Weerabe and webale (goodbye and thank-you) Uganda!

As usual, when I’m about to leave somewhere I have a lot of mixed feelings. This week I’ve found myself vacillating between “I really don’t want to leave and wish I could just stay in Africa and travel for months”, and “I am so excited I’ll be somewhere with hot water in a week I could die.” In reality, I think 6 weeks here was just right. I’m leaving at a time when I’m still very sad to go, and I am going to miss Uganda and my host family terribly. I will definitely be upset to leave next Wednesday, but I think if I stayed much longer it would quickly turn to extreme homesickness.

I am so grateful I had this opportunity and got to “experience Africa”. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be back, I love Uganda and I can’t wait to see the rest of Africa some day. Although I haven’t really had the “epiphany” moment hippies always claim they get when they see people living in dirt huts, my perspectives have definitely been influenced. It is going to a bit of an adjustment going back to the US, and I’m actually quite glad I was only here for 6 weeks as far as readjusting goes. A friend of a friend who lived here for three months said she started bawling uncontrollably the first time she walked into a grocery store when she came back to the US. Though hopefully there won’t be any crying involved, I think I will see a lot of things with new eyes as well.

For instance, I am actually scandalized when I see people wearing shorts. I am so used to no one wearing anything above the knees that I’m probably going to have a heart attack going to the pool when I get home.

On a more serious note, I am also starting to understand why development is so difficult. I now truly believe that you can’t understand a third world country without living in one. There is just no way to describe it, it’s not that life is “so hard” or “primitive” or bla bla bla, rather it is just incredibly different. For instance, the idea that developing countries are “filthy.”. Well yes, Kampala is pretty dirty but it’s not because of the people or laziness or bad civic morals. The real cause is that there is no infrastructure to provide for trash collection. Because the streets are mostly not real streets, there’s no semblance of city planning or residential vs. business zoning and in general there’s just no way to drive garbage trucks up to most people’s homes, trash tends to accumulate. Basically, after more than a month here I’m only beginning to grasp the difficulties of developing and managing a “modern” state.

I also know that I am going to be incredibly grateful for a lot of things when I get back, not that I suffered here- because I certainly did not, my life was awesome and completely cushy. It’s more just a general appreciation of things like “Wow I can brush my teeth with the water!”

Since you’ve heard about all the things I love about Uganda, now it’s time for a few things that I’m happy to leave behind in Africa so you know I actually am excited to be back home:

1. I am incredibly sick of being sick. I don’t know if I have a parasite or worms (or something like that I can’t shake) or if I’m just sensitive, but I can’t wait to stop getting sick. I am going to pump myself so full of antibiotics when I get home that I’ll be sneezing penicillin.
2. Doing laundry by hand- it is going to be soooo nice to have a laundry machine.
3. Matooke (steamed plantains). A good diet staple sure, but I have eaten it nearly twice a day every day for more than a month and I’m nearing the point of revulsion.

4. Being lazy. I cannot wait to exercise. There is no way to exercise here or even do much physical activity, and since all I eat is starch and carbs I’m feeling pretty disgusting at this point.
5. Spoiled dairy products. Because electricity goes out, refrigeration goes out too, sending milk and other products in a weird flip-flop between 40 and 80 degrees. It is a really unpleasant surprise in the morning to pour milk in your tea and not realize it’s curdled until you’re drinking it.
6. Pollution. While the first week back at Pomona usually makes me cough, this time I won’t mind. LA’s air may actually be cleaner then Kampala’s, probably mostly because people don’t burn their trash on the side of the road there.
7. constant Lugandan. While I will miss hearing lugandan occasionally and I really enjoy the traditional greetings and pleasantries, I am going to relish being able to understand what people are saying. It gets a little frustrating after a while to always be a third wheel during conversation

8. having it be culturally acceptable to grab your arm/elbow and try to steer you towards something. I am so fed up with this! It’s never malicious and it has nothing to do with me being a whitey, merchants do it to everyone indiscriminately here. They’ll say something like “Sister, sister, come over here! This is very nice, you are so in a hurry, rushing rushing come and take a look sister, you are welcome!” while attempting to pull you over to their stall. a) Americans have a much larger personal space bubble than Ugandans b) I’m a germophobe and c)It’s just super annoying

Phew, it feels good to rant a bit. In reality, these things haven’t bothered me much until now, I think it’s just my countdown mentality setting it. Despite a few complaints, Uganda has been amazing, and it is truly a great country. I would recommend coming here to anyone (young or old, woman or man) in a heartbeat. I have never once felt unsafe, disliked, or even too stressed. Every Ugandan I’ve met has been friendly, helpful and hospitable and I can’t say enough good things about them.

To sum it all up: I love Africa! There is some indescribable quality to it that I really enjoy and I hope a few of you get to experience it at some point. I know that me bawling when I say my goodbyes here is unavoidable, but I am also really excited to get back home and have three relaxing weeks before school!

And just because writing that last bit made me sentimental here’s a list of things I’ll miss, and that you should look forward to if you ever visit:

1. the pineapple. It is seriously the best fruit I have ever had in my life. It doesn’t even taste like the pineapple we have in the US- it is in a completely different league. I actually think im going to be depressed the first time I have US pineapples again
2. fresh food. Everyone goes to market here on a daily, if not twice daily basis. Everything has just come in to the little markets on trucks and is so delicious and fresh.
3. politeness. There are at least 3 pleasantries before even superficial conversation can be attempted. Generally something along the lines of, “How are you? How was your sleep? Would you like some tea?” and an additional random inquiry about your day. There’s also a tradition of kneeling with downcast eyes in front of respected people you’re meeting. An old woman I was walking by the other day in Kampala actually stopped on the side of the road, knelt down and asked me how I was doing. Completely randomly. I nearly died of embarrassment and I still feel awful because I was walking along, not realizing what was going on and I failed to give her the appropriate response.
4. being called mzungu. I actually will miss it, it’s sort of fun knowing that your very presence amuses children to no end. It’s even better when I get to speak a little Lugandan to them and take them by surprise. They usually end up cracking up and then running away and hiding behind their mothers, who then mistakenly think I actually speak Luganda and try to talk to me. Fail.
5. cheapness. Today I bought a thank-you card, a coke and a 1.5 liter bottled water at pretty much the most upscale grocery in Kampala and it cost me less than $1.50. I am extremely cheap most of the time so I’m a big fan of Ugandan prices- it is going to kill me to pay more than $3 for an entire meal again.

6. to infinity: just ask me sometime

I get back August 05, and besides possibly spending a few days at Lake Okoboji, I don’t have any concrete plans so hopefully I get to see you all! (I don’t leave for Pomona until August 28th, so I have plenty of time)

Can’t wait to be state side again!
Kaitlyn

PS I actually need to come up with a Fulbright project proposal in those three relaxing weeks, so if anyone has any suggestions…

Weerabe and webale (goodbye and thank-you) Uganda!

As usual, when I’m about to leave somewhere I have a lot of mixed feelings. This week I’ve found myself vacillating between “I really don’t want to leave and wish I could just stay in Africa and travel for months”, and “I am so excited I’ll be somewhere with hot water in a week I could die.” In reality, I think 6 weeks here was just right. I’m leaving at a time when I’m still very sad to go, and I am going to miss Uganda and my host family terribly. I will definitely be upset to leave next Wednesday, but I think if I stayed much longer it would quickly turn to extreme homesickness.

I am so grateful I had this opportunity and got to “experience Africa”. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be back, I love Uganda and I can’t wait to see the rest of Africa some day. Although I haven’t really had the “epiphany” moment hippies always claim they get when they see people living in dirt huts, my perspectives have definitely been influenced. It is going to a bit of an adjustment going back to the US, and I’m actually quite glad I was only here for 6 weeks as far as readjusting goes. A friend of a friend who lived here for three months said she started bawling uncontrollably the first time she walked into a grocery store when she came back to the US. Though hopefully there won’t be any crying involved, I think I will see a lot of things with new eyes as well.

For instance, I am actually scandalized when I see people wearing shorts. I am so used to no one wearing anything above the knees that I’m probably going to have a heart attack going to the pool when I get home.

On a more serious note, I am also starting to understand why development is so difficult. I now truly believe that you can’t understand a third world country without living in one. There is just no way to describe it, it’s not that life is “so hard” or “primitive” or bla bla bla, rather it is just incredibly different. For instance, the idea that developing countries are “filthy.”. Well yes, Kampala is pretty dirty but it’s not because of the people or laziness or bad civic morals. The real cause is that there is no infrastructure to provide for trash collection. Because the streets are mostly not real streets, there’s no semblance of city planning or residential vs. business zoning and in general there’s just no way to drive garbage trucks up to most people’s homes, trash tends to accumulate. Basically, after more than a month here I’m only beginning to grasp the difficulties of developing and managing a “modern” state.

I also know that I am going to be incredibly grateful for a lot of things when I get back, not that I suffered here- because I certainly did not, my life was awesome and completely cushy. It’s more just a general appreciation of things like “Wow I can brush my teeth with the water!”

Since you’ve heard about all the things I love about Uganda, now it’s time for a few things that I’m happy to leave behind in Africa so you know I actually am excited to be back home:

1. I am incredibly sick of being sick. I don’t know if I have a parasite or worms (or something like that I can’t shake) or if I’m just sensitive, but I can’t wait to stop getting sick. I am going to pump myself so full of antibiotics when I get home that I’ll be sneezing penicillin.
2. Doing laundry by hand- it is going to be soooo nice to have a laundry machine.
3. Matooke (steamed plantains). A good diet staple sure, but I have eaten it nearly twice a day every day for more than a month and I’m nearing the point of revulsion.

4. Being lazy. I cannot wait to exercise. There is no way to exercise here or even do much physical activity, and since all I eat is starch and carbs I’m feeling pretty disgusting at this point.
5. Spoiled dairy products. Because electricity goes out, refrigeration goes out too, sending milk and other products in a weird flip-flop between 40 and 80 degrees. It is a really unpleasant surprise in the morning to pour milk in your tea and not realize it’s curdled until you’re drinking it.
6. Pollution. While the first week back at Pomona usually makes me cough, this time I won’t mind. LA’s air may actually be cleaner then Kampala’s, probably mostly because people don’t burn their trash on the side of the road there.
7. constant Lugandan. While I will miss hearing lugandan occasionally and I really enjoy the traditional greetings and pleasantries, I am going to relish being able to understand what people are saying. It gets a little frustrating after a while to always be a third wheel during conversation

8. having it be culturally acceptable to grab your arm/elbow and try to steer you towards something. I am so fed up with this! It’s never malicious and it has nothing to do with me being a whitey, merchants do it to everyone indiscriminately here. They’ll say something like “Sister, sister, come over here! This is very nice, you are so in a hurry, rushing rushing come and take a look sister, you are welcome!” while attempting to pull you over to their stall. a) Americans have a much larger personal space bubble than Ugandans b) I’m a germophobe and c)It’s just super annoying

Phew, it feels good to rant a bit. In reality, these things haven’t bothered me much until now, I think it’s just my countdown mentality setting it. Despite a few complaints, Uganda has been amazing, and it is truly a great country. I would recommend coming here to anyone (young or old, woman or man) in a heartbeat. I have never once felt unsafe, disliked, or even too stressed. Every Ugandan I’ve met has been friendly, helpful and hospitable and I can’t say enough good things about them.

To sum it all up: I love Africa! There is some indescribable quality to it that I really enjoy and I hope a few of you get to experience it at some point. I know that me bawling when I say my goodbyes here is unavoidable, but I am also really excited to get back home and have three relaxing weeks before school!

And just because writing that last bit made me sentimental here’s a list of things I’ll miss, and that you should look forward to if you ever visit:

1. the pineapple. It is seriously the best fruit I have ever had in my life. It doesn’t even taste like the pineapple we have in the US- it is in a completely different league. I actually think im going to be depressed the first time I have US pineapples again
2. fresh food. Everyone goes to market here on a daily, if not twice daily basis. Everything has just come in to the little markets on trucks and is so delicious and fresh.
3. politeness. There are at least 3 pleasantries before even superficial conversation can be attempted. Generally something along the lines of, “How are you? How was your sleep? Would you like some tea?” and an additional random inquiry about your day. There’s also a tradition of kneeling with downcast eyes in front of respected people you’re meeting. An old woman I was walking by the other day in Kampala actually stopped on the side of the road, knelt down and asked me how I was doing. Completely randomly. I nearly died of embarrassment and I still feel awful because I was walking along, not realizing what was going on and I failed to give her the appropriate response.
4. being called mzungu. I actually will miss it, it’s sort of fun knowing that your very presence amuses children to no end. It’s even better when I get to speak a little Lugandan to them and take them by surprise. They usually end up cracking up and then running away and hiding behind their mothers, who then mistakenly think I actually speak Luganda and try to talk to me. Fail.
5. cheapness. Today I bought a thank-you card, a coke and a 1.5 liter bottled water at pretty much the most upscale grocery in Kampala and it cost me less than $1.50. I am extremely cheap most of the time so I’m a big fan of Ugandan prices- it is going to kill me to pay more than $3 for an entire meal again.

6. to infinity: just ask me sometime

I get back August 05, and besides possibly spending a few days at Lake Okoboji, I don’t have any concrete plans so hopefully I get to see you all! (I don’t leave for Pomona until August 28th, so I have plenty of time)

Can’t wait to be state side again!
Kaitlyn

PS I actually need to come up with a Fulbright project proposal in those three relaxing weeks, so if anyone has any suggestions…

Weerabe and webale (goodbye and thank-you) Uganda!

As usual, when I’m about to leave somewhere I have a lot of mixed feelings. This week I’ve found myself vacillating between “I really don’t want to leave and wish I could just stay in Africa and travel for months”, and “I am so excited I’ll be somewhere with hot water in a week I could die.” In reality, I think 6 weeks here was just right. I’m leaving at a time when I’m still very sad to go, and I am going to miss Uganda and my host family terribly. I will definitely be upset to leave next Wednesday, but I think if I stayed much longer it would quickly turn to extreme homesickness.

I am so grateful I had this opportunity and got to “experience Africa”. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be back, I love Uganda and I can’t wait to see the rest of Africa some day. Although I haven’t really had the “epiphany” moment hippies always claim they get when they see people living in dirt huts, my perspectives have definitely been influenced. It is going to a bit of an adjustment going back to the US, and I’m actually quite glad I was only here for 6 weeks as far as readjusting goes. A friend of a friend who lived here for three months said she started bawling uncontrollably the first time she walked into a grocery store when she came back to the US. Though hopefully there won’t be any crying involved, I think I will see a lot of things with new eyes as well.

For instance, I am actually scandalized when I see people wearing shorts. I am so used to no one wearing anything above the knees that I’m probably going to have a heart attack going to the pool when I get home.

On a more serious note, I am also starting to understand why development is so difficult. I now truly believe that you can’t understand a third world country without living in one. There is just no way to describe it, it’s not that life is “so hard” or “primitive” or bla bla bla, rather it is just incredibly different. For instance, the idea that developing countries are “filthy.”. Well yes, Kampala is pretty dirty but it’s not because of the people or laziness or bad civic morals. The real cause is that there is no infrastructure to provide for trash collection. Because the streets are mostly not real streets, there’s no semblance of city planning or residential vs. business zoning and in general there’s just no way to drive garbage trucks up to most people’s homes, trash tends to accumulate. Basically, after more than a month here I’m only beginning to grasp the difficulties of developing and managing a “modern” state.

I also know that I am going to be incredibly grateful for a lot of things when I get back, not that I suffered here- because I certainly did not, my life was awesome and completely cushy. It’s more just a general appreciation of things like “Wow I can brush my teeth with the water!”

Since you’ve heard about all the things I love about Uganda, now it’s time for a few things that I’m happy to leave behind in Africa so you know I actually am excited to be back home:

1. I am incredibly sick of being sick. I don’t know if I have a parasite or worms (or something like that I can’t shake) or if I’m just sensitive, but I can’t wait to stop getting sick. I am going to pump myself so full of antibiotics when I get home that I’ll be sneezing penicillin.
2. Doing laundry by hand- it is going to be soooo nice to have a laundry machine.
3. Matooke (steamed plantains). A good diet staple sure, but I have eaten it nearly twice a day every day for more than a month and I’m nearing the point of revulsion.

4. Being lazy. I cannot wait to exercise. There is no way to exercise here or even do much physical activity, and since all I eat is starch and carbs I’m feeling pretty disgusting at this point.
5. Spoiled dairy products. Because electricity goes out, refrigeration goes out too, sending milk and other products in a weird flip-flop between 40 and 80 degrees. It is a really unpleasant surprise in the morning to pour milk in your tea and not realize it’s curdled until you’re drinking it.
6. Pollution. While the first week back at Pomona usually makes me cough, this time I won’t mind. LA’s air may actually be cleaner then Kampala’s, probably mostly because people don’t burn their trash on the side of the road there.
7. constant Lugandan. While I will miss hearing lugandan occasionally and I really enjoy the traditional greetings and pleasantries, I am going to relish being able to understand what people are saying. It gets a little frustrating after a while to always be a third wheel during conversation

8. having it be culturally acceptable to grab your arm/elbow and try to steer you towards something. I am so fed up with this! It’s never malicious and it has nothing to do with me being a whitey, merchants do it to everyone indiscriminately here. They’ll say something like “Sister, sister, come over here! This is very nice, you are so in a hurry, rushing rushing come and take a look sister, you are welcome!” while attempting to pull you over to their stall. a) Americans have a much larger personal space bubble than Ugandans b) I’m a germophobe and c)It’s just super annoying

Phew, it feels good to rant a bit. In reality, these things haven’t bothered me much until now, I think it’s just my countdown mentality setting it. Despite a few complaints, Uganda has been amazing, and it is truly a great country. I would recommend coming here to anyone (young or old, woman or man) in a heartbeat. I have never once felt unsafe, disliked, or even too stressed. Every Ugandan I’ve met has been friendly, helpful and hospitable and I can’t say enough good things about them.

To sum it all up: I love Africa! There is some indescribable quality to it that I really enjoy and I hope a few of you get to experience it at some point. I know that me bawling when I say my goodbyes here is unavoidable, but I am also really excited to get back home and have three relaxing weeks before school!

And just because writing that last bit made me sentimental here’s a list of things I’ll miss, and that you should look forward to if you ever visit:

1. the pineapple. It is seriously the best fruit I have ever had in my life. It doesn’t even taste like the pineapple we have in the US- it is in a completely different league. I actually think im going to be depressed the first time I have US pineapples again
2. fresh food. Everyone goes to market here on a daily, if not twice daily basis. Everything has just come in to the little markets on trucks and is so delicious and fresh.
3. politeness. There are at least 3 pleasantries before even superficial conversation can be attempted. Generally something along the lines of, “How are you? How was your sleep? Would you like some tea?” and an additional random inquiry about your day. There’s also a tradition of kneeling with downcast eyes in front of respected people you’re meeting. An old woman I was walking by the other day in Kampala actually stopped on the side of the road, knelt down and asked me how I was doing. Completely randomly. I nearly died of embarrassment and I still feel awful because I was walking along, not realizing what was going on and I failed to give her the appropriate response.
4. being called mzungu. I actually will miss it, it’s sort of fun knowing that your very presence amuses children to no end. It’s even better when I get to speak a little Lugandan to them and take them by surprise. They usually end up cracking up and then running away and hiding behind their mothers, who then mistakenly think I actually speak Luganda and try to talk to me. Fail.
5. cheapness. Today I bought a thank-you card, a coke and a 1.5 liter bottled water at pretty much the most upscale grocery in Kampala and it cost me less than $1.50. I am extremely cheap most of the time so I’m a big fan of Ugandan prices- it is going to kill me to pay more than $3 for an entire meal again.

6. to infinity: just ask me sometime

I get back August 05, and besides possibly spending a few days at Lake Okoboji, I don’t have any concrete plans so hopefully I get to see you all! (I don’t leave for Pomona until August 28th, so I have plenty of time)

Can’t wait to be state side again!
Kaitlyn

PS I actually need to come up with a Fulbright project proposal in those three relaxing weeks, so if anyone has any suggestions…

Elephants, instant best friends, food poisoning twice in one week, Jinja, and my future career

I loved this week. Amazing. This was my vacation, the only break I've taken while I'm here, and it was spectacular. I went on a three day safari and then to Jinja (super touristy/fun/safe city famous for being the “source of the Nile”) and then white water rafting. It was too much fun to even describe fully here, so I'll save most of it for when I'm back home and can tell you in person. (oh, and my food poisoning wore off before I left which was a God send!) The main lesson I learned this week is that 75% of "western" people travelling in third world countries are the best and most friendly people you will ever meet. I made a lot of friends in just 5 days and felt a genuine comradare with most of them.

As I said last time, I was headed to gorgeous Murchison Falls national park for safari, but I was a little nervous to start because I was going alone. Obviously I had checked out the company before hand and it was totally safe, in reality I was more scared of being a total loner and eating by myself in the corner for 3 days straight. But it turned out I had a great group of people! I travelled with an American family with a son and daughter both around my age who pretty much adopted me and a British/Bulgarian couple (along with the husband's dad) who were very smarmy and British and hilarious.

The first day we drove up to Murchison (7 hour drive) and then went on a hike up to the Nile and the Murchison waterfalls when we arrived. It was beautiful and so intimidating; I cannot believe that that much water even exists. It is hard to describe, when I get back and have decent Internet connection I'll post some video I took so you can really get an idea what it was like. Supposedly it is the densest waterfall in Africa (most liters of water per sq. m) so it was very loud and awe-inspiring. Because it gets dark at about 7pm here that was pretty much the first day; we went to back to "base camp" and had dinner and crashed because we were going on safari at 6:30am the next morning!

The second day was busy and even more amazing. We crossed the Nile on a ferry and started our game drive bright and early. We got to see so many amazing animals- hippos, baboons, monkeys, so many beautiful and rare birds, a million types of deer/antelope, herds of giraffe, elephants, water buffalo, a glimpse of a lion, and about a thousand warthogs. The only thing I was disappointed with is that the car in front of us got to see a lioness and her two cubs (very briefly) before they ran away and hid. My car was like 2 yards behind and we JUST missed them, so that was a bummer :( . Everything else was brochure-level perfect, we even got to get out and "stretch our legs" about 30 yards from a group of giraffe. After lots of pictures and about 6 hours driving around the preserve we headed back to camp for lunch and then went out again for a cruise down the Nile to Murchison Falls.

Think relaxing boat cruise but... on the Nile! with hundreds of hippos! and crocodiles! and baby elephants! and the densest waterfall in Africa! In summation, it was great. Half the time I was just kicking back relaxing looking at the beautiful scenery and the other half I was super excited clicking a million photos and freaking out over elephants. Probably the best way to spend a summer afternoon that I can think of. Again, with the sun setting at 7pm and after a long day we were all ready to head back to camp and eat. Which we did, around a campfire, which was really fun. Because the third day we didn't have to get up until 8:00 am (yipee!) everyone wanted to stay up and party for a while. The safari camps in Africa tend to be really fun hang-out spots with very easy-going staff and visitors, and in addition to my group there were about 4 other groups of 7 or 8 people. So everyone was just hanging out, telling great stories and drinking $1 beers around the campfire. I made really good friends with the Bulgarian woman on the trip and learned so much about Bulgaria and the EU (which she works for). It is so amazing how close you can feel with someone after only 2 days! Another bonus of this- her husband is a professional photographer, and he is going to post all of his far superior photos on his website! I wrote down his info somewhere and will definitely post it later so you can check out some really beautiful safari pics if you're bored. Because he's a professional he sells his photos rather than sharing them on Flicker or something :( , but I'm hoping because we hit it off so well maybe he'll give me a discount if there are some really good ones!

And so began the third and final day. We left Murchison at around 9am and drove until noon to get to Ziwa rhino sanctuary where we were going to track rhinos. We didn't get to end up tracking the whole herd because there were some uh romantic interludes going on, instead we went after a mama rhino and her baby. It was sooo cool (about the 50th time I’ve said that I know, I’m sorry). The baby rhino was named Obama (they LOVE him here, there is even a cologne named after him) and I'm blanking on the mom's name, they were like awkwardly adorable tanks. It was surreal seeing these animals in their natural habitat and thinking- holy crap this is an actual animal that nature came up with. They just do not seem real. We got within about 20 yards (that's really really close by the way) and then had a brief charging false alarm and the guides made us run away for a bit. But we got to come back and watch the rhinos for another half hour. It was an amazing experience and I am so grateful that I got to see these animals in their natural setting instead of just at the Henry Doorly Zoo.

After getting rained on as we walked back, we all got back in our car very sad that the safari was over and headed back to Kampala. Unfortunately, the nice mzungu restaurant that we were supposed to eat lunch at was closed and we had to stop by a roadside place for food, which was later to haunt me. After getting back to Kampala the American family I met took me and a British girl they also semi-adopted out to an amazing Indian restaurant. We all ate a full Indian dinner and it was delicious. This was by far the nicest restaurant I've been to in Kampala and it was a really pleasant way to end the week and say goodbye to new friends. (Oh by the way even though this place was CLASSY- my whole dinner cost $8 USD). Little did I know I was going to regret overindulging very very soon. Because I was taking the company's free shuttle to Jinja the next morning and I had just come back from safari, I cashed in on a free night at the hotel so I wouldn't have to make my host family pick me up and then drop me off again 9hrs later. After saying my goodbyes to my safari group I headed to bed only to wake up at 2am with a very unpleasant sensation. A lot of vomiting up a lot of Indian food later I went back to bed and vowed to never eat anything from this godforsaken country ever again.

Surprisingly, I was almost fully recovered by 8am the next morning in time to catch the free shuttle to Jinja in order to meet up with a friend from Pomona. All I ate that day was toast and banana bread, but still a pretty impressive turn around for food poisoning.

I would highly recommend Jinja to anyone who ever goes to Uganda. Which will be approximately 1 or maybe 2 people who read this blog. But still. It was very laid back, basically the opposite of Kampala. Think going from Harlem during rush hour to a farmer’s market in Portland. I am attempting this analogy because I want to convey Jinja’s, abundance of: white people, rich white people, NGOs, craft stalls, grad school students (aka rich white people), and overall pointless money wasting diversions. In summation, it was great. I got to hang out with Claire (my Pomona friend) and people from the NGO she’s been working with and we relaxed, went out to eat and did our souvenir shopping. I was fully prepared to repeat that schedule the next day, but Claire and about 200 other people kept telling me that I HAD to raft down the Nile if I was in Jinja (they had just done it). Of course, this was always prefaced by how terrifying it was and how many times the enthusiast’s raft had flipped, so I was getting some mixed signals. After some nervous debate and flip-flopping I decided to sign up for all-day Class 5 white water rafting on the Nile. Yikes!

I could not have had more fun rafting. I met a great group of 3 people on the bus ride to the launch site and we instantly became friends, they actually knew people who had just graduated from the Claremont Colleges! Also joining our group was a random Belgium guy and a Dutch couple, and to top it off our instructor Rich. To put it lightly, I was pretty much obsessed with the Nile and within an hour I was basically bff (that’s best friends forever for you old people) with our guide, who is an Oberlin grad that teaches English in Bulgaria during the school year and is a rafting instructor in the summer. At one point he told me I should consider coming to work there next summer and then let me navigate the raft. I completely sucked and had no idea what I was doing- but it was awesome and I learned four basic navigation strokes. Not going to lie, the possibility of rafting on the Nile every day for a summer and getting paid for it doesn't sound too shabby. Not to worry mom and dad I won't actually do this...probably (they also need horseback safari leaders…)

I was “pace setter” for a good chunk of the trip which means I was in the front left seat and everyone paddles on my cue/keeps pace with me. It was really cool, but is also a pretty vulnerable position. I fell out of the raft in Class 5 rapids twice and it was SICK (which is a good thing for those not familiar with California lingo). The nice thing about rafting in the Nile is that unlike the rivers in the US (think Colorado) the river is really really deep. As in 50 feet deep throughout most of the river, it’s also a half mile wide in a lot of places. This translates into no scary rocks that you’re worried about smashing your head against. So when you fall out in the rapids there is A LOT of water, I’m talking 10-foot waves, but they’re created by rocks 40 feet under you, so there’s absolutely no danger of hitting them. So if you keep calm you’ll be thrown around by waves for a bit, but you’ll always pop right back up! On the last rapids I went flying and was probably under for a good 6 seconds. Which doesn't sound like long- but you try holding your breath through rapids.

I loved every minute of it even though today my body is screaming out in pain. I cannot remember the last time I was this sore, they really make you paddle for about 4/7 hours. Rafting was seriously as fun as the safari though, and if anyone reading gets the chance- do it!!

Sidenote: The only thing I disliked about this week, I am COVERED in mosquito (Luganda= insidii) bites. They are driving me insane, I think I have 50 on my legs alone. Good thing I’m taking anti-malarial meds!

Much love and I’ll see you in a week (already!!! I can’t believe it!!!)

Beethoven is a great film in any language!

So it’s been a few days since Ive updated: chalk it up to only having power a few hours a day and very bad internet at home! I don’t’ have much to say in this post- nothing too exciting has happened in the past couple days. But expect a good post next week because I’m going on safari!

Yay! I’m really excited, my trip will consist of Murchison Falls, the Nile Delta, a game preserve, a boat trip on the Nile and rhino tracking! I’ll be sure to take a ton of pictures- hopefully there’s somewhere I can recharge a camera as I’m sure ill use up my whole battery the first day…

This week I’ve done a few interviews, went to Lake Victoria on Saturday and ate a whole deep fried tilapia with “chips”, and visited Maureen’s family. I also misguidedly ate some chicken that is not being so kind to me…

My host family is generally really good about remembering that I’m white and have a very weak constitution compared to them, but occasionally they forget. Sunday we went to visit Maureen’s sister who owns a small general store type thing and we sat out on the porch and drank beer and watched Beethoven in Luganda (surreal). As usual no one could say my name and even Kate wasn’t going over so well. After repeating it about 10 times they gave up and gave me a name in Lugandan. I can’t remember it right now, but I’ll have to ask Ivan and post it later. Basically they picked a Buganda tribe for me and then a common name from that tribe, it means “something precious” in Lugandan. Lol. Anyway, I was having a really good time and after we had been sitting there for a while everyone was insisting that I eat something. I refused at first, but in Uganda people seriously do not let it go, you basically have to let them give you food or they say that you have an ‘unhealthy appetite’ or that you’re sick or whatever. It’s especially rude to refuse food the first time you go to someone’s house. So they sent an errand boy to go buy roast chicken for everyone up the street. I should have realized then that I was screwed. But unfortunately just at that moment Beethoven was causing some hilarious mayhem and I was distracted from the white person in Africa cardinal rule “never ever eat anything you haven’t seen prepared with your own eyes.”

In summation I am not feeling so well today, but keep your fingers crossed that I’m better in time to chase down some zebras!

More about Lake Victoria (which is beautiful) and my safari for next post!

Adios,
Kaitlyn

On a lighter note...

I am in awe of Ugandan media, and not for its flawless sophistication. Inaccurate news broadcasts, dubbed telenovelas, low low low budget music videos, commercials and TV shows, terribly produced and edited educational DVDs- they have it all!

I decided this issue needed to be addressed while watching an educational video with Jeremiah. It was supposed to be a DVD of traditional American sing-a-longs. Out of 20, I think I had maybe heard of two. When the screen announced “The song of the bc s” I was particularly confused. After a few seconds it became apparent that they had meant “the alphabet”. Well, sort of. They had the ABCDEF part right, but after that it was just a mess. Missing J’s, Us Vs and Ws out of order, and completely the wrong tune had me laughing hysterically throughout the whole thing.

Mary had a little lamb, old mcdonald had a farm and I think something that was supposed to be a Christmas carol were also redonkulous. Not only are the sung-out-loud lyrics to each song wrong, but they didn’t even match up to the inaccuracy of the sing-along words appearing on screen. Thank God Jeremiah can’t read or understand much English or he would be a complete idiot by now. Besides the ‘song of the bc s’ there are many many other equally disturbing gems on that DVD that I hope to bring back and introduce to American children.

In other news, my favorite commercial here is for a local physician. It is about 2 minutes long and features graphic pictures of skin diseases, parasites and infections as well as “candid” moments with the doctor examining patients in an office. But the real reason it’s the best is because throughout, the “Lord of the Rings” theme plays. For those of you who aren’t nerds, trust me you would still recognize it from a mile away, I guess copyright laws don’t apply if you’re pretty sure Howard Shore and Peter Jackson will never see your ad.

As far as soaps, there are the telenovelas and the Ugandan low-budget soaps. Personally, Bukkede TV’s self-produced Luganda soaps are just a little too high-brow for my taste. I can’t be positive but I think they lost me when one character spent 90 seconds on screen peeling and eating 2 bananas. I am not using hyperbole here people- the camera really focused on him for a solid minute and a half while he ate the bananas. Nothing else happened at all. I think I just don’t appreciate true art. I much prefer my Spanish/English/Luganda dubbed telenovelas- because one they have some English instead of just luganda and two they are completely narrated. Instead of just translating the Spanish dialogue to Luganda, these shows are also submitted to a constant stream of narration (always the same male voice) just in case you can’t comprehend the twisting plots turns (or maybe it’s for visually impaired fans, who knows). So you get dialogue in English and Luganda but also narration that says insightful things like “she angrily looked in the telephone book.” So far I’m undecided if my favorite telenovela is Mi Pecado or The Long Wait. On the one hand, Mi Pecado's male lead looks like a Mexican Bradley Cooper… but the Long Wait has a villainess with the most plucked eyebrows I have ever scene AND a secret assassin! I suppose I’ll just have to keep watching and let you know which I decide on.

On a positive note I genuinely do enjoy Lugandan music, I understand about 1 out of every 20 words, but the tune is generally pretty catchy. My favorite is “Ameria” by Dr. Linderman, although something called “Oli Oli” (sp?) may overtake it soon.

In summation: I will do my best to buy some bootleg DVD’s of Ugandan TV shows and music videos so you can all enjoy!

Also, a call for souvenir requests! Seriously, I mean it. I would much rather get you that painting or carved wooden giraffe or whatever cute African thing you’ve always wanted instead of just buying random stuff! Side note: things are like 0.50 here. More than 5 USD is a ridiculously jacked up price, so it’s not going to break the bank if you request something special! Let me know if you like any of the following ideas: scarves, hand woven baskets, wood carvings, woven purses and wallets, key chains, little pots, beaded jewelry, hand-made sandals, paintings, drums… and no Diana I don’t think they sell dog accessories here, so Bentley will have to make do with a human necklace you turn into a collar yourself.

I'm totally safe!

Hey everyone,

I wanted to put a quick post out there letting you all know that I'm safe and completely unaffected by last night's bombings. I was actually asleep when they happened (around 11pm my time) and didn't find out about them until I woke up this morning! I hope no one worried about me too much. And don't be stressed, I'm taking every precaution for the rest of my time here, staying away from large gatherings etc. Also, I live a while away from where the bombings happened, they were in the "going out" district rather than somewhere residential, so don't let that worry you either.

I'll post something more soon, but my internet is not working very well right now (great timing, huh?) so I wanted to get something short up while I still have a semblance of a connection!