers have to check their bags, show their passport AND the credit card they used to purchase the flight (good thing I have it!!) at their own ticket counter here.  So stupid.  So the near heart attack was for nothing, but now rather than sleeping in the dead quiet terminal, I am sleeping next to the doors by the ticket counter.  Lovely.  

This is my camp out for the night.  Doesn't it look so warm and inviting?

I just have to make it to tomorrow at 11:00 am and I will be in the air, heading over seas.  Full disclosure: I honestly don't remember the last time I was this nervous for something.  Last year I was like a shot out of a cannon as soon as I got word I could go, you couldn't hold me back.  But this year I know what I'm heading into, so that anticipation of the unknown isn't there, but the desire to want things to work out really badly is.  So I'm left feeling nervous.  I don't particularly like that feeling.  I do think once I finally hit the ground in Uganda I will just feel at home again and have the calm assurance like I did before I left that everything is going to work out.  And my cousin Richard pointed out I probably don't have butterflies, it's probably the parasites that have been giving me so much grief since I came home.  I'm not nervous, they're just excited to back to their motherland. Keep your fingers crossed for me anyway.  Oh, and I think I found a place to live once I'm there!  I need to see the place first, but it sounds great.  


The next post I write will be from Gulu!  I can't wait!