Well, I have started this blog in my head many times and tried last week to do it, but fell asleep at the computer!
It is tiring moving to a developing country from a developed country! All systems, expectations and productivity scales and actual productivity are turned upside down. Even the lowered expectations and anticipation of getting one thing done a day is turned around when that one thing you thought you were going to get done is not the one thing that happened and the double whammies of power outs and water outs. Hmm....
So, being astute culture students, we have noticed that people are generous, gracious and not in a hurry and that years of living like this have forged incredible character, beauty and grace in these Ugandans!!! While we at times are on edge and look kind of crazy making a life here, they make it look easy and they are looking good--my hats are off to these African ladies for how they pull off heels and suits and fancy dresses on these dirt roads!
So, in the big picture, if we take a few steps back, God has been gracious in allowing us to accomplish so much! We took the first week in Kampala to get a used car (a Suzuki Escudo), some appliances and supplies for the house and made it to Kabale with all of our luggage. Amazing. We absolutely could not have done it without loads of help from Dr. Gilbert, Aaron's colleague at the hospital and several of the folks living in Kampala and the area who gave us hard won counsel of where to go and what might be important to us Westerners coming in. We were welcomed warmly by people who magically found out where we were staying (I still don't even really get where we were staying!) and then once we got to Kabale, we have been so warmly received. We have had a reception at the home of the Chancellor of the University, the hospital, the University Student's Chapel congregation and again at a Ugandan friend's home that had also taken us out to a restaurant in Kampala! We have enjoyed meeting so many Ugandans and a few kind folks from Germany, England and Washington State :)! We also are very much enjoying an Indian family who runs a super market made famous in Lonely Planet. They are great business people and have told us soon there will be an Indian take out place next door--it doesn't get much better than this!
Daily-ness. That's what has always brought me down--the mundane. Sometimes I find pleasure in it and sometimes you just think "seriously?, wiping crumbs and kids and noses and sweeping and cleaning and oh yeah, people have to eat AGAIN?????" Thankfully, mutual friends passed on the names of two people who could work for us and help us make some order. We have an older gentleman caring and helping for our yard and garden and hopefully, soon, helping with language, of which he is an amazing teacher. He is a father of 8 and just a real delight to get to know--he has lived an amazing life. His daughter, a student in guidance and counseling, is helping out with household tasks and also, hopefully soon with language. She is also a joy to get to know and a great teacher. We are learning a lot from them and hopefully not being too big of a pain right now as we settle in. The adjustment for us is doing by hand what the machine does at "home" and learning to live without convenience foods and helps. I am excited about that, but it seems a long way off before we can get organized with containers and shelves and so on to facilitate my "Little House on the Prairie" dream. I'll do a whole blog on shopping and products soon.
We still don't really have a daily routine, except for taking the kids to school. Ugandan school begins in February and for the primary school, they go 3 months on and one month off, except for Dec. and January. So, we are in the third term and chose to keep the kids in their same year to get them used to the different system. It has been a rough start. Poor Micah got sick for several days with anxiety, culture shock, and the shock of being back in school after 4 months off. Micah is doing better with the support of Jesse in the same class and a nice Ugandan boy named Kevin and a girl named Ruth, who have been very helpful. Emma Shae fared a little better, being more of an extrovert, but even she got a little overwhelmed with differences. Mallory was a bit shy on day one, but is quickly becoming a part of the group. She has Lucy as her little buddy, as well as a German friend, Tabea and Merab, who is Dr. Gilbert's daughter. She is in what is called the middle class of nursery and she is enjoying getting to know the rest of the students.
So, I hope to highlight different things we are learning as they come, although take it with a grain of salt as it comes from a newcomers' lens! ha! We have taken the month to settle in and Aaron will begin working in October, so that will also bring changes. Our lives will be a blend of university and hospital as our team serves both. We are opening the university chapter and look forward to opening the hospital chapter soon. I am including photos to show a bit of our the start of our life in Kabale.
Our house. It sits right outside Bishop Barham University College (BBUC).
We have an avocado tree! Now, we must figure out when they are ripe!
This is one of the ways we get water--a rain cistern. The other way comes in through the kitchen and is on the city system, which goes off at random times. 
This is our living room. The furniture belongs to the hospital! There is not much ready made furniture here--you mostly just order what you want. So, we brought an IKEA catalogue and have just finished negotiating a price and details. Some of the larger pieces must wait until Dec., when the rainy season is over and the wood will be dry. Wow. Wait and wait some more makes for patient and understanding people! We have a lot to learn in this area.
The girls bed--called a double decker. Mosquito nets--Aaron just killed a mosquito and identified it as the type that is capable of carrying Malaria. So, to the American, it looks romantic to have a net, but it can be life saving!
Well, at a price, some familiar western type products can be had. We learned that most of these type of products come from Egypt or South Africa. We also learned there are green oranges here. Of course, fruits and vegetables are amazing and inexpensive. We definitely need to learn to cook either Ugandan or make from scratch to keep the costs down. Note the Nutella rip off--New Cream. ewwww, BUT, it's cheaper and also from Italy--can it be that bad?
After chapel, some students dancing. Our house is right below the student chapel, so almost every morning we are greeted with drums and beautiful singing. We have also discovered that there is an echo when we come to our house that makes it sound like the music is coming right from our living room. Nice!
The Hines and Morrow families are often blended as we swap kids. Here is a sweet picture of 2 year old Julia with Travis and Aaron walking on the campus.
Good old Sawyer water filter's. Thanks to a friend who is local for the heads up on a cheap way to filter almost everything out! The kit is great--comes with instructions to drill a hole in a bucket you buy locally and then bam! a million gallons from this one filter. Awesome. Clean water was a concern. So, far, so good. We brought water containers that have a tap.
First day of school--they started off happy :).
This is the primary school chapel. The kids go to a Christian school started by missionaries and now staffed by Ugandans. They meet at the flag pole at 7:40 am (so, we've been told, we are late every day so far) and then go to chapel for singing, a message and announcements. It is awesome!
Emma Shae first day of school in P1.
This is the short cut to the school from our house. Crazy gorillas in the mist!
Mallory's class marching back to the classroom. They start outside on the basketball court with singing and exercises.
Constance (Dr. Gilbert's wife) and Merab at Lake Bunyonyi. 
Celebrating my birthday and Julia Hines' turning 2 years old the day before my birthday. We went to the lake and Aaron made brownies from a mix we brought--delicious!
Travis preaching his first sermon at BBUC student chapel.
Our German friend Matthias teaching sunday school--he's a great story teller. 
A commissioning of the two families for student work. We knelt and were prayed for by the Ugandan faculty and Dr. Paula, an American who is retiring this month. Powerful.
The university reception with faculty and students.
We live on a hill among hills. From a distance, you can see an extinct volcano (not in this picture :)). It is incredible. We live on Rugarama Hill and the town center is below us--about 30 min. if you are walking and a 5 minute, steep and bumpy car ride. This is one shot of the town from our hill.
Ugandan longhorns.
One unsettling thing is "exotic" wildlife! Here is a flock of Crown Cranes flying by--I usually just hear them in the evening, but finally caught them in action.
Another Ugandan longhorn.
Another view of the valley where the town is.
Some kind of heron?
