This weekend was…eventful, to say the least. I want to bring you all up to speed with the highlights from the last few weeks, but let me begin with the last few days.
Melissa and I came into the capital city last week. We attended some staff meetings, which gave us some great opportunities to learn a bit more about the financial/administrative side of SP’s work here in Uganda. We also immediately started eating all the delicious food we could get our hands on, the memories of which will hopefully sustain us for the next month once we return to our steady diet of rice, beans and rice and beans. Then, came the big day. November 8th. The day I have been dreading for quite some time.
I have a very irrational fear of water. I don’t even jump off diving boards. I especially fear water that is 1) dark, and 2) fast moving. Now, in case you didn’t know, Uganda is home to the source of the Nile River. I have visited the Nile on my last two trips to Uganda, but I just sat on the bank, trembled at the water as it churned past me, and tried not to think about how awful it would be to fall in. The river is pretty wild at its source, and so it is hailed as one of the best white water rafting sites in the world. Back in Canada one of the staff advised me (and I quote), “Don’t go rafting on the Nile. I thought I was going to die.” She didn’t have to convince me. I had no desire to go rafting. Apparently, my fellow intern felt differently…and she convinced me to come along.
The night before our trip I barely slept. I would dream about rafting for 20 minutes and then wake up with my heart racing. I cannot begin to tell you how terrified I was. The stretch of the Nile we were to raft down is full of Class 5 rapids, which, I have learned, is code for “very large and ridiculously crazy”. The trip began with some training on a flat stretch of water, which was the scariest part of the day for me. Our guide told us to jump out of the raft so we could practice climbing back in. Jump out!? Into the dark river?! I had no choice, so I jumped. It wasn’t so bad. Then, once we climbed back in, our guide flipped the raft on purpose! I almost panicked, but it wasn’t so bad. (Later in the day I was very glad that we had the flipping drill.) Then, our guide told up to jump out again and float down through a Class 2 rapid on our backs. “This is the last straw!” I thought, but I had no choice. It wasn’t so bad. Actually, it was rather fun. So, after facing a number of my worst fears all in a row, we were off. Let me tell you, it was crazy. We wore helmets for a reason!
For those of you who have traveled to Uganda, the first Class 5 rapid we went over was Bugagali Falls. Ironically, that turned out to be the tamest Class 5 of the day. We charged through some crazy rapids (thankfully without flipping) and on the quiet stretches we could jump out and swim. That was pretty cool, floating on my back down the Nile.
We stopped for quick lunch on a little island, and then were off again. The next Class 5 we went through involved going down a 4 meter waterfall! Ordinarilly I wouldn't do something like that unless I was being forced against my will, but as we teetered at the top of the falls I realized the time for backing out had definitely passed so…over we went! We didn’t flip, and I was so happy to be alive I started high fiving everyone in the raft. After the waterfall we all got a lollipop. It was nice.The very last rapid of the day was called The Bad Place. I have never in my life seen a stretch of water so white, so crazy, so everything. This rapid even had parts that were Class 6 (which is code for “don’t even think about it”). Our guide warned us that we would probably flip, and as soon as we hit the top of the rapid his prediction came true. Only, we didn’t just flip, we were chewed up and spit out, tossed around like a dish rag, etc, etc. During the horrifying flip drill we had earlier in the day, our guide told us that if we held on to the safety rope we would just pop right back up and be able to do fun things like breath air. So, I held onto that rope for dear life and clung to our raft as it kicked and tossed its way down the rest of the rapid. No power on earth (i.e. a rabid Nile crocodile chewing on my leg) could have separated me from the safety rope at that point in time. I have never been so scared in my life, but I have never had so much fun. I cheered and laughed the whole way down in between dousing after dousing of white water. I would definitely do it again, but the thought of it makes my land lubbing little heart beat faster.
The day was great, so great in fact that Melissa wanted to stay a second day. So, she remained and I came back to the city. This is when I made The Fatal Mistake. I forgot to get our room key from Melissa. We have been staying at the SP guesthouse, which, I have learned, does not have spare keys to its rooms. So, I was locked out. No prob. I borrowed some PJ’s and a toothbrush, no big deal. However, the next day came and there was no Melissa. My cell phone was locked in my room along with everything else, and so I borrowed a phone to try calling…and calling…and calling. I called the rafting company- no accidents, no information, no sign of Melissa.
As the night wore on I became more and more worried. I talked with the Deputy Country Director (DCD) and he told me to get into my room using whatever means possible so that I could check my phone for messages. Now, Ugandan doors are usually made of some pretty sturdy wood, and due to my lack of karate lessons as a child, there was no way I could break it down. I asked our night guard for help and he stepped right up, tossing his AK-47 onto a pile of clean sheets and trying to chip away at the lock. At some point he even produced a pick axe. Very impressive. We weren’t having much luck, though, so he resorted to a new tactic. BEATING ON THE LOCK WITH THE BUTT OF HIS GUN! This left the barrel pointing directly at me, and I admit, this made me a little nervous. I could just see the gun going off and me dying a ridiculous death. I ran away and hid in the bathroom until he gave up on the AK and went back to the pick axe. After some time, I thanked him and told him he could go. Shortly after the DCD arrived. We decided to break down the little panel above the door, because I thought I might be able to squeeze through. I am going to guess that the space was about 3 feet wide and 1 foot high. It was tight, but I managed to wriggle through and retrieve my cell phone. No messages from Melissa. Anxiety increases. It is around 2am at this point. The DCD and I were trying to find phone numbers for hospitals, and he was trying to decide if we should go right then to the rafting site or what.
Around 2:30 I got a text from Melissa telling me that she had to stay another night at the river. Hadn’t I received her other text? No, I hadn’t. All because of The Fatal Mistake which separated me from my phone. I was glad she was alright but felt a bit ridiculous about the whole thing. I needlessly tried to break down a door with a pick axe. Seriously. Make sure you have your keys, people.
When I was hiding from the guard who was beating on the lock with his gun, I thought to myself, “This is new. I don’t really deal with things like this back home.” For the most part, life just happens here and I roll with the punches. However, every now and then something ridiculous happens and I wake up with a jolt and realize that I’m not in Kansas anymore. Another good example was during our staff meeting last week. We were talking about Christmas and our director said, “Kamwenge people, you had an Ebola outbreak last year. Did you manage to have your Christmas party before that happened?” I laughed out loud. Did you manage to have your Christmas party before the Ebola outbreak? Wow…
This is a picture of The Bad Place, although it doesn't do much to capture the horror. This isn't our raft, but this is more or less how it went down...
These guys dug this perfectly round hole (about 15 feet deep) BY HAND in a few days. They worked so incredibly hard. The picture is of the mason down in the hole beginning the brick work.
