Sad but excited!
This morning we woke up at 6:00 am like we had planned. Kiran, Kayla, Jenna, Andy, and I (Ice stayed home to catch up on sleep) went hiking up a hill that I must say is comparable to Mount Kilimanjaro (just kidding). The elevation change made it really difficult and thus, a good work out.
After the hike, we went home to wash clothes (While washing our clothes, Kiran and I were attacked by lizards and a loose chicken.) and clean the rice. Back at home, the rice you purchase at the store is clean and clear of stones. The rice here is dirty and full of stones.
At 2:30 pm we went to Habiba’s home to begin the leveling of the ground since the house was on a hill (instead of building the roof). It was hard work digging dirt with crappy shovels and hoes (which looked like they were made from a stick and a piece of metal). Anyway, it was so much fun to level the ground because we attracted the entire village to help us. Leveling took two hours!
While we were leveling the ground I saw a little boy chewing on a sugar cane, a food that I ate in Vietnam. I asked the boy where he got it and he said down the street. An hour later, Habiba and her grandmother came up to us and gave us two huge sugar canes! That was very sweet of them. The sugar cane was our dessert that night. All in all, a good day.
Today, half the group will continue work at the Kagera Regional Hospital and the other half will meet with Father Peter to arrange transportation to three other hospitals. We can’t believe that this trip is almost over. It is sad but also exciting because upon returning, we will begin the planning of next summer’s trip. We hope to have two groups next summer: one group back to Bukoba and a second group to a new destination, Arusha.
Anh