Playing Tourist Part I: Firefly (yes) Stoneys (no)

The other night Trish and I were looking for something really tasty to eat that wouldn't be too expensive or have too much food (always an issue when we're eating out) and so she suggested that we go to FireFly. Those of you planning a trip to Vegas need to put this place on your list. There are two locations -- the one we went to was on Paradise over by the Convention Center. The food is billed as "Tapas" which Blake has informed me was "International For Delicious!" and in normal English terms means "Appetizer  Smorgasbord".

Pre-Tapas Bread/Olive Platter (ie, Nom nom nom!!)

This actually ended up being the best food option for a lot of reasons. 1)-- the menu is pretty expansive and includes vegetarian option as well as the best food for meat lovers (ribs, lamb, and chicken in the tapas area, as well as actual 'entree' options that are full meals). The best part was that the appetizers only ran $3-5 each, so your meal is only as expensive as you are hungry. I ordered the gazpacho (which was the most delicious cold soup ever) and a beat/walnut salad. Trish ordered goat cheese wrapped in eggplant and a plate of mushroom tarts. Between that and the bread (and the desert tarts that we ordered) we were not only stuffed but we each only paid about $12. It was delicious AND cost-effective. I'm putting the contact information for the place at the bottom of the blog, please head that direction the next time your in town (nom, nom, nom!!)

Trish at Firefly ("Are you gonna take pictures all night?")

Beyond that I've been spending a lot of time avoiding the 110 degree heat (hello hot gust of air...so we meet again...). Hydration has always been key when I'm back at home, but no matter how much I drink I am never hydrated. Ye-uch.

Trish and I also went to Stoney's Rockin' Country Bar last night. For the record, this is a place that we used to go to all the time when I lived in town. I love line-dancing and they do have one of the largest hardwood dance floors in the city. Unfortunately, the place has gone down-hill since I left. The arcade games we used to play in the back have all been removed and throughout the night, the DJ played 15-30 minute increments of house dancehall music (ie, grinding music as opposed to line dancing or two-stepping music). Now, I'm not opposed to dancehall music in dance clubs; however, when I go to a country dance bar I'm looking for country music, line dancing, and two stepping. The "Whatever" attitude of the ownership to the clientèle that traditionally frequents places like Stoneys (in an effort to win over the 20 something young, obnoxious, oversexed crowd) bothered not only myself but a number of the regulars that I ran into while I was there. I don't know that I'll go back to Stoney's again, but I hope that the folks who normally frequent the higher end ultra-lounges serve the place well. 

Besides that, I just heard that they re-opened Gilley's in the Treasure Island. Gilley's used to be in the New Frontier (before they demolished the place) and was definitely the best country dance club I've ever been in. Small, but always country. Maybe next time I'll try that out instead. 

Taxi. Thought it was hilarious. 

Other than that, just hanging and waiting....Parents should be home tonight. Then starts the family part of this visit. 

FIREFLY* on Paradise
3900 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89169
702.369.3971 

Schedule Mishaps, Tragedies, and flying to Vegas

So, due to some miscommunication (and a few blond moments on my part) I'm headed to Vegas a few days earlier than I thought I was. I know what you're thinking, HOW does that happen? ...well...I'm not sure. I was positive I wasn't flying in until the 18th. Then I got home from Uganda and got a really good look at my itinerary. Turned out that I was flying out on the 14th. Initiate mad rush to get a bunch of things done before I packed my battered suitcase for another travel adventure. Fast forward a few short days (a few VERY short days) and here I am in the Atlanta, Georgia airport, listening to a violinist playing outside of Nathan's Famous Hotdogs and waiting for my plane. I kid you not -- I'm getting a private concert and running about seven different "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" jokes through my head.

I'm sure that by now, everyone has heard about the triple bombing (two sites, three bombs) in Kampala during the World Cup final the other day. My understanding is that the group responsible is connected to Al-Qaeda. The death toll (at last check) was in the seventies with a hundred or more hospitals. One of those lost was Nate Oteka Henn, who worked with Invisible Children. I'm putting the link to his memorial page here: http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/2010/07/in-loving-memory-of-nate-oteka-henn/. None of the Child Voice International family was involved, and after several days of tracking down the contacts that I have in-country (as well as the family of my adoptive sister Eunice) no one that I knew personally was injured, although several people knew people who had lost their lives. It took me a few days to process this, and I debated for a long time whether or not I should comment on it. Please do not allow this to be filed under "typical for 'those people'" and please do not assume that this means that my work in Uganda is any more dangerous than work anywhere else. Kampala is back up and running again, and everything is calming down. And while we mourn for those who were lost, shrinking back in fear allows the people who committed this atrocity to win. There is too much yet to be done for the work to stop now.

That being said, it is with a lot on my mind and a heavy heart that I packed my bag to board another plane, this time for home. For this trip, I chose the carry-on version of the battered suitcase (who wants to pay $25 per bag to check luggage domestically? Not me!) and lovingly stuffed it with sundresses and knick-knacks picked up while I was in Uganda. I was up this morning before the sun and driving through the fog and drizzle rain to Charlotte, NC, to catch the first plane. Once I got to the airport I was immediately grateful for having been raised on the Las Vegas airport (particularly concourse D) as it is there that I learned to be 2-3 hours early for any flight due to security lines up the hall and around the corner. Normally, the line at Charlotte is about 10 minutes max. Today, due to construction, security line B was the only one open. I was in line for an hour. Top that with the fact that BOTH of my carry-on bags were hand checked by security guards (those Ugandan instruments apparently can make it through all of the screening processes from Entebbe to Amsterdam to Detroit, but Charlotte finds them to be suspicious) and you get me, exhausted, and already done before I'd begun.

The first leg was a quick one -- forty minutes. The next one will be longer and will hopefully involve some sleep (something I haven't really gotten any of the last few days). Trish is coming to pick me up from McCarran, and I'll stay with her a day or two until my folks get home from the family vacation to Oregon.

I'm not really sure what this adventure will hold. Horse back riding? Random fund raising? A tour through the "new" CityCenter? Del TACO? I'm sure.

Stay tuned!

A Profound Lack of Profundity

I am going to attempt to write the following blog with a 12 lb cat sleeping on my lap between my laptop (which is on my knees) and my stomach. It may be the shortest trip follow-up in history as a result. At least you know that Oliver remembered who I was and is happy to have me home.

The last couple of days have been a blur. I was positive that I could beat the jet-lag, if I slept long enough on the plane and drank enough water. No such luck. By the time Peter picked me up from the airport on Saturday afternoon (in his nicest clothes. with flowers. and--more importantly--a Five Guys Burgers gift card. I admit it. I'm spoiled.) I was basically delirious. I still managed to eat about half a burger and some small amount of fries. That I did this without getting sick is both a credit to the freshness of Five Guys' Burgers and to my time with Apio in Kampala (where I tried to get my food tolerance levels up just a bit). 

I then forced myself to stay up until 9:00 PM.

Yesterday morning, I was awake at 5:30 AM. Then, despite the plan for Peter and I to go to Charleston to see the fireworks out at Patriot's Point, I was dead to the world at 4:00 PM, and he was completely unable to wake me up until about 7:30 PM, which meant that we were stuck watching fireworks in town. This was not all-together a bad thing, as there were a couple of really great displays and we didn't have to drive 2 hours to see them.

I also got to talk to my parents and brothers last night on the phone for the first time since I made it home. They're all in Oregon right now enjoying another family adventure to Yachats. I almost joined them, but with the jetlag being what it is, I'm kind of glad I didn't add a five hour flight to my list of to-dos for Saturday. I did manage to be included in all of the family banter about Michael's ears, Cammeron's cell phone bill, and Matthew's inability to win at Backgammon. Here's to debates that you have to be related to enjoy! I've missed my family. I'm headed out to Vegas to see them in about a week and a half (stay tuned for that edition of the Battered Suitcase travel-blog!).

Last night I went to bed at 11:00...this morning? Still up at 5:30 and hating life because I know that I'll have energy until exactly 3:30 PM, when my body says, "In Uganda it is 10:30! We must go to sleep NOW!"

Oyyy..

I suppose that I meant to write something incredibly profound here about the way that this trip changed my life. But then, I think that the most important thing I learned during my nearly 2 months in Uganda was that I am neither central or profound. I've ceased to believe that there is a "grand work" for me outside of the grand commission to love everyone wherever you have a heart to. Peter's heart is for soldiers -- he's working towards his MDiv so he can be an Army Chaplain. Trish's heart is for the elderly -- she's working in a nursing home. My heart is for Uganda. Therefore, I'm going to love people there with all of the energy I've got. And I'm going to quit worrying if I've got some job to do that I could potentially miss. As I've stated here before, that place doesn't need me nearly as much as I need that place. Getting to do PhD research there is just an added benefit.

Mostly, the trip gave me context. Now, I can watch documentaries like Invisible Children and I recognize not only where they're filming, but also places where they've exaggerated facts. I definitely feel it has made the difference for my research and I'm looking forward to future trips.

I also gained a firm appreciation for what I left behind and got to come back to. I appreciate my family, who have nervously waited for me to get back onto US soil, but have been very good about not freaking out (if your daughter's in Uganda...you've got a right to worry.) I appreciate my cats, who have been shadowing my every move since I got home. I appreciate my friends, who are all calling and all really missed me (true friends are true gifts). I appreciate Peter, who patiently waited for me to get home and has been extremely patient in dealing with my hyper-exhaustion as well as my need to explain every detail of my trip -- complete with pictures.

I appreciate consistent running water. Cross walks. Roads without potholes. Food I can trust. My shower. Mocha Frappacinos. Sub sandwiches. Air conditioning. Constant electricity. The washer/dryer. Reasonable sewage facilities. American freedoms. Wal-Mart. Phone calls home that don't cost $20. Reasonable access to medical care. Fresh books that I actually want to read.

The list goes on.

I miss the mangoes. I miss Child Voice International's Lukodi compound. I miss Eunice, Monika, Lowna, D'Andrea, Malika, Rheme, and my boda driver Mande. I miss the stupid rooster in the morning. And chipotti. I miss the CTC, the Acholi Ber, and Sankofa.

So basically...this post, which lacks the profundity I was hoping it would have, is here to say that I came. I saw. I learned. And now I'm home. I wholly recommend international travel to everyone of every age. And I can't wait to do it again (After I get over my jet lag.).

My next trip is to Fabulous Las Vegas to see family at the end of the month, and then a trip in October to Salzburg, Austria to present at an academic conference, so this Battered Suitcase isn't being mothballed just yet! Stay tuned for future adventures!

God Bless America! -or- Coming Home!

Waiting for our flight at Entebbe Int'l Airport

Hello all from Detroit, MI! 

I haven't got much time -- plane for Columbia is about to board. Just wanted to drop everyone a note and let you know that I made it back to the USA safe and sound. I even managed to get through customs and immigration without *much* problem (okay, so I was scanned more than a barcode and patted down at just about every juncture...but I managed to twice avoid the full body scanners!). 

Some interesting things I wanted to report on as I wrap up the trip (one final blog coming later to tie up loose ends):

-As we left for Entebbe, our private hire driver (Lawrence Jr.) had a full conversation with us about how America is wonderful but our seasons are just so temperamental. "Here, we have two seasons: rainy and dry." he reminded me. I had to agree, two seasons seems more consistent than four. He also insisted that Africa was in the process of making history. "A black man is the president of America, the World Cup is being held in South Africa, and Ghana is going to take the cup this year!" he predicted. Unfortunately, only two of those ended up being true as Ghana was narrowly defeated last night (after an awesome showing) by Uruguay. 

-In the airport there was a Mzungu woman who had just adopted a Ugandan baby. She looked scared to death that they were going to not allow her to leave the country with the child, or maybe she was just scared to death to finally be taking him home. Foreign adoptions are extra-long, extra-complicated affairs (as if adoption wasn't a long and hard enough process!). 

-In Amsterdam, Apio and I went into one of the duty-free shops to look around. We saw the following boxes of cigarettes. 

Cigarettes in Schiphol Airport

We just thought they were interesting. Denise thinks that every box of cigarettes should come with such labeling. Personally, I think that's kind of nanny-state-ish and think that people who smoke are well aware that it kills you (I've never known a smoker who didn't consistently tell me that they needed to quit) and grown adults should make decisions like grown adults. All the same...the packaging was definitely blog-worthy.

-On the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit I sat next to a very nice professor from Kansas who had a really interesting conversation with me about India, Uganda, and various differences between these two countries and America. He had to laugh when I said that I was stoked to see Detroit. "Why?" he asked. He was coming from a one week conference in Austria. There are much worse people to spend 7.5 hours of your life sitting next to. 

-Upon exiting the flight in Detroit I wound up going through customs. I laughed here too as the guy was like, "What kind of ranch were you on?" (I'd checked "soil" on the "foreign products" box on my inbound paperwork.) "Well...it wasn't really a ranch." I said. "Well, what kind of animals were you around?" he asked, "Goats, pigs, chickens, ducks...the usuals." I said. "So you were on a farm?" he said. "No." I responded, "I was in Northern Uganda. They have chickens and goats at the hotel." He was still confused, but let me pass. It was a hilarious exchange for someone working on 4 hours sleep and on a 27 hour journey. 

-Finally: Once I'd made it through immigration, customs, etc, and had made my way to my gate to sit down (after changing clothes) I began to take note of where I was (no longer in a rush to get from one place to another). I couldn't help it...I began to cry. Don't get me wrong. I've loved Uganda and cried when I left. I cannot wait to get back and I am definitely glad that I went. But I am an American and I have missed my country. Being away has made me appreciate it for all of its good and its bad points. I love this place. Best of all, I'm home the day before Independence Day (4th of July). Peter and I are going to drive down to Charleston tomorrow to watch the fireworks, walk the beaches, and celebrate the place that I am happy to call home. I can't think of a more fitting way to end this incredible journey. 

Happy Independence Day everyone!!

31 Hours and Counting

Our first afternoon in Kampala I made a rookie mistake. After six weeks of beef stew, rice, posho, beans, etc (and the occasional piece of pizza) we decided to have our first meal back in the "big city" at Java's, which is the trendy ex-pat hangout we went to upon first arrival. For the record, their food is awesome and their juice is tasty, but they are PRICEY. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I went to order the beef burger and chips (fries), thinking to myself 'I haven't finished a meal since I arrived in Uganda, I think I'll be able to get through half of this.' HA. Apparently I'd failed to converse with my stomach in advance. The burger came, I smothered in it Heinz Ketchup (funny how much I missed that stuff!) and inhaled that and half of my salty, greasy, chips.

By that evening I was thoroughly regretting this decision. My stomach reacted against the grease, or against the spices, or against any number of things that were in that burger and chips that were not in my average Gulu diet. Ye-e-ech. Yesterday's main meal consisted of a bean, cheese, and guacamole wrap that I shared with Apio because we figured "the blander the better". I'm suddenly re-thinking my initial plan to hit up Five Guys Burgers for a burger and fries when I get home. Maybe we'll give me a plate of rice and beans and I'll ease myself back into the American menu.

Other than that we've just been trying to stay busy getting our final tourist shopping out of the way, receiving some last minute visits to friends (Lowna was down for 1-1/2 days of this Kampala stay, and that was really nice), and getting our final packing out of the way. NUFU House is really pleasant and we spent some time last night in the grass with the chickens just talking about not-a-whole-lot.

Today was spent at the National Theatre being overcharged for crafts and other random Uganda/Africa goodies. Then a trip to the Garden City Mall where we attempted to find Apio an Africa United jersey (turns out the guys up North weren't kidding..they're NOT for sale and you CAN'T get one ANYWHERE. Sheesh!). I took a stop by the Aristoc bookstore to pick up a copy of the much-talked-about Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (crime thriller) so that I'd have a book to read on the plane. It seems like every third person I've spoken to since being here either had the book in their hand or was talking about it, so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm so far not that impressed, but I'm only 25 pages in. Maybe my 8 hour plane ride from Amsterdam to Detroit on Saturday will change my mind.

At this point, I've processed Gulu and put it in its box. I'm ready to come home -- I've got so MUCH left to get done this summer! Tomorrow afternoon we'll do one more lunch at Java's and then take showers, change, and pack into the private hire for the two hour drive to Entebbe. From there, checking in, a several hour wait for the airplane, and (barring all malfunctions) we'll take off at 10:50 PM, Uganda time. There's wireless in Amsterdam, so I'll probably update from there. Then I'll be Stateside on Saturday.

Until then!