This past weekend was filled with many adventures in a place called Jinja. We had the wonderful privilege of camping on the edge of the Nile ( it's actually the white nile, not the blue Nile-I wasn't corrected until I was halfway through my weekend, no worries). Our camp site was quite nice for a developing country I must say, including short grass, fire pits and even a pool and bathroom facilities if so desired. About 100 steps away from our very nice campsite at the Kingfisher Safari Resort-the name derives from the famous kingfisher bird-a mental note to all you non-birdwatchers , there was a stone path leading out to Lake Victoria. When you stand at the edge of the path, you are able to see Lake Victoria meeting the Nile river. The locals call it the "Source of the Nile". On the 2 day of our adventure, we were able to take a boat ride along the Nile. (* One MAJOR highlight of the weekend). Here are some interesting tidbits that I learnt from our guide:
~ If you put an object at the start of the nile, it would take 3 months for it to reach Egypt (where the nile ends).
~Uganda's main source of energy and electrical power is from the dam on the nile?
~ There is a white nile and a blue nile.
~The distance from one side to the other is 4,000 miles.
Other highlights of the weekend were countless dips into the pool with the kids, piggyback rides (for the kids), stories and songs around the campfire, roasted marshmallows, and soccer games.
All in all, it was a great time to spend my first weekend in Africa, getting to know the Mickler family better and asking as many questions as I possibly could about the country, culture and customs. Mom wrote me an email this morning asking me about the weather and the sounds. My goal is to update to all of you as I progressively learn different words and see new and exciting things, so please join me in my small and great discoveries.
1) Bota Bota ( A motorbike-fastest and more hazardous way of travel)
2) Matatu (A van with about 15 seats-apparently there is a set rate for travel around town-good mental note)
3)Ugandan Shilling ( Exchange rate is about 1.600 shillings to one US dollar)
4) Ebus-The morning glory-My current African alarm clock. The sound they make could be compared to a monkey mixed with something else.
5) Hip hop/African Style music is often heard when driving down the road in town.
6) The people in the restaurants and stores most often call me "Madam" and are very respectful and have a quiet demeanor. I find this baffling as most of these people who are serving me are twice my age and I should be calling them Madam and Sir. :)
7) Along with the their quiet demeanor come their voice in hushed tones. I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but I have a slight problem with hearing. This presents a problem as I have to work twice as hard to try to hear what they are saying to me...I guess it's good practice right??
This week holds many new discoveries and people to meet. Tomorrow morning I will be heading off to Jordan House, a community based orphanage. I will update as soon as I can....and I'm still working on the pictures.
Cheers!
2 comments:
Annette I miss you!
I love reading about your adventures, I will live vicariously through you!
I got a job for now! At a language centre, preparing government workers for their Second Language Evaluation tests..it's intense but I really like it. Who knew I'd be teaching again?
Can't wait til you're back in Canada and come visit me!!!
I'm so glad 4 you. It's good that you are having an opportunity of doing good to others.
HAVE FUN!!!!!
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