This will be my last blog from Uganda.
I would like to thank all the people who helped make this possible, who encouraged me, for all the wonderful people I've met, and for my faithful readers. This trip has definitely changed me. In big and small ways, the beard is one of them.

I begin my journey to London in an hour, flight leaves at 1240am, then lands at 645am-ish. Im really looking forward to my 4 days of exploring.

Don't worry I will post again. :)

one more week left... its a bittersweet feeling.

On friday, the staff at Wentz called me in for the last of their general staff meeting and surprised me with a card signed by everyone and cake as a thank you and farewell party. I couldn't help but get a little choked up when I heard them say how much of a blessing I had been to them. I didn't really know what to say other than to thank them for being patient with me when I didn't understand what the patients were saying in Lugandan and when I didn't understand what the patients were saying in English. A lot of people came up to me to say goodbye, probably not realizing that i still had one more week with them. I told them, "You'd be surprised how hard it'll be to get rid of me, I'm coming back on monday."

I told my mom about a week ago that I stumbled across 1 Corinthians 13 while I've been here. I think that it really speaks to this trip on so many levels.. I could literally fly half way across the world and help all these people, but without love, it means absolutely nothing. So yeah.. check it out. :)

Half way through the day Dr. Martin came up to me and asked if I was ready to go to Mulago. I replied yes, not really realizing that he meant right then. So I quickly got ready to go and we were on our way. We had a few stops before we went to the hospital; we met with a group to talk about installing water filters, went to a rotary club lunch meeting (at which I was introduced and greeted as an honorary guest), and drop some paperwork off at an office.

Once we arrived at Mulago, I was instantly stunned. There was a line of people around 200 feet long waiting to just get in the gate into the hospital compound, and that was just the side entrance. Dr. Martin explained that the hospital was built to hold 1500 patients, but holds anywhere from 2500 to 3000 patients at any given time, and I think that number doesn't even count the separate building/wards for HIV/AIDS patients or TB patients. Dr. Martin went to the medical school, Makere, that is affiliated with the hospital, so he was an excellent tour guide. We visited the pediatric, men's, women's, and geriatric wards, ICU, surgical ward, burn ward, ear nose and throat ward, the cancer ward, and the casualty ward (or emergency room, odd name huh?).

After a good deal of time walking around the hospital, Dr. Martin took me over to the  medical school and showed me around his old stopping grounds. We walked through some of the lecture halls, lab rooms, the pathology lab, and the cadaver dissection room (with three cadavers we "peeked at").

So my overall impression of both places were definitely a lot different than I would have expected. As far as the school goes, I guess I didn't have any expectations but it was pretty nice considering. Then for the hospital, its safe to say I won't complain about anything in the American health care system ever again. Ever. I kinda wish that I could have taken pictures, because words can't really describe some of the things I saw.

Happy Thanksgiving to all you back home. I'll miss the food. Oh, and the family too. Hahaha

Well, Im back to where I started from. Haha, I'm staying with Abby for my last two weeks here. In a way, it almost feels as if it's been forever since I've been here and in the same thought it seems like it was yesterday. As happy as I am to be back, it does mean my diet has gone back to strictly Ugandan foods, I guess I'll be all the more ready for westernized food once I'm back.

This week at Wentz, I will be working entirely on my own at the reception desk. The secretary that is usually there is taking her finals and writing papers, so it should be fun...ish. I think I remember mentioning that I was going to Mulago, the big hospital here, the original plan didn't work out. Hopefully the visit can work itself out in the next few days. 

I'm unusually tired now a days.. I don't know if its the batch of mefloquine pills, the weather, or what. But it definitely becomes worse whenever I nap during the afternoon and can't sleep at night, like last night.

12 more days left in Uganda

I know I should be smiling. It was easy to put this up because it's already my facebook picture. So this is for those of you who haven't been able to see me all this time. haha

Captain's Log, stardate 9529.1. This is the final cruise of the Starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun, and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man... where no *one* has gone before...

I found the quote rather fitting as I enter my last few weeks here. 

This last week I joined 300+ other people from all over Uganda and it's surrounding countries at a conference in Bethany Village. Speakers from Michigan, Idaho, California, and Canada came to share words of encouragement and teach valuable skills to the people of Africa. I'll be honest I wasn't very thrilled going into the conference, but after the fact, I'm very glad that I was able to attend. I was able to visit with some of the people that I met during my travels, met some new people, and had an overall great time. I shared one of the small houses in Bethany with Pastor Dennis (from San Francisco, funny quick witted guy), Pastor Tim (also from San Francisco, great guy, but snores louder than I thought was humanly possible), and we were joined for a few nights by two other speakers. You definitely could not have asked for a better location for a conference, everything took place outside right next to the lake. One of the few things that made this conference unlike any other was that sessions began at 6:30am. Yeah, I know. No, I didn't get up for that one. I got up with the rest of the white people for the 8'oclock session. 

This weekend has been spent just relaxing as usual. I have the main house to myself tonight while the Fage family is over at their friend's house. I will be doing the most amount of food prep that I have done since I've been in Uganda, just putting the shepherds pie in the oven for 30 mins. I think I can manage though.

Thats about it I think. As I've said before, feel free to ask questions of any kind. If you don't have an account, ask my parents to ask for you haha. 

new blog post to come tomorrow.
sorry to those who have been asking for updates, I've either been too busy or without internet to do so.