The end of the course

Hi everyone,
okay...so I know that this is a blog and not e-mails so it's pretty impersonal, but I feel so disconnected from everyone and I would love to hear what is going on in your lives and how your summers are. please e-mail me! :) I will e-mail you back, even if not right away.

So the group trip is wrapping up, everyone leaves tomorrow! It's hard to believe, but I am SO happy to be staying here for the rest of the summer. I feel like I am only just beginning to understand how to get around. Since getting back from our trip out west things have been much more low key. We've had our first couple days of free time which has been a nice change. We had a visit to KCCC - the Kamokwa (sp?) Christian Caring Community which is an unbelievably amazing place that you should google if you are interested. They are in the slums of Kampala and have an incredible amount of services available that are very organized and very well run. They have a school which is mostly for street children and orphans, they have a vocational school for people from the ages of 15 to 30 to learn either tailoring, construction work, shoe making, etc. They also have a PEPFAR clinic, youth outreach which includes sports teams, a micro-finance place, and a mental health clinic. It's amazing! I am planning on going back there to volunteer for at least a week and maybe longer.
Other than that, things have been pretty relaxing. We had a party last night at the house where we're staying and all the people that have helped us out along the way came. It was catered by KCCC (part of their vocational school includes catering), and the food was really good. Oh, let me update you on my travel plans which are constantly changing. haha. Jessie, a friend who I met here, is leaving on the 10th for Kenya, so the two of us will travel together until she leaves. We plan on going to the beach of Lake Victoria in Entebbe and possible to Sesse Islands which are supposed to be pretty and relaxing. As soon as she leaves I am getting on a bus and going to Lake Bunyoni. Look up pictures! it is supposed to be SO beautiful. I am really excited. I will probably head back to Kampala around June 20th to meet Kelsi and Marissa and help them out with EDGE stuff, and then volunteer with KCCC.

So yeah, that's about all I have for now. I can't wait to hear from you!

lots of love,
shelly