Hippos, Gorillas, and Swimming at 14,000 Feet

Welcome back everyone, and a very happy Easter to all of you! It has been a busy couple weeks for me, so I'll get right to it. After leaving the school and the Crater Lakes region, I traveled south to one of the most popular national parks in Uganda, Queen Elizabeth National Park. As I was entering the park, I saw a big herd of elephants in the distance, and also plenty of waterbucks, warthogs, and Ugandan kob. I took a boatride down the channel between two large lakes and saw dozens of hippos and buffalo, a large crocodile, and many cool birds. It was my first time seeing a hippo, so it was kind of fun to watch them disappear under the water as the boat approached, and then seeing their eyes pop up above the water's surface as we passed. I also went on a game drive in the early morning hours, hoping to get a glimpse of a lion or leopard. Unfortunately, the lions and leopards didn't want to cooperate that day, so it turned out to be a very expensive joyride through the Kasenyi Plains of Queen Elizabeth.

After Queen Elizabeth, I made my way down to Rwanda, where I stayed a few days in Kigali, the capital. My main interest in Rwanda was the genocide that occurred throughout the country in 1994, made famous in movies like "Hotel Rwanda (I went into the actual hotel this trip)." Within a two month period, over 800,000 people were murdered, as civil war broke out between the two main tribes in the country, the Hutus and the Tutsis.

I only spent a few days in Kigali, but I was immediately struck by how nice of a city Kigali is. It is one of the most modern and clean African cities I have seen. It is truly incredible how far the city has come since 1994. As I was fascinated with the history of Rwanda, and particularly the genocide, I visited several memorial sights, the first being the National Genocide Memorial Museum. It is similar to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C., for those of you who have been there. I don't really wish to say much about what I saw there, but that it was the saddest and most emotional thing I have ever seen. I don't wish to make comparisons between genocides in history, but this place affected me much more than my visit to Aushwitz, mostly for two reasons: the first is that this horrible event happened only 14 years ago. Nearly every pair of eyes I looked into while walking down the streets of Kigali also saw these events unfold in front of them. Nearly everyone lost at least one loved one in the massacre. Walking out of the museum, I met an old man coming to lay flowers at one of the mass graves there, paying respects to the 12 family members killed during that time. It was incredibly hard listening to his stories. Secondly, during the Hutu/Tutsi war, best friends, brothers and sisters, and other loved ones suddenly turned against one another if they were from different tribes. I cannot imagine anything like this.

I also visited a small church in the Rwandan countryside where 5,000 Tutsis hid before being discovered by some Hutu rebels. All 5,000 Tutsis were butchered in the church, and the church has mostly remained untouched since then. It was without a doubt the worst thing I have ever seen and something I will never forget.

After visits to the genocide memorials, I went to see the mountain gorillas in Volcano National Park in Rwanda. Mountain gorillas are only found in the Uganda/Rwanda/Congo border region, and seeing them is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After a 2-hour hike into a bamboo forest, my trekking group encountered a group of a few dozen gorillas lounging around in an open meadow area. It was incredible being so close to such a powerful animal, and especially one so similar to us. Looking into each other's eyes, I think we could both tell that we are nearly the same. It is always amazing to me that some of the most powerful and dangerous animals on earth are also some of the most gentle. I am so thankful that I got to experience being in the presence of such a magnificent animal.

After the gorilla trek, I left Rwanda and crossed back into Uganda. The Uganda/Rwanda border region is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Huge volcanoes tower over the small villages and acres of hills dotted with terraced farmland. Low-lying clouds and morning mist create a magical scene, hiding the middle areas of the volcanoes, but still allowing the volcanoes to show off their breathtaking summits. I decided to hike up one of the tallest volcanoes in the region, called Muhavura. Muhavura climbs to over 4,200 meters (nearly 14,000 feet) and is one of three volcanoes dotting the Uganda/Rwanda border. I woke up extremely early the morning of my hike, hoping to summit before the frequent afternoon rains. Well, just my luck, it started to downpour just before I started hiking, and didn't stop until 2 hours after my hike had ended. The weather was the worst it had been for the whole month, and upon arriving at the summit, I found I could barely see my guide, just a few meters from me! There is a small crater lake on the summit of Muhavura, and keeping with my tradition of jumping into any lake I come across, I plunged into the freezing water. I wouldn't exactly say that I swam, although I did reach a deep part, because I got out of the water almost as quickly as I had gotten in, so as to avoid hypothermia in the freezing rain and wind. I ended up finishing the hike in just over 6 hours. My guide, before starting the trek, and I think also in an attempt to intimidate me, told me to expect to hike 9-10 hours, or maybe 8 hours if I was very strong. I think I surprised him, and it appeared that he was struggling with the pace at the end:)

So it has been a very fun two weeks in Uganda and Rwanda. I have seen many things that will remain etched into my mind for the rest of my life. That is what traveling is all about. Each memory created helps to shape me into a more complete person, adding to my knowledge, challenging my perceptions, and broadening my mind. Thanks Uganda and Rwanda!

Teaching in the Crater Lakes Region of Uganda

Hello! It's me again. I have spent the last two and a half weeks in western Uganda, near the border with the Congo, in a beautiful region called the Crater Lakes region. I stayed in a banda (a hut with clay walls and a straw roof) on top of a hill above one of over 70 crater lakes found in the region. Forested hills stretch forever, hiding the lakes between their tops, and the Rwenzori Mountains, the highest mountains in Africa, tower over the landscape. I have never seen a place like this anywhere else.
I was the only guest staying in the community-run campsite becoming quick friends with the manager, his family, and the six local boys training there to be tourist guides, and the camp dog, Jex (what can I say, I love animals!). I also volunteered at a local community school.
In Madagascar, I thought I had seen just about the simplest school I could see. I was definitely wrong. That school had the benefit of being established and sponsored by a small Catholic mission. This school in the Crater Lakes region was established by the community so that children living in the areas between government school locations would have an opportunity to attend school. Therefore, the school has no governmental support in terms of training or funding. This was obvious the first time I saw it. The school consists of two buildings (similar in structure to my banda), totaling 5 classrooms (one for each of 5 grades). Approximately 170 children, ranging in age from 6-12, crammed inside these classrooms, either standing for the five hours of instruction, or sitting in the dirt on the floor. Each child had a few pieces of scratch paper to use as a notebook, most shared pens with their friends, and none had textbooks. My classroom was luxurious, having an old blackboard to use. It was very sad.
I taught the oldest group of kids math and science for five hours each day. The kids were terrific and immediately loved me (probably because I was the first white person to pay attention to them). My second day there, the kids presented me with 4 huge papayas, 2 mangoes, and 5 avocados as gifts. I was extremely touched and grateful, although carrying them all the way back to my banda was a bit challenging, especially considering that I had to walk over 4 miles roundtrip to and from school each day, including half a kilometer up a very steep hill. The teachers at the school bestowed on me a Ugandan name, "Amooti," which refers to the reverence and respect a king demands. I am honored by the respect, but I certainly don't want to be thought of as a king.
Teaching without any materials at all proved very challenging, but I managed and we all had a good time. To liven up the atmosphere and make it fun, I taught the children some games, which they continued to play even after school was dismissed each day. I am glad that I was able to provide the children with a friend, teach them some new things, and share in their love, but I also felt bad that I couldn't do more. Out of the 170 children at the school, nearly 80% are orphans, losing their parents to AIDS and other diseases. The community members have been wonderful and taken many of the orphans in, but it is still rather easy to find groups of 4 or 5 children sleeping under a tree together at night, and then spending the next day trying to find enough food to give them one more day. It is truly heartbreaking to see, and to even think about. Nobody should have to live like that, never feeling loved, never having another thought except about survival, and never experiencing a feeling of hope for the future.
Well, I don't want everyone to be depressed by this blog post, so I will switch topics. I have been eating the local food for the past five weeks (mostly matooke, a potato-type food, potatoes, maize, and beans), but like in Madagascar with my rice and beans diet, my stomach has decided to rebel. I found myself feeling sick just looking at another plate of matooke (normally part of breakfast, lunch, and dinner--it is very cheap because of the vast number of matooke plantations everywhere). Only the taste of fruit has been appealing to me. So lately, my diet has consisted almost entirely of fruit, with some avocados thrown in. I have never eaten so many bananas in my life (6-10 a day!). It is not exactly a balanced diet, but it is the best I can manage right now. When I get back to Kampala, I will definitely treat myself to a pizza!
I had an interesting encounter the other day. As I was walking down to the lake to fetch water for a shower, I rounded a corner and saw a huge snake winding down the path a few feet from me, going down into a hole. The thing was huge, like 8 feet long! As it turns out, it was a black cobra (a very, very, very deadly snake). Needless to say, my daily trips down to the lake for water have been a little more stressful lately!
My afternoons after school have been spent relaxing. I have been teaching the local boys how to swim (very, very funny--none of them had been in the water before, and they all think I am part fish by the way I swim multiple ways across the lake) and visiting the homes of some of the local community leaders. I have again been the first white person to visit two more villages here. In each village, I felt like the president, as everyone came out and wanted to shake my hand and do their best to impress me with their limited English. Some of the leaders have been telling me that the whole village has only been talking about how they actually touched and spoke with a mzungu, and they have also been arguing about who touched me for the longest and whom I said the most words too. It is quite a feeling walking into these villages, and I think I may go down in history here. Maybe I will be spoken about in legends or those types of things:) How cool would that be!
The school gave me a farewell ceremony yesterday, with the school committee, the parents/guardians, and the children all present. The children performed their traditional songs and dances for me, several people gave speeches thanking me for my service and for a hefty donation I made, and then presented me with several gifts, including a wonderful handwoven basket and even a rooster! I must say that I don't think I ever expected to receive a rooster as a gift at any time in my life. When I return, the parents and guardians told me that they will present me with a goat! Wow! Oh, by the way, I named my rooster Jimmy, and Jimmy is the largest bird around, and he seems to know it too, as he has become the community bully:) Well, that's the last two weeks in a nutshell. Now it's off to a Ugandan national park and then Rwanda. Life certainly is interesting!