Easter getaway

Murchison Falls was a blast. We stayed at the Red Chili campsite, which was great -- real toilets, showers, a decent restaurant and a nice seating area to hang out. We brought a bunch of two-person tents with us and sleeping on the ground was a little rough, but overall the accommodation was wonderful.

A hippo walked through the camp shortly after our arrival on the first night. Crazy!

We spent Saturday morning doing a game drive, and saw loads of elephants, giraffes, wildebeest, warthogs, antelopes, baboons, and a lion. The terrain was beautiful, and much different from the landscape we're used to in the eastern part of the country. I couldn't get it through my head that we were seeing the animals in their natural habitat; I really felt like we were in a zoo or a fenced-in park, and that the animals had been put there for us to witness. Pretty great.

Easter Sunday was spent doing a boat tour to the bottom of the falls, which allowed for lots of hippo and crocodile sightings. In the afternoon we drove up to the top of the falls, which was incredible. Seeing huge mammals is great, but the sheer power of the water pounding its way down the rocks was more breathtaking in a way. We spent some time swimming at a campsite a short ways up the Nile, which was short-lived and a little scary since we could see the hippos surfacing halfway across the river.

The hippos and warthogs were my favorites. The hogs hung out around the campsite, and are pretty cute despite their giant tusks and weird back mohawks.

Spending time with the other volunteers and having a real, safari-style holiday was a much-needed break from placement life. We're all a little bummed to get back to work, but it was a lovely respite and got me pretty excited to be a Ugandan tourist in May.

This computer isn't linking up to my camera, so I'll post some pics next time I'm in. The SPW staff called a mysterious meeting for all of the volunteers this afternoon, which is why I'm still in Jinja and not teaching lessons today. Our placement is having an additional meeting afterwards about the security situation in Buwenge afterwards. We expressed concern to staff person Nat on Thursday night, and I think that some security measures are going to have to be implemented or SPW might want to move us. Starting over in a new community would be a little unbearable at this point, but we might get shifted to a different trading center and stay at the same schools. I really don't want to think about moving house, but I don't like not being able to leave our house at night either.

I have moments, like this weekend, where I love Uganda and dread the thought of readjusting to American life. There are also plenty of times on placement where I wish I had an excuse to pack up and head home. I have a lot to look forward to when I get back.

I got to eat a bacon cheeseburger and chocolate this weekend! Rock on!