I’ve been unable to use internet for the past many
days. Friday morning was a mad rush to
finish all my work, since I had a feeling I wouldn’t have time in the afternoon
before Shabbat. I somehow managed to
finish before the women showed up (with all the kids staring at me and watching
what I was doing). I also got everything
onto the hard drive just before my laptop died! (Though I freaked out later
when Marjani said she couldn’t find my work and I wasn’t using my computer
anymore… thankfully she somehow just missed it).
Work was rather sad.
We all just sat around chatting (and the alumni women brought more beads
for us to buy… obviously). The new women
also showed up again, except for two of them, which was nice. I also went into the office for a bit to chat
with the women who had translated for us.
They asked if they came to the states if they’d turn lighter like we
turned darker out here… not sure it works that way. When our time was about done, the women did
this really nice thank you, where they say “Suya suya” and then say things
they’re thanking you for (though we didn’t understand most), while rubbing
their hands together in circles. It’s a
repeat after me type thing, and Elizabeth lead it. When they finish with the suyas, they clap to
a rhythm (one two three, one two three, and then hold both hands out towards
the person they’re thanking). It was
really nice.
We then got into a circle and Martha lead a prayer for all
of us. Most of it was nice, about how we
should travel safely and hopefully come back and we’ll hopefully all see each
other again. Some was a bit
uncomfortable for me since it was pretty Christian. But it was a really nice idea.
Goodbyes were really tough, but I managed to hold it
together. Then Martha wanted to bring us
to her home one last time to say bye to her kids too. We decided to wait around a bit though,
wanting to say bye to the kids at the school.
Marjani, Jack, and I stood on the steps waiting for them to finish their
end of day talks, and Jessica stood at the bottom. When they finished, they stampeded us. It was like the scene from Lion King (which,
by the way, we watched out here—took the place of the safari we didn’t go on).
They were all sweet saying goodbye, and it was really hard
holding in my tears. Once I saw Jessica
crying, I lost it. Marjani did too. It had been all I could do not to cry all
day, and I couldn’t hold it all in anymore.
A few of the kids teared up too, and Rebecca, one of the girls I’ve
gotten to know, wouldn’t hug me since she was mad I was leaving (I finally made
her). A bunch of the kids walked with us
to Martha’s, and said bye again.
At Martha’s her daughter wrote us all a really sweet note,
and Martha gave us all bracelets and notes.
It was really nice being able to say goodbye in a calmer scene.
We then headed out, stopping by Esther’s since she
apparently managed to buy a new house! (Unsure if it’s bought or rented but
it’s really nice and pretty big, especially compared to her old house). As her young daughter pointed out, she even
has a tv now! It was incredibly exciting
to see the difference the money has already made for her.
She then joined us and we headed on to Veronica’s, where of
course she’d prepared dinner for us all.
My sweet mukwano (friend). She
had also made me a necklace as a gift, which was very different from all the
other necklaces.
Leaving was so hard, of course we took final pictures, and
then Meredith and I hopped on our last boda out of Namatala, and everyone else
got on others. As we were leaving,
Veronica, Martha, and Esther stood in the doorway to the shops Veronica is
building, and all three waved goodbye until we could no longer see them. I don’t think anyone caught it on photo, but
maybe it’s better that way. It’s one of
those things I don’t think we’ll ever forget.
It was the perfect goodbye.
Back at the casa, our last night, we had major struggles
with power, which was awful timing since the other girls were trying to finish
up their work. It was also annoying
since I was hoping for a hot shower for my last at the casa, and while it was
hot for a minute, the power then suddenly shut off, leaving me in the dark with
cold water running that I couldn’t turn off since I couldn’t see. So much for that shower…. And packing was a struggle since the room
got so dark… Daniel, the painter, also
made us a bit nervous, not giving us our paintings until very last minute (mine
ended up being on paper even though I’d thought it would be on canvas. It’s beautiful, but I still wish it was on
canvas)
At some point we all gave up for a bit, and Jessica, Avery,
Meredith, and I went up to the roof to look at the stars since the power in the
city was off so it was extra dark, meaning extra starry. It was so relaxing just looking at all of the
stars, making us all feel so small.
The next morning we got up early to finish all the last
minute packing, and headed out early. It
was hard saying bye to the staff at the casa, since we’d become part of the
family. They’d told us to be at the 11
am bus by 9 am, since it generally just leaves when it’s full, not actually at
the time it’s supposed to leave. Turns
out this one left when it was supposed to leave, so we were just sitting for 2
hours which was pretty annoying, though I guess it’s better than risking missing
it.
For once, a seat was a seat, and we weren’t too
squished. It was sad leaving Mbale for
the last time, though of course beautiful watching the landscape as we
drove. It will never cease to amaze me.
Along the way we made a pit stop, where if you needed the
bathroom you just went behind bushes.
That was interesting. We also
stopped at a few places where venders held food up to the windows so you could
purchase food and drinks out the windows.
One guy who Jessica bought a soda from handed us a love note with it.
Weird?
As we drove into Kampala, we realized we saw tons of people
in Uganda jerseys, blowing horns, covered in face paint, wearing masks and
scarves, and we realized there was a futball game that day. Turns out it was in Tanzania, but I think
they set up big screens in the stadiums so people went to watch there. It was fun seeing all of the country
unite. Venders even started coming up to
the windows with jerseys, horns, and flags for sale.
Other than that, which was cool, Kampala seemed very crowded
and overwhelming. Maybe it was just
because we’d gotten used to Mbale, but I think I’m glad we were there and not
Kampala for 2 months. There was also
TONS of exhaust in the air, enough to give Avery a headache.
Anyway we got to this really nice guest house, (I can’t
remember the name…) which was recommended to us. We treated ourselves to a pretty nice dinner
that night, with a great view of Lake Victoria, and the airport. It was weird being so close and not yet
leaving.
Oh, I can finally say this, Nile Special, a Ugandan beer, is
actually quite good, and I would recommend it.
Tusker, a Kenyan beer, is also really good. Waragi, a Ugandan gin, is wayyyy too alcoholic
for me (and everyone else I know who has tried it. None of us enjoy it and thankfully only had a
tiny taste).
It was nice to have a relaxing evening at the guest house
and just sit around with the girls talking.
In the morning we had a really nice breakfast, each getting our own
plates of toast and eggs. We’d just
expected one plate for everyone like usual.
It was great.
And then we were off, to begin what became yet another
adventure.
We got to the landing where we would get picked up to go to
the island. We got there (squished in
the car yet again), and saw the boat out in the water.
Meredith, Chanel, Stephanie, Jessica, Pelin, Avery, and Kelsey squished into the car
Some guys started taking our stuff to the
boat (wading up to their wastes), and then came over and stared picking US up
and bring us to the boat too! It was a
bit surprising and crazy, but they got us there safely (it was a bit annoying
having them all say we were heavy, don’t offer to carry us then complain).
Kelsey being carried
It was a pretty long ride, around 2 hours. At one point the water was pretty much lime
green, which was a bit disconcerting.
Another time the boat got caught on a net, and the captain had to get it
out of the motor. We also went by a dead
floating fish, which we stopped and the captain picked up (I’m pretty sure it
ended up being our dinner that night).
We finally got to the island, with a rocky beach and a
family welcoming us, along with five dogs.
Avery and Ms. B.
The place is owned by Andrew, a 40 something year old Australian guy. When people said they didn't eat fish, he asked if it was because of allergies or because they didn't like it, and when everyone admitted it was because they didn't like it, he convinced us all to just give it a try. I found out we were eating Nile Perch, which I can eat, and it was delicious. All weekend the food was awesome, from samosas (fish or veggie), to lasagna to fish and chips.
We had ordered a dorm room, but Andrew thought we'd prefer the guest houses and tents... he clearly didn't know our group. Personally, I thought the guest houses were nicest, but most of the girls opted for the dorm room when they saw it. Thankfully it could only take 5, so Avery, Jessica, and I took a guest house/cabin right on the beach. There was a bathroom with 3 toilets and 3 showers, but the showers were pretty gross and only cold. There was also an outdoor shower, with only walls, no roof, so you were basically standing in the rainforest showering. That one was a hot shower, since at 4 Andrew would light a fire under a bin of water, and then you'd fill the tank with hot and cold water to make it the right temperature (and hope that you didn't run out of water halfway through the shower, as happened to a few of the other girls.
The kitchen and dining room were cute, with a great view. During dinner one night we saw a stand off between a gecko and a spider. I have never seen a lizard so stealthy. It was literally sneaking up on the spider, moving one leg at a time so slowly at points you weren't sure it was moving. Unfortunately for the gecko, the spider bolted, and the gecko only got a tiny fly, not nearly as satisfying a meal.
The kitchen/dining room building
There was another building, the "castle", which we learned was home to a cobra (thankfully we did not learn by personal experience). We were told if we saw it not to move and it would go away, but there's a way to scare people.
However, the roof was supposedly a great spot to watch sunset. Pelin and I went up the second night, and while it was pretty, I think I've seen prettier (it helps when you can actually see the horizon)
Pelin watching sunset from the roof of the castle
The first day was just a lazy one, laying on the beach, sitting and reading, playing games. When night came, we had a really nice bonfire. While we were sitting there, the smallest dog started barking. He's apparently the alarm for if a hippo is nearby. Turns out the hippo was close by in the water, but sadly we could only see his eyes.
Watching the fishermen use lanterns to attract fish at night as we sat at our bonfire
Monday I accidentally woke up really early and managed to catch the sunrise! Exciting but exhausting.
When everyone else got up, we decided to venture to the other side of the island with John, the American who has been staying on the island and helping out lately. Jessica, Avery, and I wore dresses, knowing we'd be going to a village, but not thinking of the walk/hike over there. Did I mention the island has HUGE spiders (almost as big as the ones I saw in Cairns, Queensland, Australia), so on the walk over we passed tons of them. There were also ants that apparently if you step on them they attack, but thankfully we were all smart enough to step over them despite no one warning us.
Jessica at the top of the island
Anyway walking into the village was cool. Since we were on an island it's obviously a fishing village, a bit different than the ones we've encountered.
Entering the village
The catch of the day
We went over to the boats, and found they had caught a HUGE Nile perch
John holding the perch
I know, you've all just been wondering what it looks like inside a perch mouth, well now you know!
We ended up with a big group of kids following us (as usual) so we went with them towards the beach and the skipped rocks and we played a bit. Talk about pro rock skippers... They had an unfair advantage.
A guy offered to give us a ride back, which was nice since not only did we not have to walk, but we got to see another view of the island.
The afternoon was full of more relaxing, boating, swimming, and playing board games.
Chanel sailing with John
Black kite
It was a nice afternoon, but evening got annoying. Andrew kept making fun of us for being Americans and for being girls. He loved trying to freak everyone out. When we went to the bonfire, he threw on a huge branch, purposely making all the fly/moth things scatter and end up all over us. While he thought it was funny, it was pretty unpleasant having those things fly down my shirt, and made me and everyone else pretty frustrated. Then, before bed, he told us a horror story about girls waking up with 2 green mambos (snakes) in their room (wrapped in their clothes). Considering that it was clear it had to be in one of the cabins, my roommates were freaked all night, and none of the three of us slept well (I was also being eaten alive by ants). It was annoying how a place that was so fun during the day was so bad at night, and it tainted most of our experiences. The place itself could also just use some fixing up and cleaning....
When we woke up Tuesday we were all a bit fed up and just ready to leave. The water was also choppier Tuesday, and there were some dark clouds, so we just wanted to get going and beat a storm if it was coming. The boat ride wasn't bad, but we got pretty wet from sea spray this time, and it was pretty chilly. We were all glad to be back on land.
As we pulled up, we expected that the guys would carry us again, but this was HORRIBLE. We were pulling in, and all these guys charged the boat, sticking their hands in the sides trying to pull us out. After a bit I finally found a guy who wasn't so grabby and let him take me. Pelin was pissed and she and Chanel made them let them go on their own. Turns out we were only up to our ankles, and just didn't realize it. It was really annoying and quite a ripoff since they charged us.
Anyway needless to say we were all glad to check into our hostel, the Entebbe Backpackers. It was fine, nothing special. We found a cute place like Kapkwata (our favorite local place in Mbale), but more expensive unfortunately. It was good for a meal so close to the end to be local food though.
Then we went shopping yet again, and I finally bought my jersey, and Pelin, Meredith and I walked back since we had nothing to do all afternoon. We ended up exploring a bit and found an Italian place where we made a reservation for our last dinner.
When Marjani and Jack showed up we all went out for a drink then headed to the restaurant. It was a really nice final meal together, with lots of laughter and memories.
We had an annoying ride home, when our drivers totally ripped us off. We then spent the evening just hanging around chatting and saying goodbyes, and watching the futball game that was on (I forget who was playing... Barcelona and someone else). It was weird saying final goodbyes to Marjani and Jack, since they were leaving so early in the morning. Avery and Stephanie also left early.
The rest of us had a relaxed morning, rearranging and repacking, and then headed to a cute place (Anne's Corner?) for lunch. We also picked up malaria pills (no the preventative kind, the cure ones), so that if anyone ends up getting malaria back home, the pills would cost less (they were less than $4).
Pelin, Jessica, and I then had to say our goodbyes to everyone else and hustle out. Thankfully we'd asked the driver to come earlier than we'd wanted, since he was 15 minutes late anyway. Security at the airport was much easier than we'd anticipated, and we ended up with about an hour in the airport, but thankfully we were together. I wanted to buy a book but after the prices I was used to, $20 for a book seemed outrageous.
We couldn't end up sitting together, though Pelin was the seat in front of me. I ended up watching great movies (42 is my new favorite, I loved it and really want to read books on Jackie now too. The guy next to me and I talked a bit, his parents are Ugandan and his dad left him land there, but he was born and raised in London. He's a tennis instructor for kids with special needs, which sounded cool, but he wants to go back to school to start designing sports clothing. Interesting story. I also inspired him to watch 42 since he saw how much I liked it. I wasn't so subtle with my emotions watching that one.
When we landed in Dubai, Jessica, Pelin, and I went to Ben's Cookies, a place Pelin had checked out on her way to Uganda. Basically you buy a coffee and it comes with a huge cookie, aka DELICIOUS! We each got a different cookie so we could split, and it was great to just sit comfortably and chat and eat. We then got bored and started walking around to shops and guessing what things would cost. It was a surprisingly fun game. We found a toy section too which was fun for us:
Jessica and Pelin trying on Barbie sunglasses
It was a fun airport trip. Thankfully Jessica took a last look at her ticket, since it turned out we were all watching the wrong gate for her, and she was actually supposed to be in another terminal, so we said a very quick goodbye and Pelin went with her to make sure she made it.
And then I was alone for the first time in 2 months. It was a weird feeling (and I couldn't even pick up internet). I also hadn't slept in who knows how many hours but wasn't tired enough to sleep yet (in total I was awake for 38 hours I believe before I took a half hour nap).
The next flight was lonely and boring. You know it's bad when it's boring to watch movies.
When I landed I was looking forward to no more frustrations, since I'd had my fill since we left Mbale, but then we landed and it took extra long to unload the plane, and my phone was unexpectedly not working, so I couldn't even find out if my sister was there waiting already. My bags were then some of the last to come out, and in a flight that big, that means I waited an hour for my bags. I was also incredibly dirty, and people kept pushing me, when I really just wanted a bit of personal space.
FINALLY I left and found my mom and sister waiting for me, very easy to find. Thank goodness.
Since then, I've been struggling to readjust to air conditioning, that one's been pretty tough for me, I prefer just having windows open right now. It's also weird having so many possessions. I obviously didn't bother bringing that many out with me, so it's weird coming home and having so much, and I've gone into major cleaning/ give away mode. I also don't see the need to buy so much, like I went shopping and it was fun trying things on, but I didn't feel that I needed any of them enough to actually pay for them, so I left them all.
It's nice being able to eat whenever I feel like it, and to have such variety in my food. On the other hand, it was nice how fresh all the food was in Uganda and how little was processed. Power and water are nice, too, not worrying they might just go out suddenly. I also love drinking tap water and not needing to buy water bottles. And the roads! Thank goodness.
Becca got in touch with me and asked if I'm happy being home and seeing my friends, and I must admit, while it's great seeing my friends here, I now miss my friends in Uganda. You can never have both, can you?
Well, that's all for now. Thanks to everyone who read, sorry if it was too long or anything, and as usual, please feel free to ask any questions. I really appreciate all of the support I've gotten, first to get to Uganda, then while I was there. It was a lot of work, but well worth it. I grew as a photographer, but even more, I grew as a person. I met great people, who I already miss dearly, and cannot thank them enough, both the other fellows and 1000 Shillings staff, and the women we worked with, and all of the other wonderful Ugandans I met along the way. I truly hope I can go back and visit my friends there sometime, and in the meantime I hope I keep my promise to write.
Thanks again for everyone's support! Jambo!
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