Sorry it's been so long!!!

I’ve never been to a party before where EVERYONE danced!!!
Sorry for the long time in between blogs…I’ve been a bit preoccupied. But I have extended my trip one week and I am very excited about that. It will be nice to have a bit of a vacation in Gulu, without having to go to school and teach at least. Don’t worry, I’ll come home eventually. I’ll definitely be back for school! Catherine, so glad to hear that you are in first hour again. Looking forward to it.

So, July fourth celebration! It was amazing. The food was great, but the company was even better. There were about 200 or more people there from the teacher exchange, Invisible Children staff, Acholi and American/International…it was a beautiful party! Seriously, I have never been to a party where EVERYONE danced…but everyone did. At one point, the played Michael Jackson’s “It don’t matter if you’re black or white”…it sounds so cheesy, but it was just one of the coolest moments of my life. They also played the National Anthem and I almost started to cry, hearing this large mass of Americans patriotically singing in Gulu, with sparklers overhead. Quite a party…I also got to Acholi dance (or attempt to) with my teachers from Keyo. Florence can dance! It was an evening that I will never forget…

The next day, my friends Abbie, Lauren and Sasha came with me to visit Florence’s house in Lacor. I am so glad they came because we got lost for a while on the bodas after Florence gave me the wrong directions. Good times. Finally, we arrived and Florence walked us through her village, introducing us along the way with the pride of a mother. She fed us soda, water, blue band (butter), bread, bananas, rice, potatoes, meat, cabbage, sim sim paste, beans…dear Lord, is it never-ending? But it was all very good. I was so tired from the night before, but I had to force myself to keep going and go back for seconds because it is considered rude to eat minimally. After eating, Florence walked us around her property. She has a fairly lovely home for a home in Gulu. I got to hold a baby goat…and by baby I mean about two days old. So sweet. He was lost from his mother and crying so Abbie and I helped him find her.

We had to leave Florence’s house to go so Bambu for me to sing with Mick one last time. It was fun. I got to eat fish fingers and chips…always a good time. After singing and eating, Abbie and I went with Ian and Anna to watch “Madagascar 2”. It was so entertaining to watch this movie while in Africa. There are so many subtle details that make so much more sense after having been here.

Monday my group got to go with some friends to Tom and Rose’s house to eat again. They liked us so much that they wanted to have us back one more time before we left. They are always a blessing.

The rest of the week turned out to be quite lovely for various reasons. The end of teaching was sad, but fruitful. Many of my students wrote letters and poems for me to bring to my students at home. They are so desperate for a pen pal situation, so Florence and I decided to set up a system of writing between us that will facilitate a start.

Thursday night was our last Quiz Night with Group One. A great evening of competition and laughs. After the quiz, we went to Hotel Boma to hang out for a bit. I’ve really made some great friends here and I feel so blessed to know each of them.

Friday was our last day at Keyo. They had a going away party for us which started two hours late and consisted of many speeches given by men that we had never even met before. It was kind of boring. But I was still appreciative. They gave Sasha, Daneen, and I flip-flops, a bag, a necklace, and fabric. So sweet. We gave them a collage of pictures from our trip. At the end of the party/meeting, the school Inspiration Hymn Club sang for us. They marched out singing “I’m walking the miracle line”, then they sang two songs, both about Jesus, some had hand motions, and then they marched out to a song in Luo. I got most of it on video. Such a beautiful moment.
I was so sad to leave my school, but I was okay because I knew at that point that I would be here this week so I will have one more opportunity to go back and visit.

Saturday morning we woke up, packed, said our goodbyes to the house (the group did, not me), and piled into the coaster (bus) for about an eight hour trip to Jinja. We stopped in Kampala at the craft market to wait for Amy’s husband, Nick. She was so happy to see him. It was a very sweet moment for their family. When we arrived at Adrift in Jinja, we ate and went straight to sleep because we were so tired. But before heading to bed, we took a look over the balcony of the bar at the bungee jump site. The platform extended 145 feet above the water, over the edge of a cliff. I was so terrified. Just looking at it, I got a feeling of vertigo. But I told my group that I was still going to jump. There were about four of us that agreed to do it before rafting the next day. All night, I tossed and turned because I was so terrified of the thought. It’s one of those feelings where if something bad were to happen, all I would’ve had to do to prevent it is to just not jump off the platform. That’s it. Simple. When I woke up in my bunk, I was resolved to not do it. Then, I walked out to the edge of the balcony and saw the jump site in the morning mist. It was pretty serene. The rushing Nile below almost sounded the question of when would I have an opportunity like this again? Never. I was going to do it.

During breakfast, I was just as terrified as I was when I kneeled at the edge of the plane to skydive six years ago. This, however, seemed so much more terrifying because I was alone. No tandem master to make me jump. Only me. And the fact that it is so much closer to the ground was more daunting than consoling. We signed up with Jack (I think that was his name). I asked him if he was from New Zealand and he high-fived me because he was so glad I didn’t think he was an Aussie. I told him that I watched too much Flight of the Conchords to think he was from Australia. Then, we made the walk to the platform, up the numerous flights of thin, wooden stairs, and out along the arm of the contraption that held my safety and fears woven in the threads of the rope. Five girls went before me. No guys in our morning group. Joanna went first and she blew me away by her beauty. I wrote a poem about it yesterday that I will post in a moment. Sasha went right before me and as she inched up to the edge, she looked up and said, I can’t do it. For a couple of minutes she just stood there shaking her head and said, nope, I need to walk down. At that moment, Jack, the guy in charge of the bungee, pushed her off the platform, plummeting over the edge. She was grateful. I realized at that moment, as I was sitting on the metal plank watching her fall, that I was going off that ledge one way or another and I wanted it to be of my own accord. So, when he called “next”, I stood up and walked to the edge to sit in the chair to get strapped in. They tied the rope and towels around my ankles so tightly that I still have bruises. I was grateful for that. Jack told me that since I was nervous I should not look down at all. Just keep my eyes focused on the mountains in front of me. After I was tied in, I had to hop about four feet to the platform and then scoot my way to the edge. I couldn’t look down, so I had to trust Jack when he told me to stop. Then, he said to raise my hands to the bar above me to steady myself. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, let go and put your hands at your sides. Vertigo…here it comes…I kept looking forward. Knowing that at any moment I was going to hurl myself off this platform with no swan-dive-like form, but just complete, awkward release. He started the countdown. THREE – TWO – ONE – BUNGEE!!! As he yelled bungee, I did it. I actually jumped without hesitation! So scary to just fall and see the water, the cliffs, the sky swirling around me. And then to realize…I’m STILL FALLING! Crazy tunes! Finally the rope stretched to its limit and it didn’t jerk me at all. It was quite a fluid motion. I was relieved. But then I bounced back up and fell again…now it was just fun, though. I swung to and fro for a while and then Isaac and Moses came over in a raft, extending a paddle for me to grab onto and they brought me safely into the boat and to the water’s edge. I am so glad that I did it. It was quite a freeing experience that I will never forget.

I will write more later about the white-water rafting experience on the Nile, but for now I have to go to a roundtable at one of the schools. Take care…