Kels, I ran across this cover today and I thought you'd love it. Enjoy.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Sarah: This one's for Kels
I know that Kelsey loves this song. She loves it so much that it was constantly coming from her iphone. Actually, her phone was stolen once by some 14 year old punk kid and this was one of the only things not deleted by the little douche.
Kels, I ran across this cover today and I thought you'd love it. Enjoy.
Kels, I ran across this cover today and I thought you'd love it. Enjoy.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sarah: Almost Homeless
Francis and I lived in a hotel for one week. We got a pretty fair weekly rate, but at the end of the week we knew we wouldn't be able to afford another week in the hotel and a security deposit/rent (if we ever got to that point). That Sunday we attended the "ladle meal" at a local church for the homeless. We thought it was like a potluck type thing because the bulletin called it a community meal. It was really interesting to be one the other side of a homeless ministry and the way they ran the ministry was really strange to me...but that's another post for another day. Anyways, while we were eating with our homies, we were researching. We asked them if they know of cheap accommodation, job opportunities, and most importantly; where they shower. On check out day, with this information in hand, we were fully prepared to move into our cars. We were going to put our clothes, personal items, etc in my car and sleep in the back of Francis' car. And we planned on taking advantage of the free showers at the beaches.
But then...
An apartment that we applied for 5 days before (that we hadn't heard anything from) called us and told us that we got the apartment. We moved in that day.
We really like the apartment. It's really small. All our neighbors are from Somalia. Our neighborhood is very culturally diverse (it reminds me of the refugee community in Wheaton). One huge negative is that there are tons of cockroaches. BUT the positive side of it is that our landlord has agreed to take rent off our bill until the problem is taken care of. How awesome is that? We're still moving all out stuff in and getting situated, but we're so grateful for the roof over our heads. Even if it's also the roof over the cockroach's heads.
But then...
An apartment that we applied for 5 days before (that we hadn't heard anything from) called us and told us that we got the apartment. We moved in that day.
We really like the apartment. It's really small. All our neighbors are from Somalia. Our neighborhood is very culturally diverse (it reminds me of the refugee community in Wheaton). One huge negative is that there are tons of cockroaches. BUT the positive side of it is that our landlord has agreed to take rent off our bill until the problem is taken care of. How awesome is that? We're still moving all out stuff in and getting situated, but we're so grateful for the roof over our heads. Even if it's also the roof over the cockroach's heads.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Sarah: Week in Instagram
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| pumpkins! |
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| The San Diego Museum of Man |
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| my handsome husband : ) |
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| Huge statue of the V-J Day picture of the sailor kissing the nurse. |
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| random pirate ship that you can tour |
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| sunset. |
How was your guys' weeks? We might hit the beach this weekend if the weather is warm. I'm excited : )
p.s. This is our 100th post! Thanks for reading, you guys rock.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Kelsey: The road to Jinja
I am finally recovered from Sarah's trip to Uganda. As in life has just now gotten back to normal and I am once again a hermit who never leaves my village and therefore never has to spend endless hours on horrible busses with peeing children and pooping chickens and smelly fish. Ugh the bus.
I was on the phone with an American friend the other day and she asked why I never leave Jinja and I told her that I hate traveling. Long pause. She was all um you know you moved to Africa right?
But I think the 48 hours that it takes to get to Africa and the combinations of buses, planes, cars, and motorcycles scares you away from ever traveling again! Its either that or I just don't want to wander too far away from my flush toilet at Denis' house. I really love flush toilets. Really.
So needless to say since Sarah left I have not been back to the big city. Kampala is nice because it has fancy things that we rural people (hill people) can't get, things that are essential for a happy life, like vuvuzelas. Do you remember that horrible sound from the World Cup? Don't you wish you could live with that?
We have very strict vuvuzela zones in this house.
I can't lie though, my favorite part is leaving Kampala. The further you drive away from city the prettier the world becomes. I wish I could make a graph of how my mood grows happier the further we get from the city. But I have not made a graph since sophomore year (of high school). And like everything else I learned in high school I have totally forgotten how to do that.
This hill covered with tea fields is my heaven. I swear I will live on this hill one day. In that clump of trees. In like a really crappy run down house but one with a beautiful bathroom with 3 flush toilets. Also I will have like 5 monkeys and local children will run away from me in fear. Run away from crazy monkey lady!
The best part of the drive is the awesome 'rest stops'. There are designated places along the road where people are allowed to sell food. Like 3 times. Its as if there used to be people all along the entire length of the road and then they rounded them all up and put them in 3 specific spots. That is the only thing that can explain the sheer number of people selling food at these rest stops.
They all wear lab coats that are either blue, maroon or white. (Speaking of white lab coats, last time I was on the bus a guy in a white lab coat came on and tried to sell us some herbal medicine, load of crap, from china. I asked him if he was a doctor and he ignored me and continued his speech. I heckled him, of course, until he admitted he was not a doctor and then he eventually left the bus. A woman patted me on the back. It was a proud day. But I mean aren't there rules about wearing a doctory coat if you are not a doctor? Like not if you are cold and need to get warm so you put on some random coat but if you are selling medicine and basically impersonating a doctor, that is so not allowed.)
It always starts with one and then if they start to lean into the car a million more will rush over and try to beat out that first one.
And then they climb into the car with you. Does anyone have any fanta?
Seriously can I please get an orange flavored beverage?
Oh please come on in. Join us.
For the love of God someone give me a fanta!!!
Denis is unfazed by the ten ugandans who climbed into the car with us. But he is not prepared to share his chicken with them. That is the line.
Word to the wise for any Uganda travelers reading this blog, this roadside chicken is the best chicken in Uganda. The best.
I was on the phone with an American friend the other day and she asked why I never leave Jinja and I told her that I hate traveling. Long pause. She was all um you know you moved to Africa right?
But I think the 48 hours that it takes to get to Africa and the combinations of buses, planes, cars, and motorcycles scares you away from ever traveling again! Its either that or I just don't want to wander too far away from my flush toilet at Denis' house. I really love flush toilets. Really.
So needless to say since Sarah left I have not been back to the big city. Kampala is nice because it has fancy things that we rural people (hill people) can't get, things that are essential for a happy life, like vuvuzelas. Do you remember that horrible sound from the World Cup? Don't you wish you could live with that?
We have very strict vuvuzela zones in this house.
I can't lie though, my favorite part is leaving Kampala. The further you drive away from city the prettier the world becomes. I wish I could make a graph of how my mood grows happier the further we get from the city. But I have not made a graph since sophomore year (of high school). And like everything else I learned in high school I have totally forgotten how to do that.
This hill covered with tea fields is my heaven. I swear I will live on this hill one day. In that clump of trees. In like a really crappy run down house but one with a beautiful bathroom with 3 flush toilets. Also I will have like 5 monkeys and local children will run away from me in fear. Run away from crazy monkey lady!
The best part of the drive is the awesome 'rest stops'. There are designated places along the road where people are allowed to sell food. Like 3 times. Its as if there used to be people all along the entire length of the road and then they rounded them all up and put them in 3 specific spots. That is the only thing that can explain the sheer number of people selling food at these rest stops.
They all wear lab coats that are either blue, maroon or white. (Speaking of white lab coats, last time I was on the bus a guy in a white lab coat came on and tried to sell us some herbal medicine, load of crap, from china. I asked him if he was a doctor and he ignored me and continued his speech. I heckled him, of course, until he admitted he was not a doctor and then he eventually left the bus. A woman patted me on the back. It was a proud day. But I mean aren't there rules about wearing a doctory coat if you are not a doctor? Like not if you are cold and need to get warm so you put on some random coat but if you are selling medicine and basically impersonating a doctor, that is so not allowed.)
It always starts with one and then if they start to lean into the car a million more will rush over and try to beat out that first one.
And then they climb into the car with you. Does anyone have any fanta?
Seriously can I please get an orange flavored beverage?
Oh please come on in. Join us.
For the love of God someone give me a fanta!!!
Denis is unfazed by the ten ugandans who climbed into the car with us. But he is not prepared to share his chicken with them. That is the line.
Word to the wise for any Uganda travelers reading this blog, this roadside chicken is the best chicken in Uganda. The best.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sarah: (Trying to) Stay Positive
Yesterday, I was feeling really discouraged about life. More specifically, the fact that we have been in San Diego for one week and we still don't have a place to live...
Even though our move across the country hasn't been totally smooth and easy, I can still see the Lord working in this transition. For example:
The day we left Elgin (September 22), our hitch kept scraping the ground everytime Francis would drive over a bump. So we had to stop into the shop that hooked up the trailer to our van, so that they could do something about it. While we were sitting in the waiting area, Francis expressed his fears of having to drive over the Rocky Mountains with his not so reliable van pulling 800lbs of stuff up large inclines. The man next to us asked where we heading. We told him San Diego. He looked at us with surprise and said, "Well, you know, I live there for half the year. I have a condo there in San Diego and I have an apartment here in Elgin." I did not know that. He then asked, "Do you want to know a better way to go, that'll avoid the Rockies?" Yes, yes we do. He proceeded to give us his directions and he also told us where we should stop each night. If it weren't for our hitch scrapping the ground, causing us to go into the shop, we never would have met Dave. We would have had to drive over the Rocky Mountains. And since we barely made it over the smaller Sierra Nevada mountains, I think it's safe to say that we never would have made it over those monster mountains.
Speaking of the Sierra Nevada mountains....As we were heading through Death Valley, over the mountains, Frank's van started overheating. Thankfully, I had service and was able to call my dad to ask him what we should do. We had to pull over several times and wait for 45 minutes (each time) for the engine to cool down before we could go on. Each time we pulled over, we dumped some water on the radiator to help it cool down faster. Which meant that we no longer had any drinking water and it was well over 100 degrees outside. We made it to a rest stop along the interstate where we decided to just let the van sit while we filled our cooler with water and poured it on the radiator. A couple of UPS truck drivers saw us and came over to offer their expertise. They told us there was only one more big slope to get over, they gave us a container to put water in (instead of our cooler), and they checked to see if everything was working ok under the hood. We made it over that slope and didn't have to pull over again (because of overheating).
One of my largest fears moving out here is that we don't know anyone. We have no contacts, no friends, no family in the area. No one. I was (still am) afraid that we won't make friends or find a sense of community here. On our first morning in the city, Frank received a call from his good friend, Michael. He told Francis that he was on his way to San Diego for a convention for work. Keep in mind that Michael didn't know when exactly we were moving, because we were in UG for 3 weeks, then we moved when we got back. He and Francis didn't talk once we were back from UG. So Francis tells Michael that we are in San Diego! There was lots of yelling, laughing, and wow-ing going on. We were able to spend our first few days with one our very good friends. I feel like bringing Michael to San Diego for work was God's way of welcoming us to the city.
We've been staying in a weekly hotel. There's a sink, mini-fridge, microwave, and a shower. But right around the corner from us is this little delicious and cheap Mexican restaurant. We don't eat there everyday, but it's a nice break from the pb & j, chips, and snacks that we have. And let me tell you - if you have no other reason to come visit me in San Diego, the California burrito is reason enough. Trust me.
I know in my head that the Lord has an apartment just waiting for us and a job for Francis lined up. But sometimes, I forget and become discouraged. Then I think of how faithful He has been to us up to this point and I think, "If He's done all this for us so far, I know that He is able and willing to help us now." It's only a matter of time.
On a side note, I start my new job at Gap today! Wish me luck.
Even though our move across the country hasn't been totally smooth and easy, I can still see the Lord working in this transition. For example:
The day we left Elgin (September 22), our hitch kept scraping the ground everytime Francis would drive over a bump. So we had to stop into the shop that hooked up the trailer to our van, so that they could do something about it. While we were sitting in the waiting area, Francis expressed his fears of having to drive over the Rocky Mountains with his not so reliable van pulling 800lbs of stuff up large inclines. The man next to us asked where we heading. We told him San Diego. He looked at us with surprise and said, "Well, you know, I live there for half the year. I have a condo there in San Diego and I have an apartment here in Elgin." I did not know that. He then asked, "Do you want to know a better way to go, that'll avoid the Rockies?" Yes, yes we do. He proceeded to give us his directions and he also told us where we should stop each night. If it weren't for our hitch scrapping the ground, causing us to go into the shop, we never would have met Dave. We would have had to drive over the Rocky Mountains. And since we barely made it over the smaller Sierra Nevada mountains, I think it's safe to say that we never would have made it over those monster mountains.
Speaking of the Sierra Nevada mountains....As we were heading through Death Valley, over the mountains, Frank's van started overheating. Thankfully, I had service and was able to call my dad to ask him what we should do. We had to pull over several times and wait for 45 minutes (each time) for the engine to cool down before we could go on. Each time we pulled over, we dumped some water on the radiator to help it cool down faster. Which meant that we no longer had any drinking water and it was well over 100 degrees outside. We made it to a rest stop along the interstate where we decided to just let the van sit while we filled our cooler with water and poured it on the radiator. A couple of UPS truck drivers saw us and came over to offer their expertise. They told us there was only one more big slope to get over, they gave us a container to put water in (instead of our cooler), and they checked to see if everything was working ok under the hood. We made it over that slope and didn't have to pull over again (because of overheating).
One of my largest fears moving out here is that we don't know anyone. We have no contacts, no friends, no family in the area. No one. I was (still am) afraid that we won't make friends or find a sense of community here. On our first morning in the city, Frank received a call from his good friend, Michael. He told Francis that he was on his way to San Diego for a convention for work. Keep in mind that Michael didn't know when exactly we were moving, because we were in UG for 3 weeks, then we moved when we got back. He and Francis didn't talk once we were back from UG. So Francis tells Michael that we are in San Diego! There was lots of yelling, laughing, and wow-ing going on. We were able to spend our first few days with one our very good friends. I feel like bringing Michael to San Diego for work was God's way of welcoming us to the city.
We've been staying in a weekly hotel. There's a sink, mini-fridge, microwave, and a shower. But right around the corner from us is this little delicious and cheap Mexican restaurant. We don't eat there everyday, but it's a nice break from the pb & j, chips, and snacks that we have. And let me tell you - if you have no other reason to come visit me in San Diego, the California burrito is reason enough. Trust me.
I know in my head that the Lord has an apartment just waiting for us and a job for Francis lined up. But sometimes, I forget and become discouraged. Then I think of how faithful He has been to us up to this point and I think, "If He's done all this for us so far, I know that He is able and willing to help us now." It's only a matter of time.
On a side note, I start my new job at Gap today! Wish me luck.
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