Final Full Day...

 Wednesday June 6^th 9:45 pm

Today, we met the youngest king in the world. Our morning started at 7:45 when we went to MUBS for our final breakfast there. They actually had scrambled eggs, which even though they were lukewarm, was a highlight of my breakfast. Then we loaded up the bus to head to his palace.

He is the king of Toro, which he inherited at age 5 when his father died. He’s currently 19 (maybe 20) and has an extremely nice home that we visited and an even nicer palace that we didn’t see.  He talked to us briefly and then one of the elders also gave us a brief lecture. It was really funny to see someone our age who was a king, in fact he told us he had an xbox game paused and was waiting for us to leave so he could finish playing.

After meeting the king we went back to MUBS for our final meal there. After the typical noodles, potatoes, and fruit, we made our final preparations for the presentation. Then we went to a room where each group made their final presentations. While some were a recap of our trip and others talked about more serious academic components, it truly was a nice way to wrap up our trip. They then presented us with certificates of participation and our study seminar officially came to an end.

To more or less celebrate, we went out to dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant. Maryna and I shared ravioli and a pizza and then finished our night off with gelato. Now we are back at Red Chilli, packing and doing some last minute journaling. Tomorrow is our final day and I can honestly say that this has been the trip of a lifetime. Thanks to everyone who has supported me and helped make this trip possible. I love you all and can’t wait to get home and start seeing people!

It’s going to be hard to leave, but it’s time! J
~Mary

Day 19

Tuesday May 5^th 7 pm

It’s only seven o’clock at night and I’m already completely exhausted. My morning started around 5:30 because I left for Sure Prospects 6:30. Dori, Alessa, and I picked up our packed breakfasts and headed out for our day of teaching. We arrived at the school around 7:45 which was in just enough time to get a quick tour and prepare to teach.

Our first class we taught was a class of 50 P1 students. The focus of our lesson was phonics so we began by reading the book Chikca Chicka Boom Boom. The kids loved the silly words and were really engaged in the pictures. After reading the book, we sang our ABCs (which we found out they sing differently) and went over flashcards that we had prepared. It was interesting as we were going through them to notice some things that would be second nature to a student in the United States, like grapes, that they have never heard of. We also gave the students a chance to color/create their own flashcard with a given letter. Overall I think the lesson went much better than expected.

Immediately after P1 we switched gears and went to P2. Their lesson was focused on questioning so we did a picture walk and had them write a question about the book before reading it. The book was titled “Do Superheroes have Teddy Bears?” After reading, they had to write a question about a superhero. Once they understood the concept of question writing they got to write/ask us questions about the United States. It was a great way to integrate the topic we were assigned and the cultural component.

Then we had a nice little break where we met with Francis the headmaster before teaching our final lesson of the day. For P3 the lesson was based around animals. The story of choice was the Lion King and then the students were given the chance to write and illustrate their own story. I was absolutely blown away by some of their creativity and ability. Overall it was a great experience and I couldn’t have asked for better teaching partners and students to have the opportunity of a lifetime with.

After teaching we had to meet up with the rest of the group. We stopped by the supermarket and got pizza, pringles, and some jackfruit for lunch and went to the MUBS guesthouse. While there we talked about our projects for the next day and began to truly prepare for these. Then it was back to Red Chilli where I was lucky enough to sneak in a quick nap and we finished our project preparations.

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After another night of pizza at Red Chilli we had to prepare to go out to Club Silk for a night out on the town. We had a great night at the club with the MUB students and I think it’s safe to say we all bonded a little bit more, but were completely exhausted when we finally got back around 12:30. Probably safe to say one of my favorite days in Uganda. Each day is going by a little bit quicker and I’m not quite ready for this journey of a lifetime to come to an end.
~Mary

Day 18!

Monday June 4^th 12:00 am

Today did not really go the way I expected it to. We had our typical morning of breakfast at MUBS and then loaded up Big Blue to start our day. We spent our morning at the Uganda Parliament. We learned a lot about how they elect the members of their parliament, the role they play in relation to the president, and how corruption plays a role.

As always, it is interesting to hear what they have to say in their presentations and then debrief it with the MUB students. One example is when our presenter told us that members of parliament were paid a salary that is on the lower end in Uganda. When she said this all of the MUB students laughed. When we asked them about it, they told us that they are given money for their district, but in reality most of them pocket it for personal gain so they are actually making more than their salary.

After a somewhat boring parliament session we went back to MUBS for lunch before heading to the Luzira Prison. I’m not going to lie, I and many others, were a little nervous and freaked out about this opportunity. Luzira is their high security prison here and we really had no idea what to expect. Before we even entered the prison they told us that most of the inmates were there for murder, rape, or some kind of aggravated assault (as if we weren’t nervous enough). Then the other thing that had a couple of us on edge was there “high security prison” was a gate we walked through and a security guard that kind of patted us down.

Once we entered the prison, we were literally walking amongst the inmates. We entered a courtyard where there were inmates gawking at us and they could come up talk to us, touch us, or whatever they wanted to do. The prisoners were wearing two different color uniforms, white for those on death row and yellow for those who could be sentenced up to 310 years in prison.

Our time at the prison was spent mainly learning about the education system they have set up. Prisoners can go from being completely illiterate to earning a university level education. They also offer vocational training such as carpentry. Inmates can reduce their sentences by using their skills to give back such as teaching the other inmates and even some of the staff.

There aren’t really words to describe everything I saw and took in today. I learned a lot about the prison system in Uganda and myself in general. We ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant, had a sing-along on the bus, some good cabin talk, and now it’s way later than I anticipated. Tomorrow is the day we teach, so here goes nothing and an extremely early morning. Looking forward to telling people these stories in person!

3 more days in this beautiful country.

~Mary

Day 17

Sunday June 3^rd 9:41 pm

Today was a big holiday in Uganda, known as Martyr’s Day. The estimate is that one million people from near and far travel to Kampala on this day to celebrate their faith and honor those who died for their faith. We visited the shrines dedicated to this earlier in the trip and so today, especially with the heightened secuirty, we steered clear of the celebrations.

Instead for the first time all trip we got to sleep in. We had nowhere to be until eleven o’clock and we were eating breakfast at Red Chilli. Unfortunately, the animals here don’t believe in sleeping past sunrise so we were all up by eight. This gave us some time to work on getting caught up (which seems to be a lost cause) in our journals and spend some time on the Internet. For breakfast I had pancakes again, which are really more like crepes, but nonetheless they are delicious.

After breakfast we thought we were going to be boarding the bus, but as is often the case in Uganda it was late. Ugandans really have no concept of time, promptness, or being in a hurry. This can often get frustrating especially since in America we are constantly worried about what comes next and always looking ahead. Even though it’s frustrating, we often talk about how they seem to enjoy life so much more because they live in the moment. Anyway, while we were waiting our professors talked to us a little bit about the current security situation (don’t worry, we are safe!), as well as some class logistics.

Then when the bus finally arrived we boarded the bus to go to Dr. Colin Sentango’s house for the day. Dr. Sentango is a chairperson on what would be comparable to the Board of Trustees at MUBS. For the past six years he has hosted Drake for a day of celebration, friendship, and camaraderie. His house has a gorgeous view up on a hill overlooking Lake Victoria and there was a great breeze off the lake to make for a very enjoyable afternoon and early evening.

We spent the afternoon talking amongst ourselves, our colleagues from MUBS, as well as some other Ugandan students that were there. We were also introduced to other board members, some parliament members, and even the Ugandan ambassador to Japan. After our lunch feast, which consisted of bread, pasta, chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and dessert, we had a brief lecture. Dr. Sentango talked a lot about culture, what it is, some of the differences, and why it’s important. Several other people spoke, including our professors who presented him with a sign reading Drake Boulevard.

A couple of years ago the students all planted trees on the road leading up to his house which he has since named Drake Boulevard so they gave him a street sign as a sign of appreciation and gratitude. The night, as so many seem to here in Uganda, ended with more wonderful conversations with great friends, a drink, music, and dancing.

What I thought was going to be a long day at somebody’s house, turned into be quite a delight. Before I knew it we were walking back to the bus to head to Red Chilli. Of course there is no internet tonight, so I shall post this probably tomorrow night. Now I’m just waiting for my turn in the shower and then I’m going to lather myself in bug spray (only 3 more nights) and call it a night.

The days are quickly slipping by and with each day I get a little more excited to go home, but a little more upset that I’m going to be leaving the Pearl of Africa. I’m doing my best to treasure each and every moment and enjoy it to the fullest. Because as we say frequently, “you only Africa once (unless you’re Mary & Dori! J)

~Mary

Day 14, 15, & 16 - Murchison Falls

Saturday June 2^nd 8 pm

Where is this trip going?  For the first time since being here, I’m actually behind on typing up my blog posts. So to save me time and allow me to actually journal for my class work, I’m combining the past three days into one post. Thursday we woke up at ate breakfast, some really good pancakes, at Red Chilli in Kampala before loading up our safari vans and heading to Murchison Falls. The car ride was quite the hike, but I would say in the long run it was definitely worth it. We stopped for lunch in a town right before we hit the national park. I had fish, which was definitely the right decision because the other two options were just not good.

Once we left lunch we entered into the national park, but still had two hours before we reached the Red Chilli in Murchison Falls. These two hours seemed to go by a lot quicker though because the entire way we were seeing baboons, warthogs, and on the look out for other animals. Once we reached Murchison Falls we settled into our new cabin and had dinner. For dinner I had a pasta with vegetables and we enjoyed our gorgeous view. It was really funny when after dinner we were sitting around the fire pit and Megan all of a sudden stood up claiming she heard something. We were all like what are you freaking out about and then sure enough two warthogs emerge from the grass just in front of us. That pretty much ended our night and we all went to get situated in our new living arrangements and sleep so we could get up bright and early for the safari.

Friday morning our alarm went off obnoxiously early at 5:15, but it was definitely worth it. We got ready, picked up our packed breakfasts, and raced to be first in line to get on the first ferry. Our driver, Sula, was awesome and aced out everyone else in our group. The ferry crossed the Nile at 7 and then for the next 3.5 hours we were having the adventure of a lifetime. We got to sit on the front of our safari jeep and enjoy eating dirt while looking at the vastness and beauty of the national park. There is absolutely no way to put this incredible, life changing, breath taking experience. I’ll post a couple of pictures so you can try to get an idea, but there just is no way to capture the beauty. We just kept reveling in what we were doing and occasionally singing lion king songs. We saw giraffes, wart hogs, lots of antelope, some elephants, and lots and lots of hippos. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see a lion or a leopard, but it was still definitely worth it.

After the safari, we rode the ferry back to Red Chilli for lunch and a little bit of a rest before our boat ride. For lunch I had a bacon and egg sandwich, which was really good, and then I even snuck in a short nap. Then it was back on the van to head to the boat. I sat on the top deck of the boat and we had a nice 3.5 hour float on the Nile River. We saw some more animals, lots more hippos, some elephants, warthogs, water buffalo, and crocodiles. The halfway point of the cruise was seeing the actual falls themselves. They are absolutely gorgeous. After the boat ride it was back for dinner, a campfire, and bed. Dinner was lasagna and we had some good bonding time while playing games around the fire. Before we knew it, it was time to head to bed so we could head back to Kampala the next day.

This morning we got up and packed our bags for the last time, until we pack to come home, loaded up the safari vans and headed back up the dirt road. Before heading straight back we navigated our way up to the top of Murchison Falls. Unfortunately someone on the trip fell and got cut up pretty badly in the parking lot, so that put a little bit of a damper on the day. He left to go to a clinic and get cleaned up and to see if he needed stitches and the rest of us ventured on to the falls.

The falls from the top were even more beautiful than the falls from the boat. They are definitely some strong falls that could do some real damage. I got some pretty good pictures, but I think the coolest part was seeing the rainbow that is there in between the rocks. After the falls we were ready for our long trek back to Kampala.

We stopped at the same restaurant for lunch and unfortunately I almost had another fainting situation. Luckily I caught it in time and was able to lie down, get some water, and eat a granola bar.  I still feel a little out of sorts, but was just really happy that I didn’t actually pass out this time. I feel like I’m drinking water, but it’s never enough (plus listening to everyone else talk about the injury wasn’t helping either). I ate the fish again along with three bottles of water and was ready to finish the journey back.

Over five hours later, we finally arrived  back at Red Chilli. I had a pizza for dinner, am catching up on some email and facebook, before finally taking a shower. I’m pretty sure we all have at least one solid layer of dirt on us (which is making us deceptively tan). We get to sleep in tomorrow because we don’t have to be anywhere until 11 which I’m really looking forward to.

Just enough time to gear up for our last 5 days in country. I think I’m slowly getting ready to leave, but it’ll definitely be mixed emotions. I’m more than ready for American food and to see my family and friends, but it’s going to be hard to leave such a life changing country, experience, and group of people.

Safari pictures to come soon!

~Mary