After planes, trains, buses, and bodas I have finally arrived in Gulu. I should start from the beginning and document the travels that have occurred...
I'll start with how it felt to be in NYC about to check my bags only to find out that they were too heavy (big surprise, right?!). Of course mom was still on airport grounds to help assess the situation...And just as fate may have it Andy was standing behind me in line...So after feeling like I've "known" someone for a while our first meeting was a hit as I was able to laugh at the situation and successfully avoid a panic attack. A few hours later me and the rest of our new "family" were sitting in the middle of JFK getting ready to embark on our adventure. Luckily Andy stuck by me for the flight that I thought may kill me...The point was for us to sleep on the plane over to London being it was "night"....Riiiiiight. Completely laughable.
Once in London we filed off the plane and into the city dirty, dazed, and still not fully comprehending that we hadn't reached our destination. We got to explore the "Tube" (London transit system), saw guards, Big Ben, and other random landmarks. We sat in on a Sikhism protest, wandered the National Gallery, and discussed the lack of garbage cans in the city. Once we got back to the airport we had sheer minutes before we boarded the plane that would deliver us into "The Pearl of Africa". Again, we begged people around us to switch seats and succeeded. Now, after sheer and utter exhaustion our heads were "wagging" before the plane even moved on the runway. I was elated to know I may catch a few hours. The 8 hour flight passed quickly (kind of) and the stomach issues were beginning to set in. It was a combination of altitude, lack of sleep, lack of "real" food, and my body becoming acclimated to my new daily pill, Malarone...MMMM, Malaria pills.
The landing was priceless. It still didn't feel real as we became closer to the red dirt of Uganda. The plane stopped and there was a moment of panic as I realized that I did it. I am in Uganda. I made it. I made it with minimal freaking out. Scary, very scary....And extremely exciting. As I stepped off the plane to the platform outside I was literally breathless as the hot, thick air hot me. I looked out to see a landscape that no movie I have ever watched could give justice to. Again, there was no real time for reflection as we moved onto a crowded bus to get our bags, check our passports, and "clean up". This did not consist of changing clothes so now I was on over 24 hours in the same clothes. (I was already getting used to this). We met in the girls bathroom to share waterless soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and random hand sanitizers. From there we loaded 18 people with 6 weeks of luggage on another minibus. At this point it was hard not to feel like family as personal space has also become completely laughable. We arrived at Backpackers, our hostel and mock home for the night.
First hostel experience was great. I learned how to really hover while going to the bathroom. (Yes, the toilets "flushed"). I have gotten over my bashful attitude when I realized the showers were in an open room. It was by far the coldest water I have ever felt in my entire life....It felt so good. I am also learning how to check the floor for spiders, step into dry clothes from a wet shower, and remembering to bring bottled water to brush my teeth with. We went to a school in Kampala near the hostel where we got a grand tour. The students and teachers were amazing. They were the most welcoming people I have ever met with pride and passion for their education. Children here smile and run after us as if we were part of a carnival. We are constantly stared at and called "Munus". We learned that this is a bad thing, we are very interesting to them.
We had a group dinner at an Indian restaurant afterwards, still battling the stomach cramps. I thought a good night's rest would be the cure but sleeping in a room with 5 sets of filled double bunk beds and a bunk mosquito net that was "caressing" my face was not so comfortable. The next morning we gathered our belongings and tried to repack the 3+ bags that we had all taken for our 6 hour bus ride to Gulu. I gave the group their necklaces and once again we were united as a family...going "home".
Bavubuka was our stop in between. An organization based on the foundations of art, music, and women's empowerment. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. We were read poetry, watched dances and rapping, and amused by the community children that were captivated by our sunglasses. After the presentations we were excited to buy materials that would support and enhance such positive energy.
The bus ride was not as bad as expected. The road to Gulu is in the process of improvement and we only counted bumps for the last hour. We stopped half way for a "short call" (in the U.S. we would say #1). The scenery was absolutely breathtaking as we traveled down a single lane road at mock speed with the windows open sucking in the warm African air (which is sometimes hinted with smells including burning clay to make bricks, burning manure, and yes, burning garbage). We crossed over the Nile!!!!! This is a dream, I thought. I looked at both sides of my surroundings to see the longest river in the world rushing underneath me. We also found out that this is where we would be rafting.
Upon arrival at our house I felt like an episode of The Real World as we all ran from room to room examining our new home. We have 2 bathroom and 2 showers. Let me explain- the bathrooms are for "short calls" only and our toilet paper is thrown in a waste basket next to the toilet. Outside in our backyard there are 2 pit latrines.....Ahhhh, the pit latrines. These are for "long calls" (#2)....Picture coming soon. But yes, it is a hole in the ground, that's it. Pablo has taught is that we must "embrace the situation". And I have....Twice. I will note that when we arrived it was dark and the latrines were both filled with geckos, grasshoppers, and ummmm, cockroaches....I'm working on accepting this.
We had dinner cooked by our house chef "Jennifer"...A sweet, Ugandan girl who comes in and cooks both breakfast and dinner for our giant family. And finally, a good night's rest with a nice roomy mosquito net (that Andy has taught us is like "the womb"). Our days are jam packed. We have already had language class, culture class, and a very exciting entrance to the Invisible Children Headquarters. I had my first boda boda ride last night....This means that I hopped on the back of what looks like a cross between a moped and a motorcycle and cruised home weaving in and out of people, bicycles, and other bodas. Also very exciting.
We also had our first Ugandan beer last night....Bell Lager, very flavorful...Lacking the hops of some of my favorites back home, but still delicious.
I am a 5-10 minute walk from here, Kope Cafe, a cute internet cafe decorated like a tree house with FREE wi-fi!!! I will do my best to keep this internet diary in a more readable form instead of that of a novel. I am including pictures of Big Ben in London, first Africa shot, our hostel, a monkey who came to say "hello", Andy and Joe with friends from the Kampala school, our house, and children from the organization.
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