It wouldn’t be a Study Abroad in Africa without all this

So the last few weeks have been jam packed with travelling as we finish our classes before starting our research and practicum time. We started our trip in Rwanda, then moved to Western Uganda, back to Kampala and then East to Jinja. Luckily we were able to mix work and play, learning so much as we got to experience life in the many places we visited. I decided I would summarize the cool things I’ve seen over the last 3 weeks. There has been so much that I could write a blog post about each one, but instead I’ll save you the trouble by just giving you the highlights:

The view at Lake Kivu

In Rwanda we got to spend two days at Lake Kivu, one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever seen. When sitting by the water you couldn’t tell where the water ended and the sky began because both were so blue. We went for a hike through the mountains and made a bunch of cute little friends as we walked through the surrounding villages. The air was so crisp and the view was breathtaking. Unfortunately my happy vacation in Rwanda was made into a little moment of terror. I was standing outside on the patio of our hotel one night when a black snake slithered across my feet. For anyone who knows me well, I HATE SNAKES…. After screaming at the top of my lungs and running over to my friends crying, they alerted the hotel staff and killed it (we didn’t want them to kill it, but I think things got lost in translation a little). Were still a little unclear as to the status of the snake. The locals claimed it was a black mamba but we have other snake enthusiasts who claim otherwise.

The last of the sprinting children

On one of our excursions we went to one of the Millennium Village Projects sponsored by the UN. We got the opportunity to visit a school where a bunch of little children greeted us with a song and dance about butterflies. As we were leaving, a few kids decided they wanted to chase our van down the road. A few seconds we looked back and a swarm of children flooded the street all running to catch the Muzungu van. At first our driver Godfrey slowed down because we thought it was cute, but the kids were a little too fast so we had to go full speed (once they started climbing on the car it started getting a little dangerous). A few of the kids actually managed to keep up for a couple hundred meters, and we decided they’re going to be the next Olympians.

In Western Uganda we got to spend the night at Queen Elizabeth National Park (the biggest game reserve in Uganda). Apparently they spread the big 5 throughout the different National Parks to promote tourism throughout all of Uganda, so we didn’t get to see giraffes or zebras. We went on a boat ride to see the wildlife around Lake Albert where we saw hippos and crocs and lots of buffalo. We spent the night in a house within the park, and were warned that we could wake up to some animals in our yard. Early in the morning we heard the sound of trees breaking and falling, we looked out the window and realized it was a couple elephants walking away from us. When we woke up in the morning we looked again and found a momma and a baby hippo right outside our window casually strolling by…

Sitting on top of our safari van

The game drive was the stereotypical African safari experience, with animals all around us. We got to climb up on the roof of our van for a better view, which was slightly terrifying at first but really fun! The view was absolutely breathtaking, and although we couldn’t find the lions we saw a bunch of elephants, hyenas, hippos, kobs, monkeys, birds, warthogs and buffalo. Apparently Rafiki in Swahili means friend, and Pumbaa means silly or foolish. However, we noticed that the Lion King is a little inaccurate because warthogs are actually very fit and not very large at all. Swahili is very common in this region so we really liked saying hakuna mattah to all the kids, although they’ve never seen The Lion King so they were kind of confused.

Literally an Elephant crossing

My homestay grandma peeling matoke

We also went to a rural village in the West for our village homestay experience. Rural areas in Africa in some ways look very different, but in other ways are just like home. Other than the lack of electricity and toilet facilities, the rural homestay was actually very normal. Our home had real walls and a roof, and even a yard for kids to play in. I learned what it actually means to walk 5km to school and how time consuming life can be without electricity for cooking food (ie shelling ground nuts, then crushing them to powder, then making sauce and then cooking over a fire… for each dish) and transportation to get around. However, the simplicity of my few days in the village was actually very relaxing and pit latrines are very comfortable once you get used to them (it’s the natural position anyway!!). The last night we were there, we played with some of the neighborhood kids as we cooked dinner over the fire. The kids decided they wanted to sing for us and preform a traditional Ugandan dance. As I sat there holding a little baby with kids all around me, I looked up and was able to see every star in the sky so clearly. I was awestruck and amazed by the beauty of the moment. The kids dressed in rags, sang the East African Anthem with all the pride and joy in the world. This moment was unique to Uganda, something I could have never experienced anywhere else.

These kids loved taking selfies

One of my family members during my homestay saw me helping to prepare dinner and then washing dishes. She came up to me laughing saying “It must be hard cooking and cleaning for yourself for the first time.” Apparently it is commonly thought that all Americans have a house help that cooks and cleans for them, as many middle/ upper class people have in Uganda. I kindly informed her that I learned to cook for myself a long time ago, and am completely responsible for my own food and dishes at school. She was absolutely shocked, but was happy to know that Americans knew how to take care of themselves, even if cooking and cleaning is much simpler in the US. Another common misconception was that America is only made of white people (apparently they think Obama is from Kenya?). I was happy to share something new with about life in America, while learning about their lives at the same time.

I was able to teach and play Frisbee with a bunch of the village kids. As we said goodbye, we left them our Frisbee which made them so happy. Apparently they are now obsessed with it and play it all the time! My host mom made us all matching dresses, which we proudly wore all morning before we left.

Candid village family photo

Although the travelling was exhausting and uncomfortable at times with the conditions of many dirt roads, this trip helped me to appreciate what it is I love about this place. No matter where I go, I am always learning or experiencing something new. The people here are so loving and are just as interested in America as I am about Uganda.

Also, here's a video of cute kids at one of the schools we visited: