पोंद hopping

so i've successfully hopped the pond and am sitting at someone's house in london. we flew from panama city to atlanta (4 hr layover) then to chicago (another 4 hr layover), and then an 8 hour flight to london -- and we're here for 15 hours. we rode the train, and missed our stop -- so a nice brittish man put us back on the right train and didn't charge us for the extra stop. they seem to be a little more rigid on protocol here, which is a little annoying, but when in rome . . . i only have a few minutes on the computer here -- so i'll keep this short. i have a cell phone which i'll be able to use in uganda -- and as soon as i get a sim card i'll post the number. happy trails.

uganda

so alot of people have been asking where uganda is . . . and i'm proud to say that almost everyone knows that it's in africa!!!!! so here are a few maps for your reference . . .enjoy!!! so as you can see on the map, sudan is to the north, rwanda to the south, and the congo to the east -- so with all of the conflict going on in surrounding countries, i am extremely curious to see uganda. a few interesting facts about uganda -- they have made the biggest comeback in all of african history. after dictator idi amin, uganda was left in ruins -- disease, poverty and an overall feeling of hopelessness is what was felt throughout the entire country. the current elected president, Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI, has really turned things around for the people. ground zero for the aids pandemic has been traced back to uganda. in a place where entire villages were once killed off due to aids - they now have the lowest hiv/aids infection rate in all of africa. they have instated a parliment and a true working democracy, and for the time being all is well. ugandan women are still being opressed, but not to the extent of it's surrounding coutries. i just had a meeting with the group of people i'm going over with, and we were told that in the rural areas where we are to be staying, women must wear long dresses and be covered. so today i went dress shopping for "amish" style dresses -- they say in uganda only the prostitutes wear pants. so as not to be misconstrued as a hooker -- i've bought some of the ugliest dresses ever -- and you can believe i'll be leaving them in uganda with the locals!!!! i've got a fancy schmancy new camera, so hopefully i'll be posting some sweet pic's of life and people there. we are going on a safari when we first get there -- the lodge that we are staying at (for only 1 night) is on a big game preserve. they say from the balcony you can see elephants, rhino's, girraffe's and lots of other pretty animals. so stay tuned, i hope to get some really good photo's!!!!

africa or bust!!!!!

so it's been almost a year since i posted one of these things -- and boy has alot happened. after i left the philippines, i had a really hard time readjusting to life here in the u.s.. it was so strange to come back to panama city, wearing a big white back brace, i smelled and looked bad, my tastes had changed, my ability to relate to people had changed and i was really confused about it all. after a few months things got back to "normal" and i moved back down to orlando. i was so excited to go back down to my old college town and have lot's of fun -- but things there weren't quite as i had expected them to be either. all of my old roommates and friends had moved away, and i ended up renting a room from a really odd girl -- i tried talking to her, but she was having none of it -- and would just go into her room and lock the door. it sucked, but turned out to be a good thing, as she was not a distraction for me with school. that's when i discovered myspace -- i found alot of old friends, and harrassed alot of my new ones. going back to school was a little tricky at first too. i had lost all ability to pay attention and focus -- while that was a good thing in the philippines, sitting through meetings and other events that seemed neverending -- but here in the states, i really needed to pay attention. so i started drinking coffee by the gallon (i'm totally not kidding), and only recently quit, since i started having chest pains due to the absurd amount of caffine running through my system. i completed 2 semesters back at the university of central florida, and for the first time in my life feel like i am headed in the right direction -- dc, by way of africa. i'm spending the next month teaching at a school in western uganda. and am restarting this blog to keep in touch with everyone while i'm away. anyhoo -- the point of all of my ramblings is that being med sep'd early from pc, ending up being a really good thing. and most of you know that i was going to et anyways -- i'm still not sure if i would have had the balls to do it though. so i'll try to keep this blog updated with fun africa pic's and weekly updates. safe travels to you all -- keep in touch, lindsey