Safari - Thursday

Linda woke us up at 5:30am and we got to the bus at 5:45. Nobody was there to open it so we let Nathan climb through the window and open the door so that we could get good window seats. Just like our seats in class, its important to get a good spot on the bus. We all were on the bus at 6 and we had to wait for our driver to get there, then we had to wait for our tour guide to be ready as well. It was pitch dark when we started driving, but the sky started brightening. We were all pretty sleepy, but I did my best to stay awake, realizing that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We drove into the park and saw a few animals, but it was too dark to really see anything or take pictures. The best part of the drive was when we pulled up to a cluster of other safari buses and looked through the binoculars at a lion and her cubs. I was really frustrated because my camera is old and doesn't take the clearest pictures. It also couldn't zoom in enough or me to keep looking at the lions. It was really cool looking through the binoculars and seeing real lions. As with all the animals we saw on this trip I felt like I wanted to pet and cuddle with them. We also stopped at a salt lake that was really beautiful. We all went behind a bush to take a "short call" (pee). How cool is it that I can say I risked becoming prey by going to the bathroom while on safari? We headed back to the lodge for breakfast.

After breakfast we all went back to bed and slept until lunch. After lunch we relaxed even more and finished writing Haikus for Owning Poverty. I went Haiku crazy! I could barely take a nap because I was counting out syllables on my fingers. Here are the haikus I wrote:

Ugandans walk slow
The day goes by at snails pace
And I enjoy it

Generosity
Guests welcomed like long lost kin
And treated like kings

Mzungus are rich
They can afford any price
And yet, they haggle

Bodas driving fast
Narrowly escaping death
I gasp as they pass

American time
Should be left at the airport
This is Africa

Do not wake me up
For I was up half the night
Procrastinating

At Owning Poverty we all circled up and then talked about our schedule tomorrow. Then we split into our groups and talked about a cultural interaction that we found highlights the differences between Ugandan and American cultures. My group chose the interaction that takes place when a Ugandan man hits on an American woman. It is awkward for us women because we feel like they are crossing a line of personal space that borders what we consider sexual harassment. These discomforts have deep roots. American women value freedom, personal space, and respect. We have a deep rooted distrust of men, and know that love cannot happen over one conversation. We also are easily offended when we feel that we are labeled as "easy" or "rich" right off the bat. In Uganda, we are already on edge because we are out of our comfort zone, not to mention that we learn from an early age not to talk to strangers. We all shared our Haikus and discussed the issue of building relationship with the people we meet here. Kate and Aryn explained that friendships here are different than in the US. In the US, there is a power relationship going on in friendships. When one needs to ask for help from the other, they feel uncomfortable until they can repay the implied debt. We feel uncomfortable asking for help because it changes the dynamics of the friendship until things are equal again. Here, the friendship isn't concrete until one has a chance to help the other. Debts aren't repaid until there is a need. I might borrow some food now, and a year down the road give my friend money to pay for a medical bill. I am a little bit uncomfortable with this because I don't like feeling indebted to others, but I find it very interesting all the same.

We ate dinner and then started watching The Lion King. That movie takes on all new meaning when you have seen the animals in their natural habitats. we set up the laptop on our porch and watched it while we saw flashes of lightening on the horizon. It was awesome to be watching the Lion King while on a real safari. Then it started to really storm around us, and the laptop died, so we all went our separate ways. I went to the dining hall to charge my laptop a little and write up my blogs in Notepad to later be transferred online. Now it is 11:15 and I am trying to figure out how I will wake up tomorrow without a phone or watch that work. Even with everyone in the same room, it might be hard to find someone else will to wake me up. We are all, (to be punny,) ready to throw each other "under the bus" to get a good seat for the ride tomorrow. Its going to be a long day. I can't wait for it to be this time tomorrow with the 15hr bus ride out of the way. ..

Later:

So I went to bed for a little while but couldn't sleep. I went to go find my friend Shelby and found her in the dining hall talking with some other people from our group. As a side note, our group has been somewhat divided into two groups of friends. The realities of doing everything together created a sort of divide among us. I have been feeling really uncomfortable about it because that is not what I wanted or excepted to happen on this trip. The last few days have been a little bit tense. However tonight I had a good talk with a few people that I had felt awkward around and we moved past it. We apologized and decided to move on and start anew in Rwanda. I felt so much better after that. I really hate conflict and feeling like there are people that I don't get along with. I think our group will be able to start becoming a unit again if we can all move past the last month together.

I was up really late talking and then figured I might as well pull an all nighter to make it easier to sleep on the bus tomorrow. It was pitch dark because it had started raining and the power had gone out, so it was hard to find the room. Poor Brittany fell off the porch and twisted her ankle. Then we found out that poor Emily was really really sick throwing up in the bathroom. We stayed up the rest of the night with her.