So i haven't updated in a while. Not to mention that my updates on my blog are pretty much the exact same as my email updates. I'm noticing less and less time available to blog. However, this week is HIV/AIDS week so i've been learning about the crisis and participating in various events. Yesterday we went to HIV/AIDS hospital which caused me to struggle. Surprisingly, i not only struggled with just seeing the patients themselves, but also with the fact that it seemed like 40 white people were making a spectacle out of them. We went on a tour of the facility but did not really interact with them. It was good to see the facilities and the patients themselves but I had a hard time reconciling that with the way the day was structured. At the same time, there is no great way to "interact with HIV/AIDS patients" and there are definitely limits to what our program can do to show us everything. So that was the major event of yesterday. Below are my safari experiences from last weekend.


So last week was pretty stressful but it turned out to be really good by the end of it. I don’t remember specifically what I did, but it was my regular class routine. The exciting part of my week was the safari I went on. Sorry if this makes any of you jealous (it’s definitely not my intention to brag, simply to inform). So we left the university at around noon. We were doing fine for the first 7-9 hours of the bus ride but then we starting noticing that our driver was becoming less and less sure of where we were going. He just started asking people where to go until we got to the national park. However, the gates closed at dark (7 pm) and we got there around 10 pm, needing to get to our campsite. We started asking to get through a gate which in itself is a task because the driver gets drilled with questions. So we finally got through the gate, only to 25 minutes later did an elephant roadblock interfere with our travels. Keep in mind how late it is and that no one else was around besides our bus. There were two large elephants and a baby elephant in the middle of the road. We assessed that if the large elephant thought that the baby elephant was at risk it would charge. Therefore, we had to turn the bus around and re-route. Then we almost got out at a fancy campsite of random UN officials (all male group) which was really alarming. Finally we found our campsite. However, it was intimidating because we were within distance of the UN group and we were an all female group. However, we made it through the night without too many disturbances.
The next morning we went on a game drive (safari). It was pretty sweet. We were in our same bus with our same bus driver but we had a guide with us. We saw lots of elephants, buffalo, kobs, water buck, and mongooses. I tried taking pictures but they aren’t that great. I’m probably going to use other people’s pictures too. By the way, the animals that could not be seen on the safari were zebras, rhinos, and giraffes. They don’t have them in the park. However, there was a random zebra that was on the side of the road but I missed seeing it both on the way and the way back (I was sleeping). In the afternoon, we went on a boat ride where we saw tons of hippos, buffalo and some elephants. The funniest thing (in my opinion) was that birds would poop on the backs of the hippos while they were in the water. Also, just in general, warthogs, waterbucks (large antelope like animals), and hippos could be seen around our campsite and just inside the compound where we stayed. In retrospect, it was pretty incredible but at the time it could be scary, especially at night.
Sunday morning, we went out on another safari, this time in search of lions. We were headed back when we finally saw one. Ironically, the only reason was because we went out earlier in the morning and because the lion was limping. It was incredible just to see one in the wild though. So, yesterday we had a 9 hour drive back and then I went home to my homestay family. This week should be another monotonous one. Hopefully, I might visit an Invisible Children Bracelet campaign office tomorrow so that should yield some cool stories. Other than that, I’m doing really well in the African life. Sorry this is so long. Luckily, I only recap what I do on the weekends because that’s the most exciting part.

Random Facts:
1) An Elephant’s gestation period is 22 months
2) Hippos are surprisingly dangerous. Two fishermen were killed by a hippo two months ago in the fishing village that we saw on our boat ride.

The semester's flying by. It's already Spring Break at Messiah and for me, I have a month left with my host family before our trip to Rwanda. It's going to be really hard to leave but for now, i'm trying to focus on enjoying every minute.

Today has been a hard day. I've been stressed lately with just not feeling good enough and being frustrated about not engaging with the culture. A lot of this comes from spending my day in a room with all Americans and using wireless internet to get homework done (or attempt to). That's another frustration. I'm not getting my work done and my grades are clearly slipping. I can sit all day and barely scrape out a decent article. I really don't understand. In my lit class, the professor wants us to read a novel a week! Yeah, right, like that's going to happen. This stresses me out because I have to keep my academic scholarship. Hopefully, i'm doing better than I think! Also, when i am at my homestay and finding myself comparing myself to the other American student staying there. I try to see why she is so much better at engaging the family or helping out or whatever. I think i'm feeling better about everything though.

Last Weekend

Hi Everyone-

I hope you enjoy this update because it will be my last one for awhile. I will not be writing again until March 4th because I am leaving for my rural homestay in Kapchura which is in Eastern Uganda. After that we travel as a large group and I think we are going to meet people working with Mennonite Central Committee and learn about conflict resolution. We are also visiting a waterfall. I’ll let you know all about that next time.
Unfortunately, the circumcision trip was canceled. I was bummed but then on very short notice a girl in our group arranged the white water rafting trip. We left on Saturday and went white water rafting on the Nile. Before we went rafting, my friend Betsy and I bungee jumped. We went tandem (together) and held onto each other as we plummeted off a tower 144 feet up in the air. It was incredibly uncomfortable but still pretty sweet. I can’t wait to see the video footage. When they counted down, 3, 2, 1 neither of us budged. I knew Betsy wouldn’t go so I did not want to lean off without her. The second time though, I did the leaning for the two of us, which might have added to the discomfort. I was expecting my back to hurt afterwards, but it was mainly just my stomach that hurt. The rafting was incredible! We rafted for the rest of the day on some pretty rough rapids. Once our boat flipped on a class five rapid and I was under water from up to 8 seconds (or at least it felt like it). The first time after a few seconds I came up for air but only got water. The second time, I was gasping like crazy. It seemed pretty close to drowning. I now know what that feels like. It was a cool experience though, with gorgeous views and floating along the Nile (outside the boat) for part of the time. I went rafting both in Pennsylvania and Montana but I no longer consider that rafting.
I got a cold on Thursday and went rafting with a cold. When I got back from rafting, I had a sunburn on top of being sick. I stayed in bed most of Sunday and I’m starting to feel better which is good. I’m hoping to improve before we travel on Friday. My classes are going well. I’m finally starting to be serious about my work so hopefully that keeps up. The classes are easier but I’m definitely not doing my best work. I think that is the general consensus because there is just so much to do and experience. Another one of my host brothers left for boarding school so the house is getting quieter than ever. It’s a great place though. I’m much more relaxed with the family. I get along great with the other Uganda study abroad student (Melody) too. So that’s all I have for now. I’ll put in another request for emails. Keep me updated on your lives.

Have a great two weeks,
Becca

Kampala, Graduation Party, and More!

I’m starting to find myself in a routine. This past week was harder than usual, just because I can feel myself getting stressed, which causes some homesickness. The only eventful things happened this past weekend. I went to Kampala, the capital city. We took a taxi over but certainly not like a taxi in the U.S. It cost less than 1 U.S. dollar to go on an hour long taxi ride here. The ride is pretty bumpy and the taxi (more like a 14 passenger van) constantly seems like it’s going to break down. Once we got there, everywhere was packed. Personal space was no where to be found. To get across the street, you trust that taxis, motorbikes, or cars will not run you over. We ended up taking a personal hire (more like a US taxi) to Garden City, a nicer shopping center. This is the only place you won’t get stared at because you are white. We went to an American restaurant called the New York Kitchen. I had Macaroni and Cheese and a Strawberry milkshake. It was the most expensive meal I’ve had since being here but totally worth it. During the meal, my digital camera broke, which was a major bummer. Unfortunately, I got sick the next day because of the meal. Later in the afternoon, we went to the YMCA which had a music school near by. My friend Sharon plays cello and was unable to bring it so she rented one for 30 minutes. She was so happy about it. It was also cool to listen to her. On the way back, we went on a taxi that actually ended up getting a flat tire in the middle of our trip. Luckily we were able to catch another one near by where it broke down.

On Sunday, I helped out with a school ministry, sort of like Sunday school at a boarding school. I went with two other girls and we preached on trusting God. I felt bad because I was not prepared as I was sick the day before. I think it went well though. In the afternoon, we went to a graduation party. There were like 150-200 people there. It almost reminded me of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. We all sat under a tent and ate insane amounts of food. There were speeches, too. Unfortunately, the ceremony was in Luganda (the language of this area) so I had no idea what they were saying for 4 hours. It was still fun though. I got community engagement hours (I need 30 hours for my class) from both of those, so that’s a relief. I had a great weekend overall.

This week is going to be a tough one. I have 3-4 papers due by the end of next week. My rural homestay starts next Friday and that means no class for 10 days but there is still going to be homework. This weekend, I am going to see a tribal circumcision in Mbali. It will most likely be a circumcision of a male between the ages of 15 and 25. I do not know much about it because I am not in the African Traditional Religions class but some of us are going optionally. It seems odd that 30 Americans would be able to go to a tribal circumcision but I guess we’ll figure out how that works later.

Friends! From the Jinja Trip

Betsy, Caroline, Sharon, and I inside a hut at the Nile River resort

Betsy and I at the Nile Resort in front of the Nile River!

Danielle, Betsy, and I on the balcony at the hostel we stayed at in Jinja.

My Homestay

Above: Me with my two host brothers Simon (in red), Mark (in brown) and two host cousins Isaac (left) and Emmanuel (right)




This is a picture (below) of my sister Judi and my cousin Stella. Stella thinks I'm the funniest person ever. Both of them speak great English. Melody and I share a room with Judi.
The front of the house

Uganda: Week 4

I cannot believe it's February already, particularly because it certainly doesn't feel like it here. I've noticed that I do not have as much to say in my updates anymore, probably because the newness of Uganda is wearing off. I'm going to try to upload photos here because I know not everyone has facebook. My host family is changing as school started yesterday. The three younger boys left and my 18 year old host brother left for boarding school. It's pretty sad, actually. Our group is trying to arrange trips to go rafting/bungee jumping on the Nile and go on a safari, which are pretty much the most expensive things to do in Uganda. I can't decide if i should go bungee jumping or not. If anyone has an opinion about it, please let me know :) One thing i've noticed about Uganda is how hospitable it is. The hardest part of my homestay is convincing my family to let me do things myself such as prepare tea, wash clothes, etc. They let us tray eggs to sell to the market, so that's good. We also learned how to make chipati, which are liked fried flour tortillas. They are one of the best snacks here. Classes are good, although the workload is overwhelming. There are lots of papers due in the next few days. My politics classes aren't as easy as I thought. I think it's because I have no background in African politics so I don't know as much as i thought I did. Anyway, I can't believe I'll be home in less than 3 months. The semester is already flying by. Looking at my schedule, I'm not even with my host family for more than 4 or 5 weekends in the next 3 months because of traveling.