Well...we just got back from our supposedly 2 day safari. I guess it could be 3 days if you count the drive there and the drive back. I only say this because we hit around 464 speed bumps (not including pot holes, which are very prevalent here). Now if you're not a math major....haha....that's 232 speed bumps there and 232 back. Let's just say I had a bit of a headache the past few days because of it. And it probably didn't help that I sat in the very back where the bouncing is the worst. And because of that I not only had a headache, but also a sore bum. It took over 6 hours to get to Murchison Falls (spelling??) because we had to drop off the rest of the school supplies with Jimmy at Building Tomorrow. Then we had to go back to Kampala to pick up our tour guide for the safari, and we were finally on our way. We stopped for lunch at some hotel and I ordered some delicious, fried talapia and chips (known to us as french fries). I had to wait for everyone else to finish up there meals because I eat so fast so I went to look for an adventure. Little did I know that I would run into something so beautiful. I saw this amazing looking black and orange lizard. But the thing was so fast I couldn't ever get a good picture of it.
Once everyone finished up we went on towards our campsite for the next few nights. The drive into the park was beautiful, for the most part. They do controlled burnings of the park so that it can't catch fire as easily in other situations, so there was a lot of ashed plants and trees. Nonetheless, I grew accustomed to that site and soaked in the rest of the park. On our drive in, we saw many different types of birds, all with brilliant colors, more baboons than I ever need to see again, Ugandan kobs, and a pack of water buffalo. Oh yeah, and some ugly warthogs. We saw all of this and hadn't even really entered the park yet!! What more could there be in store for the night?!? Well, funny I should ask, because right as we got off the bus at the campsite, Remy wandered off and was petting 2 or 3 warthogs when I saw him again. And yes I do mean petting. Anyway, we got settled in our tents and got ready for dinner shortly after only to realize that we would be seeing a lot of animals up by our tents. Apparently warthogs have a great sense of smell. Well we soon found out as we were running to our tents trying to get all of our food on the bus so they wouldn't be torn to shreds by the hogs. Well, we made it in time but just barely because there were 3 warthogs just walking past my tent as I headed out there.
I thought this would've been the best opportunity to take a picture of the sunset since in the city we really couldn't see the sun with the buildings around us. However, there were trees and the bathrooms in our way so we couldn't really get a good shot unless we walked a little bit. And since the warthogs had just came walking past and baboons yelling, I decided to try and get the best picture of it that I could without walking too far, but it's not real great. At dinner, the warthogs just kept following us looking for some food, but they later passed on and continued back to the "jungle." We did however get a nice surprise from a large-spotted genet, but told everyone we saw a baby cheetah. It's amazing how gullible some people truly can be. After learning a new card game, I retired to my tent and called it a night. And I must have been tired because I don't even remember getting into bed or falling asleep. And we had to get up at 6:30 to start our game drive in the morning.
We woke up and grabbed our sack breakfasts' and loaded up the bus, only to drive down a hill and wait for 20 minutes. We had to take a ferry across the Nile to get to where most of the "bigger" animals live. We were finally on our way to see some African animals. Most people wanted to see lions, giraffes, zebras (not native to Uganda) and elephants. We we started it out by seeing warthogs, baboons, kob, and oribles (a smaller deer-like critter). I had a prime seat on the bus for this so I was spotting animals most of the time for the guide. We got to see 3 giraffes eating off the trees pretty early in the drive so that was pretty exciting. Shortly after that we saw some monkeys hopping along the ground to the next termite mound. So I'm thinking this is going to be an awesome ride with all these different animals showing up the whole time. Well after seeing tons of kobs, oribles, warthogs, and jackson heartbeasts (there heads are shaped like hearts) for the next two hours, I was starting to get what I would say a little frustrated and probably cranky from not much sleep. Well we stopped to get some MORE pictures of the heartbeasts and our guide called all the other guides to see if anyone has spotted lions yet. Once he got off the phone and pulled out his binoculars, he informed us that there was a pack of elephants just down the hill!!! Needless to say I was pretty stoked since elephants are my favorite animal. So we moved along, down the hill a lot slower than I was really hoping for. So I'm getting impatient and we turn a corner to see about 13 majestic elephants just walking along, trying to get away from the other 2 cars/buses of people snapping photos. I took about 30 pictures in the 3 minutes or so of sitting there. Everyone asked if I was satisfied, but I really wanted them to be a lot closer than they were so we could get some awesome pictures. We drove on and saw the same ole animals, but still no lions. I was starting to fall asleep because we eventually saw no animals for a little bit, just a lot of poop, ELEPHANT POOP!!! Well sure enough we pulled around a bush to about 3 elephants eating from a different brushy areas. They were fairly close this time so we got some good pics, even with the elephants hiding most of the time. So I was pretty happy for the rest of the ride, still looking for those lions and even some more giraffes though. Well as we were on our way to Delta Point (where the Victoria Nile and Albert Nile combine) someone spotted a cat-like figure in the grass. We had to back up because they saw it kind of late but once we got there, we saw a leopard ready to pounce. This leopard was only about 4 years old (or so) so it was pretty small. Our guide said he only will see a leopard once or twice in a year. So it was pretty cool to be able to see one. I'm going to have to steal some other people's pictures because they were just too good and the camera I had didn't really get a great picture. We continued on to the Delta Point all feeling like we accomplished something. After getting out to stretch and use the bush "restroom," we were on our way back towards the camp site for lunch. We saw some silhouette's of giraffes on top of a hill and then passed them for some more good shots. Possibly the funniest part of the day was while we were waiting for the ferry to come get us, our bus was just sitting there with a few people in it and others around taking pictures of the hippos and some birds and others just finding some shade, snacking on some granola. Well a baboon come walking pretty close to those sitting in the shade snacking but continues on its way towards the bus. Well all of a sudden, I look over towards the bus to see the baboon jump up through a window, close to people on the bus, and snatch a bag of peanuts. Then it jumped out the window and sprinted towards the woods. Everyone was shocked at what happened for a little bit, but I couldn't help but laugh at all the people that came off the bus yelling. Anyway, we boarded the ferry and went back to the campsite for lunch.
After lunch we took a boat ride down the Nile towards the falls. We saw tons of hippos and some crocodiles and many birds. It also rained some on us so some of us got wet standing on top of the double decker boat. We then dried off in the breeze and the sun but were fairly disappointed because we never saw any crested cranes (the national bird). After I dried off I went to the bottom of the boat to grab a seat for the rest of the boat ride. We could see a storm approaching and got some good pictures of the clouds and the storm front. We it started pouring just about 5 minutes before we unloaded the boat, and it didn't stop raining for about 30 minutes. We had to run through the rain to the bus and after being in the rain for 10 seconds maximum, I was soaked. Once we arrived to camp, I got out and got my shampoo and showered in the rain. I was just running around the campsite after that just playing in the rain. I saw a huge puddle and told some people that I was going to belly-flop in it. They didn't think I'd do it so I went and belly-flopped. And then some lady who I've never met took a picture of me playing in the water. It slowed up just before dinner and then I ate and played cards until the electricity went off. Oh yeah, a lot of people's tents got flooded (including mine) or messed up from the wind, so we had to do a little rearranging of people for sleeping situations. It all worked out and I had a nice, dry sleep.
Woke up this morning to see the sunrise and it was something else. It was so beautiful and while watching it, I took in a deep breath and just thought to myself. That was my last "clean" breath that I remember in all of Africa. On our way out of the park we finally saw our crested cranes and boy do they have an aesthetic beauty. I'm so glad I finally got to see them. I thought ahead and sat in the middle of the bus to avoid another headache. And I slept or tried to sleep most of the way home. We leave tomorrow around 12 to drive to the airport and our flight takes off at 4:30 PM local time, 8:30 AM Indiana time. So please say some prayers for our safe travels, and I will tell you more about this whole experience when I return. Love you all and can't wait to see some of you. Later
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Title-less because today deserves no title
Well today was a fairly boring day. So this is going to be short because other people want to use my computer. I woke up today to the roll of the African thunder. I think that the climate is changing and the rainy season may be coming early because they said that the dry season started early too. Anyway, we loaded up all the donations on the bus and dropped some off at one school. To be honest I wasn't really paying much attention today to anything....I think my mind is set on the safari tomorrow. Anyway, this school is the only one in Africa to help disabled kids. They talked about how they helped teach deaf and autistic kids. Again, I didn't pay a lot of attention and was busy watching an ant try to cross this little stream of water. That's a different story and not to interesting so I'll let you ask me about that later if you want to. We were going to go drop off the rest of the donations but we found out we had brake fluid leaking so we headed back to Kampala and the hotel.
After eating lunch at an Italian place called Mammamia's, we hit up the craft markets to finish up some shopping. Got all of my shopping done, but there's still some things I want to pick up for myself and my room. I spent the rest of the day shopping and walking around Kampala. I need to pack up my bags to take to the safari (which I hear there is a good chance of seeing giraffes and elephants!!!). This trip is coming to an end, but I think it's going to end with the bang I need...Sharing my computer for others. Talk to you either in the States or maybe after the safari.....SEE YOU ALL SOON
After eating lunch at an Italian place called Mammamia's, we hit up the craft markets to finish up some shopping. Got all of my shopping done, but there's still some things I want to pick up for myself and my room. I spent the rest of the day shopping and walking around Kampala. I need to pack up my bags to take to the safari (which I hear there is a good chance of seeing giraffes and elephants!!!). This trip is coming to an end, but I think it's going to end with the bang I need...Sharing my computer for others. Talk to you either in the States or maybe after the safari.....SEE YOU ALL SOON
Sunday, January 25, 2009
"I want to go and see the Nile, the longest thing in Africa..."
*** Just to note: the title of this post is from a song that I learned from some of the local children here.
If you haven't gathered it yet, I got to see and even touch the Nile River. We took a boat to the starting point of the Nile. Just some facts about the Nile and East Africa: there are 4000 liters per minute that enter the Nile from underground springs plus all the water that enters from Lake Victoria, it takes about 3 months (approx. 90 days) for a water molecule to travel through the entire river, there are over 132 different species of birds in East Africa. The boat took us to a little island where we got off and walked around. It was right at the starting point of the Nile so that was pretty neat to see. Some of the birds we saw were absolutely beautiful and colorful, too. The best part about being in the boat was seeing a monkey jump out of a tree to another tree and just grab onto a branch. It's almost as if all the animals that we saw on this part were trained to do what they did. The worst part about the boat ride was either all the ants that climbed onto me or the fact that I had to sit by a 300+ pound man.
After the boat ride we ate lunch and then visited some more NGO's. Then we visited an AIDS treatment center and gathering place called Living Positively. They were all so excited to see us and right when we got there they started singing a song and dancing. A lot of them even came up and hugged us. The kids were playing with a rag "soccer" ball so I joined in the best I could in sandals. We walked over to see their chicken coop and to see where they make their pottery to stay busy. As we were walking two little boys came up and held my hands. It was a weird feeling for me because I didn't really get a chance to talk to any of the kids there but they were still so warm and welcoming. It makes me curious as to if they are taught to be nice to mzungus or something because they think we will help them. I think they just wanted a friend and that's what I was for them for about 20 minutes. We then travelled to an all girls boarding school. It was interesting but they are redoing some of their rooms so it will be a lot nicer. I believe it was like a technical school, but I'm not really sure. I was starting to get tired and ready to leave so I wasn't really asking questions or talking to too many of the girls. However, some of the girls wanted to meet the boys so I did shake a lot of hands and say hello.
Once we left there we headed to Bujagali Falls. This was the most relaxing part of the day I think. It's amazing that watching water fall over rocks can be so relaxing. I took some time to sit by myself and think about life and that was exactly what I needed at that time in the trip. The only bad part was the people trying to sell you useless junk and services. They just would not stop hassling me and I told one off and just walked away. They were frustrating me like crazy. But once I got some time to myself, I sat and soaked it all in. And it was well worth it too.
After dinner at the hotel we went to the karaoke bar. There me and my roommates ("the man cave") sang Paula Abdul's "Straight Up." We were obviously a crowd favorite. Well at least the people in our group got a good laugh. I also tried learning some new dance moves from a few guys that looked about my age, maybe younger. It was a real fun night and a good break away from seeing all the need and poverty we see daily.
I woke up today and went to Kampala's Pentecostal Church (KPC). This reminded me a lot of the style and set up of Crossroads in Cincinnati. They had a really big stage and lots of musicians and displayed everything on a projector screen in case you couldn't see. I was expecting a lot more than what it was, but it was still interesting nonetheless. It wasn't as cultured as I thought it might be, and compared to stories from our leader's last time here, it was toned down a lot. Service lasted an hour and 45 minutes, and the bench was uncomfortable, but it was interesting to hear some of the comments the pastor made about the US and Barack Obama. Everyone still thanks us for getting Obama to office. In the afternoon after some Chinese food for lunch, I made free to do whatever I wanted. I was going to lay down to take a nap, but ended up talking with Tanner the whole time about life. And then some girls came in and wanted to go to the craft market, so we tagged along for that. There I got about half of my shopping done. We're going to another craft market tomorrow and then back to this one if we can't find things at the other one. Once we got back I got a nice cold Coke made with real sugar. I'm going to miss those when I get back to the States. I played on someone else's drums for a little bit before returning to my room to take a nap. First nap of the whole trip, and it was very much needed. Overall it was a good day and very much needed time for myself and not scheduled. For dinner, we ate some pineapple that Paul bought, and had some roasted jack fruit seeds (or nuts I forget what they're called), and the owner's daughter, Rhianna, made us all some wonderful smoothies. She's such a cutie and has a British accent (from her father).
Tomorrow we are delivering our donated school supplies to three schools. Too bad in two of them the children are out until early February so we won't be able to play with them. We will be able to talk with the teachers and head master though as they prepare for the start of the new term. Tomorrow should be a very educational day (no pun intended) with a free afternoon. Tomorrow is a national holiday here...it's Liberation day. So hopefully there will be something unique we can experience.
***Extra Notes:
If you haven't gathered it yet, I got to see and even touch the Nile River. We took a boat to the starting point of the Nile. Just some facts about the Nile and East Africa: there are 4000 liters per minute that enter the Nile from underground springs plus all the water that enters from Lake Victoria, it takes about 3 months (approx. 90 days) for a water molecule to travel through the entire river, there are over 132 different species of birds in East Africa. The boat took us to a little island where we got off and walked around. It was right at the starting point of the Nile so that was pretty neat to see. Some of the birds we saw were absolutely beautiful and colorful, too. The best part about being in the boat was seeing a monkey jump out of a tree to another tree and just grab onto a branch. It's almost as if all the animals that we saw on this part were trained to do what they did. The worst part about the boat ride was either all the ants that climbed onto me or the fact that I had to sit by a 300+ pound man.
After the boat ride we ate lunch and then visited some more NGO's. Then we visited an AIDS treatment center and gathering place called Living Positively. They were all so excited to see us and right when we got there they started singing a song and dancing. A lot of them even came up and hugged us. The kids were playing with a rag "soccer" ball so I joined in the best I could in sandals. We walked over to see their chicken coop and to see where they make their pottery to stay busy. As we were walking two little boys came up and held my hands. It was a weird feeling for me because I didn't really get a chance to talk to any of the kids there but they were still so warm and welcoming. It makes me curious as to if they are taught to be nice to mzungus or something because they think we will help them. I think they just wanted a friend and that's what I was for them for about 20 minutes. We then travelled to an all girls boarding school. It was interesting but they are redoing some of their rooms so it will be a lot nicer. I believe it was like a technical school, but I'm not really sure. I was starting to get tired and ready to leave so I wasn't really asking questions or talking to too many of the girls. However, some of the girls wanted to meet the boys so I did shake a lot of hands and say hello.
Once we left there we headed to Bujagali Falls. This was the most relaxing part of the day I think. It's amazing that watching water fall over rocks can be so relaxing. I took some time to sit by myself and think about life and that was exactly what I needed at that time in the trip. The only bad part was the people trying to sell you useless junk and services. They just would not stop hassling me and I told one off and just walked away. They were frustrating me like crazy. But once I got some time to myself, I sat and soaked it all in. And it was well worth it too.
After dinner at the hotel we went to the karaoke bar. There me and my roommates ("the man cave") sang Paula Abdul's "Straight Up." We were obviously a crowd favorite. Well at least the people in our group got a good laugh. I also tried learning some new dance moves from a few guys that looked about my age, maybe younger. It was a real fun night and a good break away from seeing all the need and poverty we see daily.
I woke up today and went to Kampala's Pentecostal Church (KPC). This reminded me a lot of the style and set up of Crossroads in Cincinnati. They had a really big stage and lots of musicians and displayed everything on a projector screen in case you couldn't see. I was expecting a lot more than what it was, but it was still interesting nonetheless. It wasn't as cultured as I thought it might be, and compared to stories from our leader's last time here, it was toned down a lot. Service lasted an hour and 45 minutes, and the bench was uncomfortable, but it was interesting to hear some of the comments the pastor made about the US and Barack Obama. Everyone still thanks us for getting Obama to office. In the afternoon after some Chinese food for lunch, I made free to do whatever I wanted. I was going to lay down to take a nap, but ended up talking with Tanner the whole time about life. And then some girls came in and wanted to go to the craft market, so we tagged along for that. There I got about half of my shopping done. We're going to another craft market tomorrow and then back to this one if we can't find things at the other one. Once we got back I got a nice cold Coke made with real sugar. I'm going to miss those when I get back to the States. I played on someone else's drums for a little bit before returning to my room to take a nap. First nap of the whole trip, and it was very much needed. Overall it was a good day and very much needed time for myself and not scheduled. For dinner, we ate some pineapple that Paul bought, and had some roasted jack fruit seeds (or nuts I forget what they're called), and the owner's daughter, Rhianna, made us all some wonderful smoothies. She's such a cutie and has a British accent (from her father).
Tomorrow we are delivering our donated school supplies to three schools. Too bad in two of them the children are out until early February so we won't be able to play with them. We will be able to talk with the teachers and head master though as they prepare for the start of the new term. Tomorrow should be a very educational day (no pun intended) with a free afternoon. Tomorrow is a national holiday here...it's Liberation day. So hopefully there will be something unique we can experience.
***Extra Notes:
- I have a lot more bug bites.
- I have a bunch of little bumps on my hand that I think may be some reaction to a plant or possibly from the heat with wearing work gloves.
- I have a mustache
- I picked up a new hobby, harmonica.
I think that's all I have at this time. Still really looking forward to the safari, but won't be able to tell you about that until later on, or maybe not until I return....I love the comments and they're always so encouraging so thanks for that. And thanks to those of you who donated items for the schools. And thanks for the prayers. I love you all....
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Helping Building Tomorrow....
Back again. On my computer this time so hopefully we will have some more time to explain some things and what not. Anyway, the past few days have been very demanding but also very rewarding. We have been helping AFC's partner Building Tomorrow and their mission in helping communities build schools--in essence, build the children's "tomorrow" (future). Their plan is to have the community build the school, and we have been helping the community the past few days. We have been doing activities like removing dirt from a room, to walking to the well to get some water so they can make cement for the flooring. Now this walk to the well is nothing easy. It's about a mile walk to and from the well. Did I mention that it as at the bottom of a hill? Not just any hill, a steep one that we would be able to ski down if we had some snow. Now try carrying 10 gallons of milk along with you on the way up. And for me, imaging doing that 8 times. Needless to say, I couldn't feel any part of my body when I woke up this morning. And I barely woke up. It got to the point where they actually told me I was no longer allowed to carry water...so I did what anybody that was told to stop working did...I played with the kids. These kids are so precious, too. This little girl, Margaret, took me by the hand and put out her hand and compared our skin color, our finger nails, and also played with my arm hair. She was so cute and even remembered my name when I asked her today.
Anyway, when I was playing with the kids they would copy anything I did or said. Basically it was Simon says but with out a Simon. Anyway, I also made up a new dance with them and they would randomly start chase them and "tickle" them in the middle of this dance. A lot of them wanted to dance again today with me. It was basically all girls with me because the boys were working with everyone else. Once the boys came, I was like "cousin Alex" again and became the human jungle gym. I quickly directed their attention to another guy in the group and slipped out of the room for a breather. When I caught my breath again I went in and showed them some "stupid" human tricks, and they actually showed me some new ways to whistle. It's so cool that I can learn from them as easily as they are learning from me.
We went back to the same place today but had a little better plan of attack (so I don't have to carry 80 gallons again). The trip to the site from our hotel is about 2 hours, and I was still dead from the day before, so I did what any natural human being would do, took pictures of everyone else sleeping. I've almost got everyone from the group sleeping, well between Paul and me. Sadly I probably have more pictures of that than the trip. But we are all going to share pictures so I can pick out the ones I like. Most of the ones I take will be on safari which is coming up. Anyway today consisted of assembly line action all day. Both water and moving dirt out of the rooms again. We made sure that the kids helped this time, and they sure are efficient. We'd be done with all of this stuff if we had that help yesterday. They kids didn't like they assembly line for water so they'd just get a banana tree leaf, fold it into a little hat thing, and take a 5-gallon jerry can from the well to the school ON THEIR HEAD. It amazes me everytime a little girl makes that walk, but they are used to it I'm sure. They make that trip many times a day I bet. Anyway, we tried making it fun by singing songs and teaching them our names. I am mzungu Halex.....
Just some side notes.....it's rained with scattered showers for the past three days. It's supposed to be the dry season and the hottest time of the year hear. The rain is a nice break from the heat though. And I've broken my bed 4 times already....all funny stories. But I'm not supposed to be in a room of four, but we're making it happen. It's called the "Man Cave" by everyone else in the group because we have all 4 male students that are here. Also, don't get caught stealing anything from a store or market because people around will beat you and then light you on fire before the police come. As sad as that is, we saw that happen today. We didn't know what it was until our driver Joseph told us today. He also bought us some bananas for our breaks today. He's basically the man. Alright, going to head to the karaoke (spelling) bar and sing a song in Lugandan. We'll see how this goes. Best wishes....
Can't wait to see you all again. Wish you could experience this sometime in your life.
Anyway, when I was playing with the kids they would copy anything I did or said. Basically it was Simon says but with out a Simon. Anyway, I also made up a new dance with them and they would randomly start chase them and "tickle" them in the middle of this dance. A lot of them wanted to dance again today with me. It was basically all girls with me because the boys were working with everyone else. Once the boys came, I was like "cousin Alex" again and became the human jungle gym. I quickly directed their attention to another guy in the group and slipped out of the room for a breather. When I caught my breath again I went in and showed them some "stupid" human tricks, and they actually showed me some new ways to whistle. It's so cool that I can learn from them as easily as they are learning from me.
We went back to the same place today but had a little better plan of attack (so I don't have to carry 80 gallons again). The trip to the site from our hotel is about 2 hours, and I was still dead from the day before, so I did what any natural human being would do, took pictures of everyone else sleeping. I've almost got everyone from the group sleeping, well between Paul and me. Sadly I probably have more pictures of that than the trip. But we are all going to share pictures so I can pick out the ones I like. Most of the ones I take will be on safari which is coming up. Anyway today consisted of assembly line action all day. Both water and moving dirt out of the rooms again. We made sure that the kids helped this time, and they sure are efficient. We'd be done with all of this stuff if we had that help yesterday. They kids didn't like they assembly line for water so they'd just get a banana tree leaf, fold it into a little hat thing, and take a 5-gallon jerry can from the well to the school ON THEIR HEAD. It amazes me everytime a little girl makes that walk, but they are used to it I'm sure. They make that trip many times a day I bet. Anyway, we tried making it fun by singing songs and teaching them our names. I am mzungu Halex.....
Just some side notes.....it's rained with scattered showers for the past three days. It's supposed to be the dry season and the hottest time of the year hear. The rain is a nice break from the heat though. And I've broken my bed 4 times already....all funny stories. But I'm not supposed to be in a room of four, but we're making it happen. It's called the "Man Cave" by everyone else in the group because we have all 4 male students that are here. Also, don't get caught stealing anything from a store or market because people around will beat you and then light you on fire before the police come. As sad as that is, we saw that happen today. We didn't know what it was until our driver Joseph told us today. He also bought us some bananas for our breaks today. He's basically the man. Alright, going to head to the karaoke (spelling) bar and sing a song in Lugandan. We'll see how this goes. Best wishes....
Can't wait to see you all again. Wish you could experience this sometime in your life.
Monday, January 19, 2009
I'm now a mzungu
Sorry it has been so long but the internet hasn't been working in the hotel and we've been busy and trying to adjust our internal clocks. My post will be short as I am running out of time on the internet because I'm at an internet cafe type thing and it's really slow. My first site of Africa was on the plane and it was the tip of Djibouti. When we landed in Ethiopia I think it finally hit me that we were across the world. We only landed there to drop off a few passengers and were not able to get off the plane. When I finally made it to the outside world to smell the African air, I was caught by quite an unusual smell. It's a lot different here and boy was it HOT!!! Fina, Nixon, and Joseph were there to welcome us to Africa with huge, white smiles. the bus ride from Entebbe to Kampala was not a very pleasant one for me because I was in a make-shift seat with a bar going into my back the whole time. I'm glad we came during the day because being able to see Lake Victoria and the beauty of the country side was very nice. We were all pretty tired and basically ate and went to sleep once we got unpacked. Sleeping in a mosquito net is quite an experience too. Especially when you're in a small room with 3 other guys and all you have is a fan. VERY HOT!!!....It's nice though even though I woke up this morning with a bite on my hand, and it didn't come from one of my roommates either.
The first full day we went out to an Anglican church where there was a service going on (it was Sunday by the way). There were some children kicking plastic bottles around outside in the shade. It was sad to see them playing in a heap of garbage, but that is where they find their "toys." A little girl came up to Amber (a blonde, which they like very much) and gave her a bracelet made from a straw. You have to drink everything out of a straw because they reuse their bottles (except beer because of the alcohol kills the germs). It was so touching since they have nothing and are still willing to give up something even if it's something useless to us Mzungu (white people). You hear the children call you that while walking down the street or on the bus. The children will always wave to you and have the cutest smiles. We took a tour of Kampala the first day and Nixon and Joseph were great guides. I sat in the front of the bus a lot of the day and almost had a heart attack because the driving here is "drive wherever you want." And the motorcycle taxis called "boda bodas" weave in and out of traffic. It doesn't help when you're not on even pavement or dodging pot holes. Luckily they are trying to fix some of the pot holes but it's a very long process Joseph tells me. Stopping in the food court that day for lunch was crazy too. Let's just say you better have your mind made up while in there or else you are going to be bombarded by people shoving menues in your face. I ate a a little Lebanese place. Very new foods for me...just trying to broaded my appetite mom! ;)
The next day we went to a tomb of 4 kings. There were lots of strict rules here but it's a place of reverance so it makes sense to me. There are many stories I have about that but I have to go pay for 20 more minutes so I will return shortly. Ok back. I will tell you about these stories in person because it's too much for me to type and hard to explain. We also went to the only Bahai temple in Africa. There are only 9 in the world. Chicago is the home for the only one in the United States. You have to be silent when in the temple but one of the middle school teachers bumped a bench and it echoed for about 2 minutes. It was so loud and I could tell she felt bad. I went outside to talk to some of the people there. There's always people just sitting around the side of the streets or the hills (maybe because it was sunday though). A guy named Julius was trying to sell the religion to me but what can you expect? It was very peaceful at the temple because it sat on top of a hill with a great view. I understand why people would want to be sitting around out there now.
Today we visited the Invisible Children site and that was very moving. People working there talked about there personal stories which was very touching and brave of them to do. I bought a bracelet which will help 15 kids go to school with the money I paid for it. This bracelet can only be gotten by visiting Africa. Go to www.invisiblechildren.com to read more about that. Lunch today was a crazy experience because I ordered the fish, and was served a fish. A whole fish that had been fried with fins and head still intact. Time's out again....and it's dinner time (lunch for you). I will be back soon. STAY WARM.....I know I am.
The first full day we went out to an Anglican church where there was a service going on (it was Sunday by the way). There were some children kicking plastic bottles around outside in the shade. It was sad to see them playing in a heap of garbage, but that is where they find their "toys." A little girl came up to Amber (a blonde, which they like very much) and gave her a bracelet made from a straw. You have to drink everything out of a straw because they reuse their bottles (except beer because of the alcohol kills the germs). It was so touching since they have nothing and are still willing to give up something even if it's something useless to us Mzungu (white people). You hear the children call you that while walking down the street or on the bus. The children will always wave to you and have the cutest smiles. We took a tour of Kampala the first day and Nixon and Joseph were great guides. I sat in the front of the bus a lot of the day and almost had a heart attack because the driving here is "drive wherever you want." And the motorcycle taxis called "boda bodas" weave in and out of traffic. It doesn't help when you're not on even pavement or dodging pot holes. Luckily they are trying to fix some of the pot holes but it's a very long process Joseph tells me. Stopping in the food court that day for lunch was crazy too. Let's just say you better have your mind made up while in there or else you are going to be bombarded by people shoving menues in your face. I ate a a little Lebanese place. Very new foods for me...just trying to broaded my appetite mom! ;)
The next day we went to a tomb of 4 kings. There were lots of strict rules here but it's a place of reverance so it makes sense to me. There are many stories I have about that but I have to go pay for 20 more minutes so I will return shortly. Ok back. I will tell you about these stories in person because it's too much for me to type and hard to explain. We also went to the only Bahai temple in Africa. There are only 9 in the world. Chicago is the home for the only one in the United States. You have to be silent when in the temple but one of the middle school teachers bumped a bench and it echoed for about 2 minutes. It was so loud and I could tell she felt bad. I went outside to talk to some of the people there. There's always people just sitting around the side of the streets or the hills (maybe because it was sunday though). A guy named Julius was trying to sell the religion to me but what can you expect? It was very peaceful at the temple because it sat on top of a hill with a great view. I understand why people would want to be sitting around out there now.
Today we visited the Invisible Children site and that was very moving. People working there talked about there personal stories which was very touching and brave of them to do. I bought a bracelet which will help 15 kids go to school with the money I paid for it. This bracelet can only be gotten by visiting Africa. Go to www.invisiblechildren.com to read more about that. Lunch today was a crazy experience because I ordered the fish, and was served a fish. A whole fish that had been fried with fins and head still intact. Time's out again....and it's dinner time (lunch for you). I will be back soon. STAY WARM.....I know I am.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Dubai, UAE
So I'm sitting in the lobby of our hotel in Dubai. It's weird to think that we are in the Middle East currently. What really surprised me was that we flew over Iraq, and specifically Baghdad (spelling). The internet is really slow here but I am still managing. I mean I guess you guys are managing because I really don't have to blog.
Anyway, Our flight on Emirates was a wild experience. I've never seen nor been on a plane so big. I've also never had a meal on a plane before. Well we got 2 of them. It was weird because we departed NY at 11:00 PM and arrived in Dubai at about 7:30 PM. We lost a whole day basically because it was night when we got here. We ate a dinner on the plane shortly after getting on, and then ate a brunch sometime later. I really have no sense of time since I don't have a watch or, like I usually have, my cell phone. The plane was pretty cool though because there was a TV screen on every seat so you could be occupied for all 12 hours of the flight. They had games, TV shows, movies, music, or you could watch the plane on the outside from 3 different cameras. Needless to say, I was hooked right away. Played a lot of battleship vs. other people on the plane, and watched some TV shows. They had a lot of recent movies on there too but I never found anything that tickled my fancy. Once off the plane we had a quick security check. The only 2 people from our group to get stopped were me and our campus minister. Obviously the 2 most rugged looking of the bunch. We then took a taxi to our hotel where I am right now. Street lines mean nothing to the drivers here. I was gonna go straight to bed after a shower but ended up wandering the streets with Tanner and Remy. We were trying to find a bar but were way underdressed for the occasion so we decided just to walk around. We didn't get to see the crazy part of Dubai, but definitely had quite an experience and got lots of stares (which I will soon become accustomed to). I did notice that there's a ton of trash in the streets and people were spitting everywhere.
I should probably run because we have a wake up call coming in about 5 hours. I know it's only 3:30 there but it's half past 12 in the morning here. 1 more flight tomorrow touching down in Ethiopia and picking up a few more people, and then off to Uganda!!! I'm about to be in Africa and I feel like I'm just at a hotel in the US right now. What a crazy experience this has been so far but it's about to get real. Hopefully I can put up some pictures soon, but i've been saving all of them for the real reason I came on this trip, the people of Uganda. Goodnight....but it's going to be a short one.
Anyway, Our flight on Emirates was a wild experience. I've never seen nor been on a plane so big. I've also never had a meal on a plane before. Well we got 2 of them. It was weird because we departed NY at 11:00 PM and arrived in Dubai at about 7:30 PM. We lost a whole day basically because it was night when we got here. We ate a dinner on the plane shortly after getting on, and then ate a brunch sometime later. I really have no sense of time since I don't have a watch or, like I usually have, my cell phone. The plane was pretty cool though because there was a TV screen on every seat so you could be occupied for all 12 hours of the flight. They had games, TV shows, movies, music, or you could watch the plane on the outside from 3 different cameras. Needless to say, I was hooked right away. Played a lot of battleship vs. other people on the plane, and watched some TV shows. They had a lot of recent movies on there too but I never found anything that tickled my fancy. Once off the plane we had a quick security check. The only 2 people from our group to get stopped were me and our campus minister. Obviously the 2 most rugged looking of the bunch. We then took a taxi to our hotel where I am right now. Street lines mean nothing to the drivers here. I was gonna go straight to bed after a shower but ended up wandering the streets with Tanner and Remy. We were trying to find a bar but were way underdressed for the occasion so we decided just to walk around. We didn't get to see the crazy part of Dubai, but definitely had quite an experience and got lots of stares (which I will soon become accustomed to). I did notice that there's a ton of trash in the streets and people were spitting everywhere.
I should probably run because we have a wake up call coming in about 5 hours. I know it's only 3:30 there but it's half past 12 in the morning here. 1 more flight tomorrow touching down in Ethiopia and picking up a few more people, and then off to Uganda!!! I'm about to be in Africa and I feel like I'm just at a hotel in the US right now. What a crazy experience this has been so far but it's about to get real. Hopefully I can put up some pictures soon, but i've been saving all of them for the real reason I came on this trip, the people of Uganda. Goodnight....but it's going to be a short one.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
JFK Airport
We landed in JFK today like 8 hours ago and I've been sitting here ever since. I did read some books and people watch (very interesting experience) and watch Remy play with this little Indian boy (mostly because Remy had his Goldfish snacks out)...The 3 other guy students and me rode that train around the airport to pass the time for about an hour. Once we got tired of that we picked someone on the train and went to whatever terminal they went to to find a seat. We are about to board our 12 hour flight which from what I hear should be a very technologically advanced experience. Everyone is just antsy to get there...
I am hoping to go out and check out Dubai when we arrive. It should be 9 PM local time so hopefully I will sleep through most of the flight and get out to take some pictures. We are supposed to get around 3 meals on the plane which I've never experienced. I am already thinking that I have so much and almost feel bad for listening to an iPod when I know what I will be experiencing in a matter of days. This feeling of guilt is hitting me so soon, and will probably be with me the rest of my life. I will be posting again soon (maybe after the flight and when in Dubai) and hopefully we will be there safe.
Also when I heard about the airplane that was in the Hudson today, I was actually in the United Airlines terminal, which I heard was what type of plane it was. No panic or anything from anyone but you could tell that people knew about it. That's all for now. 1 flight down, about 5 more to go.....keep praying for our journey.
I am hoping to go out and check out Dubai when we arrive. It should be 9 PM local time so hopefully I will sleep through most of the flight and get out to take some pictures. We are supposed to get around 3 meals on the plane which I've never experienced. I am already thinking that I have so much and almost feel bad for listening to an iPod when I know what I will be experiencing in a matter of days. This feeling of guilt is hitting me so soon, and will probably be with me the rest of my life. I will be posting again soon (maybe after the flight and when in Dubai) and hopefully we will be there safe.
Also when I heard about the airplane that was in the Hudson today, I was actually in the United Airlines terminal, which I heard was what type of plane it was. No panic or anything from anyone but you could tell that people knew about it. That's all for now. 1 flight down, about 5 more to go.....keep praying for our journey.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Let the journey begin...
So I finished the class portion of my trip today and I don't know if I've ever read so much in so little time. Of the 7 days of class we had, we had to read 3 books, write a paper, take a final, and lead a discussion. I mean, I don't even know if I've read 3 books in a semester before let alone a span of 9 days. Talking in class has made me anxious and ready to get there, but also a little held back with certain parts. I'll give you a quick rundown of Uganda.
It is about the size of Oregon and is known as the "Pearl of Africa." There is really only one city and that is Kampala (where we will be staying most of the trip) which is the capital. They have suffered through various corrupt governments after gaining independence. The most notorious is probably Idi Amin, who has killed many innocent Ugandans (watch "The Last King of Scotland" to see more about him). Uganda touches Lake Victoria and also is neighbors with Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, and the Congo. There is a rebel leader name Joseph Kozy who is doing terrible things in the northern part of the country and abducting children for his army. Different parts of the Nile go through Uganda and we will be taking a boat ride on it during our stay.
There are a total of 23 people going on this trip with me. 13 Franklin College students, 5 middle school teachers, 3 faculty/staff, 1 wife, and 1 Ambassadors for Children (AFC) trip organizer.
We will mostly be staying in the Kampala region but might take a trip to Murchison Falls National Park for our 3-day/ 2-night safari. There's so much to look forward to but I know everything I see will be tough and touch me personally. What I'm most looking forward to is playing with the children at the schools we will be visiting. Hopefully everything we have planned to do will happen but Africa runs on African-time...so we will not be sure of what we are doing until that day (maybe 2 hours late too). I hope you all enjoy this experience through my eyes and I will try to post every night but the Internet often kicks out there and if we take our safari, there will be no Internet access (I don't think). I'll probably post again in JFK Airport because we have a 10-11 hour layover on Thursday.
My main goals for this trip are to find out what I want to do for the rest of my life, and to make someone else's life better than it was each and every day. It may be a Ugandan's, someone else on the trip, or even mine, but I plan on making an impact on lives. Feel free to make comments and I will gladly read them, but I am not going to spend my whole trip on the computer. Thanks for your support and I can't wait to share pictures and stories with all of you. And don't worry, I WON'T DRINK THE WATER...
It is about the size of Oregon and is known as the "Pearl of Africa." There is really only one city and that is Kampala (where we will be staying most of the trip) which is the capital. They have suffered through various corrupt governments after gaining independence. The most notorious is probably Idi Amin, who has killed many innocent Ugandans (watch "The Last King of Scotland" to see more about him). Uganda touches Lake Victoria and also is neighbors with Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, and the Congo. There is a rebel leader name Joseph Kozy who is doing terrible things in the northern part of the country and abducting children for his army. Different parts of the Nile go through Uganda and we will be taking a boat ride on it during our stay.
There are a total of 23 people going on this trip with me. 13 Franklin College students, 5 middle school teachers, 3 faculty/staff, 1 wife, and 1 Ambassadors for Children (AFC) trip organizer.
We will mostly be staying in the Kampala region but might take a trip to Murchison Falls National Park for our 3-day/ 2-night safari. There's so much to look forward to but I know everything I see will be tough and touch me personally. What I'm most looking forward to is playing with the children at the schools we will be visiting. Hopefully everything we have planned to do will happen but Africa runs on African-time...so we will not be sure of what we are doing until that day (maybe 2 hours late too). I hope you all enjoy this experience through my eyes and I will try to post every night but the Internet often kicks out there and if we take our safari, there will be no Internet access (I don't think). I'll probably post again in JFK Airport because we have a 10-11 hour layover on Thursday.
My main goals for this trip are to find out what I want to do for the rest of my life, and to make someone else's life better than it was each and every day. It may be a Ugandan's, someone else on the trip, or even mine, but I plan on making an impact on lives. Feel free to make comments and I will gladly read them, but I am not going to spend my whole trip on the computer. Thanks for your support and I can't wait to share pictures and stories with all of you. And don't worry, I WON'T DRINK THE WATER...
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