Weekend Two- 4th/ Jinga- July 4-7

This is the short version because the weekend stretched from Saturday to Tuesday and lots of things happened. But it still might be kind of long haha.

AAH was throwing a 4th of July/ 5th anniversary of the school celebration for us on the 4th. The celebration was supposed to start at 10:00 but this is Africa time, so 12:30 was when it started. Lunch was supposed to be at 2 but that didn’t happen. Parts of the celebration were great. The kids had some great songs and dances. And they did a skit, which was hilarious even though we had no idea what they were saying. But then the speeches started. They talked for so long and we didn’t really know what they were saying. Finally, the Mzungus were given an escape plan and taken to eat our special lunch. Rice and beans, of course.

During lunch we all reminisced on our favorite 4th of July traditions. Most of the conversation revolved around food, fireworks, and family. We all agreed that today has made us the most homesick so far. Not even really homesick, we would just really like to be in America for today. Its such a patriotic holiday, full of tradition and celebration, and its hard not to think about what everyone in America is doing today. But this is an experience I will never forget. How selfish is it of me to be thinking of all that I am missing out on when these people are trying to make this day special for us? Humbled again in Africa.

That night the school teachers threw a party for all the AAH and FIMRC staff and volunteers. It actually turned out to be pretty fun. The food actually was quite a feast. Tons of rice, beans, chipati (fried dough = amazing), pork, beef, and chicken. After going to the market and seeing how meat is cut and sold, I’m a vegetarian for this trip. And tons of beer. Our newest volunteer here is Tommy, a British med student, which made the 4th very entertaining.

Sunday
Two of the volunteers, Karli and Brea, were leaving this week, so we were going to their favorite place, Jinja, for the weekend. Jinja is a pretty big tourist city, because it is where the source of the Nile River is. We were staying at Bukigali camp site, again cheap dorm style rooms, but amazing views. The porch overlooks the Nile and some of the rapids. We arrived after a wild matatu ride, Molly and I decided to go bungee jumping, while the rest of the group went on a sunset gin and tonic kayak cruise. Yes that’s right, we went bungee jumping. Over the source of the Nile. It was amazing. 44 meters up, they sat us in a chair, tied our feet up (very securely, no worries), then made us hop over toward the edge. They told us not to look down and tiptoe over to the edge. That was the only scary part, inching toward the edge and trusting they would tell when to stop. Then it was “look toward that field, jump as far out as possible and do a swan dive. 3, 2, 1.” The first drop was shocking, I couldn’t even scream. I got to the bottom and then was yanked back up on the other side. Then down and up again. I never actually touched the water. When you stopped, you hung there, upside down for a minute, until the people in the raft hold out an oar to you and pull you into the boat. It lasted all of one minute, but so fun.

Monday
Monday was a day that I really wanted my thoughts to automatically just be written down because there was so much to take in. We got up and caught the rafting truck to the Nile River Explorers’ office where we checked in, semi-signed a waiver, then to eat breakfast. Perry- it was a continental breakfast Africa-style: toast, boiled eggs, chapatti, mango, pineapple, baby bananas, coffee, tea, jam. We met the rafting guide in charge of our trip and he told us how the day was going to work, what to take, what to leave, etc. It was a very organized operation, apparently during the summer they take a group out every day. Our group had 30 people and on weekends it’s usually 2 or 3 times that many. We got fitted for life jackets and helmets, then loaded onto the rafting truck for the trip to the put-in point. Once there, we were divided into groups and put with a guide.

The 5 of us (me, Molly, Amy, Vicky, Tommy) had a guide named Charles aka Prince Charles of the Nile. He was a local Ugandan who had been guiding rafting trips for 13 years, so he knew the river very well. He had actually worked for the competing rafting company, then didn’t agree with some of their policies so he came to Nile River Explorers. Very cool guy. We got in and went over all the safety issues; what to do if we flipped, what to do if you fell out, then he made us practice falling out. Along with the six rafts that went, there were two safety rafts (big rafts with safety people in case there was an emergency, we never needed them), and 10 or so safety kayakers that would come get you if you fell out and drifted too far from your boat. Quote from the guide “They are the crazy ones in the lunchboxes that look like Jesus when they come get you.” And away we went. There were a total of 12 rapids- 8 before lunch, 4 after, 4 class V rapids. It was so much fun. At several points during the day we were just paddling on flat water. It was amazing to look around at the scenery, at this huge river and just think about how big it actually is. It begins at Lake Victoria and flows north to Egypt. It’s the only river in the world which flows north. And this river has been here for thousands of years, nestled between the mountains of Uganda, flowing easily in some places and raging rapids in others. We saw tons of birds alongside the river- King Fisher, storks, little white birds which are called ‘Mzungu birds.’ Our guide also liked to tell us stories while we were just paddling along. The favorite was of the Nile Perch. Apparently these fish are bigger than people, and they eat people. When you go over waterfalls, which we did, they sit at the bottom with their mouths open to catch Mzungus who fall out. We ate lunch on the river, the safety rafts were converted into makeshift tables where they prepared the food. Really it was a packet of glucose biscuits- a staple around here, a mix between a cookie and cracker- and the greatest pineapple in the world. They cut the pineapple into fourths, ran a knife through it to cut pieces, and then handed you half a pineapple. So good. After lunch we had the final four rapids, one that was an actual waterfall, one which we did with our eyes closed, and one that we did with all the girls in the back and Tommy in the front, therefore vertical. An amazing day.

We rode back to the campsite for another free meal, which was awesome. Real food. No rice or beans. Pasta, salad, chapatti, green beans, steak tips, rolls. Then another hot shower and hanging out with the rest of the group. We were exhausted from a full day of rafting so we went back to the room to read. But then we ended up just talking. After the long weekend, my trip is at the halfway point and Molly has only a week and a half left. The weekend was the perfect relaxation/rejuvenation/get pumped about what we are doing for the rest of our time here. We are at a point where we know what is going here and what we want to accomplish in our time we have left. Sometimes it’s hard to see how I are making a difference and what exactly I am accomplishing, but with a list of specific goals we are excited for the next 2 weeks. It’s weird because I am pumped for the next 2 weeks and what we are going to accomplish, but I also can’t wait to get home and share with you more what God is doing over here.

Thank you so much for your prayers for the weekend. It was fun, safe, and some people used good judgement….but overall it was awesome. Prayer requests for the week: safe travel for those coming and going; relationships among the volunteers; continued enthusiasm and ambition for my remaining time here!