bella italia!

You would think three days in Milan would easily fit into one blog post... I will try:

Sarah & I met up in the Milano airport Malpensa, and rode the shuttle bus into the city. A 40 minute drive was exactly what we needed to begin debriefing on our oh-so-different lives over the past 2 months. We landed at Stazione Centrale, which is both a bus and train station - and oh yes, it was built by Mussolini. People say this is one of the most beautiful train stations in the entire world, and they are right: the station towers above the little piazza in glistening white marble. The structure is intricate and also imposing.

Christopher & Jelena ('Yelena') picked us up in their little BMW, and took us to the Studio. Christopher & his dad Alfredo are internationally-acclaimed photographers, which I knew - but maybe I didn't realize how cool that was until I walked inside their Studio. Beautiful black and white pictures cover the walls of this huge apartment. I've never felt so totally engulfed in the world of an artist. Sarah and I slept right in the middle of the action - on a pullout couch next to the black set, and underneath some cool nude photos. It was great to get the artists' perspective on a lot of their paintings, and of course Jelena had a lot to add since she works as a model.

The first afternoon, we mostly hung out at the Studio - drank espresso and talked about life. We went out for panini's, and Sarah & I kept saying to each other: "We are in Italy!"

The next day, we all woke up around noon (don't question - just embrace it) and Chris & Jelena took Sarah & me all around Milan. We started at Armani's house (which is above his store, above his restaurant, above his hotel - he owns the whole block). Sarah & I took a few moments just to breathe the same air as Armani. Then we walked down the high fashion street - past Prada, Gucci, Fendi, and every other designer you can remember. Jelena told us that the window displays in Milano are considered even more beautiful than the ones in Paris. The streets were full of lovely Italians - little kids, old people, the middle aged - everyone has that smooth skin, and the italian phrases rippling from their mouths. I'm going to speak for Sarah too - because we agree that we could listen to people speak Italian for the rest of time.

We came upon the Duomo from behind - the church is breathtaking. The white marble sparkles in the sunlight, and the intricacy of the spires has a dizzying effect. We jetted to the top of the church, where we wandered on the roof for an hour - the best view of the city is found on top of the Duomo. We basked in the old-ness and wonder of the sculpture and architecture. You can look out onto Piazza Duomo, where there is a fountain and a beautiful archway dedicated to Emanuelo Milano. We trudged down the winding staircase, and went inside the church. Like so many cathedrals, the building has beautiful rose windows and an altar that you would really like to get married at, but what struck me was how much of everything there was - not just 3 rose windows, but 5 or 6 - not just 1 statue or 2, but multitudes. Also the floor is this beautiful and complex tiled pattern - made it hard to walk around - as I kept looking at my shoes. Finally, we went outside to see the front of the building - breathtaking again, even after we had seen the outside & the top!

Next we met up with Anna (who is living in Switzerland and decided to pop up for the weekend - love Europe). We all wandered across the piazza through the archway toward my first real gelatto experience - wow. I got Stracciatella mixed with something else delicious - it was so, so good. Then we wandered through the local castle, down some other streets, and generally got a taste of the city.

We got back to the studio in time to get ready for our night on the town - Jelena had vip passes to Club 71, which was very fun & very full of italians dancing to trance music. Sarah hadn't danced in months, and I hadn't danced anywhere near Sarah in months - and I am not sure Italy was ready for those moves, but we broke them out anyway. awesome (see here)

The next day Jelena & Chris told us that we 'had pretty much seen everything,' so Sarah, Anna, & I decided to wander the streets where the poor people shop (poor as in 150 euros for a pair of cheap boots), eat gelato, and get ourselves lost. We passed an old European car show, and checked out the various Ferrari's & Citroen's. Sarah bought italian leather boots, Anna bought everything else in sight. Just kidding - it's hard to resist the fashion!

Sunday evening, after an unbelievably tasty homemade dinner by Alfredo (Papa Sabbatini, as I like to call him), Sarah & I were models in a super fun photo shoot. This was a very new experience for me - so it was really helpful to have Jelena doing hair & makeup, Seba setting the lights, and Chris yelling 'be a monkey!' Just kidding. I loved it - every minute. For the results - see here and here.

Thanks to Chris, Jelena, Seba, Alfredo - and all of Milan - for such a fun weekend. Pictures will be uploaded eventually - until then, ciao bella!

Mountains of the Moon

This past weekend, I visited Fort Portal - a little town in western Uganda. It was great to get out of Gulu and see another part of this country. It always amazes me how small my mind is: I was constantly surprised at how different this area of the country is from the northern region that I'm used to. Western Uganda is very, very green and hilly. Actually the Rwenzori Mountains (located right near where we were staying) are some of the tallest in Uganda. They are called Mountains of the Moon because they have so many beautiful craters and crevices.

Since the roads in Uganda are bad, we had to drive 4 hours south to Kampala and then 3 hours northwest to Fort Portal. On the way down, we split the drive and spent all Thursday night partying in Kampala. Let's just say an Irish club called Bubbles O'Leary, a casino called Simba, and the big city factor got the 11-person group home around 6 a.m.

The next day we drove up to Fort Portal - round the winding roads, through the foothills, and past the blazing sunshine of the north. I was in a group of 7 expats (3 from Britain, 1 Scot, 2 Irish, plus me), and we met up with about 8 other Irish folk. I don't I've ever been around so many redheads drinking so much beer and shouting 'ye man!'

Fort Portal (Kabarole district) is filled with crater lakes - leftover volcanoes that have filled with water. For the most part the lakes are free of bilharzia - the dreaded still water disease you get from swimming recklessly in Africa, but you can't be entirely sure. Despite the possible disease & definite bacteria, the lakes are really beautiful - green reflecting the mountains surrounding them. And the fact that you are standing where volcanoes used to erupt - how cool!

Saturday we spent bumming around the crater lakes. We visited Ndali lodge, which is at the top of a mountain overlooking a deep valley on one side and a crater lake on the other side. The air is so clear I wanted to breathe it forever. We also ran across some Calabash Monkeys, who were very entertaining... We swam at the lodge's pool, ate a huge lunch (including honey lemon pancakes - who knew?!), and then escaped down the side of the mountain in a torrential rainstorm. Down to the security of the little town, and the next day allll the way back to Gulu.


Anyway - a great weekend, and props to my friend George for driving the entire 15 hour trip!


*Disclaimer: I was lazy the whole weekend, and didn't take any of these pictures.

10, 9, 8....

The days are getting shorter, the weather chilly - the wind bites your nose as you walk out the door... oh no wait, wrong introduction. The days are still long, the weather perfect, and the only thing that bites are the cruel mosquitoes. I'm getting ready to leave Uganda in 9 days (remember how it took me 2 weeks to mentally prep for this trip?).

I haven't figured out how to deal with leaving foreign countries, really. I say bye, give giant hugs, and hold back the tears. At least for Uganda I will probably come back, but I never know how soon that will be. Goodbyes are tough.

I'm normally so tired that I konk out during takeoff on the first plane ride, no meds necessary. By the time I wake up, the flight attendants are serving food I haven't seen in weeks - cheese, crackers, chocolate pudding (I never eat the chocolate pudding - it is disgusting).

Anyway - part of what's making me ready to leave Uganda is this: on the way back, I am meeting my girl Sarah in Milano, Italia for a wild weekend of italian fun. Uganda, Milan, DC? Oh yes.

Here are some pics from this trip - some of my favorite memories all around:
Breakdance for peace & positive social change














little kids, about to receive baseball caps:














Faith: my favorite



































Local Dancers - fierceness personified:

a letter from Sarah-- Spain to Uganda

how do I even begin to explain----

rolling thunder griffith

As you may already know - I've been wanting to learn how to drive a motorbike for a few months now: Sunday was my golden opportunity.

I cajoled one of the engineers I work with, Frederick, to teach me on his own bike (the keys to the program bikes were hidden away somewhere). We drove over to an open field where 'you won't be able to hit anybody or anything,' said Frederick. I told him, 'I will be the second woman in my family to drive motorbikes - my brothers will be totally impressed.' He thought that was just great.

As soon as we got to the field, a crowd of 20 kids gathered to watch the mzungu make a fool of herself. Frederick said, 'They are so impressed with you.' Not so much. Here in Gulu, most kids learn to ride around age 17, so for them it ain't no thing. I was a little worried about hitting them - but they all managed to scurry away in time...

Since I don't know (entirely) how to drive a manual, it made learning a bit more complicated - but after many stalls and an hour of jerking poor Frederick around the compound - I think I might be a pro. At least I can get into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears. Frederick said to me, 'you are now so perfect!' what a good teacher :)

I definitely landed us in a giant, and I mean giant puddle on the way back to the office - but between the two puddles, and I definitely chose the smaller one! Next steps: learn to drive without Frederick on the back of the bike telling me to 'go slow!' and figure out how to kickstart - that is tough stuff.