Flower farm, funeral, bungee jumping and rafting!

Well I just got off a 22 hour bus ride and it was quite an experience. We left Uganda yesterday afternoon after rafting and waited for the bus, which was an hour late due to African time. When it arrived at 4 pm we hopped on just as the rain began to fall. The bus was rickety and as we went over each bump it felt as though the metal overhead shelves were going to come crashing down. The rain became harder and harder and turned into a thunderstorm. Driving was scary since the road was narrow and each time another large vehicle came by we had to tilt slightly off the main road to allow them to pass. The bus was also leaking water from the windows and overhead vent. The poor man across the isle from me had his raincoat over him, but even that was soaking. We made it to the Uganda-Kenya border when it was dark and navigated through the slightly hectic lines then continued on our way after having to start the bus about 5 times to get it moving. However, at 2 am the bus broke down in the middle of nowhere and we sat for 2 hours trying to get it moving. Sleepy-eyed we crawled onto a new bus and continued on to Nairobi. The bus ride was long and bumpy but well worth it...

Last Wednesday we left for Uganda to go rafting at the source of the (white) Nile. The first day we arrived we spent the morning at the pool of a beautiful hotel next door where I enjoyed a freshly-caught full tilapia. I only wished I had the French skills at filleting fish! Later in the afternoon we returned to our camp to bungee jump!! Bungee jumping was both one of the most frightening and exciting things I have ever done. As I climbed the stairs a huge knot formed in my stomach, but as I watched my friends jump it became less and less scary. Finally it was my turn just as the sun was setting over the Nile. I looked over the ledge briefly, glanced at the monkeys in the tree nearby then jumped. The free fall was a feeling unlike any I have had before of emptiness and weightlessness that ended when I plunged my head and shoulders into the Nile. As I was pulled back out of the Nile by the bungee I swung back and forth in the air. It was awesome and would definitely recommend you try it!!

The next day and a half we spent rafting. Our Brazilian guide shared his life story as a traveling raft guide--he's worked in Peru, Argentina, Norway, Honduras, Costa Rica and more... India is next on his list. We rafted class 3-5 rapids and had so much fun. Although rafting inevitably involves getting a few scratches and bruises the thrill is well worth it! Yesterday we even got to boogie board on a standing wave on the last rapid. In between the rapids we drifted along the beautiful Nile. We saw tons of birds, a large iguana-like lizard and a few river otters. Luckily, we didn't seem any of the 4.5 meter crocodiles. Uganda was also very neat to visit. Just as I entered the immigration office upon first entering Uganda I noticed that the people had a distinctly different look to them. I was also surprised to learn that people spoke Ugandan, not Swahili so saying "asante" was more foreign than "thank you." We also learned that the land here is extremely beautiful, lush, green and tropical and extremely cheap. The rafting company we went with bought an island on the Nile for only $1,000 from the Ugandan government. Our guide also told us that we could get a nice-sized plot of land along the Nile for only $20,000. Apparently many expats and tourists have been lured by the cheap land and begun to invest.

This past past week flew by as my teaching group was very busy and we only taught for 3 days. On Sunday we returned to our village to go to the Pentecostal Church in hopes of being able to teach. However due to the funeral (the 6th in our tiny village since I've been here) the teaching had to be moved. Observing the service was an eye-opening cultural experience. Men sat on one side and women on the other on small wooden benches. The service lasted 3 hours and during it the pastor gave a sermon, the whole church sang and prayed. Prayer would emerge from songs. After singing, usually a short verse repeatedly and passionately while waving arms in the air with eyes closed, the pastor would end the song, but without any silence the whole church would emerge in prayer. Each person prayed individually and out loud--very, very loud-- so the church was filled with the noise of near-shouts of prayer and rhythmic reverberations that seemed more like chants than prayers.

After church we went to the funeral. This funeral was very, very emotional and sad. It was for a young man, probably late 20s or early 30s who we believe died of AIDS. It was not announced that he died of AIDS, but due to his youth and that he suffered from tuberculosis and herpes zoster--both opportunistic infections--it seems clear that his death was due to HIV. We were very disappointed when his 2 wives refused to be tested at our testing day in the village. At the funeral the Pentecostal pastor spoke loudly and quickly, near shouting. Then we walked by the open casket and watched the burial. Many people broke down shaking and falling to the ground as the body was placed in the group and subsequently covered by flowers. The funeral really portrayed the tragedy of HIV: the very old woman's funeral a couple weeks ago was clearly a celebration of her life whereas this one was a place to grieve for a life lost too soon.

On Tuesday we taught at a flower farm about an 1.5 hours away. After a very bumpy bus ride which caused a few bruised heads and sore bums since there are no seat belts we arrived at the farm. The flower farms are massive white tents--greenhouses--which grow all sorts of beautiful flowers. We briefly toured them, but inside felt like a sauna and we left after just 10 minutes. I can't imagine working there all day long. We taught over the lunch hour and while some people seemed interested many seemed less engaged and open-minded than our usual students at the primary school. We're teaching again at the farm on Tuesday.

I have much more to say, but I'm out of time! I can't believe there is only a little over a week left. See you all soon!

Avery