Time is flying by and if feels like midsummer but even hotter!! Since about mid November we have been melting in the heat temperatures of up to 34°C in the shade. But what surprises me is that by the wee hours of the morning I have pulled a blanket over me in bed!
Christmas seems surreal here, being in the sticks a bit, we are missing out on the usual rush of shopping and decorations are not in sight yet. To aid the Christmas feeling I have bought a nativity set made out of Ebony (a black/brown hard wood). Emma has received a wooden 10cm high Christmas tree from her mum to get us in the festive spirit!
Christmas plans are as follows: the muzungus (the expatriates) get together on Christmas eve to sing carols at the Catholic Radio Station in Arua. We are looking forward to it with great anticipation as we have heard good things like home made ice cream, a real tree will be decorated and lit up outside the home where we all gather and of course it will be a good opportunity to get together!
Christmas day we will attend a church service here at our chapel on the hospital grounds and then venture to Alan and Anne's (our neighbours) for a Christmas roast. A special chicken – brought all the way from the capital, Kampala, as it is hard to find a good sized and tender chick here!
We are all hoping that a parcel or two will find their way this far north before Christmas so that we have something to open on that day! But we don't hold our breath. We have been told that the mailing system can't cope at this time of year and things eventually find their way up here after the seasonal rush! Anyway a few of you have told me there are things in the post so I'm enjoying the anticipation of it just as much as receiving it all! The knowledge of post to come gives me that hope of something coming and the knowledge that someone has thought of me! Amazing how pleasurable small things can be in a place like this!
I hope to be able to load up a few photos...they are of me at murcheson falls and my bible study group! my internet access is going to have to change from today as we are packing up the library! This is because the school of nursing is having renovation work done (thanks to the EU!) and the building in which the Library is located is currently being chipped away ready to renew the cement floors. The dust and dirt levels are HIGH! Not the best for technology....
Anyway I hope to get a more accessible and reliable source of internet soon signal allowing! (The house is in a dip and therefore a bit hit and miss with signal – we have worked out all the best mobile phone signal points now!
Happy Christmas and a Blessed New Year!!
Christmas seems surreal here, being in the sticks a bit, we are missing out on the usual rush of shopping and decorations are not in sight yet. To aid the Christmas feeling I have bought a nativity set made out of Ebony (a black/brown hard wood). Emma has received a wooden 10cm high Christmas tree from her mum to get us in the festive spirit!
Christmas plans are as follows: the muzungus (the expatriates) get together on Christmas eve to sing carols at the Catholic Radio Station in Arua. We are looking forward to it with great anticipation as we have heard good things like home made ice cream, a real tree will be decorated and lit up outside the home where we all gather and of course it will be a good opportunity to get together!
Christmas day we will attend a church service here at our chapel on the hospital grounds and then venture to Alan and Anne's (our neighbours) for a Christmas roast. A special chicken – brought all the way from the capital, Kampala, as it is hard to find a good sized and tender chick here!
We are all hoping that a parcel or two will find their way this far north before Christmas so that we have something to open on that day! But we don't hold our breath. We have been told that the mailing system can't cope at this time of year and things eventually find their way up here after the seasonal rush! Anyway a few of you have told me there are things in the post so I'm enjoying the anticipation of it just as much as receiving it all! The knowledge of post to come gives me that hope of something coming and the knowledge that someone has thought of me! Amazing how pleasurable small things can be in a place like this!
I hope to be able to load up a few photos...they are of me at murcheson falls and my bible study group! my internet access is going to have to change from today as we are packing up the library! This is because the school of nursing is having renovation work done (thanks to the EU!) and the building in which the Library is located is currently being chipped away ready to renew the cement floors. The dust and dirt levels are HIGH! Not the best for technology....
Anyway I hope to get a more accessible and reliable source of internet soon signal allowing! (The house is in a dip and therefore a bit hit and miss with signal – we have worked out all the best mobile phone signal points now!
Happy Christmas and a Blessed New Year!!
