(My Favorite Tree)Just two weeks left here in Uganda and I feel like I just got into the front seat of a roller coaster of emotions: sad to leave Uganda, so excited to see my family and friends back home, and anxious/nervous about what is going to come next because I have no idea! I think that most, if not all, of the people reading this know me well enough to know that I wear my heart of my sleeve. You know how deeply I plunge into life’s experiences and how much I genuinely value the different moments that trickle onto my path. This time in Uganda has been so incredibly wonderful and life changing…and it came at such a crucial moment in my life. At a time when I was feeling completely lost and as though I was no longer living my life, but that it was living me. So I decided to drop everything…quit my job, sell lots of my things, leave my beloved rented house in DC (yard and all!); say goodbye to my family and friends and take an adventure into the unknown. And believe me, as lost and unhappy as I was in my life…making the decision to leave it all behind for this unknown was still really scary. Three months later, I still understand that presence of fear, but am so grateful that I had the courage to face it because as one of my favorite poems says, “I took the [road] less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
I have no idea where I’d be if I had not stopped in my tracks and come to Uganda…but thankfully, that is something I don’t have to wonder about. I am here and I am a better and stronger person because of it. I have taken the opportunity to look inward and grow as an individual. I have weathered hard weeks of adjustment to get to a place emotionally and mentally where I could fully appreciate this experience. I have met beautiful, amazing, strong willed people who I know will never stop fighting for themselves and the people around them. I have read a lot of books; written a lot of words; taken a lot of photographs; practiced a lot of capoeira; gone on many quiet jogs; and just spent a lot of time with myself finding a beautiful peace and calm in my soul. I have been more adventurous and independent than I can ever remember being…being addicted to the Nile River is one of the only addictions I’ll ever try to hold onto…
…I just spent yet another weekend on the shores of the mighty Nile. I am sure by n
ow it sounds like a broken record…but I just couldn’t help myself! It’s so hard for me to put into words the way I feel when I’m floating down that river or tackling its Grade 3-5 rapids. There are moments of peace and calm and moments of pure adrenaline, adventure and excitement; and all the while, you feel lucky to be surrounded by such natural, untouched beauty. It’s hard to be anything but sincerely happy! And this was the only time that I got to go with a few friends. Usually I just make friends with the people on my raft, but some of the girls I met last time I was in town were going one last time before heading home this week…so it was a great excuse for me to go back to
see them and enjoy the river together (Team Zappa photo above at end of day). Because Jaime always rafts with Charlie, otherwise known as Prince of the Nile (pictured to the right), we got to raft with him on Saturday and it could not have been a better, more perfect run (definitely a tie with the first time for my favorite trip down the river)! Charlie was awesome! He was more than happy to take us down the hardest lines and we even did one rapid that none of the other boats did which ended up being one of the best of the day…Chop Suey. We had great runs on all of my favorite rapids…no falling out too early, no not flipping when we wanted to flip, not one disappointment…it really was just a perfectly awesome and fun day!
…I just spent yet another weekend on the shores of the mighty Nile. I am sure by n
ow it sounds like a broken record…but I just couldn’t help myself! It’s so hard for me to put into words the way I feel when I’m floating down that river or tackling its Grade 3-5 rapids. There are moments of peace and calm and moments of pure adrenaline, adventure and excitement; and all the while, you feel lucky to be surrounded by such natural, untouched beauty. It’s hard to be anything but sincerely happy! And this was the only time that I got to go with a few friends. Usually I just make friends with the people on my raft, but some of the girls I met last time I was in town were going one last time before heading home this week…so it was a great excuse for me to go back to
see them and enjoy the river together (Team Zappa photo above at end of day). Because Jaime always rafts with Charlie, otherwise known as Prince of the Nile (pictured to the right), we got to raft with him on Saturday and it could not have been a better, more perfect run (definitely a tie with the first time for my favorite trip down the river)! Charlie was awesome! He was more than happy to take us down the hardest lines and we even did one rapid that none of the other boats did which ended up being one of the best of the day…Chop Suey. We had great runs on all of my favorite rapids…no falling out too early, no not flipping when we wanted to flip, not one disappointment…it really was just a perfectly awesome and fun day! 
That night we celebrated and partied hard. It was a really fun night and I even ended up at the club at the end of the night dancing up a storm. Sunday I was feeling a bit rough, but ended up spending the day with a few friends lying on the rocks of the river next to one of the rapids…50/50. We swam, climbed a big tree and jumped into the river a few times (something I was really proud of because I was never a good tree climber and it was a pretty high jump…maybe 30 feet), drank some beers, sang some songs, just relaxed. It was such a great afternoon because it was so unexpected and unplanned…it just kind of happened. I also met the cutest little boy when I was getting my chapati omelette (MMMM!), Ibra, who became my buddy. Love him!
I had to say goodbye to the girls on Monday morning. I’m definitely bummed they won’t be there when I go back for my last two days in Uganda; but am just glad we got to spend some time together. It was nice to have some girlfriends again! My trip back to Lyantonde was quite long and a bit frustrating at times, but I made it! I wanted to pick up a bale of clothes in Kampala to bring back with me to deliver to some families in the field but had to go to SIX banks before I found a mac
hine that was both working AND had money in it! UGH. And it was a rainy day, so the dirt streets were just a muddy mess…but I’ve gotten over worrying about having clean feet in this country. I just roll my pants up and do my best to stay balanced; I’m still convinced I’m going to fall on my ass one of these days! Anyways, we finally managed to get the money from the bank and get the bale of clothes to the bus (which will clothe about 100 people). Just picture me riding on the back of a motor bike with a suitcase on my lap weaving through the heaviest traffic you can imagine (African style, re: bikes, motorbikes, people, mini-bus taxis, cars, delivery trucks and more all jammed onto one narrow, crappy, full of potholes, muddy, puddle filled city road). Like I said, it was a long day!
hine that was both working AND had money in it! UGH. And it was a rainy day, so the dirt streets were just a muddy mess…but I’ve gotten over worrying about having clean feet in this country. I just roll my pants up and do my best to stay balanced; I’m still convinced I’m going to fall on my ass one of these days! Anyways, we finally managed to get the money from the bank and get the bale of clothes to the bus (which will clothe about 100 people). Just picture me riding on the back of a motor bike with a suitcase on my lap weaving through the heaviest traffic you can imagine (African style, re: bikes, motorbikes, people, mini-bus taxis, cars, delivery trucks and more all jammed onto one narrow, crappy, full of potholes, muddy, puddle filled city road). Like I said, it was a long day! So this week and next we will be delivering clothes and goats to several families thanks to the donations of family and friends. Mom and dad, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Bob and Aunt Donna, Beth, Petrina, Jose Raphael, Frank, Mrs. Cantlin, Jill and Dave…THANK YOU. These 12 people from the states, Australia and Ecuador have contributed a total amount of $2000 US!!! Amazing. Donations from $5 US to $1000 AUS and several in between…I cannot thank you all enough for your generosity. I plan to hand deliver a lot of the clothes and goats so that I can personally meet the families, takes some photos and write their stories. That way you can all know what your donation means to the people who receive something from it. I haven’t had a chance to go into the field for over a month now, so I am really glad that I have the opportunity to see the hope and happiness in their faces again before I leave this organization. So again…thank you!
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