Mombasa and Uganda

“I want to go to Ghana.” We are sitting on Diani Beach, outside of Mombasa, at a table next to the ocean, watching the waves roll in, and Morgan is telling us that someday, she would like to visit Ghana.

With this simple phrase, I realize that I want to go to Ghana, too; and to Rwanda, and to Congo, and Tanzania. And about fifty other countries, too. I want to see the rest of Kenya, and I want to go on safari. I want to be in places that are like paradise, like where I have been in Diani and South Africa, but I also want to see the places where there is suffering, like the conflict zones in Uganda or DRC. To quote Richard Dowden, Africa is addictive. You cannot just visit one place and be satisfied. It is multilayered and confusing and no one could ever see it all, but there is an urge to see as much as possible, to get as dirty as possible, to learn as much as possible. Culture shock is ever present; day to day frustrations with the people and the customs are constant, but you find, when looking back, that these frustrations are more funny than annoying. That the times when you thought you were having a rough time, you were actually enjoying yourself.

I think most of my closest friends and family know that I have been seriously considering leaving my graduate program, due to both dissatisfaction with the program but also uncertainty and confusion about what exactly I want to do with my life. Coming on this trip would hopefully provide me some clarity to make a decision when I return home. Clarity comes and goes, but I am certain of one thing: I absolutely am in love with Africa.

I will come back to this later – I have just returned from my travel to Uganda and Mombasa, and what an amazing 10 days it was. I already wrote most of the details from Mombasa/Diani, but I will simply reiterate that it was an incredible vacation from the monotony and simplicity of life in Makuyu. I also want to add that my description of the “beach boys” may not be entirely accurate. Morgan and I met a group of them who were incredibly nice and friendly and genuine…we almost did not believe it. They took us to their grandmothers house who cooked us dinner (chapati, ugali, beans, cabbage). We kept expecting them to give us some sob story about how she was sick or something and ask us for money, or for them to suddenly turn sketchy and refuse to let us leave, or something like that. But they ended up paying our taxi home, and they never asked us for anything. When we saw them later on the beach the next day, they did not bother us, but simply smiled and waved. So first impressions can be certainly deceiving.

Diani was so amazing that we ended up staying an extra night, and took the night bus home on Wednesday night, arriving in Nairobi on Thursday. I had expected to leave Nairobi for Jinja on that Thursday evening, but I was tired and so ended up getting a room at the Hilton. The Hilton is like incredibly fancy and ridiculously expensive for Kenya, but in all honesty it was SO worth it; a hot shower and a comfortable bed…I got to veg out and watch movies on TV all day…I got to eat a salad (something I am craving is vegetables, they really only eat maize and potatoes here, and sometimes cabbage). It was seriously amazing. Life at the orphanage has really taught me to appreciate all of the material comforts I am blessed with. We have so many choices in our lives (some say too many choices) and I appreciate this more and more during my time at WWB.

Another volunteer, Giselle, decided to come to Uganda with me, so she stayed the night as well. Two of my friends, Ashley and Rachael, are working outside of Kampala this summer and so we went to meet up with them. We left Nairobi at 8am, and drove up to the border, where it got really hot as we passed the equator and entered Uganda. As we drove north, the land gets greener and more lush. It is very different from the dust covered farms of Makuyu; we pass bright green tea plantations, incredible views of the Rift Valley, thick evergreen forests…Kenya is extremely diverse it seems. Uganda is also extremely green and lush, and very hot. At 7pm, we arrived to Jinja, the town where the White Nile comes out of Lake Victoria, and one of the biggest tourist and adventure spots in Uganda. To get to the accommodations, we must take these bikes called boda bodas, a motorbike. A boda boda is possibly the most dangerous thing I have encountered in Africa. The drivers speed, there is dust flying everywhere and you cannot see anything, especially not potholes and other pedestrians, the other cars are awful drivers. But this is Africa, so we got on the bikes and held on for dear life.

Our accommodations were awesome. A bar and restaurant area is situation at the top of a big cliff overlooking the Nile, and as the sun sets over the river it is breathtakingly beautiful. I have spoken before about the beauty of African people and of the beauty I see in Makuyu and at the orphanage, but Jinja is truly paradise – one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We stayed in the dormitories (there was also camping available in tents, and then larger cabin-style houses). The place was packed for the weekend with backpackers and aid workers taking some time off from various volunteer and NGO positions to come rafting. There was also a huge group from Overlands, which is a 40 week excursion where you basically live in this truck, drive somewhere new every few days and pitch tents and hang out. It goes from Cairo to Cape Town.

On Saturday morning we woke up early to go rafting. It was pretty intense rafting, the rapids ranging from grade 2 to grade 5, which are really very difficult to navigate. One of the rapids is a waterfall, where you have to basically fall something like 8 feet or maybe more. It was really awesome – our boat had some good momentum going and we did not flip at all except on one rapid. I think by the end of the day though, our group was hoping to flip over, because its exciting and scary when you go flying off the boat into the water. I would love to go again, it was really awesome. Check out www.raftafrica.com to see the places we rafted.

We stayed at the campsite on Sunday, July 4th, and hung out with new friends we had met rafting. I made it a point to try to eat cheese with nearly every meal as it is so difficult to get in Kenya (this was the first dairy I ate since I arrived in Kenya)…I got omelettes, pizza, paninis. Again, living at the orphanage makes you appreciate EVERYTHING. On Monday, Ashley and Rachael left to go back home, and Giselle and I went to this other place called Adrift to watch our friends go bungee jumping (I did not go because I’ve gone before and it was really expensive). Then we took the overnight bus from Jinja to Nairobi, and returned to the orphanage.

The weekend was really incredible. Uganda is absolutely stunning. Other than the rafting, the food and the beauty of the place, it was really great getting to meet and hang out with other travelers, many of whom share the same passions and interests as I do. It is great finding other people who enjoy traveling and meeting new people, who are interested in Africa or development and in service work, who are friendly and adventurous. It was a great break from the monotony of my days at the orphanage, and I really enjoyed seeing a different part of Africa. Although Jinja is very touristy, we got to meet some Ugandans, which are quite different from Kenyans. They are more sarcastic, they joke around more – they are also quicker to laugh. Kenyans are more serious, and do not always understand sarcasm.

My two weeks traveling is pushing me to rethink my feelings about my future and my career. Africa is like a walking contradiction. It is a land of plenty, abundance of resources, and yet stifling poverty. A people who are easygoing and friendly, yet plagued by war and conflict. Emotionally and physically exhausting, yet exhilarating. Perhaps it is no surprise that despite intense fear and aversion to the idea of living here for an extended time, I feel at the same time drawn to return.

The fact is that I am completely uncertain. I keep rotating between the idea that I love Africa and I could make it working here for an NGO or aid organization for a while (for a year or more), and the fact that I feel ready to come home now, after only two months. The mood swings I experienced in the beginning of my time at WWB, though greatly less severe, still exist. There are moments I love being here and moments I want to run to the airport. It is hard to explain what I am feeling and thinking, but ultimately I just feel torn. I have just under four weeks left at the orphanage, and I am hoping that by the end I will have a little more understanding.

Lastly: There have been several people who have donated to me and I wanted to just say thank you, first of all, and secondly, I am having trouble accessing my account because PayPal is blocking my access in Kenya. As soon as I can get the money transferred I will have the chance to purchase some new things.