I’m sitting right now in a primary school classroom while Amber and Trent give a business training. We are in a city called Ojulu in the District of Gulu teaching a group of 15 people. Honorable Betty from the Ugandan Parliament has set up these groups that we may come in a teach business basics.
The bus ride yesterday was anything but comfortable. These bus drivers here are absolutely nuts, insane, and probably on drugs. Luckily I was able to get buried a book, Deception Point by Dan Brown. I read for quite some time while I endured the bumps, the many many bumps. The bus ride was around 5 hours long and we actually had pretty good seats, I was pleased. Amber and I sat together on the second to last row in the back, just two seats together. We had window which made it nice to be able to breath a little and even buy some refreshments when we came to certain stops. When we arrived in Gulu I was stunned to see that conditions were worse even than Lugazi, I was instantly apprehensive about being in a new place. It was as if I had been dropped in Africa again for the first time and I was supposed to figure things out, it was a bit overwhelming. We arrived at Betty’s home which was very humble. We saw the girl’s and boy’s quarters, a little scary. Luckily I was able to stay with Mike for one night in the hotel that was actually pretty nice. I found out today however that I will be staying with the guys because the price of the hotel didn’t work with HELP’s budget like it had when we called in advance. This of course was a surprise but I’m willing to make things work for a couple of days, as hard as it will be.
They have now been explaining the BEST game for at least 45 minutes, maybe an hour. It’s going to take at least another hour or so to play the game. Thankfully the group is attentive and even taking notes. This training is much harder than any of us ever expected or imagined. We have a translator and everything has to be translated which doubles the amount of time it takes to teach the lesson. When my turn comes around later in the evening I’m going to have to cut down on my lesson, something I’m very fine doing. My lesson is on Advertising, I’m kind of excited to teach about it. It should be easier than most topics, at least for me.
I’m going a little bit crazy. Here I am only 4 1/2 days away from catching a plane to NY and I can’t concentrate worth a darn. All I can think about is getting home, seeing my Mom, visiting my people in NY, and just getting back to life. I really feel done here. I came, I did, I conquered, and now it’s time to go home. Because I wasn't to go home so bad the time is going pretty slow. I only pray that I can forget about going home and just focus on what we are doing right here.
I talked to Mom last night for about 35 minutes, it was really good, absolute perfect timing (I just killed a fly, they’re everywhere). I swear, a mother’s intuition is definitely a force I believe in, and Mom sure has it. Just hearing hear voice helped give me the strength I need to be able to last. We talked a little bit about plans in NY. We were trying to figure out what we were going to do the first night we got there, whether to call Maria to pick us up, stay in the airport for the night, or just go to a motel. We talked about some things she’s going to bring for me and most importantly what I want to eat when we get there. I want a FATTY slice of New York pizza, oh my gosh, it’s hard to even talk about it. She assured me that this was only a moment in time and it will be as if it never happened, I believe her. It’s just the here and now that’s hard to deal with. I appreciate my Mom so much, she is my best friend and has the ability to make anything in life better.
Being here has only increased my gratefulness for what I have, especially for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have SO MUCH! I don’t know why I’ve been blessed with so many things! These people have nothing, and I mean nothing. The clothes and their backs and maybe a change or two, enough food to stay alive, a roof over their heads, and that’s it! They don’t have cars, huge houses that are incredibly comfortable, iPhones, amazing food, clean water, good education, NOTHING! All they have is hope. Hope that things will someday get easier or better, something that most likely won’t happen during their lifetime. Why were they dealt the hand they were? Why did I get the better end of the deal? The FAR better end of the deal. After all is said and done, I realize it won’t matter what I had in this life, only what I learned and the relationships I formed.
It’s night now and I’m in my bed. Like I said, I got kicked out of the hotel because they quoted us the wrong amount and it was out of HELP’s budget to keep me there with Mike, I’m okay with it. Now I’m living with the girls believe it or not. There was an issue where there wasn’t an extra mattress where the boys were staying. That’s when one of the girls piped up and said that I could stay in the single room with the mattress, I agreed. So, here I am, but not in the single room. I’m on the top bunk with Amber and Heidi below me. The paint fumes are pretty outrageous and I just hope I don’t wait up dead....er....not at all. I’m using the Deception Point book, my MacBook neoprene case, Seren’s blanket, and an airplane pillow to make one big pillow. The book is mostly to prop me up while I type, I’ll remove it when I go to bed.
Well, I survived one day, it was eternity, but it’s over. I’ve got three more days and then I get back on the bus and head back for Kampala, I can’t wait. I’ve been meditating and thinking positive in order to settle down and focus a little more. 3 days really isn’t anything, unless of course it’s 3 days before you leave home from Africa, go to NY, and meet your Mom there after 83 days; it sort of makes it a little harder. Tomorrow is Sunday and we’ll be meeting in a small branch here in Gulu. I guess they meet in a Coffee shop ironically enough, and there aren’t very many of them. It should be a great meeting, I’m excited to go. Stephanie and I want to prepare something to sing, we haven't decided yet and it may never happen, but I hope it does. We didn’t get to sing last week in Jinja because it was fast Sunday. Hey! That’s how I have to look at this time. Last Sunday seems like yesterday, which means 3 days will FLY by.
The fumes are driving me crazy, I hope I can forget about them and go to bed. I wonder if they are worse up here! Grandma would be freaking out right about now. I’m sure I’ll loose some number of brain cells tonight, hopefully not the ones I need. Time to read scriptures and hit the sack. It’s been a great day of teaching, I can make it.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Day 77 - Last Day in Lugazi
Well, I’m gone. Here I sit in a hotel room in Gulu and it’s over except for the few day that lie ahead of business training and planting trees. I will most likely never return to Lugazi, or Uganda for that matter, but I can’t promise that. Who know where life will take me, what plan the Lord has in store for me. One thing I know is that my time here has been worth every second. I know that I accomplished so much and it feels so good. I was worried in the beginning and even wrote in this journal about how I had to make sure I did well what I came here to do so that I would feel good about it later on. I can say with pride that I DO feel like I did what I came here to do and it feels great. Although it’s been slightly hard to see the effects of my doings along the way, I’ve been assured by Jackie and Ashley as well as those around me that I certainly have contributed, what a great feeling. Most importantly, I created relationships with certain people that I will never forget! Salima, Irene, David, Christine, Wilson, Isaac, all people that I will never forget and am so grateful that I was able to meet. They taught me so much about life in Uganda and the ability of theirs to make the best of it and be happy. As I’ve explained before, this is their life and it always has been. We cannot compare our own and automatically assume that their lives are so much worse off than ours or something like that, it’s just not true. These people are genuinely happy and I can see it in their eyes. They work for what they have and they are happy. I’ve learned so much from them, hopefully something that I can take home with me.
I’ve just completed the second and final draft of my lesson plan for tomorrow, I think it will be pretty good, I feel confident about it. Now my eyes are beginning to shut and I must go to bed. Until tomorrow, my first real day in Gulu.
I’ve just completed the second and final draft of my lesson plan for tomorrow, I think it will be pretty good, I feel confident about it. Now my eyes are beginning to shut and I must go to bed. Until tomorrow, my first real day in Gulu.
Day 76 - Closing Time
I can’t even believe it, my last full day in Lugazi. It’s been 76 days since I left the US and 72 days that I’ve spent in Lugazi, Uganda. It has seemed like an entire lifetime and at the same time only the blink of an eye. The only time in my life I’ve experienced time fly so fast is in the mission field and that was a 2 year thing, not just 2 months.
I feel amazing today compared to the last 5 days. I’ve now been off the medication for 3 days and I can tell a major difference, I’m not quite 100% but dang close and I’m sure that tomorrow will be the first time feeling 100%. I was even able to eat the food tonight that Irene and Grandma fixed, most of it anyway. They really went overboard tonight and fixed so many things. We had chapati, peas, potatoes, cabbage, squash, pineapple, and passion juice. The chapati and squash were especially good tonight and I’m so glad, after-all, it is my last dinner in Lugazi.
I had a great today, a really great day. I’m super happy that I was able to be productive, something I haven’t been able to be for the many days. We did some cleaning up this morning as it rained outside and kept us from going to Barbara’s school to begin building the foundation. We finally left around 9:45 am. Amber and I started working on the foundation and David our guard showed up!! We were so happy to see him, me especially because I wasn’t sure I was going to see him again before I left. We haven’t had a guard for the last couple of nights because Town Counsel hadn’t paid David. To my surprise, he is here tonight as our guard, so happy about that! Anyway, David was a great help to us at the stove and it really went fast. We build it 5 bricks high, 2 walls, in 2 hours. We really kicked butt and it looked really nice. When we got done Amber said, “That was our last stove together. We rock.” And then we proceeded to give the rock or “bonga”. We snapped some pictures with David and Amber and called it good. I’m really happy about my last Adobe Stove and I’m glad I was well enough mentally and physically.
After the stove we all headed to town and Amber and I bought David a Rolex and a water, he was super happy and appreciative about that. I had one myself and it was pretty good, minus the occasional grain of sand. We ate our Rolexes while we sat at the Internet Cafe setting up a Gmail account for David. He was really exited about the fact that we would be able to communicate later on. I told him I would send him pictures periodically as well as the pictures I had taken with him. David is such a good man, he’s just a diamond in the rough. He lost his father when he was young, all of his siblings have passed away, and now he has a wife that lives in Mbale that he only speaks to twice a month and who knows how often he see her. I told Amber that I want to leave my phone with him so that he has a phone number to be reached at. I’m also leaving a bunch of Polos with him that I had purchased before coming here, I’m sure he will appreciate those.
My time has been well spent and I'm so grateful for the experience. I'm surprised that life took me this way, I never expected it. I'm sure glad it did, I've grown and learned so much, it's incredible.
I feel amazing today compared to the last 5 days. I’ve now been off the medication for 3 days and I can tell a major difference, I’m not quite 100% but dang close and I’m sure that tomorrow will be the first time feeling 100%. I was even able to eat the food tonight that Irene and Grandma fixed, most of it anyway. They really went overboard tonight and fixed so many things. We had chapati, peas, potatoes, cabbage, squash, pineapple, and passion juice. The chapati and squash were especially good tonight and I’m so glad, after-all, it is my last dinner in Lugazi.
I had a great today, a really great day. I’m super happy that I was able to be productive, something I haven’t been able to be for the many days. We did some cleaning up this morning as it rained outside and kept us from going to Barbara’s school to begin building the foundation. We finally left around 9:45 am. Amber and I started working on the foundation and David our guard showed up!! We were so happy to see him, me especially because I wasn’t sure I was going to see him again before I left. We haven’t had a guard for the last couple of nights because Town Counsel hadn’t paid David. To my surprise, he is here tonight as our guard, so happy about that! Anyway, David was a great help to us at the stove and it really went fast. We build it 5 bricks high, 2 walls, in 2 hours. We really kicked butt and it looked really nice. When we got done Amber said, “That was our last stove together. We rock.” And then we proceeded to give the rock or “bonga”. We snapped some pictures with David and Amber and called it good. I’m really happy about my last Adobe Stove and I’m glad I was well enough mentally and physically.
After the stove we all headed to town and Amber and I bought David a Rolex and a water, he was super happy and appreciative about that. I had one myself and it was pretty good, minus the occasional grain of sand. We ate our Rolexes while we sat at the Internet Cafe setting up a Gmail account for David. He was really exited about the fact that we would be able to communicate later on. I told him I would send him pictures periodically as well as the pictures I had taken with him. David is such a good man, he’s just a diamond in the rough. He lost his father when he was young, all of his siblings have passed away, and now he has a wife that lives in Mbale that he only speaks to twice a month and who knows how often he see her. I told Amber that I want to leave my phone with him so that he has a phone number to be reached at. I’m also leaving a bunch of Polos with him that I had purchased before coming here, I’m sure he will appreciate those.
My time has been well spent and I'm so grateful for the experience. I'm surprised that life took me this way, I never expected it. I'm sure glad it did, I've grown and learned so much, it's incredible.
Day 75 - Life
Today was the beginning of a new life, a life OFF the ARV medication that I’m supposed to be taking. I tried, I really did, to stay on the medication and be cautious about contracting HIV, but unfortunately I just can’t do it anymore and it’s now been 2 days since I’ve taken the medication and I feel SO much better inside. The last many days have taken a huge tole on my well-being and now that I’m off the meds I really do feel so much better. I’m still trying to regain my appetite but it’s slowly coming back. I’m confident that with the 0.3% chance of getting infected with HIV from a needle stick, the fact that Teo was negative, and that I got an amazing blessing from DJ and Jeff... I’m very confident.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Day 74 - Death
I feel like death today, and I’m not quite sure how to escape it. It’s a combination of so many feelings and emotions that I’m not even sure I can classify how I feel right now. I’m in a total funk to put it simply, and it’s not simple at all. Not only am I on these anti-retroviral drugs that are absolutely making me feel like total crap, but my nerves for Africa are 100% shot and I’m not sure how much more I can take. As great as the people here are, there are so many things that get to me because of our living conditions. No one really feels like they need to contribute to keep things clean and livable. There is almost no consideration one for another or for the house that we are living in. The family in the back has said a couple of times how dirty the kitchen is and one day they came in and cleaned it for us! What a disgrace!! I’ve have done all I can do without going to the extent of killing myself to keep things clean in the house. I’ve even proposed and posted a cleaning chart that I thought would help people stay on track and help out; didn’t work. The living area is a total disaster and I’m just at my whit’s end, I can’t do it anymore. I did some cleaning tonight while everybody just chilled in the living area, I was so frustrated. I found Irene, of all people, cleaning the freezer area and I just said to her, “You are not doing this, let me do this cleaning.” I finished cleaning and then cleaned the surrounding disgusting floor as well as the sink and the bathroom sink. Everything is gross and I’m going crazy. I feel so sick inside from the drugs that I’m barely able to do anything. My appetite is gone and everything I look at that has to do with food or the smell of it makes me want to vomit.
My plane leaves in 8 days 4 hours and 50 minutes and I’m not sure that’s soon enough. As much as I love the people here that I’ve been working with, the family out back, our guard David, and our cook Irene, I’m done here and I need to get back home. I’ve reached my breaking point, a point I never really thought I would reach. I always just figured that the time would wind down and I’d just be working until the end; not so. Ever since the HIV incident at the school in Baka village things have been going down hill. I started on the ARV meds and they have made me incredibly sick which has only amplified the fact that my nerves are shot and my patience has been tried. I never thought that I would feel like this, but if I could step on a plane right now, I’m pretty sure I would. The thought even crossed my mind that I could call and get my flight moved up and then I would just chill in New York until Mom got there. The thought went away as my conscience kicked in and I realized that going to Gulu would be an amazing experience and I would get some great pictures as well as learn about the people up there. I’m thinking about discontinuing taking the medication that has made me so sick. If I feel like this in NY I will be hating life and that is the last thing I want.
I’ve eating a Cliff Bar and a Sprite today. I just don’t want to eat. Everything sounds gross. Everybody is eating right now and I just want to vomit at the site of it all. My tummy has gone back down in size which is a plus. I’m hungry, but not enough to go eat the dinner prepared.
My plane leaves in 8 days 4 hours and 50 minutes and I’m not sure that’s soon enough. As much as I love the people here that I’ve been working with, the family out back, our guard David, and our cook Irene, I’m done here and I need to get back home. I’ve reached my breaking point, a point I never really thought I would reach. I always just figured that the time would wind down and I’d just be working until the end; not so. Ever since the HIV incident at the school in Baka village things have been going down hill. I started on the ARV meds and they have made me incredibly sick which has only amplified the fact that my nerves are shot and my patience has been tried. I never thought that I would feel like this, but if I could step on a plane right now, I’m pretty sure I would. The thought even crossed my mind that I could call and get my flight moved up and then I would just chill in New York until Mom got there. The thought went away as my conscience kicked in and I realized that going to Gulu would be an amazing experience and I would get some great pictures as well as learn about the people up there. I’m thinking about discontinuing taking the medication that has made me so sick. If I feel like this in NY I will be hating life and that is the last thing I want.
I’ve eating a Cliff Bar and a Sprite today. I just don’t want to eat. Everything sounds gross. Everybody is eating right now and I just want to vomit at the site of it all. My tummy has gone back down in size which is a plus. I’m hungry, but not enough to go eat the dinner prepared.
Day 72 - Life and Death Part 3
My nerves had been driving me nuts all day. The only thing I could think of, of course, was the stupid bungee jumping! It was so bad that I couldn’t concentrate at all today, and I was super honery the night before bed. The ARV drugs haven’t helped the situation at all either.
Church was good today, but long. Church in Africa is a little harder because it’s hard to understand exactly what they are teaching. Sometimes their english is a little hard to understand and it makes it incredibly hard to pay attention. We made our way to Ginger on the Nile restaurant to grab a bite to eat before we went to Nile High. I didn’t turn out to be very hungry as I wasn’t feeling very good. I ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel with a side of fries and a Coke. It was really good food but was unable to finish! I was unhappy about it because I normally finish all my food. Tori G finished off my bagel for me.
Finally it was off to do the most feared thing of all. By this time I had been doing some serious mind control to keep my nerves under control. It worked really well until I was in the seat on the platform getting strapped in. I remember thinking, “What in the heck am I doing?! Am I really going through with this!?” Nobody really understands the feeling unless they’ve been there themselves. Being 154 feet above a large body of water knowing that you are going over the edge really isn’t a good feeling. We got finished getting roped in and we stood up. My heart began pounding and I felt like my head was going to explode because my blood pressure was through the roof. We ducked under the safety ropes and inched our way to the edge of the platform until our toes were hanging off the edge. By this time I was considering pulling back but the words couldn’t escape my lips. We dropped our arms from holding the metal bar above our heads and embraced each other in the strongest bear hug that ever was; I’m pretty sure I squeezed Amber so hard that I cracked her back. “And 3...2....1....” the guy announced and all of the sudden I was weightless and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. But only one second after falling I was having the time of my life. Amber and I started screaming, laughing, and hugging each other as we bounced up and down on the bungee cord. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done in my life as far as scary things go. I was so proud of myself for such a huge accomplishment. The funny thing was that when we rafted the Nile over a month ago I told myself there was no way I would ever be doing the bungee jumping thrill. I have always told myself I would never do any type of bungee jumping or sky diving because was radically too scary and I felt like the risk of dying was a little high. In reality, both have a very low mortality rates and I shouldn’t really worry about it... but I do.
I decided that the first jump was so cool that it was necessary to buy another and get one free, for a total of 3 jumps! I made my way back up the stairs to jump again. Being strapped in I made my way to the edge again, the same as before. Only this time I was alone and I had to actually jump off myself. Again, I didn’t have a choice of whether to jump or not as soon as I heard, “And 3....2....1....” I did my best and jumped as much as my nervous body would along, I went flying, the rush was amazing and I watched the whole way down! Not a second did I close my eyes, it was much to expensive of a jump to do that! My third jump was even better. I did a much better swan dive the third time. So good that I heard later that people below including the professional jumpers said that I had good form!! I was really excited to hear that, it gave me a bit of a rise.
Well, I’m very happy about my decision to “jump to my death” 3 times, probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life and I would definitely consider doing it again in the future at some other location in the US. I keep thinking how cool it would be to have my family here and take them jumping tandem, they would absolutely freak out!
Church was good today, but long. Church in Africa is a little harder because it’s hard to understand exactly what they are teaching. Sometimes their english is a little hard to understand and it makes it incredibly hard to pay attention. We made our way to Ginger on the Nile restaurant to grab a bite to eat before we went to Nile High. I didn’t turn out to be very hungry as I wasn’t feeling very good. I ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel with a side of fries and a Coke. It was really good food but was unable to finish! I was unhappy about it because I normally finish all my food. Tori G finished off my bagel for me.
Finally it was off to do the most feared thing of all. By this time I had been doing some serious mind control to keep my nerves under control. It worked really well until I was in the seat on the platform getting strapped in. I remember thinking, “What in the heck am I doing?! Am I really going through with this!?” Nobody really understands the feeling unless they’ve been there themselves. Being 154 feet above a large body of water knowing that you are going over the edge really isn’t a good feeling. We got finished getting roped in and we stood up. My heart began pounding and I felt like my head was going to explode because my blood pressure was through the roof. We ducked under the safety ropes and inched our way to the edge of the platform until our toes were hanging off the edge. By this time I was considering pulling back but the words couldn’t escape my lips. We dropped our arms from holding the metal bar above our heads and embraced each other in the strongest bear hug that ever was; I’m pretty sure I squeezed Amber so hard that I cracked her back. “And 3...2....1....” the guy announced and all of the sudden I was weightless and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. But only one second after falling I was having the time of my life. Amber and I started screaming, laughing, and hugging each other as we bounced up and down on the bungee cord. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done in my life as far as scary things go. I was so proud of myself for such a huge accomplishment. The funny thing was that when we rafted the Nile over a month ago I told myself there was no way I would ever be doing the bungee jumping thrill. I have always told myself I would never do any type of bungee jumping or sky diving because was radically too scary and I felt like the risk of dying was a little high. In reality, both have a very low mortality rates and I shouldn’t really worry about it... but I do.
I decided that the first jump was so cool that it was necessary to buy another and get one free, for a total of 3 jumps! I made my way back up the stairs to jump again. Being strapped in I made my way to the edge again, the same as before. Only this time I was alone and I had to actually jump off myself. Again, I didn’t have a choice of whether to jump or not as soon as I heard, “And 3....2....1....” I did my best and jumped as much as my nervous body would along, I went flying, the rush was amazing and I watched the whole way down! Not a second did I close my eyes, it was much to expensive of a jump to do that! My third jump was even better. I did a much better swan dive the third time. So good that I heard later that people below including the professional jumpers said that I had good form!! I was really excited to hear that, it gave me a bit of a rise.
Well, I’m very happy about my decision to “jump to my death” 3 times, probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life and I would definitely consider doing it again in the future at some other location in the US. I keep thinking how cool it would be to have my family here and take them jumping tandem, they would absolutely freak out!
Day 71 - Life and Death Part 2
We had such a great day today in Jinja. We left the house around 10 am and headed for the craft shops. Some of the group went to use the internet. I got so many crafts I had to help people carry my stuff. This is my last week in the Lugazi/Jinja area so it was my time to gather some keepsakes and I sure did, I’m happy with my purchases.
Today was quite the relaxing day, it couldn’t have been better really. After getting crafts for 2 hours or so, we made our way to the Jinja Nile Resort and went straight to the pool. We were charged 6000 each to swim, we were very happy to pay for such a nice pool area. We swam for a short time and then laid out a bit. Trent and I did some reading while Jackie, Ashley, Steph, and Amber laid out. It was so relaxing, except for the fact that I had “bungee jump” on the brain... not exactly a stimulus for positive thought. We stuck around the pool for about 2 hours, 30 minutes of which I used extremely expensive marginally quick internet. Those 30 minutes cost me a whopping 5000 shillings, or $3.00. It’s so funny how things here are so “expensive.” But when compared to back home, it’s really not TOO bad. That’s the most I’ve ever paid for internet while being here, and I’ll never have to do it again.
I had a Coke on the pool side, it was refreshing. Coke is a funny thing, it reminds me of my Dad, so every time I drink it I get a flashback of some moment with Dad hunting and having a Coke. Time came around to 5:30 p.m. and it was off to Nile High. I was absolutely freaking out on the walk there, and signing my name on the release form really did me in. I had been contemplating the whole thing the entire day, and really the whole week. I kept telling myself that I was going to be OK and that I was just going to do it. We finally made our way over to the bungee jumping area, stomach still jumping like crazy. I don’t know what my deal was! I guess I didn't think I was that big of a baby. We went to the reception area, gave them our money, and signed our lives away. At this point I was really dying. A couple people went and then if was mine and Amber’s turn. We got up there and I freaked out. Amber sat happily in the chair like no big deal. As we were talking about going tandem, the guy running the thing let us know that because of our combine wait he didn’t have the right cables. He had retired a cable that day and it happened to be the one for my wait. I was actually really relieved because I just couldn’t handle the whole situation. Amber then asked me if she should just go and I said, “Oh course!” So she got all strapped up and made her way to edge. I could tell she was very nervous, she was hardly responding to anything that I was saying to her. She made her jump and went screaming all the way down. When she had finished and she was on the raft I looked down from the platform and saw her rolling around laughing the raft... so Amber. While I was a little bummed that they didn’t have my cable, I was slightly relieved at the same time. The guy said he would have a new cable ready for me tomorrow so we will be back after church to go... I’m nervous.
Today was quite the relaxing day, it couldn’t have been better really. After getting crafts for 2 hours or so, we made our way to the Jinja Nile Resort and went straight to the pool. We were charged 6000 each to swim, we were very happy to pay for such a nice pool area. We swam for a short time and then laid out a bit. Trent and I did some reading while Jackie, Ashley, Steph, and Amber laid out. It was so relaxing, except for the fact that I had “bungee jump” on the brain... not exactly a stimulus for positive thought. We stuck around the pool for about 2 hours, 30 minutes of which I used extremely expensive marginally quick internet. Those 30 minutes cost me a whopping 5000 shillings, or $3.00. It’s so funny how things here are so “expensive.” But when compared to back home, it’s really not TOO bad. That’s the most I’ve ever paid for internet while being here, and I’ll never have to do it again.
I had a Coke on the pool side, it was refreshing. Coke is a funny thing, it reminds me of my Dad, so every time I drink it I get a flashback of some moment with Dad hunting and having a Coke. Time came around to 5:30 p.m. and it was off to Nile High. I was absolutely freaking out on the walk there, and signing my name on the release form really did me in. I had been contemplating the whole thing the entire day, and really the whole week. I kept telling myself that I was going to be OK and that I was just going to do it. We finally made our way over to the bungee jumping area, stomach still jumping like crazy. I don’t know what my deal was! I guess I didn't think I was that big of a baby. We went to the reception area, gave them our money, and signed our lives away. At this point I was really dying. A couple people went and then if was mine and Amber’s turn. We got up there and I freaked out. Amber sat happily in the chair like no big deal. As we were talking about going tandem, the guy running the thing let us know that because of our combine wait he didn’t have the right cables. He had retired a cable that day and it happened to be the one for my wait. I was actually really relieved because I just couldn’t handle the whole situation. Amber then asked me if she should just go and I said, “Oh course!” So she got all strapped up and made her way to edge. I could tell she was very nervous, she was hardly responding to anything that I was saying to her. She made her jump and went screaming all the way down. When she had finished and she was on the raft I looked down from the platform and saw her rolling around laughing the raft... so Amber. While I was a little bummed that they didn’t have my cable, I was slightly relieved at the same time. The guy said he would have a new cable ready for me tomorrow so we will be back after church to go... I’m nervous.
Day 68 - Life and Death
Today was one of the most intense and scary days of my entire life, because my life as I knew it had the potential to change for the worse. Nothing but the protection of the Lord saved me from the situation and I count my blessings.
Today we did something that I have been waiting to do my entire stay here in Uganda. Naturally, being a medical assistant and wanting experience, this was something I had been waiting to do for a long time. We had tried to get things started up at the two local hospitals but it never happened, they just weren’t prepared to receive volunteers in their facilities. The chance finally came with Dave & Jamie Mackenzie. They have owned the school for about a year now I think, and they finally got it organized and funded to get all of the kids as well as the parents tested for HIV, be given deworming pills, and give vitamins. Somehow the CDs found out about it and we got scheduled to go and help out. When we arrived I found out that I would be able to draw blood to be tested for HIV, I was very excited. I was finally going to be able to practice what I’ve been trained to do.
The parents were not cool with what was going on at first, and even after many of the parents finally consented, there were only about 100 out of 150 parents and kids that ended up being tested. They were concerned that by putting a needle in theirs or their child’s body that they would be infected with an evil spirit. This, of course, was a myth of the village, and a very sad one. After talking with the parents, things were finally in order and the people lined up to give their information, fill out some papers, receive a blood vial, and wait in line for their turn for their blood to be drawn.
The time finally came for me to draw blood, I was nervous. Not only was I drawing blood outside sitting a bench with one leg on either side, I was going to be drawing blood from young kids, something I don’t have experience doing. But, I knew that I had the training and knowledge so I followed through and did what I knew how. I was given no direction, no instruction, nothing. I sat for about 3 minutes and watched the process of taking the papers and tube, cross-checking the names, drawing blood, putting the blood into the tube, taking the white paper and the tube and putting them in a pile... I knew nothing! I had no idea what was going on.
I finally sat down on a bench and the people began to line up. I started with a young child about 7 years of age. I couldn't believe what I was doing, that I was actually in Africa in some village drawing some child’s blood to be tested for HIV!! I was shaking a little bit because I was nervous about the whole situation. The nerves subsided after a couple of draws and it became more routine. I looked around and realized that I was going to be drawing blood for a couple of hours and I was OK with it. It was turning out to be the experience that I always wanted in Africa; the opportunity to use my medical certification and help the people. A lady sat down, here name was Teo. I had just complete drawing blood from her 3 kids and it was now her turn. She sat down and I knew right away that she was going to be an easy draw because her veins were clearly visible. I prepared a syringe, cotton swab, and the blood vial. I quickly drew the blood and inserted into the vial. I had just pulled the needle out of the vial when Teo stood up to leave the bench and she bumped me... pushing the needle into my left pointer finger, enough to make it bleed. I immediately froze and couldn’t believe what had just happened. My biggest fear coming to Africa, the one that I had gone over in my mind 1000 times had just happened and now it was critically important that I do the appropriate follow-up. I immediately put some antiseptic liquid on the prick, the same antiseptic we were using on the cotton balls to clean the area before we drew blood. I remained calm oddly enough, stood up, and went to Jackie to tell her the situation. While I was talking to Jackie I felt as though I was going to faint but stood my ground. It had really hit me what just happened and I thought I was going to die. Immediately I ordered the blood to be tested and luckily, with the help of the Lord, the blood was NEGATIVE for HIV. My heart rate slowed a bit after the good news. I was also calmed when I remembered that with the needle pricks, depending on the severity of the prick, only had a 0.3% infection rate with HIV. So, those two bits of good information made me feel pretty good. We talked to Dave quickly about the situation, he made arrangements to take us to the HIV Center in Kampala where I could get further help. Before we left, I had Jeff and DJ give me a blessing, Jeff anointed and DJ sealed the anointing and gave me a blessing. The spirit was strong and I was confident the Lord was with DJ as well as myself. I felt very good about the blessing and emotions were stirred. This was the most comforting part about the whole situation. I knew after the blessing that all would be well. I’ve been promised I would have a family in my blessing, which I’m counting on will be my own little carbon-copies. When we arrived at the HIV center an hour later, I asked that they test Teo’s blood again for HIV as well for Hepatitis A/B/C, all came back NEGATIVE, thankfully. They also tested my own blood for HIV to make sure that I was negative before they gave me the prophylaxis that I asked for. I of course tested negative and they prescribed me the medication.
Jackie and I found the cafeteria at the hospital where we had peas, chicken, rice, and fries. The meal was 3500 USH and was actually pretty good, we were very happy with it. While we were there we met two girls from the UK and one girl from upper state New York. They were super nice and fun to talk to. They even invited us to a 4th of July private party at somebody’s home in Kampala. We headed back to Kampala by taxi, then we had to walk a mile or so to find another Taxi that would take us to Lugazi. We stood around for about 30 minutes waiting for a Taxi back to Lugazi until finally this open-bed truck pulls up and Jackie says, “Let’s go!” I was totally freaking about, knowing that we couldn’t do anything more reckless than taxi back to Mukono in the back of a truck. Well, it actually ended up being a sweet ride with the wind in our face and not having to be shoulder to shoulder with other people. We hopped out at Mukono and then hopped on another Taxi to Lugazi. On this taxi I had to sit on half a seat, very uncomfortable. It ended up taking us about 2 1/2 hours to get back home, a very long and crazy day.
I'm grateful for my health and strength and I know the Lord's hand was with me!
Today we did something that I have been waiting to do my entire stay here in Uganda. Naturally, being a medical assistant and wanting experience, this was something I had been waiting to do for a long time. We had tried to get things started up at the two local hospitals but it never happened, they just weren’t prepared to receive volunteers in their facilities. The chance finally came with Dave & Jamie Mackenzie. They have owned the school for about a year now I think, and they finally got it organized and funded to get all of the kids as well as the parents tested for HIV, be given deworming pills, and give vitamins. Somehow the CDs found out about it and we got scheduled to go and help out. When we arrived I found out that I would be able to draw blood to be tested for HIV, I was very excited. I was finally going to be able to practice what I’ve been trained to do.
The parents were not cool with what was going on at first, and even after many of the parents finally consented, there were only about 100 out of 150 parents and kids that ended up being tested. They were concerned that by putting a needle in theirs or their child’s body that they would be infected with an evil spirit. This, of course, was a myth of the village, and a very sad one. After talking with the parents, things were finally in order and the people lined up to give their information, fill out some papers, receive a blood vial, and wait in line for their turn for their blood to be drawn.
The time finally came for me to draw blood, I was nervous. Not only was I drawing blood outside sitting a bench with one leg on either side, I was going to be drawing blood from young kids, something I don’t have experience doing. But, I knew that I had the training and knowledge so I followed through and did what I knew how. I was given no direction, no instruction, nothing. I sat for about 3 minutes and watched the process of taking the papers and tube, cross-checking the names, drawing blood, putting the blood into the tube, taking the white paper and the tube and putting them in a pile... I knew nothing! I had no idea what was going on.
I finally sat down on a bench and the people began to line up. I started with a young child about 7 years of age. I couldn't believe what I was doing, that I was actually in Africa in some village drawing some child’s blood to be tested for HIV!! I was shaking a little bit because I was nervous about the whole situation. The nerves subsided after a couple of draws and it became more routine. I looked around and realized that I was going to be drawing blood for a couple of hours and I was OK with it. It was turning out to be the experience that I always wanted in Africa; the opportunity to use my medical certification and help the people. A lady sat down, here name was Teo. I had just complete drawing blood from her 3 kids and it was now her turn. She sat down and I knew right away that she was going to be an easy draw because her veins were clearly visible. I prepared a syringe, cotton swab, and the blood vial. I quickly drew the blood and inserted into the vial. I had just pulled the needle out of the vial when Teo stood up to leave the bench and she bumped me... pushing the needle into my left pointer finger, enough to make it bleed. I immediately froze and couldn’t believe what had just happened. My biggest fear coming to Africa, the one that I had gone over in my mind 1000 times had just happened and now it was critically important that I do the appropriate follow-up. I immediately put some antiseptic liquid on the prick, the same antiseptic we were using on the cotton balls to clean the area before we drew blood. I remained calm oddly enough, stood up, and went to Jackie to tell her the situation. While I was talking to Jackie I felt as though I was going to faint but stood my ground. It had really hit me what just happened and I thought I was going to die. Immediately I ordered the blood to be tested and luckily, with the help of the Lord, the blood was NEGATIVE for HIV. My heart rate slowed a bit after the good news. I was also calmed when I remembered that with the needle pricks, depending on the severity of the prick, only had a 0.3% infection rate with HIV. So, those two bits of good information made me feel pretty good. We talked to Dave quickly about the situation, he made arrangements to take us to the HIV Center in Kampala where I could get further help. Before we left, I had Jeff and DJ give me a blessing, Jeff anointed and DJ sealed the anointing and gave me a blessing. The spirit was strong and I was confident the Lord was with DJ as well as myself. I felt very good about the blessing and emotions were stirred. This was the most comforting part about the whole situation. I knew after the blessing that all would be well. I’ve been promised I would have a family in my blessing, which I’m counting on will be my own little carbon-copies. When we arrived at the HIV center an hour later, I asked that they test Teo’s blood again for HIV as well for Hepatitis A/B/C, all came back NEGATIVE, thankfully. They also tested my own blood for HIV to make sure that I was negative before they gave me the prophylaxis that I asked for. I of course tested negative and they prescribed me the medication.
Jackie and I found the cafeteria at the hospital where we had peas, chicken, rice, and fries. The meal was 3500 USH and was actually pretty good, we were very happy with it. While we were there we met two girls from the UK and one girl from upper state New York. They were super nice and fun to talk to. They even invited us to a 4th of July private party at somebody’s home in Kampala. We headed back to Kampala by taxi, then we had to walk a mile or so to find another Taxi that would take us to Lugazi. We stood around for about 30 minutes waiting for a Taxi back to Lugazi until finally this open-bed truck pulls up and Jackie says, “Let’s go!” I was totally freaking about, knowing that we couldn’t do anything more reckless than taxi back to Mukono in the back of a truck. Well, it actually ended up being a sweet ride with the wind in our face and not having to be shoulder to shoulder with other people. We hopped out at Mukono and then hopped on another Taxi to Lugazi. On this taxi I had to sit on half a seat, very uncomfortable. It ended up taking us about 2 1/2 hours to get back home, a very long and crazy day.
I'm grateful for my health and strength and I know the Lord's hand was with me!
Day 65 - Celebration of the 4th
We had a great time today at the ARA in Kampala, which stands for American Recreation Association. That was where the US Embassy had the 4th of July party, but on Sunday. There was swimming before the actually party, I didn’t get in myself but a bunch of others from the group did. I decided that it felt nice to be dressed up nice for once and be clean and wasn’t worth getting all wet. Instead I sipped on Coke next to the pool with Jackie and Lindsi. Swimming was short lived which is another reason I’m glad I didn’t get in. After swimming there was volleyball followed by eating down in the park area. There were hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, potato salad (of sorts), and salad (kind of). We got a drink as well, and of course I had a Coke, my third of the day.
The time came for the celebration to come and we had some cool entertainment by some Uganda guys that did acrobatics. They were incredibly strong, ridiculously strong in fact. I got some cool pictures showing what they did. Everybody cheered and loved the show, including myself. Following the acrobatics there was chill time until the fireworks started which were totally unexpected but very cool. It reminded me that I would be missing the fireworks back home with the family at Millie’s house. Not long now and I’ll be back with my family!!
Never in my life have I been so patriotic. There’s no country like the United States of America. You will never know how blessed we are to be in such an amazing country until you have left it and live in a 3rd world country where every commodity you enjoy at home is nowhere to be found. In as much as there may be corruption in our government system and it isn’t perfect, it sure beats the rest of the world and this is what me must focus on. I’m so proud to be an American, and I really mean it this time! For so many years I’ve sung the song, now it actually means something. Never take for granted that we live where we do, we are most definitely a blessed people.
The time came for the celebration to come and we had some cool entertainment by some Uganda guys that did acrobatics. They were incredibly strong, ridiculously strong in fact. I got some cool pictures showing what they did. Everybody cheered and loved the show, including myself. Following the acrobatics there was chill time until the fireworks started which were totally unexpected but very cool. It reminded me that I would be missing the fireworks back home with the family at Millie’s house. Not long now and I’ll be back with my family!!
Never in my life have I been so patriotic. There’s no country like the United States of America. You will never know how blessed we are to be in such an amazing country until you have left it and live in a 3rd world country where every commodity you enjoy at home is nowhere to be found. In as much as there may be corruption in our government system and it isn’t perfect, it sure beats the rest of the world and this is what me must focus on. I’m so proud to be an American, and I really mean it this time! For so many years I’ve sung the song, now it actually means something. Never take for granted that we live where we do, we are most definitely a blessed people.
Day 57 to 64 - Tanzania
I’m not sure I’ve ever done anything so cool in my life as go to Tanzania and experience the Serengeti. I had the most incredible time, I’m going to have a hard time getting in every single detail. I was debating whether or not to take my laptop, my final decision of course was to leave the laptop for fear that it would be a burden and get in the way or being out-and-about. Well, I discovered that I really could have brought it and been just fine. That way I would have been able to record things as they happened or at the very least come back to the hostel or tent wherever we were and record for the day. In any case, I’m here now and I’m about to attempt to write about my experience in Tanzania.
It began early in the morning on Saturday the 21st of June. Our group was Amber, Heidi, Steph, Jackie, Ashley, Lindsi, Trent, Jeff, and myself, possibly the funnest group possible. I had been considering and was pretty sure I was going to plan my own trip on which Leslie and Emily were going to go. We had the idea that we would go to Tanzania and then South Africa. As time got closer to them departing I realized that my best friends of the group were the ones leaving and that I really needed to be with them! I quickly changed my mind and had Jackie call the travel agency to see if they could still get me in. Sure enough, they got me through and I was ecstatic. We were going to spend time in Kampala before we caught our plane but our taxi was late and the traffic was horrible. We quickly got the tickets from the travel office and screamed to Entebbe, only to find out that our plane was going to be 2 hours late. We were not to happy about it but realized that we had to deal with AST (African Standard Time).
Our flight took off about 2 hours late, whatever. We had a pit-stop in Mwanza, Tanzania and then on to Kilimanjaro Airport. We flew in a twin prop turbo something or nothing. I was nervous it was going to be one of those crazy puddle-hoppers but it turned out to be just fine. I was pretty impressed with the noise level, having expected horrendous droning of the props. The front of the plane was worse than the back for sound. The plane ride was short and felt like nothing at all. I think we went to a maximum of 19,000 feet the whole time. The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the plane in Tanzania was the air; cool and crisp, so refreshing. It was good to have a break from the monotonous humidly of Lugazi. We went through customs of course and had to lay our a whopping $100 USD, not the funnest part, though I have yet another stamp in my passport so I guess that’s alright. We were picked up by a man holding a sign that said, “Skinner x9.” He was a jolly Tanzanian, very nice. We threw our stuff in the Land Cruisers and we were off to Arusha. The landscape was amazing, totally different from that of Lugazi or anywhere in Uganda I’ve seen thus far. It was a desert! But then something weird happened. We got closer and closer to Mt. Kilimanjaro (which being clouded over was unable to be seen) and the landscape changed again. It went back to the lush green that we were used to. We figured that because of the altitude and weather around the mountain, much more precipitation was at the disposal of the plants.
We arrived at Arusha Backpackers Hotel, though it felt more like a Hostel. There were one or two beds to a room which classified it as a hotel. I was a bit nervous as to what the conditions were going to be there but was surprisingly impressed with the accommodations and the cleanliness of the place. Jeff and I roomed together, Amber and Heidi, Jackie and Steph, Lindsi and Ashley, and poor Trenty had his own room (he was OK with that, he actually offered to take the single room). The beds were done up nice, new sheets and neatly made with a towel for showering, in what? Yes, that’s right... hot showers; a commodity we have learned not to take for granted since being here. There was always somebody cleaning up the bathroom, sweeping the floor, etc, very clean. There was a bar on the third floor where you could have a drink or soda as well as order food. Free Internet was available which made the whole thing even more suitable. We all use the internet so much to keep in contact with family and it was so nice to have it included and available right there! We didn’t do much the day we arrived, we just got settled in and relaxed from all the hubbub of traveling. We decided we would go out and hunt down a restaurant to have some dinner. As we were walking I spotted a place called McMoody’s, the name couldn’t have been more perfect. Of course McDonald’s rang through as we read the title, I’m sure that had something to do with our final decision of going inside. The food was surprising VERY good. I had a pizza, fries, and a Pepsi and was very impressed, very satisfied. It was nice to actually have some REAL food, a REAL meal. Yes, we eat at the house every night but it’s the same EVERY night: rice, beans, cabbage, green beans, potatoes, pineapple; with a little mix up here and there. Following dinner we all headed back to the Hotel and chilled in the bar area. Of course I had myself a Coke to suit the moment of relaxation, it was great. I used the internet to check e-mail, that was nice.
Sunday was a pretty chill day that consisted of visiting a crafts village, a zoo of sorts, and some sort of Masai museum which was pretty anticlimactic. The crafts village was awesome. I couldn’t believe the artwork! Everything is art that they sell, whether it’s a carving, painting, or otherwise. I just wanted to buy the entire place and ship it home to my apartment. I bought somethings that are pretty cool, things that you couldn’t really get anywhere else. The people there were overly annoying however. In Swahili “karibu” means welcome. Yes, the animal that we have all known since that first grade lesson. Well, every store you walked by they would “welcome” you and tell you to come in their store. Most of the time they were talking over each-other because their stores are right next door to each-other It was slightly comical but more annoying. It was nearly impossible to just walk around undisturbed and just look around! Some people would even guide you in by making a human road block in the path you were taking. Others would even grab your arm and pull you! By the end I was so ready to get out of there but wish I could have gotten 3 times as much stuff as I did. The zoo was pretty entertaining. We saw crocodiles, snakes, birds, and some other animals. I got to hold a snake on my shoulders and in my hands. It was a type of garden snake. Very calm, very nice. It wasn’t like a Provo garden snake though. Just about 5 times as wide and long. I even got to hold a baby crocodile, now that was cool. The little thing was strong and could have drawn blood had he gotten a hold of me. We went to the Masai village next and that was not too cool, sort of a waste. What followed however made it worth it. I, Corbin Allred, have ridden a camel. For 1000 TSH (Tanzanian Shillings, just under a dollar) we got to ride some camels. They are funny creatures for sure. Heidi and I rode together, we had a blast. While the ride was only a total of 4 minutes or so, we definitely rode camels.
We had dinner again at McMoody’s, again I pizza, fries, and a Pepsi. The meal was just so good the time before that I had to have it again. We went back to the hotel and again went up and chilled in the bar area. Later in the night however we played around... Ashley and Trent decided they were going to stuff people into Ashley's backpack. Ashley was the first to go in, but I wasn’t there to see it happen. When I got there we had decided that Amber, being the flexible gymnast, would be able to fold in half and fit in the pack. It was a little harder done than said, she only got half way in, we have pictures to prove it. We were laughing so hard that Amber almost peed her pants... not that that’s an uncommon occurrence.
Monday turned out to be rather expensive and a bit anticlimactic. We decided to take a hike up to some waterfalls on the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We realized that our dreams of climbing the mountain were nowhere near going to come true, so we had to do the next best thing. The worst part about it was that it cost $50 USD. That wouldn’t have been so bad had we been taken on a trip that was worth that. We were picked up from our Hotel and then we drove for about an hour or so. We took off up the mountain in the big bus, following the badly beaten roads. It had recently rained and the roads were absolutely tumultuous, so bad in fact that we couldn’t make it up all the way. As we went up the mountain the roads got steeper and steeper and slicker and slicker, we knew we weren’t going to make it. We came to a point in the road where the tires on the bus started to spin. When the driver put the brakes on, rather that stopping the vehicle it created one giant slipping heap of metal and people. We slid back and almost into a ditch, we were a bit on edge as you might expect. We were told that the trailhead was an hour and a half by foot up the road and that that was our only choice. Reluctantly we stepped out of the bus with our clean shoes on to the muddy ground, what followed can only be described as messy, mucky, dirty, etc. We trudged up the hill with much difficulty but we eventually made it to the trailhead. The hike was long but amazing. Everything was fogged in and the air was practically water there was so much humidly. I remember on the way up my friend Steph asked, “Do ever just get to that point where you’re done?” “Yeah,” I responded, “like right now?” “Yeah,” she said laughing. We had only made it half way to the falls and we had HAD IT! We were filthy, it was wet, and we just didn’t really like that we had paid all that money for a half-way bus ride and a walk to some falls. We had paid $106 USD for an amazing hike at Sipi Falls, many amazing meals, nice sleeping quarters, and it was just amazing. So we weren’t too happy about it. We finally arrived and the falls were pretty spectacular and I got some good pictures. We sat in a little hut that had been constructed for sitting and relaxing. We got our lunches out and I cut some mangos, they were amazing. The walk down was another story. People were slip-sliding all over the place and many fell. Poor Lindsi fell so many times, we were all dying laughing. Amber, Jackie, and Steph all fell down too, they were all covered in mud from head to toe. Luckily I stayed on my feet and didn’t have to experience the ground.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and half of Friday were all dedicated to Safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. The experience was amazing, something that I’ve wanted to do my whole life. The ironic part about it is that my room for the last 10 years has had the african jungle/desert theme. Now I’ve been there and experienced it first hand. We left Arusha in the Land Cruiser with our driver Buba Lou who turned out to be the best guide ever. Our drive to the Serengeti was a good 5 or 6 hours. We crossed all sorts of land, from lush to dry back and forth. As we exited the city we began to see more and more the Masai people. They were generally herding cattle, goats, or some other livestock. We also saw them walking in groups along the rode as well as in the fields. I felt like I was with the National Geographic crew out doing a show or something. Our first stop was on top of a hill overlooking the Serengeti. We pulled out the lunches they had prepared for us and had a pleasant sit-down. The skies were so clear and blue, you could see quite far over the valley. The air was crisp and dryer than Uganda. We made our way from lunch just below the hill we sat on to a Masai village. Never did I think I would shake hands with or participate in a welcoming jumping dance with natives of the Serengeti. It was an incredible experience. A guy took Jackie and I into one of the huts that they live in. Inside he showed us sleeping conditions as well as the small cooking area, as in, 3 rocks 4 inches tall and a small pot with a diameter of no more than 12 inches. We sat in there for 10-15 minutes and were instructed on some of the ways of the Masai people, it was very intriguing. Jackie luckily got a lot of it on here video camera, so that will be nice to have. I was able to take a bunch of great pictures. I’m always a bit apprehensive here in Africa about taking pictures. I always want to be respectful of people so it’s hard to determine when it’s appropriate. We usually ask if it’s OK to take pictures. We left the village and continued our journey into the Serengeti. Along the way we had a small game drive while in route to our campsite. The first animal we saw was a giraffe and I went snap happy with the camera, because of course in my mind it was the ONLY giraffe I was going to see in the next 3 days... silly me. Then along the way something entirely unexpected happened and we were all taken for extreme surprise. As we were driving along the way we stopped to find a lioness and with five cubs behind here walking down the road. I couldn’t believe my eyes. In the first hour of really driving in the Serengeti we see this! This time I went super crazy and took a bunch of pictures and boy did I get some good ones. What happened next blew our socks off. We realized that the mother had spotted a Pumba (or a warthog if you’re unfamiliar with The Lion King in which case I might have to kill you) and that she had gone into hunting mode. We watched as she edged forward and Pumba got down close to the ground to try and conceal himself... to no avail. The poor guy is as obviously as the sun in the sky. Suddenly the mom left her cubs and took off after Pumba; the race was on. We watched as Nala took Pumba out and later his shrieking as she put the death grip on him. It was absolutely incredible, we thought for sure there were cameras around and that we were in a documentary. I managed to get some incredible sunset pictures on the first evening, I got pretty lucky. They were on the move even, I didn’t even get a chance to really set up! I am very pleased with the shots I got, so pleased that I’m considering printing one of them on canvas. The drive continued and we saw Zebra and Gazelle. By chance we stumbled upon another pride of lionesses who were relaxing in the shade next to a water hole. Some wildebeest approached and they were on guard though they were VERY unsuccessful in taking them down. They sort of jumped the gun and the wildebeest took off quickly out of their grip. Our first day continued to get better with seeing elephants, more giraffes, and just absolutely beautiful country.
We arrived at our first campsite and set up camp. We were asked to help set up our tents and get things ready, we were happy to help. The campsite was nice with facilities (walls and a roof with a counter-space for cooking) for cooking, latrines, showers, and covered eating areas to boot. I felt very comfortable there and it was a lot of fun. There were many other people there as well, at least 20 tents set up in the campsite.
To be continued...
It began early in the morning on Saturday the 21st of June. Our group was Amber, Heidi, Steph, Jackie, Ashley, Lindsi, Trent, Jeff, and myself, possibly the funnest group possible. I had been considering and was pretty sure I was going to plan my own trip on which Leslie and Emily were going to go. We had the idea that we would go to Tanzania and then South Africa. As time got closer to them departing I realized that my best friends of the group were the ones leaving and that I really needed to be with them! I quickly changed my mind and had Jackie call the travel agency to see if they could still get me in. Sure enough, they got me through and I was ecstatic. We were going to spend time in Kampala before we caught our plane but our taxi was late and the traffic was horrible. We quickly got the tickets from the travel office and screamed to Entebbe, only to find out that our plane was going to be 2 hours late. We were not to happy about it but realized that we had to deal with AST (African Standard Time).
Our flight took off about 2 hours late, whatever. We had a pit-stop in Mwanza, Tanzania and then on to Kilimanjaro Airport. We flew in a twin prop turbo something or nothing. I was nervous it was going to be one of those crazy puddle-hoppers but it turned out to be just fine. I was pretty impressed with the noise level, having expected horrendous droning of the props. The front of the plane was worse than the back for sound. The plane ride was short and felt like nothing at all. I think we went to a maximum of 19,000 feet the whole time. The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the plane in Tanzania was the air; cool and crisp, so refreshing. It was good to have a break from the monotonous humidly of Lugazi. We went through customs of course and had to lay our a whopping $100 USD, not the funnest part, though I have yet another stamp in my passport so I guess that’s alright. We were picked up by a man holding a sign that said, “Skinner x9.” He was a jolly Tanzanian, very nice. We threw our stuff in the Land Cruisers and we were off to Arusha. The landscape was amazing, totally different from that of Lugazi or anywhere in Uganda I’ve seen thus far. It was a desert! But then something weird happened. We got closer and closer to Mt. Kilimanjaro (which being clouded over was unable to be seen) and the landscape changed again. It went back to the lush green that we were used to. We figured that because of the altitude and weather around the mountain, much more precipitation was at the disposal of the plants.
We arrived at Arusha Backpackers Hotel, though it felt more like a Hostel. There were one or two beds to a room which classified it as a hotel. I was a bit nervous as to what the conditions were going to be there but was surprisingly impressed with the accommodations and the cleanliness of the place. Jeff and I roomed together, Amber and Heidi, Jackie and Steph, Lindsi and Ashley, and poor Trenty had his own room (he was OK with that, he actually offered to take the single room). The beds were done up nice, new sheets and neatly made with a towel for showering, in what? Yes, that’s right... hot showers; a commodity we have learned not to take for granted since being here. There was always somebody cleaning up the bathroom, sweeping the floor, etc, very clean. There was a bar on the third floor where you could have a drink or soda as well as order food. Free Internet was available which made the whole thing even more suitable. We all use the internet so much to keep in contact with family and it was so nice to have it included and available right there! We didn’t do much the day we arrived, we just got settled in and relaxed from all the hubbub of traveling. We decided we would go out and hunt down a restaurant to have some dinner. As we were walking I spotted a place called McMoody’s, the name couldn’t have been more perfect. Of course McDonald’s rang through as we read the title, I’m sure that had something to do with our final decision of going inside. The food was surprising VERY good. I had a pizza, fries, and a Pepsi and was very impressed, very satisfied. It was nice to actually have some REAL food, a REAL meal. Yes, we eat at the house every night but it’s the same EVERY night: rice, beans, cabbage, green beans, potatoes, pineapple; with a little mix up here and there. Following dinner we all headed back to the Hotel and chilled in the bar area. Of course I had myself a Coke to suit the moment of relaxation, it was great. I used the internet to check e-mail, that was nice.
Sunday was a pretty chill day that consisted of visiting a crafts village, a zoo of sorts, and some sort of Masai museum which was pretty anticlimactic. The crafts village was awesome. I couldn’t believe the artwork! Everything is art that they sell, whether it’s a carving, painting, or otherwise. I just wanted to buy the entire place and ship it home to my apartment. I bought somethings that are pretty cool, things that you couldn’t really get anywhere else. The people there were overly annoying however. In Swahili “karibu” means welcome. Yes, the animal that we have all known since that first grade lesson. Well, every store you walked by they would “welcome” you and tell you to come in their store. Most of the time they were talking over each-other because their stores are right next door to each-other It was slightly comical but more annoying. It was nearly impossible to just walk around undisturbed and just look around! Some people would even guide you in by making a human road block in the path you were taking. Others would even grab your arm and pull you! By the end I was so ready to get out of there but wish I could have gotten 3 times as much stuff as I did. The zoo was pretty entertaining. We saw crocodiles, snakes, birds, and some other animals. I got to hold a snake on my shoulders and in my hands. It was a type of garden snake. Very calm, very nice. It wasn’t like a Provo garden snake though. Just about 5 times as wide and long. I even got to hold a baby crocodile, now that was cool. The little thing was strong and could have drawn blood had he gotten a hold of me. We went to the Masai village next and that was not too cool, sort of a waste. What followed however made it worth it. I, Corbin Allred, have ridden a camel. For 1000 TSH (Tanzanian Shillings, just under a dollar) we got to ride some camels. They are funny creatures for sure. Heidi and I rode together, we had a blast. While the ride was only a total of 4 minutes or so, we definitely rode camels.
We had dinner again at McMoody’s, again I pizza, fries, and a Pepsi. The meal was just so good the time before that I had to have it again. We went back to the hotel and again went up and chilled in the bar area. Later in the night however we played around... Ashley and Trent decided they were going to stuff people into Ashley's backpack. Ashley was the first to go in, but I wasn’t there to see it happen. When I got there we had decided that Amber, being the flexible gymnast, would be able to fold in half and fit in the pack. It was a little harder done than said, she only got half way in, we have pictures to prove it. We were laughing so hard that Amber almost peed her pants... not that that’s an uncommon occurrence.
Monday turned out to be rather expensive and a bit anticlimactic. We decided to take a hike up to some waterfalls on the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We realized that our dreams of climbing the mountain were nowhere near going to come true, so we had to do the next best thing. The worst part about it was that it cost $50 USD. That wouldn’t have been so bad had we been taken on a trip that was worth that. We were picked up from our Hotel and then we drove for about an hour or so. We took off up the mountain in the big bus, following the badly beaten roads. It had recently rained and the roads were absolutely tumultuous, so bad in fact that we couldn’t make it up all the way. As we went up the mountain the roads got steeper and steeper and slicker and slicker, we knew we weren’t going to make it. We came to a point in the road where the tires on the bus started to spin. When the driver put the brakes on, rather that stopping the vehicle it created one giant slipping heap of metal and people. We slid back and almost into a ditch, we were a bit on edge as you might expect. We were told that the trailhead was an hour and a half by foot up the road and that that was our only choice. Reluctantly we stepped out of the bus with our clean shoes on to the muddy ground, what followed can only be described as messy, mucky, dirty, etc. We trudged up the hill with much difficulty but we eventually made it to the trailhead. The hike was long but amazing. Everything was fogged in and the air was practically water there was so much humidly. I remember on the way up my friend Steph asked, “Do ever just get to that point where you’re done?” “Yeah,” I responded, “like right now?” “Yeah,” she said laughing. We had only made it half way to the falls and we had HAD IT! We were filthy, it was wet, and we just didn’t really like that we had paid all that money for a half-way bus ride and a walk to some falls. We had paid $106 USD for an amazing hike at Sipi Falls, many amazing meals, nice sleeping quarters, and it was just amazing. So we weren’t too happy about it. We finally arrived and the falls were pretty spectacular and I got some good pictures. We sat in a little hut that had been constructed for sitting and relaxing. We got our lunches out and I cut some mangos, they were amazing. The walk down was another story. People were slip-sliding all over the place and many fell. Poor Lindsi fell so many times, we were all dying laughing. Amber, Jackie, and Steph all fell down too, they were all covered in mud from head to toe. Luckily I stayed on my feet and didn’t have to experience the ground.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and half of Friday were all dedicated to Safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. The experience was amazing, something that I’ve wanted to do my whole life. The ironic part about it is that my room for the last 10 years has had the african jungle/desert theme. Now I’ve been there and experienced it first hand. We left Arusha in the Land Cruiser with our driver Buba Lou who turned out to be the best guide ever. Our drive to the Serengeti was a good 5 or 6 hours. We crossed all sorts of land, from lush to dry back and forth. As we exited the city we began to see more and more the Masai people. They were generally herding cattle, goats, or some other livestock. We also saw them walking in groups along the rode as well as in the fields. I felt like I was with the National Geographic crew out doing a show or something. Our first stop was on top of a hill overlooking the Serengeti. We pulled out the lunches they had prepared for us and had a pleasant sit-down. The skies were so clear and blue, you could see quite far over the valley. The air was crisp and dryer than Uganda. We made our way from lunch just below the hill we sat on to a Masai village. Never did I think I would shake hands with or participate in a welcoming jumping dance with natives of the Serengeti. It was an incredible experience. A guy took Jackie and I into one of the huts that they live in. Inside he showed us sleeping conditions as well as the small cooking area, as in, 3 rocks 4 inches tall and a small pot with a diameter of no more than 12 inches. We sat in there for 10-15 minutes and were instructed on some of the ways of the Masai people, it was very intriguing. Jackie luckily got a lot of it on here video camera, so that will be nice to have. I was able to take a bunch of great pictures. I’m always a bit apprehensive here in Africa about taking pictures. I always want to be respectful of people so it’s hard to determine when it’s appropriate. We usually ask if it’s OK to take pictures. We left the village and continued our journey into the Serengeti. Along the way we had a small game drive while in route to our campsite. The first animal we saw was a giraffe and I went snap happy with the camera, because of course in my mind it was the ONLY giraffe I was going to see in the next 3 days... silly me. Then along the way something entirely unexpected happened and we were all taken for extreme surprise. As we were driving along the way we stopped to find a lioness and with five cubs behind here walking down the road. I couldn’t believe my eyes. In the first hour of really driving in the Serengeti we see this! This time I went super crazy and took a bunch of pictures and boy did I get some good ones. What happened next blew our socks off. We realized that the mother had spotted a Pumba (or a warthog if you’re unfamiliar with The Lion King in which case I might have to kill you) and that she had gone into hunting mode. We watched as she edged forward and Pumba got down close to the ground to try and conceal himself... to no avail. The poor guy is as obviously as the sun in the sky. Suddenly the mom left her cubs and took off after Pumba; the race was on. We watched as Nala took Pumba out and later his shrieking as she put the death grip on him. It was absolutely incredible, we thought for sure there were cameras around and that we were in a documentary. I managed to get some incredible sunset pictures on the first evening, I got pretty lucky. They were on the move even, I didn’t even get a chance to really set up! I am very pleased with the shots I got, so pleased that I’m considering printing one of them on canvas. The drive continued and we saw Zebra and Gazelle. By chance we stumbled upon another pride of lionesses who were relaxing in the shade next to a water hole. Some wildebeest approached and they were on guard though they were VERY unsuccessful in taking them down. They sort of jumped the gun and the wildebeest took off quickly out of their grip. Our first day continued to get better with seeing elephants, more giraffes, and just absolutely beautiful country.
We arrived at our first campsite and set up camp. We were asked to help set up our tents and get things ready, we were happy to help. The campsite was nice with facilities (walls and a roof with a counter-space for cooking) for cooking, latrines, showers, and covered eating areas to boot. I felt very comfortable there and it was a lot of fun. There were many other people there as well, at least 20 tents set up in the campsite.
To be continued...
Day 55 - Tired
I’m so tired right now and my head hurts. We just got done with dinner and now I’m siting on my bed (bottom bunk) with my back against the wall where my head would normally be. I took a shower today for the first time in 3 days, I know, pretty gross. The worst thing happened last night after coming home from a hard days work. It was 11:30 p.m. when I finally got around to getting in the shower. The 25 gallon water heater that we have here was all heated up and I was so excited because I knew I was SO dirty. I hopped in the tub and proceeded to spin both the hot and cold water nozzles. To my dismay, nothing but a tiny trickle made it out of the faucet, only enough to fill a cup... we had no water. I was hunched down at the time and my head just fell to the side and rested on the wall. My eyes closed and I wanted to cry... OK, not really, but pretty close. I was so excited to take a shower and get into bed all clean. While sulking I managed to get a small amount of water out of the faucet, left over in the hot water tank. With this water I washed my feet and up to my knees as well as my face. It was the least I could do before getting into bed.
Dinner tonight was pretty basic, just as basic as the last 47 days or so. Beans, cabbage, potatoes, pineapple, and passion fruit juice. Funny thing is, I’m not sick of it. She does pretty good at switching things up which helps out. I’m content to eat the same food for another 28 days, no problem. I’m happy to say that I’ve only been sick (in my stomach) once or twice while being here, not too bad! I thought for sure I was going to be spending 50% of my time in the restroom, luckily, that has NOT been the case. Irene, our cook, went to culinary school and does a very good job at keeping things clean when she cooks for us. She is a very classy lady, very nice. I’m going to miss her.
We went back to Little Angels Primary School today to fill the foundation that we built on Tuesday. There were only 6 of us in the beginning which shrunk down to 4 by the end. It took a little longer with fewer people but we got the job done. It’s always nice to have a lot of people there to help mix the adobe mixture which is probably the most annoying and difficult thing in the whole stove making process. We had just enough clay for the stove... well, kinda of. We have noticed a trend as we have been building these stoves. We never have enough clay. No matter how much we ask that the people provide us, they never get enough and it’s a little frustrating. So, we’ve had to improvise just a little bit. We decided that in certain parts of the stove where having the adobe mixture present isn’t critical, that we can use bricks to fill in space thus reducing the amount of clay we need. We have done this with all of the stoves now and it has worked greatly to our advantage. Today was just the same. We used bricks where we could and then we filled the rest with the adobe mixture. So, in theory we had enough and it worked out. We will return in 3 weeks to put a nice top layer of cement to provide a nice cooking surface.
Dinner tonight was pretty basic, just as basic as the last 47 days or so. Beans, cabbage, potatoes, pineapple, and passion fruit juice. Funny thing is, I’m not sick of it. She does pretty good at switching things up which helps out. I’m content to eat the same food for another 28 days, no problem. I’m happy to say that I’ve only been sick (in my stomach) once or twice while being here, not too bad! I thought for sure I was going to be spending 50% of my time in the restroom, luckily, that has NOT been the case. Irene, our cook, went to culinary school and does a very good job at keeping things clean when she cooks for us. She is a very classy lady, very nice. I’m going to miss her.
We went back to Little Angels Primary School today to fill the foundation that we built on Tuesday. There were only 6 of us in the beginning which shrunk down to 4 by the end. It took a little longer with fewer people but we got the job done. It’s always nice to have a lot of people there to help mix the adobe mixture which is probably the most annoying and difficult thing in the whole stove making process. We had just enough clay for the stove... well, kinda of. We have noticed a trend as we have been building these stoves. We never have enough clay. No matter how much we ask that the people provide us, they never get enough and it’s a little frustrating. So, we’ve had to improvise just a little bit. We decided that in certain parts of the stove where having the adobe mixture present isn’t critical, that we can use bricks to fill in space thus reducing the amount of clay we need. We have done this with all of the stoves now and it has worked greatly to our advantage. Today was just the same. We used bricks where we could and then we filled the rest with the adobe mixture. So, in theory we had enough and it worked out. We will return in 3 weeks to put a nice top layer of cement to provide a nice cooking surface.
Day 54 - Inconsistent bricks + Sickness = Major Frustration²
Although today was a very productive day and I feel good about it, it certainly wasn’t the most pleasurable. My sickness continues and this is the 6th day, only 4 more to go... theoretically. Today my ears were driving me crazy. I couldn’t even concentrate while we were building the stove at the Little Angels school. I asked Kelsi for another Clariton-D and it REALLY did the trick once again. My ears eventually popped for the most part and I was able to gain my equilibrium back. My sniffles cleared up and I wasn’t congested as usual, the pill works miracles.
We left the house a little late today, I wasn’t too excited about that. I really try to get people moving and out the door by 8:50 am so that we can be to our 9:00 am appointment. It didn’t happen today and I’m not sure when it will happen, but we can still try, right? My experience with building the foundation today at the women’s group place was far from awesome. For one, we had a total of 7 people crammed into an outdoor kitchen that was lined with bricks and mortar. Second off, the bricks were absolutely horrible. They were about as consistent as the number of times I’ve been to Hawaii... not so much. They were all different shapes and sizes which made laying the brick and keeping it level very difficult. I wasn’t feeling good at the time because of my head cold which made me a bit agitated at everything that was going on around me. I could tell the people around me were also getting irritated and I felt really bad. Because the bricks were hard to work with I found myself correcting people’s work a lot and I really don’t like to do that, I know they didn't appreciate it. This isn’t the funnest week for Simba Stoves thus far because of the fact that people have to learn and watch. What’s hard about learning is that you have to do a lot of sitting around until you can get in there on your own and get some action. I know volunteers are struggling with this and I’m really sorry about it. We want to be confident with the people that are in the group so that we can entrust them with Simba Stoves projects to complete on there own. Especially since Amber, myself, and Jeff all leave this weekend for Tanzania we must have a good system down before we leave. We know that once the group number cuts down people will find that they are much more involved.
We finished the stove a bit late but then Amber and I came home for a scrap of lunch and then hurried out the door for Mukono. We went back to the bakery to continue cleaning out the area in the back, today was EXTRA grose.
We left the house a little late today, I wasn’t too excited about that. I really try to get people moving and out the door by 8:50 am so that we can be to our 9:00 am appointment. It didn’t happen today and I’m not sure when it will happen, but we can still try, right? My experience with building the foundation today at the women’s group place was far from awesome. For one, we had a total of 7 people crammed into an outdoor kitchen that was lined with bricks and mortar. Second off, the bricks were absolutely horrible. They were about as consistent as the number of times I’ve been to Hawaii... not so much. They were all different shapes and sizes which made laying the brick and keeping it level very difficult. I wasn’t feeling good at the time because of my head cold which made me a bit agitated at everything that was going on around me. I could tell the people around me were also getting irritated and I felt really bad. Because the bricks were hard to work with I found myself correcting people’s work a lot and I really don’t like to do that, I know they didn't appreciate it. This isn’t the funnest week for Simba Stoves thus far because of the fact that people have to learn and watch. What’s hard about learning is that you have to do a lot of sitting around until you can get in there on your own and get some action. I know volunteers are struggling with this and I’m really sorry about it. We want to be confident with the people that are in the group so that we can entrust them with Simba Stoves projects to complete on there own. Especially since Amber, myself, and Jeff all leave this weekend for Tanzania we must have a good system down before we leave. We know that once the group number cuts down people will find that they are much more involved.
We finished the stove a bit late but then Amber and I came home for a scrap of lunch and then hurried out the door for Mukono. We went back to the bakery to continue cleaning out the area in the back, today was EXTRA grose.
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