Sorry if this has typos.
So the trip to Uganda
was long but really everything went smoothly and I slept on both of the long
flights. The one unexpected thing that happened was that from Amsterdam we flew
to Gilgali, Rwanda first, which is a little further than Entebbe. We had about
an hour there on the plane and then spent 35 minutes in the air to get to
Uganda. As we were descending for the last time I started to get hot and
jittery. My mind was fine, I didn’t think I was nervous, but my body took over
and reacted to the anticipation. By the time we were on the ground I was a
little...... impatient maybe.
We were pretty close to the front of the plane so we were
off quickly. On the way down the hallway I saw a bathroom and decided to go
since I didn’t know how long customs might be. By the time we both went, loads
of people were streaming into the lines so I wanted to hurry. But then I
remembered that it was during our sleep that they passed out the entry forms on
the plane so we needed to find those and fill them out before getting in line.
Wow, I was not happy about this. J
So, by the time we finished we were the. last. people. in. line. I was in shock
when the line started moving. We were in front of the visa window within ten
minutes. I nervously answered all of his questions and he was signing our
papers when he asked for money. I didn’t know where our money was! We hadn’t
used it yet. So, I was the dumb American searching through all of our carry
ones looking for the envelope with my mind racing. Jonathan caught on to my
madness and reminded me where it was. Good. Visa man paid.
Okay, now to get our luggage. All the luggage made it.
Praise the Lord. I thought these were the first steps in the customs process. I
was prepared for another hour or two before we walked out and met our babies.
Nope. The next room people were holding signs and we saw our name: GRASSMICKS.
It was Rashid. We shook hands and he told us our babies were
in his car with their nanny (the orphanage mom.) I was shocked that we were
done and in. We walked across the parking lot and talked about the weather and
then he said, “This is my car. Your kids are in there.” I didn’t know what to
do. We had all this luggage. Was I supposed to help with the luggage? Was I
supposed to open the door? So, Teddy, the nanny, opened her door and handed me
a wrapped bundle of a baby. He was sound asleep and chu. bby. After I stared at
him for a couple of minutes, I looked up at Jonathan and he rushed over. Teddy
moved herself and Elsie, who also was asleep to the front seat and we got in.
When we were settled she handed Elsie back to us. She is ti. ny. She woke up
and started fussing...one of those just-woken-out-of-sleep fusses. Jonathan was
talking to her, trying to sooth her. We have now decided it probably wasn’t
that soothing since we probably sound so strange and unfamiliar to them, but it
was all we had. Once we started moving I started singing Amazing Grace to her
and she drifted back to sleep. Rashid rolled the windows down so the wind was
blowing and he was driving in such a way that made me look for something to
hold on to. J
We stopped twice on the way home. The first time, he just got out and walked
away. Teddy tried to talk with us but she doesn’t speak English well. Rashid
made his way back within 10 minutes and we were on our way again. The second
stop was at the orphanage where Teddy got out. And we just sat there. Rashid
was talking to us and telling us stories and asking us questions. The whole
time I was thinking, “Why aren’t we going? Is there something I am supposed to
be doing that I don’t know about?” But, after about 15 minutes, Teddy came out,
told Rashid something and then we started on. The trip was probably 40 minutes
with stops. The drive was wild. It was really dark. The cars have lights, but
not the streets. There were people just walking on the road and crossing the
road. There was lots of honking and swerving. I loved it.
When we got to the Guest House, the armed guard and the cook
helped carry our stuff in. They had some government officials staying at the
house so we got the only room left. It is small. (Now that they are gone, we
are going to get a bigger room...maybe tonight.) So, us two, two kids, four
checked suitcases, a big box, and 3 carries ons, two beds, five chairs. Hmmm.
Rashid stayed and talked with us for 10 minutes or so. I laid Ki down on the
twin bed and he never woke up that night. Elsie, though, fussed from the time
they got out of the car. Once Rashid left, Jonathan tried to lay her down on
the full size bed but she was really unhappy. He handed her to me and started
getting out one of the rocking chairs that we had brought. I rocked her and
sang to her and it didn’t work. I found my phone and played her some lullabies,
which didn’t work. So finally, I lied down with her at the foot of the twin bed
that Ki was sleeping on. She fussed and cried and I prayed and sang until I finally
noticed every couple of minutes she would look over at her brother. Ohhhh, so I
picked her up and moved her right next to him. She quietly put her thumb in her
mouth and fell right to sleep. Elsie needed something familiar. She still does.
Her and her brother sleep right next to each other on that bed for naps and
night. They flop on each other and kick each other, but it makes her feel safe.
Elsie still isn’t really comfortable with us. She hasn’t let
her guard down yet. But we are making baby steps. Just last night, after I put
her jammies on I asked her to come to me so I could put her in bed and she
listened. She walked to me, held up her hands to be picked up and hugged me
back (though not really sincere) and let me lay her down. J Sweet moment. This
morning she woke up a little fussy and Jonathan went over to comfort her and
when he would put his hand on her back she would scoot away and cry. He asked
me to help and she didn’t act that way with me. I just lied down near her and
offered her a drink. She settled back down and went back to sleep.
I have lots more to tell you about but this is all for now.
We have had very little power since we got here. My phone is
dead and my computer is about to be. I will write again when I can.
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