Weekend 1

Sipi Falls

This weekend we went to Sipi Falls. An interesting time. First thing Saturday morning we got up to catch a matatu. A matatu is another form of Uganda transportation. It is a van that seats 12, but rides around 25. But it’s cheap and safer than riding a boda boda long distances. So we rode to Mbale then switched to a different matatu to ride to Sipi. Once we arrived at Sipi we checked into the Crow’s Nest. It was a nice little place; we found it in our book of Uganda under the ‘shoestring budget’ section- so we paid about 6 dollars. So it wasn’t much, all 6of us were in a small room in bunk beds. We then ordered some lunch. It was ok, I had grilled cheese with tomatoes, don’t know exactly what kind of cheese it was but it suppressed my appetite. Several in our group ordered coffee, which they said tasted like real brewed coffee.

After lunch we got our guide, Patrick, and set out on our hike to the falls. It was so beautiful there, we took tons of pictures. We hiked to the very farthest and highest waterfall first, then hiked down past the rest of them. At one point we ran into a school group there on a field trip and all they wanted to do was take pictures with white people. It was kind of funny, we felt like celebrities. We continued down past the second falls onto the third. At this point some people in our group were feeling really sick so they went back a little early and we continued the short way back. By the time we got back more people were feeling sick, so they went to rest and me and Amy just sat outside and looked at the scenery. It was all the people who drank the coffee so we’re thinking that maybe the water was bad? We don’t know for sure but we just took it easy for the night. We did get to take a hot shower with running water. AMAZING- worth every scent of the six dollars.

Some of us went to grab some dinner, which we paid 35 cents for, and then hung out with some of the other guests at the lodge. We met two Israelis who had just finished their required term in the army and were traveling around Africa for 4 ½ months. It was really neat to be at a random camp/lodge in the middle of Africa meeting people from all around the world. Everyone at FIMRC is so well traveled and it really makes me want to do more traveling when I can. They have great stories about different cultures and places. Being able to travel on a college student’s budget has been a blessing they say because they stay at cheaper places and become completely immersed in the culture, rather than staying at nice resort places and watching the culture from the outside. Which is definitely true of my experience thus far. Sunday morning we got up, checked out, went to a nicer resort for breakfast- which was so good. On our matatu ride back to the Guest House, a mother and daughter were crammed in the front. The girl winced every time we went over a bump, but I didn’t think anything of it, matatus aren’t comfortable rides. But then we came to their stop. Beduda Hospital. There was no car to comfortably take her to the hospital, no ambulance, only a hot, sweaty 3 hour matatu ride. A reminder of how blessed we are at home.

I’ve talked a lot about how different Africa is from America, but there are so many similarities as well. Mainly the people. Today we saw 3 little boys swimming in the river, just playing and having fun like kids in the states. They may not have brand new toys from the store, but they have toys they make. They jump off high things and are scolded by their moms. They run around and get dirty. Sometimes when we say ‘How are you?’ to a child, we see their mother nudging them and whispering to them the polite response. And of course there are the people at the clinic. They kids that you can tell just don’t feel good at all, the mothers that hold them in their laps and worry until the doctor can see them. Realizing how similar we all are helps in the daily work at the clinic, when a piece of candy, a smile, or holding their hand can make it less scary.