Return from America

Danny and I had a pleasant and memorable time visiting my family. I took loads of photos while visiting, including about a thousand of my granddaughter! We are now settling back into our house in Uganda after spending a few days at our favourite hotel in Kampala. Unpacking is nearly finished and somehow a huge pile of laundry has accumulated. We have already booked our flights to the US for Christmas. Big thumbs up for Emirates Airlines as always!

This was our first trip out of Uganda since coming here 8 months ago and I wondered how it would feel to return after spending 3 weeks in the US. It is incredibly easy to become used to being spoiled there. I waver between wanting to be with family in the US, at home in Scotland or in Uganda.

While walking through Dubai Airport for the final leg of our flight we heard a flight to Glasgow being called. I got a lump in my throat and for a fleeting moment wanted to jump on that flight and go home. Homesickness comes and goes but I always remind myself how much I’d regret not finishing our placement here. The people and the weather are easy to become attached to. The landscape, the wildlife, the culture are things I enjoy as well.

On our drive back to Mbarara from Kampala we complained about all the potholes but we also enjoyed the renewal of our ‘celebrity’ status. A major thing I will miss when we go back home is the children always smiling and waving at us. One boy alongside the road smiled, waved and gave us two thumbs up. That did it for me. I was happy to be back.

While in the US I bought a washboard. Apparently there is only one company left in the US, which makes washboards. A couple of relatives pointed out that this company had recently been a feature on the news. Most of the washboards are used as musical instruments but many have been sent to soldiers in Iraq and other places where hand washing is done. I ordered one to bring back with us and have tried it out today. It is especially good for washing socks and washrags, so I am a satisfied customer of The Columbus Washboard Company in Logan, Ohio. http://www.columbuswashboard.com/

Since our visit was in May my family spent a good deal of their time at work or in school during our visit. So Danny and I did some exploring on our own. I’ve always liked Ann Arbor but didn’t realize what an interesting and pretty town it was until now. Since our visits have been in winter or autumn I hadn’t seen Michigan in spring in about 18 years—the last time I lived there. Lovely.

Highlights of our trip (aside from seeing all the family…wedding, memorial, etc etc etc):
-The town of Chelsea (pics are in my album) http://www.chelsea-mi.com/
-Civil War re-enactment at Greenfield Village http://www.hfmgv.org/village/index.aspx
-Tour of the Ford Rouge plant (linked to Greenfield Village)
-The refurbished Detroit Museum of Art http://www.dia.org/
-Frankenmuth http://www.frankenmuth.org/
-Great food!!!
-Getting to drink (clean, cold) water out of drinking fountains
-Hot showers, washer and dryer, no mozzie net at night, no mozzies!
-Shopping! Especially Best Buy, Borders, malls, etc……

Back to the present. The students return to the college tomorrow and classes resume later this week. Danny will be teaching and since the electricity has been reliable for well over a month we expect IT classes to resume. I will attend the classes to help students learn the basics beginning with Word.