For the last 2 months, when I have walked past children and they've shouted 'mzungu bye-ee' at me, it has made me laugh and wave back, now each time i hear it it makes me want to cry because it fits so appropriately!
Saying goodbye to the girls at the school I have been playing netball at was very sad as many of them are GCSE or A level age and will soon be leaving school and going off yo get jobs or (more likely because of the culture) getting married and having childtrn so it will be hard to see them in the future.
Had a lovely long chat to Thad about the ups and downs of life in Uganda and then bid him farewell. My final stop of the day was at The mustard seed orphanage. As ever, it was so lovely to sit and entertain the kids - letting them clamber all over me and pull on every part of my body! I helped one of the aunties (women who look after the children) wash the babies and toddlers who of course loved the fact they had a white person splashing water at them and I inevitably got soaked! The babies have a brilliant ritual of being stripped, hands washed and placed, naked, around a large bowl of food. They then eat this and get covered, head to toe, in food so they then get 'bathed' and plonked (in a line) onto potties and dressed. Once they were all in their cots I went round and kissed them all goodnight and goodbye which of course set the tears flowing as many of them were crying too. The older kids were then rating so I said goodbye to each of them individually, just about managing to hold it together. As soon as I was out of the gate and sat on the back of a boda, the sobs came at the thought of not seeing those beautiful, happy, playful children on a weekly basis :'(
Popped in to Sofia's place to find that Rhi had arrived. It was great to see her and nice to have another familiar, mzungu face here! However, i was much more excited by the fact that she brought a large block of cathedral city cheddar cheese with her and Sofia and I just sat in amazement at the smell, let alone the taste - we then used it to make pasta and cheese for dinner (such a novelty) :D
My youngest sister is sadly really unwell but no one really knows what is wrong.. It seems like malaria but she tested negative for it, however she has a scorching temperature, lots of vomiting and is just generally very weak and unhappy - it is so horrible to see a little 4 year old like that, especially when she is usually so energetic and bubbly.
At work on Wednesday, we had a little race has to whose mother would have their baby first (so unprofessional) with Rhi and I against Sofia's - we won of course. Also helped a mumma with her little, but thankfully very healthy, little 30 week baby so she could feed her and keep her warm.
For lunch i was given fried grasshoppers (along with the usual beans, rice and matoke). Esau has been telling me for weeks that they are the best food ever and all that... I have to say they weren't as awful as they could have been but didn't quite live up to his description. I couldn't quite get over the fact that I kept getting legs stuck in my teeth!
On Wednesday evening we hosted a party at Sofia's house for her birthday (which isn't until next week but I wanted to be here for the party) to which we invited all the midwives and doctors and a few other staff that we have got to know, along with Charlie and heather and Rhi of course! The senior midwife, Grace, did most of the cooking and she went completely overboard on the quantities but oh well, it meant everyone had a goody bag of potatoes to go home with ;) the party was good fun and it was nice to spend time with the people we have built up such a good relationship with, outside of work. Of course it was another difficult goodbye but somehow (<<that's such a Ugandan saying) I managed to choke back the tears. Also had to sag goodbye to Charlie and heather after they walked me back home in the dark which was sad as they have both been good friends put here and k have learned so much useful obstetrics from Charlie and plenty of useless, random knowledge from Heather (I know your reading this heather ;))!
Spent Thursday morning squeezing all my stuff into 2 suitcases and bracing myself for yet another emotional goodbye. Eve is still very unwell so saying goodbye to her was particularly tough, having to leave her in such a bad way :( the farewell was tearful but brief which is probably a good thing otherwise I may never have left!
On arrival in Kampala I repacked mg bags to try and make them a little easier to shut (unsuccessfully) and then read on my balcony with Kampala stretched in front of me. Met Sofia and Rhi at a restaurant in town and we had a delicious Indian, coming away completely stuffed.
Yesterday we went on a coffee safari. This involved turning up at a coffee shop (completely drenched after catching a boda in the rain) and getting breakfast. We then visited various places learning about the importance of how the coffee is prepared by the barista, the coffee tasters who spent their day sipping and spitting coffee to check it is suitable for export and us Brits (and the like) won't complain. Then went on to a factory where they clean and sort the beans according to colour and size. Also visited a roasting house, where ironically they gave us disgusting coffee. After seeing a coffee research centre (which was a bit too much like A level biology for my liking) we went to a very rural coffee farm for a traditional Ugandan lunch and planted our very own coffee trees with a sign beside them - I will be back in a couple of years to harvest my crop ;)
Lugged all my bags to the coffee shop opposite the craft market this morning where I sat and had a coffee whilst Rhi and Sofia did some shopping and then on on to the beautiful Boma hotel I'm Entebbe, by the airport. The sun did us proud and shone all day so I snuck in some last minute tanning (and nose burning as ever) in the equatorial heat before a lovely dinner followed by a very quick goodbye (to avoid tears) with my Ugandan companion Sofia and Rhi.
I am currently sat in a (very overpriced) cafe in the airport departures and I still don't think its hit me that I am coming home although I am so excited to see my families faces as a walk out of Heathrow :D
See you in under 12 hours.... Xx
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