Time for something new.

Hmm I think it's about time for a new blog post, don't you think? 2 months is a long, long time. Basically I got too busy, didn't have time to write about everything, and then was too scared to log back in because there was WAY too much to write about. Well, now it's the summer holidays and I don't have much to do, so I suppose blogging is a good idea :)
Well, around the time I stopped blogging, I went back to the opticians to try out contact lenses again, before I went to Uganda. My mum thought my sister might as well have her eyes tested while we were there. They found something at the back of her eyes, and she was sent to hospital. She had an MRI scan, a CT scan and a lumber puncture (sounds horrible, so glad I wasn't there to watch). Then she was sent to a couple of specialists in London (the names of the hospitals escape me now) and after that my mum decided that she wouldn't have any more tests until we got back from Uganda, since my sister hadn't actually felt ill at all. In fact, the only reason she was feeling ill sometimes was because of all the stupid tests. So a couple of weeks before we go on holiday she gets a letter saying they want to see her on 24th December in London (I think). Well, never mind.
I have contact lenses now :) Not to wear all the time, but for 5 days a week. So glad I didn't faint this time! They let me put them in myself, not the contact lense man put them in, which I think made it better :D
School seems so long ago! I don't recall much happening in the last term...I have my grades, which are all good except Geography (well that was to be expected, after my D in the exam). I finally finished Geography coursework, and handed it in, on time!
So then we come to Uganda! In the evening on Sunday 12th July, me, my parents, sister, and a guy called Steven all went in the car to stay in a hotel by the airport (we had an early flight and didn't want to have to wake up too early, since the airport is 2 hours away from where we live). Then, Monday, we hopped on a plane to Amsterdam (about 40 mins) and then waited there for 2-3 hours (stupid delays!) and then hopped on another plane (about 8 hours), to Entebbe airport in Uganda. They let all the keyboards and guitars we'd brought to donate through, no hassle! We were met by Olive (who basically runs Kampala Children's Centre, aka KCC) and Patrick (the driver). By then it was late at night so we went straight to our hotel (Kolping House) . That was about a 1 hour drive. Hotel was nice, we had hot water 80% of the time which is probably better than most places in Uganda, and the restaurant wasn't too bad either.
So, the first day Patrick picked us up from Kolping House and drove us to KCC (about 1 hour). The traffic in Uganda is crazy! They use motorbikes like taxis, we even saw one with 4 people on the back! So we got a tour of KCC (it's quite big). Didn't see many children at first because they were all at school, but we did meet Timothy and Tegan, the 3-month-old twins. Their mother died in child birth and their father abandoned them, so for 3 days they were passed around, being fed on only water, until finally someone alerted KCC and they were taken to hospital. Now, though, they're perfectly happy babies.
At KCC there's currently 7 houses, each one with about 12 children and 1 mother, and a primary school. The mother in house 7 has to look after the babies PLUS 10 other children! So, most of the time while we were there, me and my sister helped with looking after the babies. Meanwhile, my parents would go to the school and draw pictures (they don't have projectors or anything, so if the teacher wants the children to see a picture, they have to draw it out) and Steven would go teach music to a couple of the older people at KCC. Normally in the afternoons we would just play with the younger children who had finished school for the day. Every day a lady called Grace would come to KCC and cook for us. The food was really good :)
In the evenings, we would return to our hotel and eat dinner at the restaurant, and then sit in our rooms and laze around before going to bed.
A couple of days we did different things. On both Sundays we went to Destiny Bridge Church (started by Arnold Muwange, same guy that started the orphanage). The first Sunday we were there, we saw Ndere Dance Troupe in the evening, which was traditional African dancing, plus a bit of comedy. The second Wednesday we were there, we visited Prayer Mountain, a mountain dedicated to prayer. That was really beautiful. Then, after being at KCC for the afternoon, we visited one of the children, Irene, in hospital. She had stomach ulcers. The hospital had apparently been built in the 1960s by Britain, but it seemed as if nothing had changed since then! The mattresses looked horrible, and the window next to Irene's bed had been smashed. The patients all had to bring their own blankets, and pay for food, drink, medication, and to be seen by a doctor or nurse. The second Saturday we were there, we visited the source of the Nile, in a place called Jinja. We went on 2 boats, looking at different waterfalls and seeing the view from different islands. On the second Sunday there, the day before we left, we held a party for the children, since we wouldn't see the older ones on the Monday because they would be at school until 5.30pm. So, we'd bought sweets and biscuits, and we had a special performance from Destiny Africa Children's Choir (who toured England last year). On the day we left, Monday 27th July, we went to a market in Kampala, to buy souveneirs etc. Then, we went back to KCC to say our final goodbyes. Steven, my dad, and a guy called Joseph (18, lives at KCC) spotted a lizard in a tree and decided to try and catch it. Which they did in the end. Well, Steven did, after about twenty minutes and the end of the tail snapping of in his hand (ew). We re-organised our luggage (much less without the keyboards and guitars) and set off for Entebbe airport. No delays this time, and we arrived back in England early Tuesday morning.
I really loved going to Uganda, and really want to go back one day :) I miss them all so much!!

For photos, see my facebook page, or hopefully I'll have a video up soon.
You can also visit the Kampala Children's Centre website, here :)

So, since I've been back, I haven't really done much at all. Last Friday I planned to go out but then not enough people could come so I didn't in the end. Marianna came to my house in the evening and I showed her my Uganda photos and then we went to the beach with her family. Sunday I went to church, then saw a carnival, then went to a prayer meeting in the evening.
Yesterday Sarah came to my house and I showed her my Uganda photos and then we watched Angus Thongs & Perfect Snogging :)
Today I've done absolutely nothing, nothing at all.
Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be going to the cinema.
Friday I'm off to Detling, camping. It's like a Christian conference, with different meetings and stuff all day, plus games and bands and things like that. This will be the 10th year, and also our 10th year going as a family. So I can't wait for that :)
Anyway, I'll blog if anything interesting happens before Friday. If not, I'll blog when I get back :D