Ok. I’m trying to get back on track with my weekly blog
since the last few have been sort of long and bloated. This past week was about
getting back into the groove for the last month of my stay here.
Started off my days by waking up around 7 and getting some
breakfast, taking a shower, etc… Trying to rebuild some form of routine. Anyone
who knows me would also know that I have virtually no routine. Every day is a
new adventure! However, I’ve been doing slightly more adventuring the past few
months than normal, and I can feel myself on the brink of burning out(if I
haven’t already!). So maybe a little routine would be a good thing.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of last week was Drawing at
the Primary School at 11 every morning and traveling into Mathare to hang out
with the St. Maurus kids after lunch. Sometimes I went out for a beer in the
evening. On Friday, I just went to the primary school in the morning and took
the afternoon off.
Saturday was preparation day. Preparation for what you might
ask? Well, if you’re asking then you’ve apparently forgotten what day followed
this past Saturday. Of course it was a Sunday. I’m not an idiot, but this
particular Sunday was special because… it was St. Patrick’s Day! So we went to
the market down the road and bought a crate of 25 Guinnesses, a handle of
Jameson’s Irish Whiskey, and a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Unfortunately,
all of that was NOT for us, rather a good bit of it went to guests that we had
invited. I still got a fair portion of it though. We also went to a new bar
down the road a friend of ours was just starting. There were like 12 bars on
that block alone. Poor spotting, but apparently that’s how it is done here.
Sunday was the big day. We went into town and had a nice
breakfast of eggs and toast. Coincidentally, the place where we went also sold
Guinness, and they had no problem selling it to us at 10 o’clock in the morning.
Then we walked around for a bit and went back to Amani. People started showing
up within a couple hours, and everyone just sat outside drinking beer and
eating food. It was like I was home except no one here has one ounce of Irish
blood in them, and it was pretty much a foreign holiday for them. It was still
fun though!
Monday I took it easy. Today, I got Tim to pick up my
drawing duty, so I could go into town in the morning, sit here and write my
blog, and then go to the sports equipment store and look into getting myself a
basketball hoop or two.
Side adventures during those 4 days, we found a local
basketball court. I haven’t gotten a chance to play on it yet, but I plan to.
The St. John’s boys and I have developed a good relationship with the sisters
next door. We've been visiting over there at the dispensary. Tim and Mike have
been doing work in the Laboratory and Triage. I've just been chillin’ with the
sisters. They’re pretty awesome. I had a good long talk yesterday with a local
bar owner at the Choma Inn pub. It’s right around the corner from Amani. He’s a
nice guy and surprisingly Americanized. He went to some school run by Baptist women,
and on his bucket list he’s got riding a motorcycle from the east coast to the
west coast of America. Point being, he’s a cool dude. His bar is nice. Future
Missionaries, whoever you are, go check it out when you get here!
Still looking for someone with rosary connections back home
or if they want to donate money so I can just buy them and send them.
Hopefully, I’m getting a couple basketballs and hoops
today. I’m gonna try to test drive one of the balls today, too. I miss
Basketball.
When I get back to the states, I’ll probably have some random
trinkets and stuff from Uganda. If anybody wants to buy them from me, the
totality of the proceeds go directly to a Women’s Center run by the Benedictine
Sisters in Jinja, Uganda. It’s not some big charitable corporation where half
the money disappears. I’d be literally putting that money right in the hands of
the people who run the center. It’s the advantage of being here and seeing what’s
what.
I’m going to be pretty stationary for the next month(or at
least that what It looks like), so, if anyone wants to send me emails or
anything, I’ll be here ready to answer questions about my trip and about me and
whatever else you may think of. I got a month left!
-Harris
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