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...