Shickel Family

Somehow we have been here longer than a year. Some days pass quick and others much slower. Currently my weeks consist of three mornings at the hospital and one morning in the outpatient clinic with afternoons full with daily life requirements, team responsibilities, or spending time with local friends. By 1pm as I walk out of the hospital I am typically drained mentally and I consider myself a high energy, extroverted person so that’s really telling of the setting where we work.  Over the last year my brain has spent energy on learning a new language, saying English words in a manner that translates, trying not to totally disregard cultural norms, be alert for the possible Ebola symptoms lurking on the next vomiting patient, pay attention to the increase in solider presence and security, be aware of the needs of the person in front of me but don’t shame them by too obviously helping them. That’s a lot. One or two of those things are a lot. And in less than 6 months my brain wi...

Safari at Murchison Falls in January  In January we visited Murchison falls national park for safari with Ike’s parents. It was quite a hike - a full 9 hour day in the car on marum roads plus a stop to visit dear friends in Hoima along the way. When we pulled up to the ferry boarding area and saw the Nile River rushing by, it made it all worth it.  We stayed near the ferry which made for an easy drive to the lodge and a quick minute to change and make it to an outside dinner with muchomo (grilled/bbq meats) and a dessert table bigger than our entire kitchen in Bundi.  We did a morning game drive and a night game drive both with a UWA guide who was AMAZING, named Sarah. Seriously a real gem. A beautiful thing about Ugandans is their intuitiveness - they notice the details, check in on your wellbeing and generally want to be great hosts. Many times I heard Sarah asking Ike’s mom “are you ok mommy?” And she genuinely wanted to know if she was ok...