IST (Insanity, Shisto, Totally Awesome)

So much has happened the past two weeks at language IST (In Service Training) in Mbarara and technical training in Jinja (a touristy town near the Nile river and crafts galore). I hope you’re ready for a novel!

October 15^th – 20^th

Language IST in Mbarara went really well. I was extremely excited to see my language trainers again! Benard and Feare are amazing teachers who really care about our transition into Ugandan culture and how our new living situations are. During language training we had a lot of down time to catch up and hang out which was nice since I haven’t seen some of my group for a few weeks. The only problem I found was that it was hard having to pay for lunch, dinner, and copious amounts of water. When at home I could just make my own budget meals and filter my own water. The third night at the hotel at about 11pm it got very loud outside. It sounded like a parade of bodas (taxi motorcycles) were driving by my window and when I looked down from the balcony there was a very long and obnoxiously loud line of bodas driving down the street. The next morning there was a ‘mobile church’ driving around which included a douce and a half (heavy) truck with speakers lining the truck bed. It was VERY loud and VERY annoying after 30 minutes of sitting below my window. Thanks for the wake up call but I could have done without it. After eating a couple bites of watermelon and taking my Doxycycline (daily malaria medication) we had a language session where we split into Health volunteers and CED (Community Economic Development) volunteers, which is what I am. About 20 minutes through the session I started feeling a bit on the sick side. It started with my stomach feeling upset and then my mouth started salivation more… that’s when I knew I had to excuse myself and ‘go to the bathroom.’ I'm not one for leaving a class in the middle of a session and felt rude for excusing myself and walking away but I knew I had to get out of there. I took all of my things and walked quickly down the steps heading to the hotel (we trained outside under a shelter). Right after I got down the steps I leaned against the concrete wall behind a small truck where two Ugandans were working on the engine and threw up in a concrete gutter on the ground. Oh boy. That’s the first time I got sick in country. After throwing up my watermelon I walked 3 flights to my room, laid on my bed for about 5 minutes and went back to class. According to other volunteers who saw me walk out I guess I didn’t hide being sick very well. The rest of language IST went well. No more sickness *thumbs up*. My room became the ‘hang out’ room since I had a good view and a balcony. When I was bored I would watch the clouds and pick inspiration from them. I miss that room…. for $20 a night (50,000 UGX)  I will returning in the future when I need a break from reality.

Sunday Oct 21^st -26^th

 The Runyankore/ Rukiga language group all traveled from Mbarara to Kampala then navigated the mess of the taxi parks and made our way to Jinja. We left Mbarara at 9am and got to Jinja around 5pm… maybe a tad later. About 2 miles before we reached the hotel we crossed the mighty Nile River! I was in awe… this is the river you always hear about and read about in books/ movies! It was gorgeous! The hotel we were at was disgusting at first but grew on me after a few days. Brittany and I roomed together in a room half the size of the last one I was in (by myself). All the rooms were identical (from what I’ve seen) with one twin bed without a mosquito net and one full size bed with a mosquito net. If Peace Corps requires us to use a mosquito net they should practice it and set an example at official PC events. Most of us ended up sharing the mosquito net but I’m pretty sure not everyone wanted to get that close with their roommate. There was also only one window which was depressing compared to my last room. The website to this hotel said they had a workout room, free wi-fi, a garden to walk in, and was next to the Nile River. FALSE. No workout room, I was only able to connect to the wi-fi once, the ‘garden’ didn’t exist and was under construction…. Lame. It was a 25 minute walk from the Nile which isn’t bad but could have been closer. Jinja on the other hand is an A-mazing place! Filled with tourists, great food, ex pats (expatriate) , ‘hip’ Ugandans, and my favorite…. craft shops! I would frequently visit a restaurant called The Keep. The first milkshake I got was at a hotel nearby and looked like pepto bismo. The flavor was supposed to be strawberry but something was a bit off about it. The second night I went to the real milkshake place which was The Keep. It had a unique medieval atmosphere and there was what looked like a band practice but cooler. It was composed of 3 little girls about 11 years in age playing a recorder, violin, and guitar along with an older male playing a mandolin. It sounded like Irish music and made that atmosphere of the place forget I was in Uganda. The peanut butter banana milkshake was incredible and the second night when I returned I ended up getting the chocolate peanut butter which was also incredible! I want more… yum.

We were fed 3 meals a day and sessions ended around 4pm or 5pm most days. After sessions were over we were free to explore Jinja (my favorite part about IST). One afternoon I walked to THE source of the Nile with two other volunteers and one of their counterparts. It was a relaxing 30 minute walk although we frequently had to ask for directions. When we reached the source we each paid our 10,000 shillings and as soon as we walked in there were Vervet monkeys hanging all over the trees with their babies. The one thing my environment lacks in Rukungiri are monkeys! Ugh. The ‘park’ was small with a row of craft shops leading down to the Nile River.  The first bird me and Mary spot on the dock is a Pied King Fisher! My first time EVER seeing a King Fisher! Mary and Chris (the two PCVs that I went with) are also fellow bird lovers and environmental nerds just like me& Mary really wanted to see the birds more so we found a tour guide and got him to drop the price of a boat trip from 80,000 shillings for 30 minutes to 50,000 plus an extra 15 minutes. We board the boat and Mary’s counterpart is a bit nervous to get in. Keep in mind that a majority of the Ugandan population does not know how to swim. We eventually reassure him that we are all great swimmers and he puts on his life vest and joins us. Most of the birds we saw were cormorants (who hold out their wings and dry them in the sun) but we also saw African Darters, Malachite Kingfishers (a beautiful metallic blue and orange), and one Giant Kingfisher smacking a fish against a tree before devouring it! There were no crocodiles or hippos in the area but the guide did mention monitor lizards. I was thinking little 5inch swimming lizards… nope… these lizards were HUGE! There was an island near the source filled with birds. The birds usually sit atop the trees once they are done fishing. There are so many birds that the branches, truck, and ground below the trees are whitewashed with bird droppings. Near the end of the boat tour we landed on a man-made island right next to the ‘source’. The island was small with picnic tables and a small handful of craft shops… just in case you forgot to buy something overpriced already near the entrance of the park. I touched the Nile for the first time on that island! Here are a few tidbits about the Nile: 30% of the water comes from a natural spring about 30 meters below the surface (which is why they built a man-made island in that location so you could get a closer look at where it all begins) and 70% of the water comes from Lake Victoria (world’s second largest fresh water lake). If you swim for 4,000 miles up the river you’ll reach Egypt!

After the breathtaking adventure we went back into Jinja town to get Mary's counterpart his first ever milkshake… the first sip he took his face was priceless! I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head and that he was never going to stop smiling… hope we didn’t get him addicted! Good think he works in Bwindi (where the gorillas and lodges are)… now maybe they can start making them for the tourists! When we got back to the hotel I couldn’t wait to tell people about the boat ride.  Training was SO hot most of the week that it was nice to get out on the water for a bit even though we didn't swim.

The others days after training I walked down the road to Jinja with a group and shopped at craft stores, got to eat the best veggie burger I’ve eaten yet, and even got a pedicure one of the days! My first time walking through the craft shops I had an impulse buy and bought a drum! Talked the shop owner down from 30,000 to 20,000 ($12 to $8) and was extremely excited. I started walking around the craft shops beating my drum lightly under my arms… then I woke up from my blissful state and realized how stupid of a purchase I just made. I want a drum and will get one… eventually but when I have to carry it around for a week and halfway across the country it’s just idiotic. So I went back the drum shop and countered that if she let me return the drum I would buy the same 20,000 shillings in other things from her shop. So I followed through and I’m much happier with my smaller purchases in the long run. One night after celebrating a PCVs birthday Kendra and I (a fellow SW volunteer) went to go walk around and look for a few sachets (plastic baggies of alcohol which hold roughtly 3 shots of liquor… convenient) but we couldn’t find any… which was fine with me. We stopped in a craft store and I noticed a studio in the back. After getting permission to look around the back I was hit by a bolt of lightning of inspiration and motivation! It was FILLED with painting… finished and unfinished and I could have lived in that studio for the rest of my life! I got the shop owners contact information and will hopefully be contacting her about a workshop in the future. This whole time in country I’ve been looking for acrylic paint and the paint used has been right in front of my face this whole time. They use indoor wall paint and just mix the colors themselves… so technically all I need are small cans of primary colors and I can start painting. Except I need some good brushes and a painting surface… which I can find anywhere I suppose. During all of IST I’ve been collecting all the pop bottle caps used and now have about 200 to start working with for craft ideas and projects as well.

October 27^th – 30^th

The day after training all of the counterparts left and most of the PCVs were picked up by NRE (Nile River Explorers) to either get taken to the campsite or the rafting site. We get to NRE and it is raining cats and dogs outside.  After dropping off our bags, packing a change of clothes, and signing our lives away we sat down and had tea/ coffee. When the rain started letting up after an hour or so NRE gave us a container of fruit each and a rolex (not a watch but a chapati or flatbread with egg rolled in it). We boarded the two open sided buses, which felt like a hayride, and left for the river. After a 45 minute drive through a few villages we ended up on the bank of the river. We all took off our shoes and headed down to the shoreline. After listening to a few basic expectations/ instructions we broke off into groups of 6 and plopped in our rafts. My raft composed of 4 other girls from the SW (Brittany, Tara, Kendra, Candy, and Me) and Katie who lives near the central region of Uganda. Katie and I took up the front spots and everyone else piled in behind us. We were lucky enough to have two guides consisting of the NRE manager (Jane) and Gariff (who I believe is from South Africa or England). We practiced paddling techniques, flipping the raft over, pulling each other back into the raft, and getting to know the commands for about an hour before heading down the river. My favorite is pulling someone back into the raft. Because everyone in the raft has no upper body strength and is horrible at getting themselves back over the siding of the raft, we all need help from someone else. It is difficult getting back into the raft especially after you're exhausted from swimming or fighting for your life in a rapid. To assist someone back into the raft you grab the person’s life jacket at the shoulders and literally fall backwards into the boat… the person should fly out of the water if they are kicking at the same time. Its really fun getting pulled back into the raft… although you always land in a really awkward position and it’s hard to get back up because the rubber raft is so slick and slippery you just flail for a few seconds until you find a grip on something or someone. After improving our skills it was time for our first rapid! Luckily I’ve gone rafting twice before but we had a few first timers in the boat. The first rapid Gariff ‘tried’ to flip us by taking us in sideways and we were just too good to flip I guess… we also ended up picking up a kid from France who fell out of his raft. That’s how PC chicks pick up guys… literally. Ha. The second rapid from what I remember was a bit calmer… although Jane pointed out an African Fishing Eagle (looks like a bald eagle but black and dark brown on the lower half and wings instead of brown) and halfway down the rapid it started screeching! I kept up with Katie and held a good pace but couldn’t help but keep looking back at the Eagle… so I don’t remember much of that rapid. The 3^rd or 4^th one was a doozey! It was a class 6 which is too extreme for rafts but not kayaks so we all had to get out and walk our rafts around the rapid. Towards the bottom of the rapid it turned into a class 5 again and that’s when we plopped the boat in the water, cruised through, and flipped. I’m glad it was explained to me ‘when you go under the rapids it’s going to feel like you are going to die but it will be okay.’ It helped mentally prepare me for tumbling around in a rapid and not being able to breathe. I went an entire summer without swimming and I start it off by flipping over in a rapid… in the Nile River… talk about going big or go home! I’m thankful for my parents taking me and my brothers to swim lessons as a kid and having me grow up in and around some source of water or another. I remember opening my eyes and just seeing the greenness of the water with the white of the rapids on top… when I surfaced I took quick short spurts of breath and would be submerged again. Surprisingly I managed to do all of this with my paddle in hand. When I got out of the rapids I saw another paddle and decided to play ‘hero’ and grab that one as well. The best thing about being in the front of the raft is you see it all coming… I felt like I was on the titanic with a big swell coming at my face and over my head! A couple times in the calmer stretches of the Nile we were allowed to take off our helmets and jump in for a swim. The current made me feel like I was flying so I would often go into the Superman pose and just float down the river! ½ way through we were each given 2 large portions of pineapple (about 1/3 of a pineapple each) and a packed of biscuits for some fuel. Each raft was also given a small jerrycan of drinking water throughout the trip delivered to each boat by the safety kayaker guides. The safety kayakers were there to assist if a rafter went overboard or a boat flipped. I’ve never felt so relaxed rafting before. I’ve gone twice in the states and it always seemed so stressful and scary. We didn’t have a guide in each boat and the rapids were a lot shallower (larger rocks being closer to the surface). On the Nile the river is so deep you don’t have to worry most rapids about hitting rocks when you fall out and each raft has a guide so you don’t have to worry about someone inexperienced steering and screwing the whole raft over! The next ½ of the rapids after the break went by fast with frequent jumps in the river for swimming. We didn’t ‘flip’ again until the last set of class 5 rapids named after a few beers in Uganda. Nile Special, Club, and I forgot the third… they were all big dips in the set of rapids and our plan was to flip on the last one ‘Club.’ Unfortunately we were just too good for the rapids and at the peak of the rapid since Jane knew we were not going to flip she yelled “JUMP!” so we all jumped and floated in the fast paced Nile… it felt like a water slide jumping in the middle of a rapid! The two things going through my head when I heard that word… step one: place paddle in the raft… step two: JUMP! After we reached our destination on the shore we carried our rafts up the bank and waiting for us was an amazing meal consisting of different salads, what looked like roast beef, and soda/ beer! Sadly our trip wasn’t filmed by the NRE company which was a bummer due to their camera man being absent but we did manage to get some good photos! I’ll post them when I can! After a good meal we piled back into the busses and headed to the NRE camp which had a beautiful view of the Nile River… looking so calm and innocent. The next day I went for Chinese food for lunch and while others got their Halloween costumes on and boarded the pontoon boat for the booze cruise I took a hot shower and a nice long nap. When they returned we all continued the party in our costumes. I had a last minute costume of an Orange Store rep (Ugandan cell phone company) and was walking around with already scratched airtime as a prop… got a lot of people excited that I had airtime until I told them it was used! trick or treat? Trick please!

Happy Halloween everyone!

It was an exhausting 2 weeks and when I got home I couldn’t find my poor cat until 10pm but I found him! I’m glad to be back home… time for some new adventures coming up

And the novel is finished… for now. Hope you enjoyed!

*Pictures coming soon*