Disney, the Big 5 and an Experience I Don't Want to Remember

For my second weekend trip in Uganda, I took one of my vacation days and went on a full 3 day African Safari in the Murchison Falls National Park. Who would have thought that an Africa Safari would ever truly be checked off my "bucket list?" It will indeed be crossed off.

The guide that took us on the Jeep Safari told us that he had not seen any lions for the past 6 days straight, but I guess we must be doing something right because we not only saw lions, but we saw them from about 15 feet away. We had to completly bring our van to a stop because two large male lions (yes, they had full manes) were walking directly toward us, right on the road. We turned the engine off and dropped our voices and got some incredible photos and film of their faces. It was really rather scary the way they were starring us down. I thought they were going to pounce. However, they sauntered around the outside of our vehicle and continued walking down the road. Aside from this, we saw the other animals that make up the "Big Five"... the rhino, hippo, giraffe, elephant and of course, the lion. We saw many more animals than this (Nile Crocodiles, Water Buffalo, Eagles, Jackal etc..), but these are the 5 that are commonly searched for. We did not however see the illusive Leopard. The second half of the safari was a boat ride down the Nile!

Many of you may be picturing a Savannah landscape that is just brown and full of tall grass. This is not the type of Safari we went on. Picture Lion King. Where they live at the beginning is the type of Safari you are probably picturing. However, as the movie progresses and you meet Pumba and Timon, the landscape changes. Remember how they had lush green vistas and they had waterfalls and whatnot. That is the type of safari we went on...

The Disney connection doesn't end here however. It is amazing how many Disney movies I felt like I was a part of throughout the 3 day experience. We slept in tents that were like the tents in Tarzan. These were not sleeping bag, sit in the dirt tents... Each tent had two beds and a waterproof cover, which was important seeing there was a huge storm both evenings we stayed there. We were also warned that the baboons (which we saw many of) would come up and steal our sack lunches if we didn't protect them. Once again, a reminder of the movie Tarzan.

There were also many warthogs that paraded throught the park and in our campsite. Each time we saw one, we referred to it as "Pumba" from the Lion King. The lions were Mufasa. You wouldn't believe how many times we sang "Hakuna Matata", "The Circle of Life" and "I Just Can't Wait to be King." When we saw the Rhino's and Hippos, we could help but sing the song from Robin Hood where the King's Guards are parading King John through the camp (for those of you who are not Disney experts like myself, the King's guards are rhino's and hippos). Good times. There was a fourth movie that was also references multiple times, but I am at a loss of remembering it.

As for the experience I don't want to remember...

I was coming back from a school that I was working with yesterday and we were taking a taxi. Taxi's in Uganda consist of these little mini-vans that are only legally supposed to fit 14 (which is already overdoing it) but most cram about 20 or more at a time. I have taken many taxi rides since I have been here, all that had more to be desired, but this one will be ever memorable and that is not necessarily a good thing. The taxi we got into was already full, but of course they made room to fit three more full sized adults. One row had 4 people smashed, with the conductor basically sitting on the lap of two of it's passengers.

I am used to being smashed. This is not what made this a memorable ride. First off, there was a man sitting next to us that was a fisherman and had a bag of fish with him. Wow. The stench was horrific! I could barely breath without wanting to throw up everything I'd eaten the last three days. The stench is usually not a horrible problem when people bring in fish or chickens with them because all of the windows are generally wide open. However, on this particular day, we were experiencing one of the crazy rainstorms of Uganda, which meant that all the windows were closed. So, not only was there no air venthilation for the heat, but none for the smell as well. To top it all off, there was a lady behind me that kept coughing right toward me. Since Tuberculosis is something I don't want, but is spread through such things as coughing, I was a little paranoid. So I was pegged in on all sides (one side the van door that was leaking with water, the other side by a smelly man with fish, the front was the seat penetrating my knees and a womans head and from behind a coughing lady that hopefully didn't have tb). Suffice it to say, Kim and I spent the entire 45 minutes breathing into our hands seeing they were covering our mouths to keep us from vomiting...

Best thing from the week:

1- I got to go on a 40 minute run this morning with two volunteers from my team (Megan and Kyle) and we ran through the sugarcane fields. I am used to running many times a week and to be limited in how often I can go has been difficult. It felt wonderful to get out and excersize!! Plus, the sugarcane field are beautiful.

2- I met the greatest couple from Denmark that were staying at the same Tent sight for the safari. I talked with them for hours at meal times and made some really good friends. I love meeting new people and hearing them stories. We exchanged info and they might visit the West. They do a big 4-6 week vacation trip each year, or who knows! Maybe I'll go to Denmark someday!

Random Info: I took my braids out last night. It was fun while it lasted, but it was so heavy and I hated not being able to watch my head. I never thought I'd be so happy to have my normal hair back! Don't worry, when I get back to the states, I will post pictures.

My next post will provide a little more info on what I do during the work days...

Sipi Falls

Our first weekend off, we decided to head to a place quite a few hours away called Sipi Falls. It might as well have been called the Garden of Eden. It was the most beautiful place I have ever laid my eyes upon. We repelled down a 300 meter waterfall. There was a full rainbow that was perfectly placed behind the incredible fall as we decended and it was surrounded by green. Pictures will be posted when I get home.

We almost didn't make it there and that is a whole story all by itself, but I won't get into that here. We did make it and that is what is important...

I got my hair braided. I now have long ringlet type twists all over my head. You could say I now look half African now... It's kind of crazy!

I am spending the majority of my time in the schools here and doing teacher trainings, but I am also helping with many other projects, such as the Aids Extravaganza and the Eye Camp that we have coming up. Life is busy.

There is so much to say, but so little time to say it. Uganda is extremely different from our culture in about every way possible, but I am enjoying my experience thus far. My next post will share everything about our 3 day safari next weekend!!

First Days in Uganda

While I already have some phenomenal pictures, I won't be able to post any until I get home due to the resources I have available here. However, I will update hopefully weekly with the things going on.

I have been here two days now and am loving it, although it is quite different than the lifestyle we are all used to. I live at a house that is smaller than my home at in PG, yet is sleeping 25 HELP volunteers. We have three bedrooms and a garage. I sleep in the garage with 7 other girls. Yes 7... We have four sets of bunk beds set up in the garage with one little aisleway in-between.

We have two cooks named Eve and Rose who cook our dinner on charcoal out on the back porch each night. They are so great. We are trying to get them to bend at the knees when they lean over to cook. All Uganda woman bend only at the waist to do anything and it causes them all kinds of back problems. We also have a guard that stays up all night watching the house with his gun each night. His name is Morris and he is great. Some guys tried to climb over our fence a few nights before I got here and Morris had to shoot his gun to scare them away. They say to always shoot one as a warning before they aim at the person... Oh boy...

I already spent time in two different schools, one of which we did some teacher training. It is amazing the types of things they do with the resources they have. The little kids rushed at us yelling "Mazungo! Mazungo!" (which means white person) and they are fascinated with us. Every time a kid sees us as we walk down the street, they yell "Mazungo!" and wave at us. I love it. They often run up and want to hold our hands, but we have taught them "Bongo", which is sort of like "knuckles" in the states. It's so cute. Some of them just come at us with their fists so we can give them a "bongo."

I showered for the first time this morning in 4 days. I know, gross, but our house only has water on half of the time (if that). We fill up reserve buckets and bucket shower when the water is turned off. A shower has never felt so good as it did this morning. It is hot, but we are very grateful for the clouds on overcast days.

It is beautiful here. I took my first boda boda ride (their form of transportation, which is a motorcycle) through the sugarcane fields no our way to an orphanage yesterday. It was exhilarating. Riding a boda boda is doing everything we were always taught not to do... talk to strangers, ride a motorcycle without a helmet etc., but the rides are so fun and we get to see the landscape.

Really Lugazi, which is the town I am in, is everything you would picture of a remote Africa town... women walking down the road with huge water jugs on their heads, men riding bicycles carrying more than we can carry in the trunk of our cars, children running through the streets without pants or shoes on. It's crazy and it's hard to believe I am really hear, but I love my team and am so grateful for this opportunity. I hope to hear from many of you! I will try to update weekly! Sorry if there are grammatical errors, but I don't have much time to edit and the internet connections are kind of sketchy...

Better late than never...

So I was working on my blog the other day and saw a post that was saved as a draft. This particular post was started about two months ago, but I failed to complete it at that time. In fact, the only thing I had actually done on it was put the above picture. The post was originally going to be about some of the great experiences I had with my students on the last week of school. However, that post never became a reality. Regardless, this picture was so dang cute I couldn't resist still posting it (with permission from the parent).

This is the little brothers to one of my students last year. I held him during our authors fair and he fell fast asleep...