Beauty, Battles and a Boisterous Mutt

Since my last post, a lot has happened. I actually wrote most of this over the last couple months but then I’d get busy with something and by the time I’d come back to it, there was more to tell.  For one, a member of our board stepped in and the girls (3 out of the 5) went to the US for a couple weeks of debriefing and counseling. That left Alicia (who has since stepped down from leadership) and I here to run things and by the grace of God, it was calm and manageable; one exception being a phone call I got from one of our supervisors on a Saturday afternoon: “Aunty Stacy, Nancy is bleeding from the mouth.” She made it sound like Nancy was vomiting blood, so minor panic followed by a quick drive to find out it was just her gums. Never a dull moment… J

The girls have long since returned and I have been praying the time away really was healing and transformative and we will be able to carry on from here in a much healthier place. I know they have been equipped with some coping skills and a lot of good information and I’ve enjoyed hearing about what they’ve learnt and going through the resources they brought back with them. It is not an easy fix, though, that is certain. We have also started meeting as a group with one of the counselors they saw via Skype and it has been really, really good for us.  

Follow up on the compound: I have given up on the veggie garden because it will take far too much time and energy to maintain, neither of which I have a lot of when I get home from work. It was a nice idea, though…the thought of a lovely, manicured, abundant, communal garden…but the reality was an overgrown mess that would not likely have been touched by anyone but me…no thanks. Besides, produce here is delicious, widely available and cheap. The main garden in the front, however, is coming in nicely. It's technically Em' garden (her mom planted it when her parents were here) but, of course, we all get to enjoy it.

Also, Trey had a cement ping pong table built and it is pretty fantastic. We are anticipating some fierce tournaments in the near future, though given my performance so far, I will not likely last long in any of them.

Carter is eight months old now. My feet are still healing from his puppy teeth and will probably wear the scars of a puppy owner for some time. He is growing by the day and I am seeing glimpses of the sweet, obedient, well-mannered dog I know he will be; he’s also shown some pretty good guard dog instincts early on so that’s promising too. But shoot, puppies are a lot of work and require an immense amount of patience; and with everything else we deal with on a daily basis, he has at times been my tipping point. Who would have thought a dog would be the catalyst that would force me to deal with some pretty intense issues: control, anxiety, self-reliance, insecurity, to name a few… I actually consulted a lady in town who is a bit of a dog whisperer because of how much I was struggling and she pointed out the now obvious fact that he is a massive ball of energy with no good outlet as he’s alone on the compound all day. I have since started taking him for walks and it has made a huge difference as well as being a blessing in disguise given how little exercise I, myself, was getting. He is still having an issue with play biting but I believe the issue is that he’s bored out of his mind and spends too much time alone so I am looking into getting a second dog…but NOT a puppy.

The anxiety I talked about in the last post, the “just below the surface” type, is really insistent on lingering. Sometimes even the caffeine in a cup of tea can bring it to the surface. Fortunately this is very infrequent, but on a couple occasions, nothing else appealed to me besides crawling into bed and pulling the covers over my head. It’s a nuisance, to be sure, but I manage. I read an interesting article recently about anxiety. What I found particularly interesting was this:

“Anxious people will never hurt you because they know too well what it means to get hurt. Boy, do they ever know. They don’t want you to go through it. They don’t want anyone to go through it.

Anxious people tend to also be empathetic; they even care about people who hurt them.

People with anxiety are intuitive and great at listening. They also love fiercely; they love jobs, friends, significant others and, most importantly, life. People with anxiety know how hard everything is and do not take any of it for granted.”

Though I relate to this, I have never considered that it could be a byproduct of anxiety; I find I can’t help but feel like it’s not the worst trade off. I have always been aware of the fact that I feel things strongly and I’ve been grateful for the fact that although emotions like hurt, anxiety and regret weigh heavily, I experience positive emotions like joy, gratefulness and love with the same intensity. So for the cost of some time spent with a heavy heart and a burdened soul, I am able to live passionately, care deeply and love well…I think I’m ok with that.

To be honest, this year has not been easy, but I don’t suppose I would have ever chosen that word to describe this life God has chosen for me. I just pray we can always see situations clearly and with discernment so that we are able to recognize what is God doing a work in us and what is the devil trying to work us over and tear us apart. At the moment, I feel we have generally failed to recognize the latter but beaten and bruised as we are, I have faith we will come out of it stronger.    

On a positive note, I went on a little vacation with a couple friends (one who has since left Uganda for good and requested I join her for her last hurrah). I spent a couple days in a Kisumu, a small Kenyan city, and a few days in Mombasa on the Kenyan coast; my gosh, it was beautiful. I am so fortunate to live in a place so near (comparatively) to some incredible tropical locations. And to top it all off, I was informed after I got back that our board is footing the bill because I wasn’t able to be a part of the counseling and debriefing trip the girls went on. Just a thought, but I think a cocktail, a good book and a stunning ocean view have a good number of therapeutic properties, but maybe that’s just me. ;-)

I also got to spend a weekend at Sipi Falls a couple months back...beautiful place!

In other news, 2 of my best friends here, Brad and Erika, began dating a year or so ago and recently got engaged. It just so happens they are getting married in Nashville while I’m home for Christmas so I will be able to attend (and sing at) the wedding. It will be a little Jinja reunion as a few past volunteers and Jinjaites will be attendance as well as Emily and Emily. The whole gang will be there!! It will be so weird! Erika is currently my roommate so when I return, I will be living “alone” for the first time in my life. I put that in quotations because I share the compound with 3 other friends in the 3 other units but it will still be strange.

Year 3...The Beginning...

It continually blows my mind how fast time goes by here. It literally disappears, but looking back, it always feels like so much has happened.

Although it was hard to leave my family after Christmas, the transition back was the easiest so far. I think it was because I was expecting it to be hard whereas in the past it always caught me by surprise. I know that sounds strange, that it was easier but also really hard, but I knew I was coming back to a sort of chaos so I was mentally prepared for it.

We had recently lost Sam and everyone was still reeling from that unexpected tragedy. On top of that, a dear friend (and member of the Ekisa team) was going through some incredible hardship having to give up a child that she had been raising for the last 2 years and had known for nearly 4 years before that. The story is long and complicated (as are most of the cases we deal with) but she is doing pretty well now.

Basically, I landed and was instantly surrounded with people at their wits end who regularly expressed a desire to be done with Uganda and I was left praying and hoping that my friends wouldn’t all leave me to deal with this place on my own. Scary thought given my Jinja family is the only reason (besides the grace of God) that I don’t lose my mind sometimes.

In all honesty, there are a couple members of the team that have been dangerously close to throwing in the towel recently and we are taking intentional steps to move towards recovery and making sure that those that aren’t struggling to quite the same degree avoid getting there. “Burnout” has been a hot topic at Ekisa. We are working at creating policies that will outline clear boundaries and responsibilities and allow each of us to take off time here and there without feeling guilty about it. Guilt is the key word here. In our recent conversations about this, it has become abundantly clear that we extend grace to each other by way of encouraging breaks and time off and don’t extend that same grace to ourselves. This is what needs to change…the freedom to take care of ourselves without feeling guilty about it. It’s all a learning process and part of growing as self-aware individuals and as an organization.    

On a positive note, it was so great to come back to the new apartment and have everyone settled in; though it was a huge amount of work getting everything finished (I’ll share pictures soon, I promise). There are currently 4 of us occupying 3 out of the 4 units and we are working on filling the 4^th with another expat community member. We’ve been doing some work on the compound recently and now have a carport and a functional fire pit; although rainy season is in full swing so we may not get a huge amount of use out of it right away. We’ve also started a vegetable garden and in a couple months, should have an abundance of tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, watermelon, beets, sweet peppers, okra, sunflowers, squash, celery, chives, beans and snap peas. It’s all very exciting because I dreamt about this for so long and it’s all finally coming together.

Another big change has been the addition of a furry little friend named Carter. I would be lying if I didn’t say I kinda love him, as much as some of his puppy traits drive me crazy. We had a rough start, him and me. Without going into too much boring detail, he was the catalyst for a good 4-6 days of fairly severe anxiety…the illogical, uncontrollable, infuriating kind. It was especially frustrating because I kept asking myself how I can be calm in extremely stressful and tragic situations but a stupid little puppy is what caused an unraveling; but I guess that’s just the nature of the beast.

It’s been a month since I got him and everything is going really well besides a bit of residual anxiety that likes to hang out just below the surface. It’s actually a bit of a scary and dangerous place to be given any given day holds a number of possible stress inducing, potentially unraveling moments, so I need to be very intentional about how I deal with it all.

On another positive note, I had the chance to lead worship with a friend of mine last Sunday; just the two of us. I had led a couple times before with the Ugandan worship team (consisting of 5-7 additional vocalists) but this was simple and acoustic and it felt as though the congregation appreciated the change of pace. I feel it’s likely we’ll get the chance to do it again sometime in the future.

Well, that pretty much sums up the last couple months. I have put a reminder in my calendar to write another update in a month. I’m turning a new leaf!     

A Holiday and a New Home

So, the big exciting thing I spoke about in the last post was a wee holiday. I have never taken a vacation with a group of friends before and if that isn’t fun enough, we got to spend it in Zanzibar (don’t worry supporters, it was mostly my own savings that paid for the trip). J If you’re at all interested, you can see some pictures here.

Also, Em’s cat went into labor the day we got back and had two little kittens, Murray and Earl (they were named after our two friends, Brad and Trey, who were assigned those names courtesy of an online quiz entitled “What is your old person name?”).

Now for the really big news… Remember that apartment I’ve been talking about for a YEAR? The one my friends and I found last August??  We FINALLY signed contracts and moved in this past weekend! I cannot even begin to explain how happy I am about this. Where we’ve been living has been fine but less than ideal (3 adults, one child in a two bedroom apartment) and we have never really settled in because our mentality has always been that we would be moving soon. I am the type of person who needs to settle in, to nest, to make a place home, so this has been a bit of a challenge for me. Why is this new place so fantastic, you ask? Well, it’s a lot closer to work, for one. It’s a 4 unit building (2 down, 2 up) and is enclosed within its own gated compound (common and necessary security protocol). What makes this place so incredible is that I am sharing a unit with my friend, Erika, and the other units have been rented by friends AND another friend lives across the street. It’s my ideal living environment: communal but with everyone still having their own space. We have big plans for the compound including, but not limited to, a fire pit, a veggie garden, possibly a chicken coop with some layers. We are slowly recognizing the potential of some pretty epic group games, like hide and seek and sardines, as well. We all spend copious amounts of time together as it is so this just cuts down on unnecessary travel time and expense. And to top it all off, we will have dogs. This is another necessary security protocol, as none of us want the hassle of hiring a guard, but I am also a huge fan of dogs. Whether or not I, personally, have ownership is up in the air, but if Trey* gets more than one, I will just adopt his. 

*Trey is the standout in this photo from Ekisa prom (yes, Erika and I were going for an 80’s look; Em, on the left, she just liked the dress and gets horribly embarrassed by Trey’s antics). He has ordered a housecoat and Gandolf-like pipe for the apartment and plans on getting a small white fluffy dog from Kampala. Can you see why I am excited about this living arrangement? These will be my room/compound mates. Never a dull moment…

I took a couple pictures, but they’re not much because the compound still looks like a construction site (the landlord has until December to get the machines off or we live for free) and we need to get furniture (my bed was our couch at the old place). It will certainly be some time before we’re all settled in because everyone is going home at some point over the next few months and we won’t all be there at the same time until February. In fact, I’m already recruiting a volunteer to stay with me for 10 days in the beginning of December as I will have been abandoned by everyone else on the compound and am not so keen on being there by myself…I might also borrow someone’s dog or hire an interim guard...just to be safe.

This next month and a half could be a little rough as it will only be Emily and I at Ekisa (the other 3 “western” staff members will be away for various reasons). We will have 2 volunteers during that time so it should be ok but we are praying for no medical emergencies or emergencies of any kind, for that matter. 

Again, never a dull moment... 

Ebbs and Flows

I have been called out…

I went down to Mpigi to see the Peace Portal team a week ago and I was told that more than one person back home asked them to get on my case about the significant lack of blog posts.

Guilty…and the more time that goes by, the harder it is to be motivated to document my life; but I do recognize the importance of staying connected with the people that love and support me so, again, I am sorry.

The update:

I am still in the same 2 bedroom apartment (the “temporary” place that I moved into 9 months ago) that I share with Emily, Erika and Em’s foster daughter. There have been some major frustrations and I have experienced a wide range of emotions along the way, for sure, but I have loved aspects of it as well. For instance, Erika and I share a room and it’s kind of like a perpetual sleepover. She’s back in the States right now and I miss her dearly… In the midst of it, I feel I am getting closer and closer to really understanding the meaning of grace in the context of my interpersonal relationships and that, I suppose, is a gift. The new apartment is not out of the picture yet, it’s just…arg. That’s really all I can say about that…

We got a cat, her name is Molly.

There was a rally tournament in Jinja one weekend a while back. I am a fan of rally cars so I went to check it out…there were some safety precautions in place but we were still close enough to risk getting sprayed with sand and stones…it was fantastic.

The Agriculture Fair came again this summer. I didn’t hold a snake and go on sketchy spinning metal swings this year because it was too insanely crowded and we didn’t stay long, but I did witness the ring of death… Click here… 

My dear friend, Cheryl Butler, came to see me and spent a week and a half fully immersed in my world. It was lovely. Whatever she tells you about what she saw and experienced in regards to me and my crazy friends, don’t believe her, none of it is true…we are all well behaved, mild mannered “missionaries” who only say the kindest of things and spend our evenings playing Bibliopoly and drinking Shirley Temples. 

Cheryl and I went to Mpigi to see the Peace Portal team. If you read about my trip to Mpigi last year, you’ll be happy to know that traveling to and from was much more straight forward this time around and didn’t involve multiple pickpocket attempts and being tailed down a dark alleyway…ok, the latter may or may not have just been my imagination but it was a creepy alleyway and I did feel like a chicken on a spit in a den of hungry lions. The team came up to Jinja the day before heading home and we all had the chance to have a nice dinner and go on a wee float down The Nile together. They also took the time to visit Ekisa and it was a joy to show them around. I cannot stress enough how incredibly nice it is when I get to share this home with friends and family and this year I’ve had many an opportunity.   

The mental health update:

I have talked before about the nature of living here being one of extremes…things are either really great or really hard; death, corruption and cultural complexities all play a role in the latter. I have always been an “ebbs and flows” kind of gal and living in Uganda has been no exception. Sometimes I feel like I’m coping well and other times I do a poor job of it. Bitterness and cynicism are huge traps that everyone here struggles to stay clear of and it is extremely hard to not get ensnared. Last month was one of those months where patience and joy were far from flowing and my enthusiasm for being here was ebbing away; to be honest, it was the first time I had ever really thought about throwing in the towel. I daydreamed about moving back, getting a “normal” job and not having to worry about getting cheated or hurt or knowing when or when not to help someone and never witnessing the death of another child. My pride would have never allowed that, of course, but that doesn’t stop me from wallowing in a deep chasm of self pity. If it wasn’t for my faith and my family here (my friends, young and old), I don’t think I could manage. I am very fortunate to have people around me that know me and understand me and understand the struggles that we all go through and for that I am eternally grateful.

The good news is that God always steps in when I’m at the end of my rope and I feel like this time, He gave me an extra dose of grace…like a shot of holy espresso. Patience renewed, joy restored, I have been reminded why I am here. I have to choose though, everyday, to keep an attitude of joy and of love. My faithful Savior stepped in with a leg up, but I know what is required of me, I just don’t always own up to it. I sometimes think that when I “grow up”, I will be steadier, more grounded, but I think it may be time to admit that I will always struggle, I will always be drawn to that place where I am the centre of my own tragic universe. I am not unique and, I suppose, there is comfort in that.

So, in conclusion, I am alive and I am well and I have much to look forward to: a month from now, I will be on a plane heading out on an adventure with 4 of my most dear friends. My next post will likely be all about it…

A couple pictures of beautiful Uganda for your viewing pleasure...

Oh, The Shame

The title of this post reflects how I feel about how long it’s been since my last entry. The longer I live here, the less I feel it necessary to chronicle my life; in the way that it would never occur to me to write a blog post about my day to day back in Canada. That being said, I shall now try and sum up the last couple months of my life without boring anyone too much.

I have been learning a lot lately about what it means to let things go. I don’t have a problem with change, where I struggle is when I have an idea (or an ideal) in my head that doesn’t pan out the way I anticipated…”But, but, that’s not how it was supposed to be!!!!” Example A: We (myself and 3 other friends; two of which I am currently snuggled into a 2 bedroom place with) have been waiting for an apartment complex to be completed with the intention of moving in. We were told it would be done in October, the November, then December…you get the idea. My roommate and I have paint colors picked, cushion colors picked, the whole place planned out (I even purchased curtains and decorative pillows while at home) with the intention of moving in when I returned from Canada. That did not happen…I have had to let go. Side note: We should find out today whether we can move in soon or if he is completely screwing us over and giving it to someone else.

That is just one example, but the point is, I am learning…

Besides that distraction, the last couple months have been pretty great…a definite highlight being the arrival of my dear sister, Dana. She came and spent 2 weeks with me splitting time between seeing the sights and just being a fly on the wall, experiencing what an ordinary day is for me…and believe me, there are some pretty intense things we have to deal with but for the most part, my days are pretty ordinary. She was able to meet the kids, sit in on a meeting or two, get to know my friends and see the best of what Jinja has to offer. And then, of course, we just had to go on safari. J

The last time I went, it was to Murchison but this time, we went to Queen Elizabeth. We did a three day safari that included a day of driving, then safari day (a drive and a boat cruise) and then a day of travelling back. One of the great parts of this safari was that there were five of us (Dana and I, and three other friends) and we had the van to ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, I love meeting people while I travel, but this was kind of a treat.

The morning of our safari drive, we headed out with our guide, Assuman (whom we nicknamed Awesome Man), to try and track down the big 5. The day started out rather disappointing and to be honest, I was getting a little worried; especially as I was the one who planned the trip and felt a responsibility towards everyone, as though I had the slightest control over what animals we see. We really hadn’t seen much of all when we pulled into a rest area on the outskirts of a crater of some sorts. Assuman stepped out of the vehicle but before we could even get our things together he hopped back in and rattled off something excitably about there being “something there” and left the crater in a cloud of dust. We flew across the rutted, dirt pathways slowing down just to pass other safari vehicles whose drivers waved us on although time was running out. We arrived at the spot full of excited energy and pulled in beside a bunch of other vehicles. Our excitement quickly dwindled as we realized the lions were a fair bit away and we could just make out the top ridges of their bodies in the grass. Although disappointed, I would have gone home somewhat satisfied with the sighting but our guide had other things in mind. After a while, we looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and went to find Assuman, who was busy chatting with the other guides. To our surprise, despite regulations and the risk of a fine, he insinuated that we should wait a bit till people leave and go in a bit closer. So, we waited for a bit until he came rushing over, his intentions unmistakable. We all piled in and could hardly contain our excitement as we headed into the bush. Then we saw them…first a couple females and then a male and a female who laid there nonchalantly while we parked hardly 10 feet away and just stared. Not more than a minute went by before we had to continue on but I honestly will not forget that experience for as long as I live. We were all pumped full of adrenaline after that and could not stop talking about it for the rest of the day. Even though we saw multiple hippos, buffalo and even elephants on the boat cruise, it was still the highlight. The only thing that came close was when, on the way back from the boat cruise, we had to stop and let a whole herd of elephants cross the road in front of us.

All in all, the trip couldn’t have been more of a success and it was made even more special by having my sister right there alongside me.

There are probably more things I could share but I filled nearly two pages and it is time to end.

Watch the safari slideshow here.        

Furry Fruit

A week or so after we got back from safari, Alicia, Keanne, Erika, Brecklyn and myself went to a place called The Hairy Lemon. It’s a beautiful little island about 1 ½ hours journey from Jinja (not too close, not too far for some time away). It was a bit of a whirlwind trip as we left on a Monday morning and came back the following afternoon, but it was still long enough to enjoy the peace and quiet. Not only was it extremely relaxing, we were also able to spend some time swimming in the Nile and had the pleasure of sharing the island with a couple British guys who had us laughing late into the night while we hung out and played random games.

The current was really strong in the river which made it really hard to just relax so Erika and I had the great idea to walk up river and ride the current back to where we were stationed on the beach. This turned into an absolute fail as we both underestimated the depth of the water and spent a good 30 seconds caught in the current getting pulverised by rocks. I’m sure Erika looked graceful and poised throughout the entire ordeal, I on the other hand probably looked as helpless and desperate as I felt, floundering and gasping while I tried to get my feet back underneath me.

Tuesday morning, we were woken up by monkeys using our tin roof as a trampoline and spent the day lounging, reading, swimming and just generally soaking up the beauty of the place. 

Because of a connection we have with one of the local rafting companies, we were able to get a ride to and from the island on one of their big trucks as the stopping point is a short walk from where the canoe drops us on the mainland. Shortly after we arrived, a huge storm blew in and though we were under cover, all of us (the rafters and staff included) had to take cover in the kitchen as the wind was blasting the rain in on us and blowing everyone’s salads off their plates. It caused a delay and when we did head back, the dirt roads had us sliding every which way, but it made for some good entertainment.

Other interesting facts about this island? Lots of wildlife. Although they’re around, I have seen maybe 1 or 2 live snakes in Jinja in the whole 20 or so months I’ve lived here. On the island? 2 in the course of 24 hours. And not just any old snakes…very poisonous ones. We also saw a monitor lizard, but they’re just plain cool.     

Taking the short canoe ride to the island (yes, my elbow is in the picture, the redo was blurry)

The path to our cottage

If you look closely, you can see the head of a rather large snake directly to the right of tip of the grassy area. 

The green mamba that slithered out of the water...

The "swimming hole"

It's a giant glowing starfish! Nope, just me. :-)

Pumba & Friends

A bit over a week ago, I went on my first real safari. There are a couple girls, Alicia and Keanne, staying with Ekisa right now who I know from home; in fact, one of them is one of my sister’s best friends and I’ve known her since she was in kindergarten. In regards to the whole Africa experience, a safari was on the top of their list and I figured it was the perfect time for me to experience it for myself.

We (Alicia, Keanne, myself and one of our other volunteers, Hannah) travelled to Kampala on a Wednesday morning to catch a free shuttle from Oasis Mall and had a really great relaxing evening at the Red Chili Hideaway where we’d be leaving from the next morning. It was actually the first time Alicia and I had time to catch up and it was so great to share details of my life here with her and answer all of her questions about Uganda.

The next morning at 7:30am, we headed out and spent the vast majority of the day travelling up to Murchison National Park. The only real break in the day was a stop at the top of Murchison Falls and a consequent hike that took us along falls and around to get a better look. A rain cloud that was looming in the distance took this opportunity to blow over us so all this took place while a light rain fell and thunder competed with the roar of the falling water.

We rolled into camp around 5 that evening and received a quick orientation which included strict instructions to store all food items in a large container at the bar overnight so the warthogs that roam the camp wouldn’t rip through our tents; we also received a quick warning that if hippos decided to join us, we were to keep a very safe distance. After we settled in, we enjoyed dinner and a glass of wine sitting around a fire that refused to light due to the rain; a fact we were grateful for as we instead watched an incredible lightning storm over the park that lit up the sky with sharp, jagged forks of white light.

The next day, we left camp at 6:30am to catch a ferry into Murchison Park and enjoyed a long morning driving along the labyrinth of dirt roads that weave through the 3840 square kms of the park. It wasn’t long before our cameras were glued to our faces taking shots of giraffes, warthogs, elephants, buffalo, hippos and all sorts of antelope.

After a lunch break back at camp, we headed out again, this time aboard a boat that took us on a 3 hour trip to the base of Murchison Falls. We were fortunate during that ride to add alligators and monitor lizards to our list of sightings.

The second night in camp, we played cards and got to know our safari mates a little better (2 Americans, a South Korean and 2 “lady friends” from Belgium), all of us doing our best to hold out until 9pm to retire to our tents given how tired we were from our long day; that was the time we all decided was late enough that we didn’t have to admit we weren’t 17 anymore.

Saturday morning, we headed out early again and braved another 4 hours of driving through the park, the first 30 minutes during  moderate rainfall, before heading south back to Kampala making two stops along the way; one for lunch and one for a quick hike down to Karuma Falls. The journey home ended at about 7:30pm when we crossed the bridge back into Jinja; over 12 hours from when we left Murchison. A long drive and another long day, for sure, but what an incredible time we had.

I recognize this post may read rather point form, but I wanted to share with pictures more than words (a fact I know many of you will appreciate). So, like many times before, click here. Concerning the music, was there every any question? J

Going, going, Gulu!

Last weekend, I finally fulfilled a long ago made promise to visit my friend, Annelise, in Gulu. So early Friday morning, I set out on what turned out to be a 9 and a half hour long journey north. First was the typical 2 hour taxi ride to Kampala where I transferred to a large bus that would take me the final stretch. If you read my last blog post, you’ll be happy to know that I overcame my stubbornness and took a boda straight from the taxi to the bus park and couldn't have been happier about it given it was extra crazy in downtown Kampala that day. The next 6 ½ hours were spent nice and cozy between two men and our luggage in the back row of the bus. I realize 

I’m probably most certainly being overly sentimental but I always feel a sort of unspoken camaraderie with people I share a long journey with; be it plane, train or automobile. At one point we made a brief stop and my neighbor on the left got out to grab something from a vendor. Before he had a chance to board, the bus started leaving. The man on his other side started shouting that we were missing a passenger and we were notified that he was currently sprinting towards the bus. Once he made his way back to us, relieved and out of breath, he was welcomed back with laughter and smiles so maybe I’m not such a sap after all. 

I find that long journeys like that go by quickly and I’m often content with my music, my thoughts, a book and the passing scenery. My neighbor on my right took care to point out any interesting sights like Karuma Falls and baboons along the roadside and answered as best he could any questions I had about the landscape. 

Once I arrived in Gulu, I called Annelise and she met me at the taxi park where we hopped on a boda and went straight to her house to settle in. That first night, we stayed at home and watched a movie with her roommates and made plans for the following day.

Saturday couldn't have been more perfect. We slept in, made French toast and continued our conversations, catching up on the months since we’d seen each other. Then, in good time, we called one of Annelise’s known boda drivers and organized a trip out to Fort Patiko; an historic spot 32km (a 45 minute boda ride) north towards south Sudan. Its significance dates back to the mid 1800’s and involves the British and the Arab controlled slave trade. We first stopped at the sight of some small ruins; stone structures that were used for such purposes as storage and administration. Our boda driver, Jack, had never visited this sight before so it wasn’t without struggle (and without the kind guidance of a handful of villagers along the way) that we made our way along rough trails toward the base of a huge monolith that served as a look-out point for the Arab slave traders and was the location of the death of many slaves who were deemed unfit. Jack’s poor boda took a bit of a beating and there were many portions that Annelise and I dismounted and footed while he navigated the sometimes narrow, steep and rocky paths. 

Eventually, we reached a point where it became necessary to abandon the boda altogether and proceeded to hike up a bare 45 degree rock face complete with lizards scurrying into crevices along the way. We reached the top completely breathless but were rewarded with one of the most amazing views I’ve ever had the pleasure of setting my eyes on. Even though the day was incredibly hot, a steady breeze kept us cool and my lungs were treated to some much appreciated, sweet smelling, smoke and exhaust free, fresh air. We must have spent nearly an hour walking around the level surface of the rock and taking in the sights from every angle before stopping to have a quick cookie picnic and then made our way back down to the bike and rode home. Annelise and I returned sunburnt, wind-blown and covered in a thin layer of red dust but feeling incredibly blessed to have seen such a paradise. 

Highlights from the rest of the day included a shower and dinner out at an Indian restaurant with a group of Annelise’s friends and friends of friends; an interesting glimpse into the missionary and expat community of Gulu.

Sunday was rather low-key; church in the morning, which included some really great worship courtesy of a full band backed up by a choir of children, a quiet afternoon back at the house and dinner at a restaurant called The Wall that Annelise had heard was nice but turned out to be a glorified bar on an open balcony with Fast and Furious playing on a TV screen.

All in all, it was a really great, relaxing weekend with a wonderful friend exploring more of what the Pearl of Africa has to offer. I am truly blessed to live in such a beautiful country.    

One of the trails...

Part of the ruins...

Some of the villagers who helped us find our way...

The base of the monolith where we had to ditch the boda...

Apparently a slang word in Acholi that means something along the lines of...it is what it is...

If you look closely, you can see Annelise on the left and Jack on the right...