Walk like an Egyptian...or ride, if you will

We had a 10 hour layover in Cairo, and we really didn't want to stay in the airport the whole time, so we took our chances with the crazy driving and went to see the pyramids in Giza. I was a bit skeptical about leaving the airport with all the happenings of late, but Tyler thought it was safe enough so out we went! The second we began to leave the airport, we had drivers all over us trying to get us to use them. It was only the beginning of a long day of "No's", "No thank you's", "No, merci's", and any other number of rejecting phrases. The Egyptians are VERY pushy, and it was exhausting. Anyway, we ended up taking a taxi and our driver was very nice but spoke very little English. The pyramids were very cool, but I must say the discovery channel makes them seem a lot cooler, and the sphinx was especially anti-climatic, but the face that we saw them in real life was still sweet.

I think learning about the history and how they built them is what really makes them cool. We also took the chance to ride some camels. Tyler's camel was named "Moses" and mine was "Mickey Mouse."

Awesome! After about an hour and a half, Tyler and I were both hot, sweaty, and tired of fighting off the people trying to take our money so we got back in the taxi and snoozed for part of the drive home.

We waited a couple more hours in the airport before boarding the plane to Entebbe Airport. We got in at about 3:30am and to the apartment by around 5am. A bed never felt so good after two nights of sleeping on airplanes! The last couple days in Kampala have seemed much longer, and we already feel like we've been here for a week. We are very excited for our coming adventures as our research projects get going.

Yew-gone-duh? (Uganda)

Yes, Uganda. It's a country in the middle of Africa sandwiched between the DRC, Sudan, Kenya and Lake Victoria, and we're gonna be there in 5 days!! Since we'll be gone for two and a half months we decided to dedicate this blog to the comings and goings and especially the whatnot that may go on over there.

So what is it exactly that we're doing over there???  That's probably the number one question we've had as of late haha. So, this is a BYU program with the Political Science department that Tyler decided to apply for since his emphasis in International Relations is in Africa (They graciously let Jordyn go along with him). It is a mentored research study abroad so there will be two professors and about 20 students. There are 4-5 different groups of 2-3 individuals that are carrying out political science experiments. Tyler is in the micro-savings group and also the menstrual hygiene group which Jordyn ingeniously created we might add! Simply put, we will conduct randomized experiments and recruit test subjects to see if we can find some kind of correlation that is related to development. For example, in the micro-savings group we are trying to find out what pushes Ugandans to save money in banks since right now they are very distrustful of the banks and only about 10% of the people do it. Our hypothesis is that an up-front incentive will be the best incentive to save. There will be treatment and control groups and we will run statistical analyses afterwards to see if there is a correlation. For Jordyn's group (the menstrual hygiene group) we are trying to keep Ugandan girls in school. When girls start having their periods they also start missing school because a lack of health supplies and lack of health education so our hypothesis is that an increase in menstrual supplies and education will lead to girls staying in school. Keeping them in school is important because women empowerment helps develop countries and right now most Ugandan girls become pregnant and/or are married in their mid to late teens! 

So, there it is. Cut and dry. Hopefully it made a little sense. We are both getting more and more excited about development because it is directly linked to helping people lead better lives. On the side, through a miraculous encounter at the Hospital, Jordyn ran into a nurse that set us up with contacts in two orphanages in Kampala (the capital city) and we have rounded up quite a bit of medical and school supplies to take over on a humanitarian mission effort. We are very excited about that! We greatly appreciate all of you who donated!! 

Anyway, that is the scoop. I'm (Tyler) still new at this blogging stuff so hopefully it will get better in time. Stay tuned, more to come!

BYU Hunger Banquet

Tyler and I volunteered at BYU's Hunger Banquet. Attendees all bought tickets for the same price, but there was no guarantee that they would get their money's worth. The majority of the people represented the lower class and got beans and rice, one bowl for every two people. The next portion represented the middle class and received hotdogs, chips, and pop. The final and smallest group by far represented the upper class, and they got a 3-course meal and waiters. All servers were volunteers, and those serving the lower and middle class could dress in "ethnic" clothes, while the upper-class waiters wore the traditional black/white.

There was a keynote speaker and 3 NGOs trying to get funding. Proceeds from the banquet went to fund a grant to at least one of the 3 groups. It was a great opportunity to hear about humanitarian projects and to be a part of that experience!

PS-Apparently taking pictures is a difficult concept. We only got one picture that wasn't blurry, out of 3 different people, and it didn't even show our whole selves! So this one will have to do...

Reception pics round 2!

And a few more :)

A few reception pics :)

Ok, so here are the first few of some of my favorite pictures from our wedding reception held at my Aunt Ginny's house in Idaho. Hope you like them! I'll post some more later because I don't think I can put more than 5 at a time...or I don't know how to use the contraption called the internet...one of the two!

feast or failure?

I used to joke with Tyler that he needed to get married so that he would have someone to help pack his suitcases when he went on trips because he tends to, let's just say, pack like a boy...a week long trip? Simple! Swimsuit, deodorant, some clean underwear, and socks...maybe. But really, who needs those things anyway right? Well, being a minimalist is far better than one who can't remember to do those things that are the foundation of the living in Provo...I think I needed to get married more than he did! If my head wasn't screwed on, I'd loose it!

Tyler and I are taking French Choir together. Week #1: Great. Learned part of a song, realized I can't read unfamiliar French words and unfamiliar alto parts at the same time, and learned if I sing quieter, people won't hear me mess up :) Week #2: Not so great. I feel asleep because I was up at 4:30am for nursing, and didn't wake up until at text came at 5:10pm (10 minutes after class started) from Tyler wondering if I was coming, and if I had fallen asleep. Yes, yes, and uggggghh! Week #3: Fail. Again, Tyler wasn't home to remind me of class. But this time, he was as work and couldn't send a reminder text. So what did I do instead of class? Baked. Food is always a good excuse right?

Well, I feel pretty good about my creation. This afternoon I managed to make a little over 5 dozen cookies, all in honor of the BYU-Utah game this weekend! GO COUGARS :) And hopefully next week will be a success as far as actually getting to class...

2 people, lot's of fun!

Well, we've been married for one month today, and it's been quite an adventure :) Several (quite humorous) mishaps later, we are finally moved in and almost have all of our stuff put away...almost. One of our earlier joint purchases, a "2-person" raft from Walmart, has practically paid for itself! We got to float the Provo River with Tyler's brother and sister-in-law, Leighton and Sharon, and a couple of their friends. Needless to say, the $20 raft was not quite built to withstand any rapids or banging against bridges...but it sure was fun! Good thing we took a water bottle though...we needed it to bail the water out when we gained an extra hole in the bottom and the water kept leaking in through the airvalve that wouldn't stay closed...wedding pictures coming soon!