I Was In Uganda, But I'm Back Now.

I've been back for more than a week now, and so I know it's a little late to tell you all about my time in Uganda. I had high hopes for blogging while I was gone, but our internet was so dishonest and shady and I was so busy doing real-life things that I didn't have the chance. The truth is, I could fill novels, publish a weekly magazine, or have my own hip and cool youtube channel just of stories and experiences and life lessons. So much happened, and I was blown away every morning, noon, and night by the complete and total realness of God and the need for his help. I have so much I could say, and yet I sit here in front of my computer screen with the feeling that I simply can't do the journey justice through the artificial clacking of a keyboard and a small corner of the internet. It was so important to me, and I don't know how I can convey it's ups, downs and in-betweens to you. It was amazing. My life and my identity have been changed and renewed. I will probably write more and more about it as I miss it more and more. I miss my Ugandan friends. I washed my clothes by hand, took baths from a plastic bucket, was constantly dirty, and  was completely happy and fulfilled for 6 glorious weeks under the equatorial sun. But now I'm home, and until I go back, it's time for me to take ownership of my life here. To live happily, to do good, and to make these beautiful days count.

My Life As Of Now.

Let me just begin by making some excuses for myself and why I seemed to have dropped off the earth for the past few months (ok, fine, more like half a year). My life has been both hectic and not super interesting at the same time. I've been flying all over the place trying to get everything done before I leave for Uganda, but I spared you the details of it, since I doubted that you'd be enthralled and mesmerized by my trips to Wal Mart to buy Clif bars and travel size tissue packs, or the details of waiting on hold for the doctors office so I can get my expensive antimalarials. So, on the bright side, my first year at MSU is done, and I no longer work at Kohls. It's feels so good to be moving on to a new phase of life. Speaking of life changes, I no longer live in a trailer park! That is worth mentioning and celebrating, considering that I've been living in trailer parks since I moved to Bozeman almost 10 years ago. I moved with my family to a super cute house on 15th Ave, about a mile from downtown. I live in the basement, which is kind of scary, but since it's only temporary, and I'll be moving again in August, I just think of it as part of the adventure. All of my stuff is overflowing from haphazardly packed plastic garbage bags and grocery store produce boxes. Walter, my hip and with it brother, got accepted to Cornell, and that is neat, so I thought I would mention it. ALSO, he turns 21 this Wednesday, so get him some hipster tank tops or beer if you're feeling generous.

Oh, and no big deal, but I leave in 12 days. And I'm sort of in denial. I'm so excited to leave and have another big adventure and hang out with some Ugandan kids, but I don't think I'll accept the fact that I'm leaving until I step off the plane in Entebbe. The same thing happened when I went to Thailand. I spent 36 hours in a sort of delusional daze, wandering off of one plane and onto another, and then when I stepped outside of the airport, suddenly I was in Bangkok. Anyway, I'm hoping that even through my state of denial I can still get everything accomplished that I need to. On Friday I go to the doctor for my antimalarials, and for someone who suffers from doctors office hysteria, that's kind of a scary thing. Every time I go to the doctor and they close the for on the scary exam room, everything is both hilarious and so terrifying at the same time, and I almost always cry about something stupid.

While I wait in this in between time of life, I try to keep things in perspective and remain calm, and try to fill my days with good things. I've been eating lots of vegetables, drinking a lot of tea, and taking my dog on a lot of walks. I've also bought some houseplants, which I'm trying to keep healthy, since I'm very skilled at killing plants by doing everything that's supposed to be good for them. And as always, I've been trying to spend as much time as I can with my excellent boyfriend, who fixes my car and is much too kind and patient.

So, this is my life right now. 

I Am The Worst Blogger Ever

Hello readers, it's been awhile. I know, consistency, reliability, good writing, I know. I haven't blogged since somewhere around the beginning of the semester. I would make an excuse and say that I've been terribly busy, while for awhile, I WAS, in fact, terribly busy, but I just spent the whole of winter break sleeping in until 10 and fiddling around all day. I could have written an entire novel in that month of lazy farting around. It's just hard to pick back up again and try to sum up my life on a computer screen. I'll try to do a bit of that now, but I'm giving you the abridged version, because I don't have time to type out 4 months-worth of my life.

Article 1: Education. I made it through one successful semester, with all A's! I was a total nerd and spent most of the day getting things done in the library (where I am right now!), and working in the evenings. I averaged 5 or six hours of sleep per night, which is not enough for me, and I was completely drained and pale and exhausted all the time. But I did it, and I feel really good about that. I still don't love college, and a few days ago I had a breakdown at the thought of coming back, but now here I am and it's actually nice to feel productive and purposeful again. Today is the start of a new semester, and after a good cry, I'm ready. Plus, when this semester drags itself to a slow close, I will leave for Uganda, which brings us to Article 2.

Article 2: Africa! The story of how and why I will be going to Uganda the summer is kind of complicated, but also very simple if I don't go into the details. I met the founder of Uganda Orphans Fund, he said, "Do you want to come to Uganda?" And I said, "of course I want come to Uganda," and then so did several other people, and now there is a team of us who will leave in June, and stay for a month or longer. I have been preying about going back to Africa for about two years, and then in the span of one hour I was invited to Uganda, told I could stay for as long as I felt called to, and decided that I needed to go. And, as a fun bonus, my mom is coming along! She's always wanted to work with children somewhere in Africa, and when I had learned the details of the Uganda trip, I knew she had to be a part of it because it was the exact thing she's wanted to do for years. Yay, God!

Article 3: My boyfriend. I don't like to be sappy or romantic on the internet. Ever. So I'll just be brief and let you all know that he's excellent, I love him, we're happy, I'm very lucky, and he's way out of my league. Romantic status update complete.

I am really looking forward to this new year, and as amazing as 2013 was for me, I have the feeling that 2014 will be even more fantastic, challenging, and teaching. Thanks for reading this rambling, overly-peppy, and severely late blog post! I'll try to do a better job of keeping you informed about my life this year.