| Thursday-
August 18, 2005 (Day 7) Jinja |
"I'm sure we passed some very interesting things along the way - you'll have to ask my teammates exactly what they were." |
Featured Panorama: Nile River
Source Jinja is located on the shores of Lake Victoria where the Bujagali falls mark the beginning of the White Nile. The White Nile intersects with the Blue Nile in Sudan to form the trunk of the Nile River. Click here to see a panorama of the White Nile source |
Today
we went to Jinja and the Bujagali falls - the source of the river Nile
-
it was great fun! We left Bululu at 8am and headed to the clinic
(Jen
and Joy were feeling ill). They drew blood and told us to come by
on
our way back from Jinja to receive the results. We began the
drive
to Jinja along the bumpiest road I had ever driven. Given that I
get
car-sick playing video games that are too realistic, the trip was
trying
to put it mildly. To avoid getting sick, I had to put my head on
the
seat back in front of me and keep my eyes closed the
entire time. I'm sure
we
passed some very interesting things along the way - you'll have to ask
my teammates exactly what they were :-)
We arrived in Jinja at 11:30am and were told we had an hour and a half to do whatever we wanted. There were internet cafes, telephones and plenty of shops in which to buy souvenirs. Eden, Jared, Tymberlee and myself went looking for a phone to call the states. In Uganda, there are very few ground lines, so anyone who has a telephone has a cellular phone. Even the public phones are cellular - they are just cell phones chained to wooden stools on the sidewalks. You just buy a card, insert it into the phone and make your call as usual. We each bought U5000
cards (about US$2.75) and
went
to use a phone. When you put the card into the phone, it gives
you
a running tally of the balance of your card as you talk. None of
us
expected that balance to fall as quickly as it did, so most of our
conversations
went something like "Hi, its [name]! How are you doing. I'm
having
a blast and oh crap my card is running out good-bye!" At least
they
know we we're alive :-)
From there, we headed to a
craft
store to buy souvenirs. The crafts here are beautiful. I
especially
like the fact that they are not perfectly neat and uniform - it adds a bit of
character
and gives you
confidence
that the local crafts you are buying weren't really made in
China.
From the number of souvenirs Eden bought, you would think she was planning on
opening
a competing store across the way. She handed the lady her
purchases
- keep in mind that the only thing she has is a calculator - and the
lady
said she would need about twenty minutes to add everything up and wrap
it.
So, we told her we would be back and headed down the street to the
supermarket.
After buying a few local goods from the supermarket, we picked up Eden's 'trunk o' souvenirs' and headed back to our meeting point. We all piled back into the van and drove two blocks (yes - we actually drove two blocks) to the restaurant where we were eating and got out. The food there looked
beautiful - I say 'looked'
because
an hour after I ordered, the waiter came out and informed me that they
were
out of my dish. So, I ate my teammates' left-overs and we headed
for
the falls.
The falls were incredible -
they
are very short (a few meters at most) but still incredible when you
consider
what the represent - the beginnings of the river on which so much of
civilization
grew. I washed my face and hands in the river, then rolled up my
jeans,
dangled my feet in the water, closed my eyes and listened to the rush of the
water.
I feel so healthy here - mentally and physically. Everyday, I
help build
a house and at the end of the day, I can point to something physical
and
say "see - I did that!" I am going to miss this place terribly.
On the way back to Bululu, we stopped by the clinic and received some very bad news - Jen had malaria. When a person is infected with Malaria, the parasites initially find their way to the liver where they lie dormant for 7-10 days. Jen had gone to the clinic because of a rash on her arm, but in this region, everyone who comes through the door gets a malaria test (sort of like every girl who goes to a college infirmary gets a pregnancy test!). Fortunately, it was caught so early, that she will never feel the effects of the parasites. However, she will need four shots over the next two days - poor Jen :-( Needless to say, we all be putting on lots of bug repellent for the rest of the trip.
 Bujagali Falls and the source of the White Nile. |
We arrived in Jinja at 11:30am and were told we had an hour and a half to do whatever we wanted. There were internet cafes, telephones and plenty of shops in which to buy souvenirs. Eden, Jared, Tymberlee and myself went looking for a phone to call the states. In Uganda, there are very few ground lines, so anyone who has a telephone has a cellular phone. Even the public phones are cellular - they are just cell phones chained to wooden stools on the sidewalks. You just buy a card, insert it into the phone and make your call as usual. We each bought U5000
|
Lusoga
lesson - counting to ten
Ndala
(N-dah-lah): one
Eebeeri (Eee-bee-ree): two Isatoo (Eee-sah-two): three Ina (Eee-na): four Itano (Eee-ta-no): five Mukaga (Moo-kah-gah): six Musanvoo (Moo-sahn-voo): seven Munana (Moo-nah-nah): eight Mwenda (Mwehn-dah): nine Eekumi (Eee-coo-me): ten |
Featured Video: The rushing Nile The White Nile is so
beautiful.
I wish the video had sound so you could hear its roar, but the pictures
are
impressive enough. It was moving to think that this river spawned
so
much of the history which shaped the modern world.
|
After buying a few local goods from the supermarket, we picked up Eden's 'trunk o' souvenirs' and headed back to our meeting point. We all piled back into the van and drove two blocks (yes - we actually drove two blocks) to the restaurant where we were eating and got out. The food there looked
Featured Video: Ugandan acrobats These acrobats were
performing
by the White Nile when we were there - they tour the country and are
local
celebrities - watch the video and you'll understand why!
|
Featured Dish: Callo One of the most
delicious
things I tasted while in Uganda was a dish called callo. It is
made
from cassava flour, sorghum and millet. Sorghum and millet are
small
seeds (sorghum is used to make grain alcohol and millet is the main
ingredient
in many bird seeds). Cassava flour is made from the leaves of the
cassava
tree.
|
On the way back to Bululu, we stopped by the clinic and received some very bad news - Jen had malaria. When a person is infected with Malaria, the parasites initially find their way to the liver where they lie dormant for 7-10 days. Jen had gone to the clinic because of a rash on her arm, but in this region, everyone who comes through the door gets a malaria test (sort of like every girl who goes to a college infirmary gets a pregnancy test!). Fortunately, it was caught so early, that she will never feel the effects of the parasites. However, she will need four shots over the next two days - poor Jen :-( Needless to say, we all be putting on lots of bug repellent for the rest of the trip.