This Place is Bananas...

Bananas are everywhere. I can't walk 20 feet without seeing a banana. The annual consumption of bananas in Uganda reaches over 400 kg per person. Thats gross. Uganda grows and eats 11 million tons of plantains each year, making them the world’s largest producer.

Many of you may know about my intense hatred for bananas. The consistency and stringy bits are simply more than I can handle. However, yesterday out of sheer desperation and hunger I was forced to eat a banana. The first consumed outside of a fruit salad where the presence of other delicious tastes and textures can distract me. Unfortunatley I must have become weak, because I enjoyed the banana, thus inspiring me to write this very unentertaining blog.

I <3 Lovell

Another trip to the Peace Corps office results in more goodies for me :) The lovelly Ms. Lovell sent me a care package filled with wonderful goodies like Girl Scout Cookies!!! And a room freshner (you must have known it smells like wet dog), and perfume (you must have known I often smell like wet dog after climbing the hills of this city) and people magazine, and soup, and lip gloss, and hot chocolate with marshmallows (you must have known ive had a terrible craving for marshmallows), and listening material, and so much more! Oh happy day! Thank you Sarah! You have single handedly restored my sanity for another few weeks!

Happy World Malaria Day!!

Well of course I have to blog about such an ocassion!

Every year one million people die of Malaria. 90% of those deaths occur in Africa. The purpose of World Malaria Day is to educate those countries not affected by Malaria and mobalize them in the cause to erradicate this preventable disease.

So, today it is your civic duty, and your duty as my friend to educate yourself about malaria!

www.who.int/malaria/

And a very special thank you to my mother who donated a mosquito net in my honor at NothingButNets.com.

Christmas in April!!

Today was definitley and "up day". :) Today I made the trek to the PC office and to my surprise and delight had four packages awaiting me! Some of which had been marked received March 6th, I fear they were being held hostage from me. I am eternally grateful to be darling family at Eastern Management Development Center. Why you ask?? I will let this photo do all the talking.

Ok, well I've been trying for over a week to upload the picture to this post, and it just isnt happening. So instead I will highlight the amazingness found in my packages!
-3 bags of swedish fish!!!
-jolly ranchers (what a perfect idea!!)
-tuna fish
-soup
-Bert's Bees lip balm!!!! A++
-Four DVD's; including the Bourne Ultimatum and Oceans 13. Someone knows about my love for Matt, George and Brad.
-CD's
-Magazines!!! AHHHHH pop culture!!!!!
-antibacterial wipes
-face wipes
-a lovely CLCS Fleece!
-conditioner
-sunscreen
-a calendar
-An adorable Easter Bunny Pen!
-And perhaps my favorite; photos of cute guys to hang on my wall!!!!!!!!!!! You guys know me so well:)
-The personalized photo and US of A update made me cry.


You guys are the absolute best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Official

Hello All!

So I have officially been a Peace Corps Volunteer for one full week now! Hooray! (see picture from swearing in ceremony at ambassadors house above).

I am working in Lukuli, which is a district of Kampala at Hope Clinic. http://www.hcluganda.org/. I will be helping them with their community outreach and internal organization (i.e, rewritting their strategic plan, working on employee performance standards, etc.)

It is a beautiful brand new clinic perched high on a hill with an amazing view of Lake Victoria. Even higher up on that hill in a district called Makendye is where I now make my home!! Words can't explain how beautiful my home and the view is. I will provide photographic evidence of this tomorrow. The most beautiful part has to be the hot shower and proper toilet I have, as well as the refrigerator/freezer and microwave. Every morning on my 15 minute walk to work I relish the beautiful peaceful view of the city high atop my perch before I climb down into the village and get accosted/attempted to be run over for 7 minutes. Thanks to the rainy season I get to sport some stylish rubber boots every morning as I slide my way down the hill! I think they are lovely but I get made fun of relentlessly from the locals.

Today I met my new tailor! Hopefully she will be whipping me up some fabulous new African ensembles so I can stop wearing the 4 outfits I brought with me to Africa.

Tomorrow I will be celebrating Passover with my housemates. Oh the things I do whilst in Africa:).

Hello Dear Friends,

It has been a long time! But no need to fear I now have consistant internet usage! The first order of business will be to alert you all of my change in address. In order to expediate the mailing process I will now be using.

Rhiannon Elms
Hope Clinic
PO Box 4290
Kampala, Uganda

Please send letters :(. So far I have received just one musical greeting from dear grandmama. Not to mention I supplied some of you with stamps before I left. :)

PS

Tomorrow is the real Super Tuesday!!!!!!

Byeeee, Sorry, Byeeee

Soooo..staging is over and I head to Uganda TOMORROW! AHHH...please pray (if you do so) that I survive the 900+ hour flight (that I have to step off of in dress clothes!! what the heck) and that my luggage (5 pounds of Swedish Fish included) is under the designated 80 lbs. I will be hanging out for a few days to recover from jet lag and what not and by the end of the week I will be in with my host family and will have purchased a cell phone hopefully! So look out for the digits!!! WOOOO....

So it's bye for now from freezing Philadelphia where I have only a fleece to keep me warm.

Yum

On a non-Africa note, many of you may know my BF Novak won the Australian Open this weekend so I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on a job well done. Please keep winning and please keep taking your shirt off. Thanks so much. Holler.

Mail Call....

Below you will find my address for the next three months...

Please feel free, if you are bored one day, to throw some goodies in a padded envelope (boxes are $$$) and write the following.....

Rhiannon Elms, PCT

PO Box 29348

Kampala, Uganda

Africa

To help jolt your brains I will be providing a "wish list" if you will to the left of this page! :)

In addition, may I offer some tips to ensure the package actually reaches me before 2010.

*Write "Air Mail" or "Par Avion" on EVERYTHING.

*Boxes can be heavily taxed and take a long time to arrive so if at all possible use a padded envelope.

*If you have to send a box wrap it up so no one (or no animal) eats my Sweedish fish!

The 411

So, I'm joining the Peace Corps....

I will be living in Uganda for two years (February '08-April '10)....

I will be a Community Health Volunteer (I barely know what this means, so more to come)...

In the meantime, allow me to direct you to a quick history lesson! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda

Welcome

So as many of you know I have decided (over long long periods of time) to leave my exhilarating(sarcasm) life here in WV and live in Africa for the next two years. To my delight I have been placed in Uganda. A nifty little country in East Africa.

So as I prepare to leave (11 days) I shall commence my lovely Peace Corps Blog where I will be updating all those who wish to be updated about what is going on over in the 'Ganda. It should be real, and I hope to be able to adequately convey my feelings/thoughts/emotions and what-not so as not to bore you to tears. However, I'm sure that won't be happening since many of you have been unable to contain your laughter when thinking of the hilarity of me peeing in a hole and taking a bath in a bucket and sleeping amongst random rodents, etc. etc. So read and enjoy:).