Project Time!! (again)

So on Thursday Hannah and I took another fun taxi ride up to Bududa to meet with David Zaale, who is the head guy of PDI (Pathways Development Initiative); which is another partner that we will be working with this summer. Hannah and I are the project leads for our projects with PDI and we are super excited for the work that we will be doing with them.

I think I already talked about PDI a little bit, but we basically have three different projects that we will be doing with them:
     1)Teaching a couple times a week in the nursery school
     2) Helping put together and teach at/run an after school program for primary school kids
     3) Fundraise for and build a new nursery school

Initially the plan for the new nursery school was just to move from a two-room building to a four-room building so that there would be more room for all of the kids. However, since we were last in Bududa the two-room nursery school was taken back by the landlord and is now in the process of being torn down. Super sad. So, now the Zaales are hosting three nursery school classes at their home every day. Which is craziness. They don't have the space or the stamina for all of those small children to be there every day, so the building of the new school has now been moved to emergency status. David was so so excited when we told him that we wanted to help him fundraise for and build the new school before we leave this summer.

Actually, David was so so excited that we wanted to work with him at all. He is just the cutest. Apparently they have had other volunteer groups show interest in helping, but then nothing ever comes of that. We are the first volunteers that they have had, and I have never felt so appreciated (and we haven't even done anything yet!). But that's how the Zaales are. Just the sweetest people. I feel so welcomed at at home when I am at their house. Throughout the time that we were meeting there we were served eggs for breakfast, porridge for a morning snack (didn't love the porridge too much), bananas for a lunch appetizer, and a HUGE African meal for lunch. So delicious. We had plans to leave at 2:30 but David wouldn't let us leave until we had lunch so we didn't get out of there until around 3:30/4:00 (it was a late lunch). Can't complain though. Ugandans certainly know how to be good hosts.

We had a wonderful meeting, got a ton of things figured out, and ate until we couldn't eat anymore. Then we got in a crowded taxi to head back home. We ended up sitting in the very backseat of the taxi, and I soon discovered that besides not being able to move, there was also a chicken under my feet. He was just sitting there alive and flapping and squawking right where my feet were supposed to be. Let me tell you, I did not love that. Chickens freak me out and to have one right there that I couldn't get away from? Yeah, not pleasant. I didn't have to go the whole ride home with my feet however, because as we were bumping along the road we suddenly heard a scraping sound coming from under the van. I couldn't tell if it was a flat tire or something else, but I knew it wasn't supposed to sound like that. Eventually we pulled over and everyone filed out of the van. Once out, we discovered that some piece of the car (the axel maybe) was hanging off the bottom.  The dirt roads here are definitely not good on cars. So we all stood on the side of the road while the driver and conductor worked on the van. We made some friends, took shelter from the rain, and fed some kids granola bars. 45 minutes later we were finally back in the taxi headed home. It was a fun little African adventure.

Once I got back, I went with Sam and Cami to have dinner at their friend Ann's house. (People automatically love me because they love Sam....it's kind of fun). Dinner was delicious and Ann is the sweetest girl. I loved getting to sit and talk with her and make a new friend. This place is just full of the very best people. I love it. I just feel so loved all the time (especially when random men are whistling or winking at me.....just kidding....but really). Africa is just wonderful. I haven't taken a lot of pictures the last few days, so sorry about that. I will do better!