Coming to America - 8-07-09

Well, I am here - it was quite the journey. Monday afternoon, we went to the Entebbe airport w. Sr. Juliet, Sula (driver), Jan and Maggie and another young woman from Holland (on the same flight) and Andrew and Fede...Andrew is about 16 and has Cerebral Palsy and loves to draw airplanes but had never seen one; Fede, an 8 year old girl, is one of the children who never goes home. They enjoyed the trip so much!!!

Our flight from Entebee went well, but I had problems in Amsterdam. Got there about 5:30 a.m. (only an hour difference from Uganda), printed my boarding pass which should have said 10:30 - it said "9:00" - I asked a worker and she said the entire flight was cancelled and re-booked to the next day at 9:00!!! I was devestated! I just sat on the floor in a corner and cried. After several attempts at the service desk and ticketing (going in and out of customs) it was apparent there was no option but to stay - flights were all over booked and you had to have your luggage on the plane you were on (U.S. regulation). We all took shuttles to a very nice hotel - way out in the country. I got a hold of Gail to tell her (she was up - 3 a.m. - and had seen the notice on the internet)...cried again. I decided to go to Amsterdam for the day - took the shuttle back to the airport, got some Euros and took the train into town. Fabulous public transport system!

It's a lovely city - I got tickets for a hop on/hop off tour and walked around looking for the bus stop - I was getting really frustrated not finding one, then saw a man w. a brochure like mine and followed him. The tour was from the canals by boat!!! Not having done any "research" on Amsterdam was hard for this tourist......there are many, many canals in the city that used to be used for commercial transport, but now are for leisure - tours, private boats and lots of houseboats on the sides. The canals are lined by 4-5 story condominiums with restaurants and shops on the ground floor....very picturesque! I wanted to tour the Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh Museum but the lines were v. long - lots of Europeans on holiday! I was impressed w. the thousands of bicycles - parked all over - even 2-3 story parking ramps for bicycles!!! There were very few private vehicles on the roads.

We had a great buffet dinner at the hotel (all courtesy of NWA)....lots of cold meats, cheeses, fish, pasta dishes - and fabulous desserts - it was GOOD! Weds. a.m. we all took the shuttle back to the airport - a pretty nervous bunch. I was saying what I might do if we didn't take off Weds. and someone said to be careful...."don't say that in an airport"...good warning! But, we did take off and landed in MSP at 10:30 a.m. (7 hour time difference). Greg, Jessica, Gail and Corky were waiting w. Dylan, Olivia, Riley, Emma, Tucker and Henry!!! Quite the sight I'm sure - the grandkids were a bit hesitant at first, but quickly got into the hugging! Very nice lunch at Olive Garden - my request!

It's funny, but in many ways it seems like I never left - I have a real advantage in that Corky is in the house and everything is where it was when I left (other PCVs have to sell their houses, rent or have children living in them). So, the adjustment was pretty easy which in itself is strange. I thought it would be harder. People ask about Uganda, but it's hard to explain - and most just want a simple story. I can't believe how much the little people talk! In Uganda children never talk to adults - adults yell at children but there are almost no conversations. Most of the time the children amuse themselves in what seems to us some pretty dangerous ways.....but there's a lot of disinterest by parents in what the kids think or do unless they do something really bad. Same applies to their progress at school - learning is the schools' job and they only get involved (to punish) if the grades are really bad.

Sad to say, but I was not appalled by the excess - went to Bert and Naomi's Thursday and stopped at Target and Fleet Farm (looking for cheap sandbox stuff to take to the lake) and loved every minute!!! I guess I can appreciate both ways of life. I realize that if we took a tiny portion of the money we spend on "toys" and gave it to the Africans, it would be a huge donation, but I'm not sure giving money is the answer. Corky got the book "Dead Aid" for me from the library and I'm anxious to read it (after "The Half Blood Prince" - wanted to see what the movie missed). I do think we have some right to enjoy the fruits of our labors! And most money is so poorly spent in Uganda from what I see - unless you give directly to someone who uses it to help the local people, too much gets siphoned off to politicians, NGO staff, big vehicles, workshops, per diem, travel, computers, corruption, etc.

I am really looking forward to the week at the lake. Bert and Naomi won't arrive till late Saturday nite - Mallard baseball game Saturday afternoon (I'd love to see that too, but not sticking around), and they have to come back early for a wedding next Saturday; not sure when Jean and Kody will arrive but they'll be there a few days. But, no family picture - Curt called yesterday and he's off to fight fires in Alaska! He called from the Duluth airport - waiting for a charter flight to Alaska w. the crew. I'm sad, but it's a great opportunity for him - he said it's just for two weeks so I'll see him before I go back. We'll miss his quiet, calming presence at the lake, but nothing to do about it! At least we'll use up a week of Jamie's "alone time".

I'm looking forward to seeing some of you while I'm home.....the time is going so fast!!! Hope the weather is good next week at the lake - but whatever, it will be fun!