Blogging is not an exact science. I find myself going through the day thinking about what I will write on my blog or in my journal at night. But i often forget cool things that happen to me and then remember them later after I have published the blog. Here is something I remembered from yesterday that I wanted to share:
As we were walking back to our compound and turning up our driveway to unlock the gate, we heard a child yelling. We looked around and saw a young boy and his little sister running towards us with open arms yelling "Mzungu, Mzungu, Mzungu!!" I kneeled down and opened my arms, and the little boy jumped into my arms. I hugged him for a little while and then put him back down. It was one of those awesome moments that makes you feel really good inside. Being hugged so tightly by a stranger. The boys mother laughed and told our assistant that her son just really loves white people. Regardless, I really needed that hug!
This morning I got up at 8am and started getting ready for church. We had pancakes for breakfast, which I loaded with peanut butter, bananas and honey. It was a yummy combination. I went to church with Fiona's group. The church was called Christian Life Assemblies, which is the name of the church I go to at college in PA. It actually reminded me a lot of my church. We sung some worship songs in English and the message was also in English. It was a bit on the long side, but this is Africa, not the US. After the service we were taking to a welcome center for visitors. They were very kind to us and are going to try to find us a home cell Bible study group to meet with on Wednesday nights. This is exciting because I really want to make some Rwandan friends. We walked with some of Fiona's friends to the bus stop. They were incredibly friendly and I had a nice talk with a guy named Mark. I'm not gonna lie, Rwandan men are very attractive and charming. :) We went back to Chez Lando (our neighborhood), and found a cafe to eat at.
One thing that is hard for me to get used to is the African time.. I was very hungry when we sat down, and really needed to eat right away before I got faint and sick. It took 30min for someone to take our order, and then an hour until we got it. I had to run to the supermarket to get a snack because I was so hungry. Fiona's sister, Angel, was with us. She is 19 and came home from the university for the weekend. She was very nice and spunky, and I enjoyed talking with her. Everyone is very friendly to us. I love how warm and welcoming Africans are.
Sara Groves, a Christian singer, is coming to Rwanda to give a concert in Kigali. She actually does a lot of work with Food for the Hungry (the NGO I am studying with). She has been to Rwanda before and here is a music video and song inspired by her time here. It moved me to tears when I watched it, probably because it is about the same things I have been experiencing. Check it out:
Back at the house I relaxed for a little bit and then went with some friends to another church in the evening. This church we walked to. It was an Evangelical church I think, and we went to the 5:30 English service. The service started with an hour of worship songs. Everyone was clapping and dancing, it was a lot of fun. The message was given by one of the senior pastors from Rick Warren's Saddleback church! He is in Rwanda visiting and we were blessed with the opportunity to hear him speak. I spaced out a lot of what he said because a lightening storm and rain started outside and I was thinking of having to walk back. When the service was over we went out into the rain and headed for home.
I was really angry because a few of our group, including both guys, ran ahead and left three of us girls behind. It is only our second night here, and it is not safe for white girls to walk around at night. That is so not cool. I miss guys being chivalrous and caring if I got home safely. If guys walk me back to my dorm room at Messiah, they definitely should in Rwanda.. Okay, I'm done venting that. Dinner was really good. We had chocolate cake for dessert that was excellent.
I called home for an update on Opa. My Opa died this morning. He had been struggling with poor health for a long time, so it was expected, but that doesn't make it much easier. I am glad that I got to go see him over Christmas break. I am really sad that I am across the world and can't be there for the funeral to say goodbye. It doesn't feel real right now. all I know is that Otto Scheid was an incredible man, who loved to give a piece of his heart to everyone he met. He did some incredible things, and I will miss him dearly. Now he is with Jesus, no doubt asking where the ladies are so he can give them a piece of candy and recite a poem for them. What a man..
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
First Day in Kigali, Rwanda
I had planned on sleeping until 10, at least, but I woke up at 8am instead. I slept very well last night. I was pleased to find out that somebody else had already gone outside to hook up the water pump so that we could have water pressure. I took a fantastic shower (in a real tub!), and finally felt clean.
At breakfast we had bagels which was something to celebrate! I love bagels. And delicious Celestial Seasoning tea from the US. After breakfast we had an orientation to Rwanda talk with Aryn. We went over the rules again, and learned some things about how this month will go. I think it will be a stressful month with so many things to do, but a good one. We put our money in the safe and changed the sim cards in our phones. Lunch was quesadillas and pica de gaillo. It was an amazing meal. Sure that sounds so simple but having quesadillas was so comforting! It was like being home. This morning is the last Saturday of the month, which is a day of mandatory community service for Rwandans. Every family must send at least one person to report for cleaning duty. Everything was shut down for the morning.
Vestine (the Rwandan version of Faith) came with our Rwandan assistants for the day : Henry, Fiona and Issac. They took us out to Kigali and showed us the transportation system. It was very strange being in a place that actually follows traffic laws. We couldn't just stand on the side of the road and flag down a taxi, we had to walk to the designated areas, and use cross walks. There were traffic lights and the streets were very clean! I kept trying to compare Kigali to Kampala.. but I had to stop.
Kigali was very nice and was a lot more like the US than I expected. People also didn't stare as much at us as they did in Uganda. Our first stop was a really cool coffee shop. I ordered a drink that i was told was not coffee.. but it definitely was. So I drank my first full coffee today. Let's just say it woke me up... We went to the super market and the mall and looked around. The prices were at least twice that of those in Uganda. Even if it is still cheaper than the US, we were all making comments about how crazy expensive everything was, and how we would wait to buy stuff when we go back to Uganda. The taxis were a lot nicer and more comfortable here, but still packed. It is also stressful that people don't speak English. We will be taking Kirawandan lessons starting next week.
We went to a health club that is near our house to check out the pool there. Next door there was a wedding reception. We went over to watch the traditional dancers from the window, but we were invited inside and given seats near the front. The dancing was really cool. It was slow and graceful; much different than the Ugandan booty shaking :) We came back for an excellent dinner of rice, beef sauce, white sweet potatoes, and coleslaw. Our cook here is just as good as the one in Uganda.
I have to say that part of me really misses Uganda. That had become home for me, and because I am going back in a month, I don't feel as connected to Rwanda. I know it is too soon to judge. I really do love Rwanda so far. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people. Now i am off to play a board game with some friends. Tomorrow I will visit a church called Christian Life Assemblies (CLA), which is the name of the church I go to in the US!! Can't wait.
At breakfast we had bagels which was something to celebrate! I love bagels. And delicious Celestial Seasoning tea from the US. After breakfast we had an orientation to Rwanda talk with Aryn. We went over the rules again, and learned some things about how this month will go. I think it will be a stressful month with so many things to do, but a good one. We put our money in the safe and changed the sim cards in our phones. Lunch was quesadillas and pica de gaillo. It was an amazing meal. Sure that sounds so simple but having quesadillas was so comforting! It was like being home. This morning is the last Saturday of the month, which is a day of mandatory community service for Rwandans. Every family must send at least one person to report for cleaning duty. Everything was shut down for the morning.
Vestine (the Rwandan version of Faith) came with our Rwandan assistants for the day : Henry, Fiona and Issac. They took us out to Kigali and showed us the transportation system. It was very strange being in a place that actually follows traffic laws. We couldn't just stand on the side of the road and flag down a taxi, we had to walk to the designated areas, and use cross walks. There were traffic lights and the streets were very clean! I kept trying to compare Kigali to Kampala.. but I had to stop.
Kigali was very nice and was a lot more like the US than I expected. People also didn't stare as much at us as they did in Uganda. Our first stop was a really cool coffee shop. I ordered a drink that i was told was not coffee.. but it definitely was. So I drank my first full coffee today. Let's just say it woke me up... We went to the super market and the mall and looked around. The prices were at least twice that of those in Uganda. Even if it is still cheaper than the US, we were all making comments about how crazy expensive everything was, and how we would wait to buy stuff when we go back to Uganda. The taxis were a lot nicer and more comfortable here, but still packed. It is also stressful that people don't speak English. We will be taking Kirawandan lessons starting next week.
We went to a health club that is near our house to check out the pool there. Next door there was a wedding reception. We went over to watch the traditional dancers from the window, but we were invited inside and given seats near the front. The dancing was really cool. It was slow and graceful; much different than the Ugandan booty shaking :) We came back for an excellent dinner of rice, beef sauce, white sweet potatoes, and coleslaw. Our cook here is just as good as the one in Uganda.
I have to say that part of me really misses Uganda. That had become home for me, and because I am going back in a month, I don't feel as connected to Rwanda. I know it is too soon to judge. I really do love Rwanda so far. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people. Now i am off to play a board game with some friends. Tomorrow I will visit a church called Christian Life Assemblies (CLA), which is the name of the church I go to in the US!! Can't wait.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Road to Rwanda
Today was crazy. I can't believe we made it to the other end of it.
I left off yesterday saying that we stayed up with Emily who was very very sick. At 5am, most of us were up because of the commotion of having someone sick, and someone else hurt their ankle, and everyone rushing in and out. We decided that everyone should just get up so that we could leave as soon as possible. All we had were two lanterns and some flashlights to pack everything up because the electricity was still out. We were tired and stressed, but there was an energy going through the group that we needed to get to Rwanda as fast as possible and all in one piece.
We told Kate and Aryn about Emily and then went to work packing up the bus. I crawled in through the window to unlock it because the driver wasn't awake yet. We had the bus packed and ready to go at 6am and then, when everyone was ready to go, helped Emily into her seat. It was a long and crazy bus ride. Poor Emily was sick the whole time, so we stopped often for her. We drove for two hours and then hit a road that was impassable because of the rain and erosion. So we had to back track and start all over again. Everyone was surprisingly very upbeat and cheerful, and I really appreciated that.
We stopped for a buffet lunch in Kabale before continuing on to the Rwandan border. at the border we went through customs to leave, crossed the road, and then went through immigration to enter Rwanda. Emily was such a trooper having to walk through everything and fill out forms. Driving through Rwanda was amazing. It is so incredibly beautiful. I thought it looked like pictures I have seen of Ireland with the rolling green hills. They also build terrace gardens up the sides of the mountains. Rwanda is very different from Uganda. At customs our bags were searched so that they could make sure we weren't bringing plastic bags into the country. Rwanda has a ban on plastic bags because they are trying to keep their country clean.
Compared to Kampala, Kigali is immaculate. Everything looks very clean and organized. And, OH MY GOODNESS, they have traffic laws! and they drive on the right side of the road! and people use cross walks! Can I get back in the habit of following rules? We dropped Emily and Kate off at the hospital. Emily will be there over night to get re-hydrated. I am so glad we got her to the hospital, I was worried the whole trip. Our guest house is really cool. It is on a hill and there is a separate house for the boys and girls. The porch overlooks the city. Emily, Shelby, Susan and I have our own room in our own little section of the house. It's smaller and different from Kampala, but very comfortable and nice. I was excited that the internet worked well enough for me to Skype-call my parents. It was fun telling them about safari, but they had bad news for me from home. Opa isn't doing well and he will likely pass away this weekend. I wish I could be there to go to the funeral when that happens. We had dinner and now we are relaxing. Now for phase two of my semester - RWANDA!
I left off yesterday saying that we stayed up with Emily who was very very sick. At 5am, most of us were up because of the commotion of having someone sick, and someone else hurt their ankle, and everyone rushing in and out. We decided that everyone should just get up so that we could leave as soon as possible. All we had were two lanterns and some flashlights to pack everything up because the electricity was still out. We were tired and stressed, but there was an energy going through the group that we needed to get to Rwanda as fast as possible and all in one piece.
We told Kate and Aryn about Emily and then went to work packing up the bus. I crawled in through the window to unlock it because the driver wasn't awake yet. We had the bus packed and ready to go at 6am and then, when everyone was ready to go, helped Emily into her seat. It was a long and crazy bus ride. Poor Emily was sick the whole time, so we stopped often for her. We drove for two hours and then hit a road that was impassable because of the rain and erosion. So we had to back track and start all over again. Everyone was surprisingly very upbeat and cheerful, and I really appreciated that.
We stopped for a buffet lunch in Kabale before continuing on to the Rwandan border. at the border we went through customs to leave, crossed the road, and then went through immigration to enter Rwanda. Emily was such a trooper having to walk through everything and fill out forms. Driving through Rwanda was amazing. It is so incredibly beautiful. I thought it looked like pictures I have seen of Ireland with the rolling green hills. They also build terrace gardens up the sides of the mountains. Rwanda is very different from Uganda. At customs our bags were searched so that they could make sure we weren't bringing plastic bags into the country. Rwanda has a ban on plastic bags because they are trying to keep their country clean.
Compared to Kampala, Kigali is immaculate. Everything looks very clean and organized. And, OH MY GOODNESS, they have traffic laws! and they drive on the right side of the road! and people use cross walks! Can I get back in the habit of following rules? We dropped Emily and Kate off at the hospital. Emily will be there over night to get re-hydrated. I am so glad we got her to the hospital, I was worried the whole trip. Our guest house is really cool. It is on a hill and there is a separate house for the boys and girls. The porch overlooks the city. Emily, Shelby, Susan and I have our own room in our own little section of the house. It's smaller and different from Kampala, but very comfortable and nice. I was excited that the internet worked well enough for me to Skype-call my parents. It was fun telling them about safari, but they had bad news for me from home. Opa isn't doing well and he will likely pass away this weekend. I wish I could be there to go to the funeral when that happens. We had dinner and now we are relaxing. Now for phase two of my semester - RWANDA!
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.
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.
Safari - Wednesday
We got to sleep until our 9am breakfast. I got almost 11 hours of sleep last night. That is more than I got in the last two night combined! Breakfast was wonderful. Our first course was assorted fruits, then we got a plate with toast and Spanish omelets. I am growing to love African tea, with raw sugar crystals and milk. after breakfast we showered and hung out. We played this awesome dice game called "Farkle" with about 10 people. It was really cool getting to know Aryn more, and nice that she wanted to play a game with us. For lunch I got "spaghetti", which was noodles with a meat sauce.. It was pretty good, but not what I was expecting.
Aryn told a really cute story that I wanted to share. Here's a little background so that you can appreciate what she told us. There is a tribe in Africa called the Massai. They actually believe that every single cow in the world was given to their tribe and therefore belongs to them (which is why they often steal cattle from their neighbors). In the newspaper Aryn read that after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the Massai saw a newspaper about the tragedy and heard about how many people died. They wanted to do something to help the families and so they raised the money to sent a heard of their cattle to the United States! How cool and amazing is that! Its a story of the generosity of the people here.
At 2pm we all got on our bus and drove to our boat ride. On the way we saw elephants! I was so excited!! We also saw a salt lake where animals go to bathe when they get hurt to clean the wound. The lake was in the valley next to the mountains. Picture the "Circle of Life" opening to The Lion King and you will understand how incredible the views were. We got to Lake Edward (clearly named by British colonizers) and loaded into boats with balcony roofs. We boated around the Lake for two hours. We saw tons of hippopotamuses, water buffalo, alligators, ELEPHANTS and birds. It was really really cool. We also boated past a village with Ugandans waving at us from the shore and then getting into their long canoes and paddling off into the picturesque sunset.
One very cool thing that I learned today was about the "Weaver Bird". These birds mate for life. The male bird skillfully crafts a nest that hangs from the trees. When he is finished the female inspects it. If she doesn't like it, the guy has to build another one again from scratch. Once the female is satisfied, the two mate. These birds mate for life and remain in the same 1km around their nest. If one dies, the other does not find a new mate. I think that this species of bird is incredibly sweet, and human men might like follow their example. ;)
After the water tour, we got on the bus and drove to Queen Elizabeth park. We got our Ugandan tour guide, Moses, and headed out down the dirt road. We talked about how we might not see any lions, but we would all keep a look out for them. Within ten minutes, we pulled up beside THREE lions laying in the grass! They were maybe thirty feet away from us. We were absolutely amazed and took a lot of pictures. Everyone got really excited, and I felt so blessed to be able to behold a real lion in its natural habitat! We eventually kept driving and then stopped to take pictures of cobs (look like gazelles) grazing and mating. We also saw wildebeest, water buffalo, and warthogs. The mountains next to us were huge. They are the tallest in Uganda. It took my breath away to see the Savannah turn into towering mountains. On our drive back to the resort we saw a herd of elephants and took more pictures.
I can actually say that today was the most amazing day of my life. I saw some of the coolest animals in the world. Ten minutes didn't go by without me seeing something new and amazing. I wanted so badly to be sharing the experience with my friends and family at home. Completely and utterly breathtaking. I had that worship song stuck in my head that goes "You make everything glorious", because God did!
Back at the resort we had a delicious dinner of pepper steak, rice, gravy and chipotte. I couldn't stop gushing to everyone about how much fun i had, and they agreed. It definitely goes on a list of the coolest things I will ever do in my life.
Now it is 10 and we are in bed. We have to be on the bus at 6am for a morning safari to watch the sunrise!
Aryn told a really cute story that I wanted to share. Here's a little background so that you can appreciate what she told us. There is a tribe in Africa called the Massai. They actually believe that every single cow in the world was given to their tribe and therefore belongs to them (which is why they often steal cattle from their neighbors). In the newspaper Aryn read that after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the Massai saw a newspaper about the tragedy and heard about how many people died. They wanted to do something to help the families and so they raised the money to sent a heard of their cattle to the United States! How cool and amazing is that! Its a story of the generosity of the people here.
At 2pm we all got on our bus and drove to our boat ride. On the way we saw elephants! I was so excited!! We also saw a salt lake where animals go to bathe when they get hurt to clean the wound. The lake was in the valley next to the mountains. Picture the "Circle of Life" opening to The Lion King and you will understand how incredible the views were. We got to Lake Edward (clearly named by British colonizers) and loaded into boats with balcony roofs. We boated around the Lake for two hours. We saw tons of hippopotamuses, water buffalo, alligators, ELEPHANTS and birds. It was really really cool. We also boated past a village with Ugandans waving at us from the shore and then getting into their long canoes and paddling off into the picturesque sunset.
One very cool thing that I learned today was about the "Weaver Bird". These birds mate for life. The male bird skillfully crafts a nest that hangs from the trees. When he is finished the female inspects it. If she doesn't like it, the guy has to build another one again from scratch. Once the female is satisfied, the two mate. These birds mate for life and remain in the same 1km around their nest. If one dies, the other does not find a new mate. I think that this species of bird is incredibly sweet, and human men might like follow their example. ;)
After the water tour, we got on the bus and drove to Queen Elizabeth park. We got our Ugandan tour guide, Moses, and headed out down the dirt road. We talked about how we might not see any lions, but we would all keep a look out for them. Within ten minutes, we pulled up beside THREE lions laying in the grass! They were maybe thirty feet away from us. We were absolutely amazed and took a lot of pictures. Everyone got really excited, and I felt so blessed to be able to behold a real lion in its natural habitat! We eventually kept driving and then stopped to take pictures of cobs (look like gazelles) grazing and mating. We also saw wildebeest, water buffalo, and warthogs. The mountains next to us were huge. They are the tallest in Uganda. It took my breath away to see the Savannah turn into towering mountains. On our drive back to the resort we saw a herd of elephants and took more pictures.
I can actually say that today was the most amazing day of my life. I saw some of the coolest animals in the world. Ten minutes didn't go by without me seeing something new and amazing. I wanted so badly to be sharing the experience with my friends and family at home. Completely and utterly breathtaking. I had that worship song stuck in my head that goes "You make everything glorious", because God did!
Back at the resort we had a delicious dinner of pepper steak, rice, gravy and chipotte. I couldn't stop gushing to everyone about how much fun i had, and they agreed. It definitely goes on a list of the coolest things I will ever do in my life.
Now it is 10 and we are in bed. We have to be on the bus at 6am for a morning safari to watch the sunrise!
Safari - Tuesday
I was up till 3:30am trying to get all of my stuff to fit into my bags. Fun stuff. Then I woke up at 6:45 to finish the job and get ready to leave. We ate a quick breakfast and loaded everything into the back of our bus. We did our last look around our rooms to see if we left anything behind, and I feel bad for whoever ends up cleaning up the house. I am sorry to say that none of us became as neat as the Ugandans are during our stay. We hugged Grace and Howa goodbye, said a group prayer, and loaded the bus.
Emily, Shelby, Susan and I sat near the front of the bus. We were all super squished with all of the bags packed around us. We were told that the ride would be about seven hours. I hoped to sleep the whole ride, but it was very difficult to find a comfortable position. I wish someone had taken a picture of me in all positions I tried to sleep in. I think the most successful one was putting my head on my knees. The best part of the ride was the snacks we packed. We brought fruit, carrots, banana bread, sandwiches, cookies and best of all, JUICE BOXES! My mango juice box had been frozen, so it was a heavenly slushie to help me cool off. We went through phases of being awake, being half asleep and sleeping.
The first stop we made was at the EQUATOR! I think this is officially the farthest south I have ever been! We spent some time taking pictures with the Equator signs. there was a bus of Koreans on the same road with us and they got out to take pictures as well. It was funny because one of them asked to take a picture with Puvii. I think he thought that because she was black, she was Ugandan. We continued driving and then got caught in a traffic stand-still because of an accident. we climbed out the windows of the van and stood beside it to stretch our legs. We were next to a field and so we used it to go to the bathroom. The grass was very tall and thick, so I was really nervous about seeing a snake. As I walked to find a good place, one of the Korean ladies decided to come with me. She had an umbrella so I thought she was going to help me by blocking me while I did my business. Instead she kinda just stood next to me with her umbrella, hopefully distracting everyone else.
As we drove, the landscape started to change. There were more mountains and hills, and everything seemed even more green and beautiful than before. We stopped on the side of a cliff to "take a short call" (pee). We all walked into the field and did our business. It is so strange not having privacy for that kind of thing. We heard these children yelling to each other. All of a sudden a group of kids ran out of the field towards us, excited to see white people. I shook hands with them and took their picture so I could show it to them. The only thing they could say to us was "money", so they kept asking us for it. The view was absolutely stunning. I have never been in a more magical place in my life. We were overlooking a valley with a lake at the bottom, and fields of banana plants. Even my pictures couldn't do it justice. All I could do was take it all in and commit it to memory. We kept driving and the landscape changed again. It became plains of tall yellow and green grasses under a beautiful bright blue sky. This is the Africa I had always pictured. We even saw some Elephants in the distance, but not close enough to take pictures. At one point we asked the driver how much longer because it had been eight hours and we though for sure that we were almost there. He said "another two hours", we all groaned. But honestly it was not a bad drive at all. I was so overwhelmed by how beautiful everything was that it flew by. I really want to come back. I could live here and take in these views every day. all I could think was how completely lucky I am to be in this moment, right now.
After ten hours of driving we pulled into the gate of the park. all of the students are in one big room with the boys on one side and the girl on the other. There are real bathrooms, though by real I mean that there are actual toilets, but they aren't completely enclosed. We went to the dining hall and ordered our food. Almost immediately the power went out. We sat on couches with lanterns and talked for the two hours we waited for our food to be ready. I have vegetable curry and rice that was yummy. At 10pm we were in bed. I have come to love mosquito nets because they make me feel protected from critters that might want to crawl on me. I slept wonderfully through the night.
Emily, Shelby, Susan and I sat near the front of the bus. We were all super squished with all of the bags packed around us. We were told that the ride would be about seven hours. I hoped to sleep the whole ride, but it was very difficult to find a comfortable position. I wish someone had taken a picture of me in all positions I tried to sleep in. I think the most successful one was putting my head on my knees. The best part of the ride was the snacks we packed. We brought fruit, carrots, banana bread, sandwiches, cookies and best of all, JUICE BOXES! My mango juice box had been frozen, so it was a heavenly slushie to help me cool off. We went through phases of being awake, being half asleep and sleeping.
The first stop we made was at the EQUATOR! I think this is officially the farthest south I have ever been! We spent some time taking pictures with the Equator signs. there was a bus of Koreans on the same road with us and they got out to take pictures as well. It was funny because one of them asked to take a picture with Puvii. I think he thought that because she was black, she was Ugandan. We continued driving and then got caught in a traffic stand-still because of an accident. we climbed out the windows of the van and stood beside it to stretch our legs. We were next to a field and so we used it to go to the bathroom. The grass was very tall and thick, so I was really nervous about seeing a snake. As I walked to find a good place, one of the Korean ladies decided to come with me. She had an umbrella so I thought she was going to help me by blocking me while I did my business. Instead she kinda just stood next to me with her umbrella, hopefully distracting everyone else.
As we drove, the landscape started to change. There were more mountains and hills, and everything seemed even more green and beautiful than before. We stopped on the side of a cliff to "take a short call" (pee). We all walked into the field and did our business. It is so strange not having privacy for that kind of thing. We heard these children yelling to each other. All of a sudden a group of kids ran out of the field towards us, excited to see white people. I shook hands with them and took their picture so I could show it to them. The only thing they could say to us was "money", so they kept asking us for it. The view was absolutely stunning. I have never been in a more magical place in my life. We were overlooking a valley with a lake at the bottom, and fields of banana plants. Even my pictures couldn't do it justice. All I could do was take it all in and commit it to memory. We kept driving and the landscape changed again. It became plains of tall yellow and green grasses under a beautiful bright blue sky. This is the Africa I had always pictured. We even saw some Elephants in the distance, but not close enough to take pictures. At one point we asked the driver how much longer because it had been eight hours and we though for sure that we were almost there. He said "another two hours", we all groaned. But honestly it was not a bad drive at all. I was so overwhelmed by how beautiful everything was that it flew by. I really want to come back. I could live here and take in these views every day. all I could think was how completely lucky I am to be in this moment, right now.
After ten hours of driving we pulled into the gate of the park. all of the students are in one big room with the boys on one side and the girl on the other. There are real bathrooms, though by real I mean that there are actual toilets, but they aren't completely enclosed. We went to the dining hall and ordered our food. Almost immediately the power went out. We sat on couches with lanterns and talked for the two hours we waited for our food to be ready. I have vegetable curry and rice that was yummy. At 10pm we were in bed. I have come to love mosquito nets because they make me feel protected from critters that might want to crawl on me. I slept wonderfully through the night.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Farewell Uganda!
Went to bed around 3:30am.. I am on such a horrible sleeping schedule.
I got up at 9 and wrote the paper that was today. Then I continued preparation for our presentations. It poured rain all morning and afternoon, and it was actually cold in the house. The upstairs was converted into a home theater, with all the couches facing a blank wall for the presentations to be projected on. Our teachers came for lunch with some other special guests. Dr. Susan brought her friend who is a nun, and also head of the Literature dept. at Mekerere University in Kampala. She had created a documentary about circumcision to show us. We had lunch and then headed upstairs.
Our presentations went well. I think my group did a great job. Poor Emily was up all night editing the footage for the movie we made. It turned out pretty cool. Then we watched the long documentary on tribal circumcisions and discussed it.
When our presentations were over, we all breathed a sigh of relief and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. We had chicken-fried steak for dinner (my southern friends found it interesting that the first time I had chicken-fried steak was in Uganda). I was a little bit disappointed when we didn't have pumpkin cake for dessert on our last night, but the lemon bars were yummy.
I did my best to start packing but then we decided to go get ice cream at Ciao-ciaos for the last time. As we walked over, we saw the "Italian boys" again. Susan yelled to the cute, tall one that it was our last night. He came over to talk to us but he couldn't speak english so he called his friend over to talk to interpret. We found out that they are actually from Turkey. they are also students, studying at a local college. Not sure how we mixed Italian and Turkish up, but I guess I am no judge of accents. They asked if we were high schoolers. Jeez! I get that everywhere I go! Do I really look that young? I am twenty now. haha. We said goodbye to them. It is too bad that we didn't talk to them earlier, we saw them almost every day but never had the courage to say hi. For some reason it seems like other Mzungus are harder to approach than the Ugandans.
Ice Cream was good. I finally got the sample of kiwi gelatto that i had been meaning to try. I got a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of hazelnut. My favorite. It is sad that we wont have our 50cent ice cream every day in Rwanda. What am I going to do without my desserts?
We came back and packed some more. I wish Mom was here to pack it nicely for me so that everything would fit. Right now I have to leave things here because I can't get them in my bag. I will pick them up when we come back for practicum. I have been skyping and using my computer, so I haven't really focused on packing, even though all of my roommates are in bed. I listened to a wonderful interview of my friend Keziah who lives in Haiti, who we met at the orphanage down there.
http://www.magic1067.com/on-demand/Episodes.aspx check it out, it is really inspiring. I teared up a little. There was another aftershock, so I am praying for their safety. But now I need to go to bed.
This week's schedule:
Tomorrow- breakfast at 7:30, leave at 9am. Drive 7 hours to Queen Elizabeth game park
Wed & Thurs- Safari adventures!!
Friday- a very very long drive to Rwanda
Love you all so very much. Thanks for reading! Pray for our safety and that we will see some cool animals!
I got up at 9 and wrote the paper that was today. Then I continued preparation for our presentations. It poured rain all morning and afternoon, and it was actually cold in the house. The upstairs was converted into a home theater, with all the couches facing a blank wall for the presentations to be projected on. Our teachers came for lunch with some other special guests. Dr. Susan brought her friend who is a nun, and also head of the Literature dept. at Mekerere University in Kampala. She had created a documentary about circumcision to show us. We had lunch and then headed upstairs.
Our presentations went well. I think my group did a great job. Poor Emily was up all night editing the footage for the movie we made. It turned out pretty cool. Then we watched the long documentary on tribal circumcisions and discussed it.
When our presentations were over, we all breathed a sigh of relief and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. We had chicken-fried steak for dinner (my southern friends found it interesting that the first time I had chicken-fried steak was in Uganda). I was a little bit disappointed when we didn't have pumpkin cake for dessert on our last night, but the lemon bars were yummy.
I did my best to start packing but then we decided to go get ice cream at Ciao-ciaos for the last time. As we walked over, we saw the "Italian boys" again. Susan yelled to the cute, tall one that it was our last night. He came over to talk to us but he couldn't speak english so he called his friend over to talk to interpret. We found out that they are actually from Turkey. they are also students, studying at a local college. Not sure how we mixed Italian and Turkish up, but I guess I am no judge of accents. They asked if we were high schoolers. Jeez! I get that everywhere I go! Do I really look that young? I am twenty now. haha. We said goodbye to them. It is too bad that we didn't talk to them earlier, we saw them almost every day but never had the courage to say hi. For some reason it seems like other Mzungus are harder to approach than the Ugandans.
Ice Cream was good. I finally got the sample of kiwi gelatto that i had been meaning to try. I got a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of hazelnut. My favorite. It is sad that we wont have our 50cent ice cream every day in Rwanda. What am I going to do without my desserts?
We came back and packed some more. I wish Mom was here to pack it nicely for me so that everything would fit. Right now I have to leave things here because I can't get them in my bag. I will pick them up when we come back for practicum. I have been skyping and using my computer, so I haven't really focused on packing, even though all of my roommates are in bed. I listened to a wonderful interview of my friend Keziah who lives in Haiti, who we met at the orphanage down there.
http://www.magic1067.com/on-demand/Episodes.aspx check it out, it is really inspiring. I teared up a little. There was another aftershock, so I am praying for their safety. But now I need to go to bed.
This week's schedule:
Tomorrow- breakfast at 7:30, leave at 9am. Drive 7 hours to Queen Elizabeth game park
Wed & Thurs- Safari adventures!!
Friday- a very very long drive to Rwanda
Love you all so very much. Thanks for reading! Pray for our safety and that we will see some cool animals!
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