Monkey Brain Musings

Hi Folks! Well, I am back in Entebbe and its catch-up time. Honestly, there were so many frustrating moments for the rest of the week, that it's hard to remember them all. At one point on Thursday evening, when Max, Georgina and I were talking to one of the coordinators (after we had put in an 11-hour day), I got so angry with the conversation that I had to walk away to cool off, as I kept reminding myself how badly Rachel wants this to work out. I knew Rachel would be arriving on Friday, so I messaged her about everything, blew it off, and decided that I would let her handle the whole mess. So, let's talk about the good stuff, and maybe a little of the bad stuff that I can laugh at. The students...most of them were awesome! They really embraced my teaching style, and it brought out the best in many of them. Typical of Ugandans, they were warm, welcoming, and funny, and so eager to learn.  Because the Director of the hospital decided to allow random people to "audit" ...

Hi Folks! I am starting this post on Monday morning, when I should be lecturing my group, but let me catch you up first... **This is gonna be a long one! It turns out that the network where we are staying is very bad and my router does not work well there. I will try to keep adding to this post during lecture breaks, and share it when I can!** Some of you may know that I have struggled most of my adult life with insomnia, which has only gotten worse with menopause. Well, travel and jet lag make it even worse, so I only managed about 2 hours of sleep a night over the weekend. I had a mini reunion with my ITW buddies, Renny, Allan and Picho, on Friday, and only realized after they left that I did not get a photo of us all. Booo! Another massive rainstorm started up sometime early Saturday morning and didn't clear until around noon. The rain took walking the Botanical Gardens off the docket, as the trails get very muddy, but I decided to walk to my favorite shop and explore some other...

Whew! I made it to Uganda, but not without challenges. As always. 😶I arrived at the airport a little before 5am and had a smooth go through security, which should have made me suspicious. Haha. My flight on Air Canada was delayed due to engine trouble, then delayed again, then once more, then cancelled. I was "rebooked" on a Qatar flight that wouldn't board until 4"30 pm, but by the time my luggage was recovered it was clear that trying to leave the airport would have been a waste of time and resources. Qatar does not have 24 hour check in, so I have to wait with my luggage until the desk opened at 1pm. Once my luggage was checked, I was sent to the gate for a seat assignment, which I thought was a bit strange. I arrived at the gate and was told they would call me for a seat assignment. Well, what no one bothered to explain to me was that I was NOT booked, I was added as Stand-by. I managed to get one of the last available seats, on a full flight, squeezed into a wi...

 Hi, Folks! I wanted to check in before I take off early Wednesday morning. Someone called out sick this morning, so I am actually going into work early, when my original plan was just a short shift. The house is a series of piles and lists, my suitcases are half packed, and I have some last-minute errands to run, so all is as it usually is immediately before my trips!  I got some family time this weekend, going to a local pumpkin patch and corn maze with my nephew and his friends from the Special Olympics, and taking an early morning hike to Bridal Veil Falls with my sister. The rest of the weekend spent on random house projects, pulling out supplies, and making lists of last-minute things to accomplish.  I have bagged up a lot of yarn, that I will send to the birth center for the midwives (and I still have 2 huge bags left over, thanks to the generosity of my fiber friends!), and Dinnah has plans to teach some of the village midwives how to make baby hats. On the Uganda...