What a day. It was this time last week that I was packing for this trip and today takes me through the halfway mark. The way this trip has been organized is perfect. It seems that every other day is an emotional roller coaster. That was yesterday. So today was a day of physical strain. I am wiped out.
First of all, last night after I had finished blogging such a long post and went to my room, brushed my teeth and went to bed. However…I started to get complacent and used a little water from the bathroom sink faucet to brush my teeth. Didn’t think about it until 3 am when the stomach starts telling me that something abnormal is growing in it! I got up…took a “cipro” which is a stomach and intestine antibiotic…spent the next 3 hours in the bathroom…(you don’t need details do you?!) So its needless to say…if you can do the math…that I got a total of about 2 hours sleep last night. After a couple of hours the Cipro did its job and I am totally fine now!
So we got up early and headed to what is called “The Rock”…it is a towering moutain that really only takes about 30 minutes to get to the top because it is straight up. Many places they have permanently fastened ladders to the mountain because of the extreme slope. The view from the top overlooking the African plains is breathtaking. I also was completely inspired to lose about 20 pounds off my bod. I am starting now. Eat less for dinner! Repeat at Breakfast and Lunch too. Hopefully that works.
If you want to see images of “The Rock” Just google The Rock in Torroro Uganda.
Once we got back down the mountain we grabbed a late breakfast and had an all group meeting to get the rest of the day planned. There were several options and so today I chose to keep it physical. I went to a local village school and simply helped clean and paint a new building that was just built to expand the villages school. Sounds pretty simple, but you mustn’t forget that when we “Muzungo’s” show up…you get 50 little kids swarming around you wanting to touch you and play with you. They are fascinated by the hair on my arms. I saw two 8 month olds today who had never seen a white man. They screamed in utter terror. The mothers just laughed and try to calm their infants. Of course I had to try to get the infants to relax by smiling and approaching them again…but it didn’t work. Complete terror. Oh well.
That’s what I did all day…painted and took breaks to play with the kids of the Jubba Village in Uganda Africa.
I am in Africa! I really have fallen in love this mystical place and even more so its people. On the way home we stopped in the city square of Torroro. It is a very busy place. Some of the group stayed on the bus, the medical team with us went into a pharmacy warehouse and bought some medications for helping some African people and I took the few moments we had to wander down to the local market store and buy an Orange Fanta! It is quite a strange feeling to be walking about hundreds of people and be the only white one! I loved it. The people in Africa love to greet you. Little children will come up to you to shake your hand and when you do shake it, they go to their knees as a sign of respect and kindness. Its strange, but its their culture.
I wonder how I can get my wife Kelli to do that!? LOL
Well…I’m back at the hotel and I’m going to try to catch up on some lost sleep from last night. This trip will soon be over…and I know that Africa will forever be in my blood. I so want to return as soon as I can and bring some of my family with me to experience what is such a remarkable and mysterious place.
Trent