I only have 7 mins left on my computer so I'm gonna make this one quick. Just wanted to keep you updated... I taught my first music lesson to a class of about 40 kids. I kept it simple and made it about music appreciation and the benefits it can have on us and society, played them a bunch of differnt samples and asked them how it made them feel. They responded really well, can't wait to work with them again this week. I've been invited to go to northern uganda, Gulu to be exact as a small team to teach basic business courses to refugee camps....we will be leaving in 2 weeks, so wish me luck, i'm super excited about it! (thanks to fruition for giving me those basic business skills!) I am in tanzania right now...just got home from a 4 day safari, can't wait to show you pictures. will get back to work on monday. will keep you posted when I can. miss you all. love
steph

welcome to africa

yesterday I found a sack of bot fly larva in my foot....welcome to africa.

mount elgon

Blog 2 in country 6/17

This past weekend we took a trip to mount elgon…or in other words… heaven on earth. It was truly one of the most beautiful places. The villages surrounding the area were small and mostly made of clay and wood huts with grass roofs. The people there get their food, products to sell and supplies from the land. Our tour guide, on the first day, would point out several different plants…one, the people used as toilet paper and Kleenex because it was soft and smelled nice. Several plants were natural medicines that would treat cough, upset stomach and headaches. How cool huh? Think of all the synthetic medicines we could cut out of our system if we just knew more about natural medicines…how much better off our bodies would be. The hike was pretty vertical…not long but with a 15-pound backpack it was pretty challenging. We climbed up an Indiana Jones latter made up of sticks…pretty rad. We had lunch at the top of the waterfall and were quickly instructed to start our way down the mountain since rain clouds were now overhead. It wasn’t long before the clouds opened up and a torrential downpour began…which made getting down the steep mountain nothing short of a semi-dangerous adventure. Fully soaked and quite cold we were invited to women’s group home for lemongrass tea and bananas. The women were humble and sweet…. very grateful to have us.

That night we were set up in a resort in sipi falls…where we would hike the next day. The resort was only a few bandas….small log huts with grass roofs, and a main lodge. Ya know how I said earlier that mount elgon was heaven on earth…scratch that. This resort was heaven on earth. They had hot showers and a four-course meal waiting for us, not to mention a view of the falls that could take your breath away. We ended the night with a campfire.

The second day of hiking was less strenuous. We were taken to 2 waterfalls that day and at one we were able to swim in the lagoon at the bottom. I was one of only two girls who got in the water…and I must say we did not only get in the water…we jumped…about ten feet off the cliff….into freezing water! We didn’t stay too long cus it was too cold.

Food for thought: Can the beauty of this earth be coincidence? Can all the intricate delicacies of the life that grows around us be left to science? Or was it divinely created? I think if you were here with me you would lean towards the latter…but I will let you decide.

k....I've got one and 1/2 days to go and I'm starting to feel it! I've been nicely distracted by the fact that I had to opportunity to sing the national anthem at a washington nationals baseball game this past saturday (thank you papa c.!) but now that that's over, Africa is heavy in crunch mode. It's gonna take me almost 2 days to get to Uganda from D.C. and then it might take me a lil while to get situated before I can post again. thank you again to all who helped me in getting there...you're donations were extremly generous and I promise no penny will go wasted.....

muchlove