Weekend Thrills

So, it’s been about one week since I’ve posted. There have been a lot of exciting and interesting things that have been happening.

Let’s start with my thought from this past week:

Boda boda. Historically, it was the term used for motorcycles that crossed the border of Uganda. The word "border" gradually morphed into the term boda boda. I ride on boda bodas almost daily, as they are the most popular and easiest form of transportation here in Jinja. I have had an array of different interactions with boda drivers. There are the drivers that sit at Madhvani Market that see me walk past every morning, and have stopped asking if I want a ride, because they know that I walk to work in the morning. But, they are always friendly, and I always say hello. There are bodas sitting at pretty much every intersection in Jinja. And, when they see a mzungu, they raise their arm in the air and say, “ Yes? We go?” Most of the time I say, “No thank you, I am walking.” But there are those times when I want a ride home, and the bargaining begins. For the first few weeks, I was able to get a ride home from work (about 4 minutes by boda) for 500 shillings (approximately 20 cents). But, since the first few weeks, gas prices have gone up, and many boda drivers refuse to take me home for 500 shillings. They now demand 1000 shillings (about 40 cents) for my ride home. Although I believe that I am being ripped off, and it should not be 1000 shillings, I often succumb to their demand. I have to remind myself to keep it in perspective: 1000 shillings is only 20 cents more than 500 shillings. It has recently become a game: see who can get the cheapest boda ride home. I was really proud of myself yesterday when I got a boda driver to take me home for 700 shillings. It sounds silly, but there is principle involved. Although it may only be a difference of 10 cents, I don't like being charged more for being a mzungu.

Events from the last week:

Last Tuesday, we went to the school we have been working with to drop off the curriculum. The teachers were all really impressed, and we asked them to look over the curriculum and give us feedback. Wednesday through Friday was pretty slow, and we did not have too much work to do. We went to some good Indian restaurants, and hung out at some local cafes.

Rafting!

On Saturday I went white water rafting with a company called Adrift on the Nile River. It was amazing. There were 3 class 5 rapids that were insane, and the rest were class 4 rapids. The raft that I was in never flipped, but there were plenty of other rafts around me that were flipping. We lost our guide on one rapid: we made it through the rapid, turned around, and realized our guide was no longer in the boat. Thankfully, he rode the rapid through and was bobbing in the water off in the distance. We got some good pictures, and had so much fun. 

Bungee Jump!

On Sunday, I went bungee jumping for the first time. There were around 9 of us from our group that decided to go, so we all climbed the stairs up to the platform, and one by one, we jumped off. I went somewhere in the middle, and was extremely nervous. I wasn’t at all nervous about the safety factor because Adrift has a really good record with safe jumps, I was more terrified of the height. It was 146 feet, or 14 stories, with the Nile River down below. I was doing pretty well until I was standing on the edge of the platform ready to jump. I was hoping I would be able to get to the edge and jump, but it didn’t go as smoothly. I got to the edge, told the men they might have to push me. Thankfully, they didn’t have to; I stood on the edge with my arms extended, one man holding each arm. They told me to lean forward and as I leaned forward they counted to 3 and let go as I dove down toward the Nile below. After making it off the edge, it was amazing. The feeling of free falling is unbelievable, and I would definitely do it again. I recommend it to anyone that has ever thought about doing it.

A look at the bungee jump from the bar at Adrift

The Nile River at sunset

Harriet, one of the social workers at Busoga Trust,, and myself

This week has been going really well. We went back to Ravo Primary School on Monday to drop off the cement, nails, and iron sheets they need to begin construction on 2 bath houses: one for the boys and one for the girls. They gave us feedback on the curriculum we gave them last week, and their one critique was that we included feminine health, but did not include male health. We also got to see that they had started making their own pads modeled after the samples we had gave them. The sanitary pads looked awesome, and we were really proud of them that they had already started working on them. Yesterday we worked on the adding male health to the curriculum including the male reproductive system, puberty, and STDs.