Hello from an internet cafe in Kabale!
We’ve been doing so much, I have a lot to cover-
Free travel was definitely a learning experience for all of us. Figuring out transportation was a bit of a challenge, but we ended up taking a public bus from Lake Nkuruba to Mbarara. The day was a stretch on our comfort zones but we all stuck together and worked things out. We also learned the crucial difference between “now” (anytime in the next 6 hours), and “now now” (actually now) while waiting for our bus. We also had time to buy juice and a Rolex (egg wrapped in chapati). It’s recently been discovered that Rolexes only exist in Uganda, not in Rwanda or TZ, so we’ve been trying to cram them in before we leave. Our first stop was to Lake Mburo National Park where we went on a game drive and a boat tour. We were all really excited to see hippos (especially Jessie when she saw one “breech”). Next we headed to Mgahinga National Park by way of matatu (private taxi). Alexa, Taylor, Will, Chris, Charlotte, Cliff, & Karen climbed Mt. Sabinyo while Zoe, Izzy, Jessie and I went Golden Monkey tracking and Vicky went caving. From what I heard, climbing the volcano was extremely difficult but also incredible. It was an all day climb that involved ladders, rain, and lightning, so needless to say we were all very impressed! There are only 500 golden monkeys left in the world so it was amazing that we got to see some of them. It’s awesome that Vicky did what she wanted to do and went caving. After Mgahinga we took another matatu to Kabale to start volunteering with Edirisa. We all slept in one dormitory and it was cute because we haven’t done that since painting at Lubani. There were also hot showers which was much appreciated. The founder, Miha, gave us a presentation on what Edirisa’s all about. Here’s the link to the website if anyone’s interested in learning more: http://www.edirisa.org/. We stayed 1 night at “The Home”, and then moved out to “The Heart” on Lake Bunyoni. Unfortunately uploading pictures is not working, but here’s a google image pic: http://images.travelpod.com/users/nat_yeo/africa-2005.1164927900.lake_bunyoni.bmp. Our first day on the job we split up into 2 groups, one went across the lake to a school, and the other worked with the school next to The Heart. In the morning we played with the kids in the Nursery (entirely run by Edirisa), and in the afternoon we sat in on some Primary School classes (government run, but enriched by Edirisa). The next day we went to SNEC (Special Needs Education Center) to work on some projects with the kids. We split into groups again and half of us worked with the mainstream school and half worked with the kids with special needs. Alexa, Zoe, Taylor, Charlotte, and Vicky made texture collages with the kids at SNEC, and picked up a bit of sign language. Chris, Izzy, Will, Jessie, and I taught a lesson plan on habitats to Primary 6. Yesterday we went to Nyakasiru Primary School and taught the habitat lesson to P4, P5, and P6. We also played Duck Duck Goose and Red Light Green Light with the P1 students (so cute). Today’s our day off so we’re just kind of chillin in Kabale, going to the post office, buying food, etc. Tomorrow we’re canoeing around Lake Bunyoni which should be amazing! That’s about it for now I think, thanks for reading.
-Becca
