the start of the goodbyes

So this week has been very challenging for various reasons. good news is that classes ended last week. but that also means a lack of motivation to do just about anything. it has been difficult to be productive becuase all i want to do is hang out with my ugandan friends on campus, but they have crazy exam schedules (seriously way worse than our finals back in the states) so i only see them at night. i only have a few days left to spend with them, and it is going to be very hard to say goodbye. i have decided to write everyone letters before i go. this means three of my closest guy friends and a couple of my ugandan girls that live on my hall with me as well. i have already started some of the letters, and they are so hard to write. i am going to hate leaving these awesome friendships behind, knowing that the only way we can probably communicate is through facebook. praise the lord for modern technology.

Reagan and Heather. one of our last days together.

we have a farewell party this week that is basically a very long and drawn out goodbye. with speeches, professional dress, and hopefully some amazing food. the thing is though, TONS of people are invited. people from campus that we live with, the host families we all stayed at, even our supervisors from our internships. so literally probably close to a hundred fifty ugandans or more. crazy.

so besides that, i had my last day of my internship this week as well. yay, more goodbyes. :/ this was one of the hardest parts so far. being able to develop relationships with the little children at Chain Foundation was probably my most favorite part of living in uganda! since their classes ended earlier in November, i have had the opportunity to just spend more time with them outside of a classroom setting. we played uno. gathered guavas off the trees together, i helped them to wash their clothes and hang them on the line to dry, painted nails, and even just playing on the swings or see-saw. ahh, they have grown on me so much. especially the ones that are vsually impaired! they are the cutest and sweetest things i have ever encountered. they come up to you and the first thing they do is grab your hand saying, "hi auntie! you come..." and then they drag you off somewhere to show you something.

one of my favorite memories with them was when my american friend, kelly, and i went to go with some of them to pick guavas off the trees. but, hold on. let me just paint a picture for you: two mzungu girls, leading about fifteen visually impaired boys through a field filled with all kinds of ditches, creeks, and cow dung, trying to find little tiny round fruits in extremely high tree branches. yeahhh, needless to say, we had them all hold hands and started leading them to the trees. it was so funny, though, helping them over the random creeks. having to explain to an eight year old where to put his foot in order to not step in the water or when to jump or to go right or left. and all this with a language barrier. and then, on top of that when we did get to a tree, they would just grab the branches and feel around for the guavas. except all the good and ripe guavas are at the top of the tree, so you are the one who ends up climbing up there to get them. it just made me smile. i cant even imagine what this all looked like to a bystander.... hahaa

another recent time i went i brought all kinds of nail polishes for the kids. i figured i would just ask the children what their favorite color was and paint their nails for them. it would be a good way for me and the girls to bond. however, i could not have been more wrong. most of them just grabbed the polish and started on their own nails. and not just their nails, but basically their whole hands. haha, what was i expecting giving nail polish to semi blind children? and well... it wasnt just the girls. the boys got a kick out of it too. since i brought black and bright blue along with my color scheme, they went nuts painting their nails as well. one little girl, emily, would paint her nails one color and then come back to grab another and would just paint right over top of the other color. then she would wait for it to dry and do the same thing again. at the end of the day, i had no idea how many layers of polish she had on there. it was so funny!

this is Akim. he was the first little boy i met at Chain!

so, as you can see, i am going to be leaving with some amazing memories. i just wish i could take some of the little black children back home with me!! :( however, being here did make me realize one thing: i definitely want to adopt a child from Africa in my future. if not specifically uganda!