| Thursday
- August 25, 2005 (Day 14) Safari day 2 |
"The life to which I'm accustomed will go on and I'm sure it will eventually feel normal again, but something tells me it will never feel as good." |
Featured high-res photo: Baboon in
tree During our morning nature walk, we saw
a
baboon sitting in a tree with the sun rising in the background.
Check
it out here!.
high resolution version of photo above |
This
morning, we woke up early to begin a nature walk at 7am. For two
and
a half hours, we walked around the park led by Andrew, a park ranger
carrying
a semi-automatic rifle 'just in case a water buffalo attacks us' - that
made
us all feel really confident ;-) He explained that there was no
reason
to worry - the buffalo would only attack someone who fell behind the
group...needless
to say, we kept pretty close to each other throughout. The walk
was
incredible - we saw zebras, monkeys, baboons and more. It was one
of
the more beautiful experiences of my life - I find myself saying that
quite
a bit lately.
After we got back to our camp, we all took showers and got into clean clothes - a new feeling after two weeks of wearing whatever smelled the least offensive :-) After lunch,
we loaded our bags into the
bus
and prepared for our trip to Kampala. While waiting for everyone
to
finish packing, I mentioned to Robert (our tour guide) that I was very
troubled
by how many Ugandan children stayed home from school for a lack of $15.
It
turns out, I was talking to the right person. Robert's father had
been
killed during a dark period in Ugandan history known as the 'reign of
terror'
during which forces loyal to a dictator name Edi Amin killed over
300,000
Ugandans. His home had been ransacked and he and his mother had run away with only the clothes on
their
backs. For the next
twenty years, he was able
to
attend primary, secondary and university through donations from various
charity
organizations. After finishing school, he decided it was time to
give
the same opportunity to others. To that end, he began a charity
organization
called the 'Helping Hand Foundation.' We spoke about this for a
hour
- until it was time to leave. I was so glad to hear about this
organization -
having met the founder and seeing the
passion in his eyes when he talks about his mission, I feel comfortable
supporting
him in his efforts, something Marian and I had been talking about since
our
first day in Bululu.
We left to Kampala, I took some Dramamine, and the next thing I knew, we were at the Equator. There is a small town with a few craft stores and a line drawn across the road - it was a fun stop. Back on the bus, back to sleep and the next time I woke up, we had stopped by the Nyia Drum Makers. There, we spent half an hour learning about the ancient tradition of drum making - it was so interesting! Back on the bus, back to sleep and we were in Kampala. We had dinner there before heading to the airport and before I knew it, I was on a plane headed for Dubai. A few hours later, it finally set in that I had left Uganda and was headed home.
I spent most of the flight home staring off into space and thinking about the last two weeks. Occasionally, I would make eye contact with one of my teammates and we would nod at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking without saying a word. I know that it will be weeks before I realize the full effect of this experience on me, but for now the feeling is one of emptiness. Tomorrow morning, I will wake up in my bed, surrounded by electricity, plumbing, air conditioning and a slew of western amenities, but not by a hundred laughing children. In a few days, I will go to work and sit at a desk helping to make decisions which will shape the future of a blossoming space program, but I won't immediately change the lives of people for the better. The life to which I'm accustomed will go on and I'm sure it will eventually feel normal again, but something tells me it will never feel as good. There are things you cannot un-see, experiences you cannot un-feel. Usually, sentences like this accompany recollections of events showing the very worst of humanity - wars and disasters. Not today though - today, the experiences I will never forget represent all that is good about the world - people helping people in their time of need and forgetting for one fleeting moment all the social, racial, cultural and economical differences that separate them. For two beautiful weeks in Uganda, I watched people separated by worlds of difference working side by side as partners, as humans, as friends. On the sunny plains of eastern Africa, I watched humanity at its finest and whatever changes it causes in me, I welcome them with open arms. I closed my eyes as Uganda faded into the distance, knowing full well it would stay a part of me forever.
After we got back to our camp, we all took showers and got into clean clothes - a new feeling after two weeks of wearing whatever smelled the least offensive :-) After lunch,
 One last group photo before leaving. |
Featured Video: Zebras crossing road During our morning
nature
walk, we were able to get within fifty meters of a herd of zebras.
Watch
the video to see these beautiful animals in action.
|
We left to Kampala, I took some Dramamine, and the next thing I knew, we were at the Equator. There is a small town with a few craft stores and a line drawn across the road - it was a fun stop. Back on the bus, back to sleep and the next time I woke up, we had stopped by the Nyia Drum Makers. There, we spent half an hour learning about the ancient tradition of drum making - it was so interesting! Back on the bus, back to sleep and we were in Kampala. We had dinner there before heading to the airport and before I knew it, I was on a plane headed for Dubai. A few hours later, it finally set in that I had left Uganda and was headed home.
I spent most of the flight home staring off into space and thinking about the last two weeks. Occasionally, I would make eye contact with one of my teammates and we would nod at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking without saying a word. I know that it will be weeks before I realize the full effect of this experience on me, but for now the feeling is one of emptiness. Tomorrow morning, I will wake up in my bed, surrounded by electricity, plumbing, air conditioning and a slew of western amenities, but not by a hundred laughing children. In a few days, I will go to work and sit at a desk helping to make decisions which will shape the future of a blossoming space program, but I won't immediately change the lives of people for the better. The life to which I'm accustomed will go on and I'm sure it will eventually feel normal again, but something tells me it will never feel as good. There are things you cannot un-see, experiences you cannot un-feel. Usually, sentences like this accompany recollections of events showing the very worst of humanity - wars and disasters. Not today though - today, the experiences I will never forget represent all that is good about the world - people helping people in their time of need and forgetting for one fleeting moment all the social, racial, cultural and economical differences that separate them. For two beautiful weeks in Uganda, I watched people separated by worlds of difference working side by side as partners, as humans, as friends. On the sunny plains of eastern Africa, I watched humanity at its finest and whatever changes it causes in me, I welcome them with open arms. I closed my eyes as Uganda faded into the distance, knowing full well it would stay a part of me forever.