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Fourth of July- God Bless America, even in Uganda. This year the Fourth of July was a whole new experience. The America Recreation Association in Kampala held their annual bash, mzungus as far as the eye could see. There was a BBQ of burgers and grilled chicken with baked beans and coleslaw, and it was so good. A few local schools entertained us with traditional Ugandan dancing and singing. And best of all there was a big firework display!!! Way better than I expected for the middle of Kampala. Afterward we had an impromptu dance party that well into the evening. What was funny was that we were the only ones there not drinking and we acted the most drunk. Good Times, Good Times.

Gulu- Ugandans have a difficult time of telling time and distance, our bus trip to Gulu, in northern Uganda, was supposed to be 5 to 6 hours long but in true Ugandan fashion it took us 12 hour not mention that there are over 180 speed bumps on the was there, they are doing road construction and are using them to slow down traffic. That’s right 12 hours in a cramped bus in the middle of the night going up and down, up and down. But even after all that we were still ready to get working. Gulu is such a pretty area with tall palm trees and wide fields. The people there are every nice and welcoming.

We went to the Gulu branch for church and even though it was a small branch the members there had such a strong spirit with them. Plus I met my favorite child in all of Uganda, if you can have a favorite child, Keely. He is about 3 years old and the cutest child ever. He took to me pretty fast and was such a delight to play with. Sunday night we had a fireside and he fell asleep in my arms. If only I took take him home. On Monday we spent the day finishing the adobe stoves at many of the IPD camps that the other HELP volunteers started 3 weeks ago, I went with a few others to a place called Ajulu, which is an hour bode ride out of Gulu. If you have ever been on a boda you know how scary it is to go just a few minutes on it so an hour is really pushing in on the danger scale, plus we got two flat tires along. Luckily Abby and I had a great boda driver named James. He was from Gulu and his father was killed by rebels when he was still young. He felt bad that we got the flat tires that he spent the day helping us finish the stoves. He was a way cool guy.

There are about 150 NGOs in Gulu alone so we were only able to meet with a few, Aid Africa who also work on energy saving stoves and Invisible Children who most people have heard about. It was really exciting to see the work that other NGOs are doing and the impact they were making. Invisible Children have a few amazing programs they use in the community and its really impressive the amount of good they’ve been able to do in such a short time. I would have loved to stay in Gulu longer but there is lots more work to be done.

Safari- You can’t go to Africa without going on a safari!! Last week 6 of us went on a Safari in Murchison Falls National Park, it had all the trimming of an real African safari; warthogs and hippos in the camp, open roofed vans to see the animals in, a local guide to tell us all the fun animal facts and new people to meet. I think my favorite part was when our guide said that the giraffes were “cool guys” and told us that “unfortunately the giraffes don’t talk back”, he was a way funny guy. I got to sit on the roof of the van so I had an excellent view of all the animals. I saw giraffes, elephants (who I was really excited to see), wild buffalos, hippos, crocodiles, and lions (eating a warthog)!! Fun Fact, crocodiles are scared of hippos.

If you can't tell there are lions eating a warthog behind me in the bottom picture.

We went on a boat ride on the Nile up to Murchison Falls but went able to get that close to it. Murchison Falls is the most powerful waterfall in the world so it was really neat to hike to the top of it. It was really a scary experience because if you were to fall in it you would be crushed instantly. But even that said it a very beautiful and awe inspiring waterfall. It was definitely a once in a life time experience.

Fishing- I ended this past super long week by going fishing on Victoria Lake and spending the night on one of the 52 island in the middle of the Lake. It was very beautiful there and it was amazing to watch the sun set over the lake while waiting for some fish to bit. Unfortunately we didn’t catch any fish. The island was so beautiful that it made up for walking in the dark for an hour, not catching one fish and sleeping on the floor in a questionable hotel. It was a good ole time.

Now I have only two weeks left and although I’m really excited to head home I still want to make every last moment.