First Week Gone!

I have been officially African for one week! It has been an interesting week - trying to get settled in, understand the routine (not that there is one!) and getting used to this way of living. Unfortunately, it seems like rainy season has come early...
This weekend, there was a big wedding in the catheral next door that we were all invited to, but after a night of being sick and fainting every 30 seconds i decided to give it a miss! The visiting doctors were not worried though, they said the change in altitude does that to most people in the first few days (also, the previous day i was having too much fun and worked too much and drank too little!) I am much better now!
My last few days, i have started a little routine. I have been put in charge of doing the physio with some of the little ones who are not doing so well. Baby M is 8 months, and is the size of a 2 month old but doesn't even have the ability of a 2 month old. He can not hold up is head yet, and is worrying all of us here! For Baby M, we are focusing on getting his neck stronger. Little J is nearly 3 and has cerebral palsy. He is very weak, and has been babied all his life so he has hardly any strength. Baby P is deaf and blind in one eye. The baby carers don't seem to understand that he cant hear. So i have researched little exercises i can do with them to build their core muscles, and maybe in a few weeks we might see improvements.
Baby J was taken to hospital on Saturday with a fever, and suspected malaria. Thankfully, her blood test cam back negative for malaria and she is a lot better now. Apart from the fact she vomited milk all over my dress this morning... I think children know when you are wearing clean clothes!
Yesterday, Ezra took me out in the truck to see the countryside (and also to pick up some potatoes). When he told me we were going to get potatoes, i imagined one of those bags you can get a the green grocers. I was slightly surprised when we filled the whole of the pick up truck with potatoes - 400kg!!
Staff meeting was interesting this morning, all the Muzungos had to sit on the benches and all the black people had to sit of the floor?! White people means authority in their culture, which the idea is going to take some getting used to (as much as i like bossing people around! I would prefer to be on the same level as them) Their Worship is cool though, loads of different harmonies and although their notes are not all perfect it sounds amazing!
This afternoon, Ruth and I feel a little bit useless. Jenny has gone home with a head ache and Ezra is taking a long lunch so we are not really sure what we are meant to be doing because all the babies are sleeping, the clothes have been washed, the food have been cooked, and the floors have been swept! Apparently 3pm is home time, except for our amazing builders who have been working at 7:30am (yawn) and finishing at 6pm, 6 days a week just so that we get a little fence and garden in front of our house!
Today's lunch was good! The past 7 days the kitchen staff have cooked exactly the same thing (no exaggeration) - rice, carrot, beans and cabbage. It is good, but slightly boring! But today we had sweet potatoes, gnut sauce and cabbage. If only they learn how to cook Lasagne for 100 people!
Well, i think i have covered all the vaguely exciting stuff... Still surviving!

ps. You can get pringles in the 'supermarket'. Seriously, this made my day when i found this out!

We have arrived!

We arrived safe and sound in Kisoro on Tuesday afternoon after a long and exhausting journey! The flights were... cramped (apparently Ethiopian air only cater for people who's legs are about 10" long, so my 34" legs were slightly twisted!) Our taxi man, Jean-Marie picked us up form Kigali airport where we started our 3 hour drive through the Rwandan mountains (A-maze-ing.) Ezra (the main man at potters village) met us at the Ugandan border, and brought us to Kisoro.
Me and Ruth, the other volunteer who i travelled with, are the first to stay in the visitor accommodation that they have just built. We are very lucky to have a small kitchen, a shower, warm water, comfy beds, and some luxuries that you can get here that i was not expecting like digestive biscuits! Our "toilet" on the other hand, will take some getting used to!!
The babies here are adorable. I have only been here 2 days and i have already changed loads of cloth nappies, bathed a kazillion babies, and given lots of hugs to the poorly ones. Baby A is possibly my fav at the moment, she is cheeky and a trouble maker but loving life. She has only just come out 2 week isolation after being very poorly with pneumonia. Baby E is living up at Jenny's house because she was born premature and is still very tiny, but she is gaining weight fast and doing really well which is amazing. Hopefully she will be down at P.V soon. Although the toddlers have had an amazing adventure playground built for them, they don't seem too interested with it at them moment. The carers never had toys and playgrounds when they were growing up so they find it hard to encourage the little ones to play. I am hoping to find ways to get the carers engaging with the games too...!
Right.... I have lost my train of thought... The office is right next to the isolation room and Baby J was screaming so i have to change her nappy, and put her back to bed because none of the night staff could hear her (which must be kinda hard because she can scream, that's for sure)
Today, we went into town. We went for lunch at a little cafe run by a German lady and ate beef stew and chips?! I thought i was going to be eating cabbage for the next 6 months! Eve, Jenny's house girl, then showed me and Ruth round town, and then took us to the market. In the market, all the ladies would lift up their children so they could see the Muzungo's (White people) and all you could here was "how are you Muzungo! Muzungo Muzungo!" They also think is cool to price things 10 times as much as they should be just because we are white! thank goodness for Eve.... The weather is great, hot but not too hot, and then in the afternoon we get a huge thunderstorm which cools everything down for the evenings. 
Come on Baby J, please go back to sleep!
Elections are tomorrow... pray for peace! Jenny says Kisoro is a safe place, so even if there is trouble in Entebbe, she says she doesn't think it will reach here. Hopefully not another Eygpt situation!
Back at home this evening, Ruth and I cooked a healthy meal of marmite on toast.
I Love Africa!
Ciao

ps. Will post photos when i remember to bring my camera to the office!