And still more pictures...

This is very easy - I am writing a logframe at the moment (fellow POs, feel free to groan in sympathy with me) and I keep distracting myself with posting photos - makes the time go more quickly, although unfortunately the wretched thing is still waiting for me when I get back... Without further ado, I present more photos (these are really random at this point - I am looking through my pictures and thinking "cool - I'll post that" - I will try to be more thematic in the future...)

This photo is actually just a couple of days ago in Capetown - a bunch of us went out to dinner at this quite fancy restaurant, where we paid the staggering amount of approximately US$15 per head for amazing food and drinks (another thing to add to the 'Reasons-Why-I-Love-Capetown list - incredibly cheap!) Needless to say, we were not actually dressed for the occasion (as Ash said, we were in a very upscale place, dressed for MacDonalds) but we had a hoot regardless, and probably entertained the rest of the restaurant with our discussions of heroics from the training ("remember when those terrorists made you dance the Conga Line?")

L-R Judy (Aussie, based in Cyprus), Ana (Bosnian, based in Georgia), Ash (Kiwi based in Australia - old buddy), me, Angel (Indonesian based in Singapore) and Patrick (Ugandan, based in Nairobi) with our pretty scrumptious food

Okay - I already posted this picture and am trying to re-post in the hopes that it is a little larger and you can actually make out the faces. I think I will fail in this hope though - it is just a darn small picture. It's strange to look at this photo, taken a year ago, and realise how many changes we have had in our team since then. I'll have to get a new team photo soon and we can put them side by side.

L-R; Isaac, Wycliffee, Julius, Ekra, Me, Bob, Godfrey, Simba (behind), Bettina and Wise, with Amos seated and looking like the King that he is!

This is from my birthday in February- I took my camera and took a photo of the table when we arrived, because it looked so beautiful (all formal place settings for 25 with wonderful flowers) then forgot about it until the end of the night, so have no actual pictures of the dinner!! But someone took this at the cake moment and although it's a lousy shot, I think it shows how long my hair is getting...

With Kim, one of my very best friends here, at a Christmas party last December. Kim lived in Russia for six years, so is a vodka afficionado (!) She was also a Godsend when we went to St Petersburg last year - not only did she give extensive lists of which restaurants to go to, she gave us lists of what to order! Everyone has those people with whom they immediately click and become so close to - Kim is one of those for me and I will miss her greatly when we no longer live in the same city.

Just wait until your Father sees you!! (family in-joke!) My car in Karamoja last year. It takes beatings for me again and again and keeps coming up roses (well - until someone else took it to Karamoja a few months ago and blew up the engine - it is currently still in for extensive surgery). This trip was amazing - it poured with rain as we drove in and we passed so many cars stuck in the mud...I was nervous because we only had my Prado, not one of the Landcruisers, fitted with mud tyres and an electric winch, and many prayers were said as we drove through bogs. Returning, we left on the Friday night as Bob's father was very ill and he needed to get back to Nairobi...we drove out through insane pouring rain and even continued on to Kampala that night (I was driving whilst the driver napped in the passenger seat and Bob kept commenting how much tiring it was sitting in the backseat than driving - although he declined my frequent suggestions that we swap places to alleviate his fatigue - I had a hard time exercising a modicum of restraint!) We arrive around midnight (greatly violating security protocols, but I was so glad not to have to sleep in Mbale) and I collapsed into bed exhausted, then got a phone call from our Security Manger the next morning - we had about six cars trying to also get out and just getting perpetually stuck in the mud - they kept driving and finally arrived in Kampala over 24 hours later, on Sunday morning. I was SO grateful that we had left the Friday night - those 12 fewer hours of rain really saved us!

That mud is so thick it totally obscured our logo on the door (for security reasons, all NGO cars have their logos on their doors, as evidenced by the UN car behind us) - it demonstrated the point that Louis had made a week before about larger logos on the doors aptly!!

Some Photos

So - I thought I'd have another stab at showing some pictures from every day life here, the work etc. Internet seems to be cooperating a little more (nervous to say that in case it blinks out again!) so I will have a shot...

This is Denba, who used to drive for us - Driver Extraordinaire and pretty much the coolest man on the planet. He's sitting on a traditional little stool which cracks me up as he is about eight feet tall. I still see him, but no longer with work with him. I miss Denba...

This is at Landmine Awareness Day last year in Pader - I am with my landmine team and VERY dear friends, L-R Susan, Me, Monica and Walter (who appears fascinated by the happenings!!)

A day in the life - digging a car out of the mud in the East

Geoffrey (our Water Engineer) and myself distributing relief supplies during the flood response, Soroti, 2007 (no comments about stupid hats, please - it is hot and I burn too easily!)

(This is) My December...

...This is my time of the year.

Well - being a total Christmas nut, I am in heaven right now - Christmas is only a couple of weeks away and I leave for home in a week...home! With family and friends and good coffee and my DOG! Of course, I just have to survive long enough to make it there - the work has certainly not abated since I came back from Europe - if possible, it is even greater. I am desperately longing for home - and holidays.

I am still intending to post about my Europe trip - other holidays this year (skiing in Europe in Feb, Zanzibar at Easter, Safari in Tanzania) have not ever made it onto this blog, but this last trip was amazing and I really want to post about it. Sadly, I have realised that it will probably have to wait until Christmas and holidays in order to be posted - I just do not have the time to do it right now.

I thought, however, that in the meantime I could post some pictures and give a bit more of a glimpse of everyday life here in Kampala for me, and include some of my coworkers - put a face to the names I mention to many people in emails/phone calls etc...

So - without further ado:

Hmm - it's pretty small - hope I can identify everyone!! This is most of our key team at the team retreat about six months ago. Some of these guys have gone and we have some new ones, but it's a start

L-R Isaac (Finance), Wycliffee (Operations), Julius (at back - Security), Ekra (Commodities), Me, Bob (Grants Manager), Godfrey (Monitoring and Evaluation), Simba (at far back - Commodities), Bettina (mostly hidden - Program Officer like me), Wise (Finance) and seated - Amos (Operations Manager)

It has taken a couple of hours to load one picture, so that's all you're getting for now. I'm sick of this and want to go home! Will post more later...