Week 4....WHAT???

Silly Kids

So I know there's probably a lot that I should write about, but I have been having writer's block the last few days. And I still have it, but I am going to try to blog anyway. Do you know what that means? This is going to be a super random post with zero transitions or logical streams of consciousness. Mostly I will just write whatever comes to my head about what I have been doing for the last week.

On Thursday, a few of us went for a little ride to a place just outside of Mbale where the Peace Kawomera Coffee Co-op is located.  The co-op is a really successful business that grows a lot of coffee as well as some other crops, like vanilla beans. We were actually blown away with how successful the whole thing is and how much money their farmers are able to make. They are doing a great job, which means they don't really need our help with improving anything. But farming can always use more manpower, so we might go out there a couple times a week to just get some physical labor in. We had the best time learning about the intense process that is involved in turning a little red berry into what would be in your cup at Starbucks. I had no idea! We were also fascinated by the the way vanilla beans are planted and grown. I was a little embarrassed to discover how little I know about agriculture. I think it's so important to understand where our food comes from, and to be honest, I never really thought about it that much until now. I have gained a much greater appreciation for this by not only going to the coffee co-op, but also just watching the process that goes into Sam the Cook making dinner every night. Everything is completely from scratch. Everything. Dinner usually takes at least two hours to make, which makes sense once you realize that throwing some frozen food in the microwave isn't an option. (We don't even have a microwave) Oh Americans just have it soooo easy!! Though, there is some give and take. The fresh fruits and vegetables we get here are sooo much better than what you can buy at the grocery store.

Also, if you are interested, here is the link to Peace Kawomera's website: http://deliciouspeace.com/cooperative  I don't drink coffee, but if I did I would definitely buy some beans from these guys. They are all about quality. Plus, it's just cool because I know them.

Coffee Tree

Who knew this is what coffee beans looked like straight off the tree?

Cute kids following us around the vanilla bean farm

Vanilla bean planting. They graft the vines onto sticks stuck into the ground  and then bury the end of the vine under a shallow layer of dirt. So fascinating!

Vanilla Bean vines ready to be grafted

Today, I got the chance to go over to Namatala to work with the women from "1000 Shillings" (The business that was started last year to help women in Namatala earn income for their families. They started by making paper beads last year which were then sold to people in the United States online. They have now expanded and are making bangles, scarves, bowties, and purses). The business was started as a HELP project, but now has its own team of volunteers that are focused just on helping 1000 Shillings grow. However, we are still going to be involved with them. One of our volunteers, Sarah, has her own business making purses, and she is using her knowledge of that to help teach the women how to make purses of their own to sell. I got to help with some of the cutting of fabric for those bags today which was way cool. I am sooo excited for the bags to be done. They are going to be so cute! The African fabrics that they got for them are all gorgeous and I probably will end up buying one of each. Love them. Also, everything else they are making is great too. If no one else, I will single-handedly keep these ladies in business.

Cutting away!

Also, if you are interested, here is the link to 1000 Shillings' website: http://www.1000shillings.com/  Obviously not all of the new stuff is on the website yet, but keep checking back because they are going to be great.
Also, if you are interested, here is the link to Sarah's cute purse-making business: http://annebdesigns.com/  (If anyone felt like buying me a present, this would be a great place to find said present) Wow, can you say "shameless plugs" today??

On Saturday, (told you this was going to be in no coherent order) a bunch of the team was going to Jinja to do some shopping in the markets. I was all excited and ready to go when Sam informed me that she would be staying in Mbale and going to the pool. Suddenly a long, crowded, bumpy taxi ride no longer sounded appealing. So I opted to stay with my sissy. And we had a perfect day. There are a couple nice resort/hotels near our house that we go to sometimes when we need a little first-world break. The one that we went to has a nice pool and a restaurant with poolside service that has semi-American food. The sun was blazing hot and the pool was cool and refreshing. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect Saturday. For me, nothing beats laying out in the sun, reading a good book, and jumping in the pool when I get too hot. Also, hanging out with my sister. Perfect. We did get a little too excited about the sun though, and the four of us that went ended up getting a little burned. I think Sam got it the worst. Mine wasn't too bad and is mostly tan now. That was the goal. I will be African black before you know it. (Ha! I wish!)

Sunday was wonderful, as usual. For some reason, I always just get really full of gratitude on Sundays here. Grateful that I have the gospel, grateful for how easy it is to live the gospel in the states, grateful that the church is the same everywhere you go, grateful for missionaries, grateful for the spirit that is felt in our little Mbale branch, and grateful for the incredible, incredible people in the church in general, and in our Mbale branch specifically. I know I've said this before, but despite not knowing most of the people in the branch very well, I still feel like they are my family. There is sooo much love in that building.  It also helps that they all know and love me because they love Sam. Sister Butali, one of the ladies that has been in the branch since it started, always calls me "Baby Samantha." Don't tell Sam, but I secretly love it. It's fun to be loved by association. Makes my job really easy.

Random story: There's a boda driver that somehow knows my name. I don't really know how. He's usually stationed at the fresh market and every time I'm there I hear "Hey Cassie!" and every time I am super confused. Then I remember, "Oh yeah, my random boda driver friend who somehow knows my name." I'm sure he probably gave me a ride one time and I told him my name, and somehow he just hasn't forgotten. I guess there's so few mzungus that it's probably easier to remember us. But it still confuses me every time. Oh well. It's fun to have friends.....even if I don't actually know them.

Other random story: We had pizza for dinner tonight. Delicious. Okay, compared to the pizza I usually have it probably wasn't that great. But tonight, it sure tasted like the best thing I have ever eaten.

Another one: I woke up with like 25 mosquito bites today. I hadn't gotten a single one up until this point. Plus, like 20 of those were localized in one little spot on my stomach. Weird. Let's hope none of them have Malaria in them!

Last one: HELP reposted my instagram picture today. Success! It was a pretty good one if I do say so myself. I'm starting to realize that I really love taking pictures, especially when I get one that just captures those little moments so well. I'm not pro by any means, but Africa is a perfect setting to practice.

Okay, I know there's more to tell, but that will be it for now. Thanks for reading this loooong post.