OK so it has taken me forever to write this post... I started it a month ago...
It really is true. No words can describe the experiences I have had over the past month. I was able to spend just over 3 weeks all around the wonderful African country of Uganda. I had the opportunity to see, experience and do things that I never thought I would ever have the chance to do. There are so many experiences that I wish that everyone could have, yet I don't think I could describe them well enough to do them justice. So this post might be a little long because I am completely overwhelmed with emotions and feelings towards this past month.
So we headed out early in the morning on May 14th. We spent many hours on the plane and in airports. Our first flight took us to Chicago, then from Chicago to Amsterdam then finally from Amsterdam to Entebbe or Uganda (with a short stop in Kagali). We arrived late in the evening on Wednesday.
Our first full day we spent acclimating to the time zone and getting all our luggage organized. That day I made the mistake of taking my anti-malaria pill on an empty stomach. Well that made me sick all morning. The next day we visited our very first orphanage/school. This school was situated on the top of an island in Lake Victoria. It took a two hour drive on very bumpy dirt roads and then a short 20 minute boat ride through the marshes on a tiny fishing boat. To say we were warmly welcomed would be an understatement. Before we even stepped foot out of the van little hands were reaching out to grasp ours. Here is where I saw a young man wearing an american flag t-shirt with the date 1999 on it, you know the ones that places like Old Navy sell, the ones that people buy every year (because it has the year on it) wear once then get rid of it. The design was so worn down that you could hardly tell what it was anymore. We spent four days on the island and I enjoyed every moment of it.
Next we moved northward in the country to the area known as Gulu. 15 years ago this was the central area where the war was fought and they are still rebuilding. Here the only words to describe it is HOT HOT HOT! We were sweating from every pore as we traveled around the city visiting villages and schools. This is where I had my second nervous break down. Upon walking into my small hotel room I found
large spiders along my ceiling and all over in the bathroom. Those of you who know me know that I hate spiders with a flaming passion.
Following Gulu we traveled to Murchison Falls National Park along the Nile. Here we developed a flat tire in the middle of the park. We also had a run in with many a swarm of Titze flies. If you don't believe the saying that looks can be deceiving you have obviously never met a large swarm of these vicious flies. They look harmless and innocent but in all actuality they are biting beasts. This was the only the beginning of our wildlife adventures along the Nile. Giraffes. These are literally the most amazing animals in the world. Not only are they amazing they are also my favorite. And well our jeep safari proved a fruitful place to witness these majestic creatures. We saw over 100 Giraffes in the wild. Along with my favorite animal we saw water buffalo, warthogs, lions, elephants, lots of different types of antelope, birds, and an amazingly strange looking animal known as a Heartbeeste. Following our jeep safari we took a river boat up the Nile river to the base of Murchison Falls. We saw the airplane crash site of Earnest Hemingway, lots and lots of hippos and birds, more elephants, a few crocodiles and wonderful scenic views. At the base of the falls we disembarked the boat and hiked the arduous trail to the top of the falls. There we were greeted with cool mists from the cascading falls. It was incredible to be in a country where so many do not have any source of water then to stand by the top of the falls where 800 cubic meters of water fall per second. The following day we left the park and continued on our way to Lira.
In Lira we were greeted by some more hot weather and slow service at restaurants. Here a few of us were lucky enough to attend the Sunday services at the local branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The people were so welcoming. Here we worked at an orphanage, a women's center as well as a school for the deaf. At the Women's Center I did an eye clinic. Here I met a remarkable 76 year old woman (just so you know the average life expectancy is only about 52) I checked her eyes and gave her a pair of glasses. The first thing she wanted to do was to see if she could read her bible, well she could. The look of pure joy on her face when she looked up at me cannot be described. She spoke no English and I could not speak her language but I didn't need to, happiness and joy, exultation and gratitude are a universal language. It was then I really grew to appreciate the work we were doing.
Following Lira we traveled south past the equator, it literally felt like we were traveling into heaven. The weather was wonderfully cooler which was quite welcome after the heat we had experienced in the north. We spent two days at a school called Byana Mary Hill here we danced for hours with the kids in a classroom we learned some native dance style. Worn out and tired we returned to our hotel. After another day at this school we spent our final day of visits at God's Grace. It was a bittersweet feeling knowing we would not get to experience the welcoming feeling we had been given at all the previous locations.
We returned to the capital Kampala. Me Kami and Kelli went on an excursion to white water raft the Nile river. We rafted through rain and sunshine as well as some major rapids. On one of the class 5 rapids our boat flipped. Well we still had quite a ways to go through the rapids. I imagine that's how it would feel if you were stuck in a washing machine on the heavy cycle. Here we spent a day shopping for souvenirs. It was amazing to watch people create the wonderful things we were buying. Sooner than I though possible it was time to return home. 7 PM on June 5th we left the hotel Yovanni where we had been staying and drove to the airport. We took a 7 hour flight to Amsterdam through the night and arrived early in the morning only to find out that our flight to Detroit had been canceled. Soon we had been rerouted through Portland. This 11 1/2 hour flight was brutal. Thank heavens for in flight movies. I was stuck in a middle seat. That was terrible. We arrived in Portland and made our way through customs. Then we discovered that our flight to Salt Lake had been delayed about 2 hours. While waiting for our flight we heard a loud boom on the tarmac. There a military fighter jet caught on fire. Well the whole airport was shut down, no one coming no one leaving. Well we had no choice but to wait. And we waited, and waited, eight hours we waited. I was supposed to arrive in SLC at 2 in the afternoon on the 6th but did not land until 9 PM. (or early morning on the 7th in Kampala.)
Despite getting sick, almost dying in the Nile river rapids, and having my heart ripped out by a 2 month old baby girl who was an orphan I will never regret this wonderful opportunity.
(here is a
link to some pictures from my trip! )
