4th time is going to be amazing!

I can't believe that it's been a year since the last time I was in the land I call my second home. It's been a pretty crazy year full of ups and downs and I'm hoping that this is going to be another high point. Let's be honest though, within the next 3 weeks there will likely be lots of highs and just as many lows. It's just a matter of taking it all in stride and continuing to work with what we've got! Since the last time I was in Uganda, I finished my second year of medical school including taking Step 1 of the USMLE boards. It's amazing how many clinic encounters I've had since then. I fell like I've already experiences an amazingly large number of patient interactions but I haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my medical knowledge! I started working on my Master's of Public Health degree the day before I took my board exam and unfortunately I will have to work on some online classes while I am away. The program is only a year long but luckily the whole summer is online classes. I'll be spending the next year in the classroom learning about how to treat entire communities rather than the individual science of disease. I know that this new degree is going to help me when I work in small towns and as I work on projects in Uganda over time. I hope I can start applying when I know on this trip.

Okay, that's pretty boring. The last year in Minnesota has been not all that exciting for most people to hear my drone on about how many hours we study. I have realized I've become quite a nerd and get excited about the pathological basis of diseases and all kinds of little details that most people really don't care about. At least it confirms that what I'm doing is what I'm supposed to be doing and that I'm excited to be learning all of it!

The trip this year is going to be a new experience for me......i'm traveling alone to Entebbe and Angella and her friend Pat will be meeting me at the airport. I'll stay with Angella for the next three weeks and work on more of the orphanage projects delivering medicine and educating the caregivers on how to administer the types of medications that you would normally keep in your medicine cabinet at home. In the end we hope to see a decrease in the need for hospital and clinic visits for the orphans that we are providing medicine for. Dr. Lund and two students will be joining me 4 days after I arrive. I think their names are Isaac and Dennis. It's going to be a different experience working with people I've never met until they arrive! Hopefully I will be able to give them a great experience.....but seriously, it's Uganda.....how can it not be amazing?


This picture is from Ross' first trip to visit the Woolies. It's amazing that the boys were so little. Angella introduced Ross and Ross introduced our family and friends to the kids. Although they are the original "woolies", we have added to the number that we visit every year! Every time I have left the country, I feel as though I'll never be able to have a heart big enough to love any more kids, but every time I get back to Uganda, it seems my heart has grown a little bit more and we find a bunch more to love!



Here's a picture of the original Woolies as they were last year.They have grown so much!


I'll try to be better about posting pictures this time! It's difficult because I usually have to write a blog and then eventually find an internet connection and upload it before it times out! It's almost like back to the days of dial up! This year I am going to try to get internet Orange which is pretty much like a USB port that acts like a wireless modem from anywhere. I'm really hoping it works out because on top of working at the orphanages, I will need to work on all of my coursework for my MPH classes! It's going to be really tough to concentrate on them!

So anyways, I guess that's just a very brief intro to the trip before I leave! I'm currently completely packed. I had to come down and stay at a friend's house in the Twin Cities (thanks Emily, Ashley, and Brandee!) I have a love hate relationship with packing! Two suitcases at 50 pounds each is not enough when you want to load them up with as many toys, books, and games as you can! I basically have a huge box of things at my parents house that my mom has been collecting and I just crammed as much as I could. I take up every last nook and cranny of my backback and computer case with all the heavy stuff and then just hope that I won't have to take anything out of my checked luggage. The only good part about leaving Uganda will be the fact that my suitcases will be significantly lighter.....but I don't want to think about that because once I get there, I usually don't want to leave!

Anyways, I think sleeping before the trip is a great idea! I hope you all enjoy the random commentary I will have about the trip! If you have any questions about what we're doing or random questions about the kids.....or maybe you've never heard of a "wooly"..... feel free to ask! Sometimes I'm positive my parents are the only ones that read this blog and they hear me talk about the trip a lot already!

ps.....I really am going to miss having my mom or my brother or sister-in-law on this trip......oh yeah, and Pamela and Nick, you guys were great travel buddies too! At least I have my "sister from another mother", Angella to take care of me.