Traveling with Mica

This is my final reflection video! I hope you have enjoyed following along on my journey during my time in Uganda. The link for the video is here.

Questions answered:

1. Then reflect on what you hoped to learn or get from this experience and discuss it at the start of the vlog.
2. Discuss what you learned about public health or disabilities in Uganda.
3. Discuss what you liked least about the trip.
4. Discuss what you liked the best about the trip.
5. Discuss what you found challenging about the trip.
6. Discuss what you found the most rewarding about the trip
7. Discuss what you actually got or learned from this experience. Provide examples and descriptions as appropriate.
   1. As part of this be sure to discuss what you learned about yourself?
   2. Be sure to reassess your cultural competence given the frustrations I know many of you felt with certain aspects of culture, compared to your initial assessment. So for example in your first assessment of your cultural competence, you rated yourself, does that rating still stand after spending 5 weeks in Uganda or would you adjust how you rate your cultural competence, either higher or lower?  Provide specific examples.
8. If you had to sum up this trip in a single sentence or phrase, what would it be?

Hey ya’ll! If you are a student interested in applying or attending this study abroad opportunity, you’ve come to the right place! In this video, I’ll be answering the following questions. If you ever have any other questions or want to know more about the trip, feel free to reach out! Here’s the link

1. Was the cost of the trip worth it?
2. Was the trip too long, too short, or just right?
3. Knowing what I know now, would I go on this trip again?
4. Packing and other tips
5. What you should know about traveling with Dr. Brady and Dr. Cathorall?
6. Is there anything you wished you would have known before going on the trip?

I haven’t talked much about the weather here, so I am sure that some people are wondering.  The only way I can describe the weather is, perfect.  In the evening, you can get by with a light jacket, pants, and sandals.  During the days, the sun is hot, but it has not gotten above mid-80s here.  Since we are very close to the equator, the sun is very strong.  But because of the higher altitude it doesn’t get miserably hot here during this time of the year like it does in Illinois!  During the day, sun-dresses, light-weight pants and t-shirts, shorts and a t-shirt are all suitable for the weather.  I have learned that it is important to always carry a light weight jacket with me because once the sun start going down, it can quickly cool down.

Today, we got up to eat breakfast with Dr. Brady before sending her off to Kenya, where she will be staying for the next two weeks before coming back to the United States.  After breakfast, I was able to get all my luggage situated in order to fly home tomorrow. When I woke up this morning, it hit me that my time in Uganda is ending. It breaks my heart to have to say goodbye to this amazing country.  Since our hotel had a spa as well, I treated myself to a deep tissue massage and a pedicure.  LET ME TELL YOU- they were the best services EVER. During this relaxing time, I was able to sit back and think of all the memories that I have made while being here. I have tried so many new things, met new life-long friends, experienced a new culture, and so much more. It is hard to believe that five weeks has already come and gone. We were also able to go to the local mall (which is huge) and get last minute gifts and to exchange our money back to USD.  I told myself that there was no need to buy a lot go things. But when did I ever follow that rule? There were so many beautiful crafts that I had to give myself a time limit at the shops or else I would spend too much money. All the things I bought, reminded me of so many different things in Uganda, that’s why I couldn’t turn some of the crafts down. After we got back from shopping, we all relaxed, ate dinner, and then headed off to the airport!  The journey home begins!  I am so sad to say goodbye to Uganda, but I keep telling myself that it’s only a “see you later”.  However, I am very excited to take a long hot shower, sleep in my bed, and snuggle up with Riley and Ivy 🙂

Today was our last full day in Uganda and we spent most of our day in the car.  This morning, we woke up and had breakfast before going on a boat ride to an island.  On this particular island, there is a pigmy village and we went to go tour the village and learn more about how they survive on the island and learn about their culture.  The boat ride took a little over an hour and when we arrive, I think all of our jaws dropped.  The first thought that popped into my head was, “I didn’t know that Mt. Everest was in Uganda”.  We knew that there would be “some hiking” in order to get to this village, but I don’t think we were ready to hike mount Everest.  The mountain/hill/Mt. Everest, whatever you want to call is was about 500 feet above the lake water.  When we got off the boat, children came rushing towards us, handing us a walking stick and grabbing our hands to guide us up the hill.  The boy who helped me was 13 years old and his name was Thomas. If you’re anything like me, you probably are asking yourself why this little boy is not in school.  Of course, I asked (in a sensitive way of course).  I then learned that he was one of 7 children, his father passed away a few years ago, and that he could not attend school right now because he doesn’t have the books to attend.  My heart broke in half, but I that is a common issue that I have noticed during my trip.  After many, many breaks, we reached the top.  We were greeted by the community members and listened to our guide tell a little history about the island and the community.  The community members were displaced from Bwindi NP by the government.  They used to be hunter-gathers but now the After, the community members sang songs and danced for us.  They also had crafts for purchase.  Our guide explained that because they cannot fish or hunt, that the money received from the crafts is how they make a living.  I bought a couple items and then we were lead to the school where the children sang and danced with us.  There, we learned that many children on the island do not have parents because there is a high rate of death from malaria.  Once we reached the main land, we ate lunch at the hotel and then began our journey to Entebbe, which is the city we will be flying out of. The car ride should have been about a 5-and-a-half-hour drive but because of poor road conditions and frequent speed bumps, it took us 9 hours.  Once we reached the hotel, we were greeted with watermelon juice (yummy!) and were shown to our rooms!

 

The photos above does not do enough justice, I was blown away by the beauty of these islands and the people who reside there. The boy in the blue hat is Thomas, the one who escorted me up and down the hill. I also included a photo of the children that were attending school and who sang and danced with us. You can also see a photo of the community members signing and performing a traditional dance for us, welcoming us to their community. My heart was so full watching the community members dance and expressing their love for their community’s history and culture.

This morning, we woke up early to go see if we could see the lions in the park.  After driving for a little over an hour, we left and did not see any.  The guides said that the lions have not been spotted for 3 days.  We wondered why were weren’t seeing the lions even after driving off road in the grasslands, hoping we would spook them and make them move. When we asked Jarded, our driver why weren’t seeing any, we learned that 11 of the lions were recently killed by the community members. I guess lions had killed some of their cows and in order to “fight back” the community members poisoned the lions, which killed them. Learning this broke my heart. I know that the community has to protect their farm animals in order to provide food for their families, but to kill 11 lions is a big deal.   On our way out of the park, we were able to quickly stop at the tourist craft shops. Lunch took a while and I didn’t end up eating much because my fish was under cooked.  However, we got an ICECREAM bar, so I can’t complain too much. We then reached Lake Bunyoni where we started us by canoeing.  Let me simplify this portion for you, our canoe SUCKED at it and pretty much spun in the lake the entire time.  At first it was frustrating, but our canoe group ended up laughing about it and enjoyed the time we had to admire the beautiful islands, lake, and the many establishments built lake side. Lake Bunyoni is the deepest lake in the world but among the safest because there are no hippos or crocodiles.  Our rooms at this resort are the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in.  Chelsea and I were rooming for the night and all we could think about is how amazing we were going to sleep. We all gathered for dinner and then finished out the nights for a drink or two (or 5ish).  I truly think we have an amazing group for this trip.  Everyone gets along, and we are always able to laugh and have fun together. Cathorall- good luck getting a better group than this one.  Tooting our own horns- we are pretty darn awesome! In fact, we’ve already been planning a reunion.

This morning, we woke up early to go chimpanzee trekking!  After about 25 minutes of walking, our tour guide had lead us to the chimps that are not as afraid of humans.  We were able to see two males and one female that was carrying a baby that was thought to be a month and a half old.  For about an hour, we were able to see them go from tree to tree, eat figs, and climb down to the ground, and then back up again.  While watching the chimps, we were able to learn more about the chimps and how the guides are able to lead tourists to see the chimps.  Our guide told us that we were very lucky because the group that had went trekking the previous day had to walk for 6 hours to see the chimps for only 5 minutes.  It was a very neat experience to be able to see chimps in their natural habitat. At first, I was pretty scared. I couldn’t help but wonder, what if we made the chimps mad? Would they try to attack us or scare us off? Would they just run away and our tour be over? Thankfully, we did not have that occurence. The  chimps  didn’t seem to mind that we were in their territory. Once I saw a chimp and realized that we were not threatening them, I could relax.   After trekking we went back for lunch and had time to relax a little bit before heading to see the crate lakes and then the Savannah areas where the lions usually are.  The lakes were STUNNING.  In the moments of looking at the beautiful land, I was mesmerized.  We saw a few crater lakes, some were salt water, and some were fresh water.  Our guide, Jared explained that the animals use the salt lakes to treat their wounds. After our safari drive, we headed back to the resort and went to bed!!

 

Overall, today is a day that I am never going to forget. Not many people have a chance to see the amazing creatures and scenery that I have been able to see today. I am so thankful for cameras and memories so I can not only remember and cherish them, but so I am also able to share with others in hope that they see the same beauty that I have been able to see.

Today, we made it to Queen Elizabeth park.  When we arrived, we had lunch on Lake Edward.  I had amazing fresh tilapia fillet and French fries.  After lunch, we boarded a boat to do a boat tour of Lake Edward.  During our boat ride, we were able to see dozens of elephants.  They were all on the shores of the lake to get a drink, splash in the water, and cool themselves off from the hot sun.  We also saw many buffalo.  For the most part, the buffalo stay in shallow water and have their faces turned towards the shore.  They always face the shore in the water because that is how they watch for predators. We also saw a lot up hippos submerged in the water.  As we cruised around the lake, we learned a lot about the animals, the hundreds of species of birds, and the history about the national park and lake.  After the boat cruise, we headed to our resort.  On our drive, we were able to sit on top of our van to get a better view of any animals that we were likely to see.  We drove Our view from our room and the reception/restraint area was absolutely breath taking.  It looked like something that you would see in a movie.  At sunset, we were able to see elephants walking from the open fields.  We ate a wonderful dinner and went to bed early so we could get enough sleep for Chimpanzee trekking!

Today, we woke up early to get on the road to head to our first safari destination.  We had many of our Ugandan friends wake up early to give us one last hug and to see us off. We arrived at Lake Mburo, which is one of the smallest national parks in Uganda.  In this park, they are known for their zebras and deer-like animals called a Tope.  We also saw antelope, buffalo, moneys, warthogs, and many birds.  We went on a boat ride and saw a lot of hippos and I learned so much about hippos from our boat tour guide!  Today at lunch, I went up to get a cup of tea and a monkey jumped from the tree to our table and grabbed my leftover bread crust!  It was so funny to say the least.  This place is beautiful, and it had an amazing view.  The rooms were nice, and I was able to take a long, hot shower!! A long day of driving, wore me out!  Goodnight everyone 🙂

This morning, I was able to wake up and get a few shirts and pants washed before heading on safari for the next week.  At 10, we met the German researches and walked with them to their research site. We have been saying hello and exchanging bits of information when seeing each other on campus, so we asked if we could go see their research site to learn a little more about what they are doing. Albert has committed to a three-year research project working with a recent graduate from Ndejje University.  They take corn waste crops (corn cobs with no corn) and send it through a carbonation process.  Ultimately, they mix the product with a few other things and create charcoal briquettes.  Although this process creates a more expensive charcoal product, it helps save the tress and wood that others use to create charcoal.  They buy the corn waste crops from local farmers to help the local community. In turn, they also sell the products to the community in small packages and in bulk.  The university uses these briquettes in their kitchen when preparing ginormous meals for the students eating on campus.  Although some of the information that Albert gave us was a little over my head, it was interesting to see the machines and learn about the process of making charcoal out of corn waste crops.  On our walk back to campus, Dr. Cathorall and Dr. Brady gave us information on how creating charcoal out of the corn is environmentally, better for the community. Using the corn crops lessen the wood that is collected from deforestation.  It Is also supporting the people and farmers in the community by purchasing the corn waste crops from the famers and giving the community a healthier and safer product to purchase.  Typically, the corn waste is burned, which of course, contributes to air pollution and potential fire and burn injuries.  After that was over, we met some of the students at the local bar to enjoy a few drinks together to celebrate.  It made my heart so incredibly full to see the people who made our trip so memorable gather in celebration.  Ending the night included many tears, laughs, and hugs as we said goodbye to the most amazing people.