Wow, what a month,

It began with IST (In-Service Training) for my training group. It was great to see everyone and share stories and experiences that we've had over the past 6 months. Laura up north in Tanga had a 10 foot python eat one of her school driver's goats but the students found and killed the snake...with the goat still being digested. It was a pretty cool picture. Patrick spends a lot of time repairing the windmill that pumps water to his school from the nearby Lake Victoria. Good thing he's an engineer. Louis is busy trying to figure out how to protect the underground water pipes that the elephants keep destroying. They can actually smell the water through the ground, dig up and destroy the pipes to get to the water.

Then of course we had the much anticipated Mulletfest 2006, an event planned back at the end of training by Brendan and Dale. It was a great time and a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy the extra pics I put up on the Mulletfest 2006 photo page.

After IST Anna, Steph, Mike, Becky, Patrick, and I went to Dar to get ready to head to Kampala, Uganda to raft the Nile. We picked up TJ-Mike's bro who finished his 2 years of service in Peace Corps Bangladesh last Sept. Then we all went to the movie theater where we got caramel popcorn and cold drinks, then entered a cold theater to watch X-Men 3. It was great to see a movie on the big screen-our first in 9 months. The next morning we hopped on a 30 hour bus to Kampala. We passed by Kilimanjaro in the evening with the sun casting magnificent shadows. Unfortunately we passed too quickly for us to get out or cameras. We then passed through Kenya sometime that night so we didn't get to see much of the country side. Then we crossed into Uganda and arrived in Kampala the next morning. We then made arrangements with the rafting company, found a hotel, and exchanged some Tanzanian shillings for Ugandan. We stayed at a nice travelers lodge and watched the US vs. Czech Republic world cup game.

The next day was the big day: rafting the Nile. We took a 2 hour ride to a modest house, were treated to a pancake and fruit breakfast, and we met our guide, Noah, from Israel. We tried on helmets and life vests and then hopped in the car to head to the river.

The Nile

We're introduced to our safety kayakers for our trip and then asked to step in the water. We climb into the raft and go over commands and safety instructions including my favorite part: what to do if you fall out. Four are on the left: Steph, Patrick, Anna, and TJ; three on the right: Mike, Becky, and myself; Noah steering us from the back. What we were to learn about the river that day was it has moments of complete calm followed by moments of chaos. Most all of the rapids were class 4 or higher, no class one's or two's for beginners. But the good news is the Nile has few rocks, making a swim (fall out of the boat) less dangerous. The first rapid was passed with ease and excitement from the crew. The next rapid was a little more rough. We paddle in hard and then are instructed to 'get down'. The raft hits a wave and is bent in half. Anna's face collides with Patrick's helmet while mine does the same with Becky's. We come out of it ok, a shiner starting on my face and a bruise on Anna's. Patrick's head is hard and none the worse while Becky is given a little headache. But we're Peace Corps volunteers: we're tough and continue on.

The next rapid is the worst we will face: the G Spot. Yup, that's the name. Noah asks us if we would like to hit it straight on, a definite flip, or go to the left or right, a possible flip. We opt for the right side and head in. The river soon takes over our direction and we hit the G Spot straight on, right side of the raft first. Mike, Becky, and I are lifted up as the raft gets turned over. We watch Steph, Patrick, Anna, and TJ fall back into the water just before we get dropped in on top of them. The river pulls us downstream. We're under the raft. Separated. I come up and try a breath before getting slammed backward into a wave. Under again. Out again. The river is calming down so I venture a look around. I'm quickly swept past TJ and then run into Anna and we manage to float together until the rapid passes. Then we hang on to a safety kayak that takes us to the safety raft and we climb in. A quick glance around and everyone is accounted for except for our raft which is still getting churned around in the rapids. It finally gets out and we hop back in to discuss the rapid. Turns out Noah wanted us to hit the G Spot straight on a gain experience in flipping. A few of us had fun, a few were a little scared but once you know what's in store you're more prepared for a flip which may come later in the trip. We continue on.

The next rapid is one nasty, twisting wave that is either met head on or crossed with ease. We chose to cross but enter too timid and flip again. This time I come up and slam into the raft. I try and hold on but am swept under. I meet up with Steph just as she bangs her foot on a rock. We climb into the safety raft and Steph examines her foot. It's cut pretty good but nothing she can't handle. Patrick, TJ, Becky, and Noah were able to get back in the raft while the rest of the crew found their way to safety kayakers or the safety raft.

After these two fun or scary runs we entered 2 km of calm and had lunch, got to swim, take off our vests and helmets and just enjoy the sun and scenery. Mike's brother brought a waterproof disposable camera and we took a lot of pictures but won't be getting them for quite a while. We then hit some calmer rapids and had quite a good time just enjoying staying in the boat.

And then our rafting adventure was over. The next day Anna left to return to Dar and then a vacation to America. The rest of us hopped on a bus for Bukoba, a small city on the West Coast of Lake Victoria. Rob from our training group hosted us for 3 days where we hiked, enjoyed home cooked hamburgers, and an intense game of basketball against his Form V and VI students where we lost, 29-30. Then we went to Mwanza and ate with Andrew before heading to Patrick's site in Musoma. His site has no electricity and water from a few taps around campus that is pumped up from the lake by a windmill. We only spent one night there then said goodbye and left on another 30 hour bus ride back to Dar. Along the way we dropped off Becky near Lushoto and were down to Steph, Mike, TJ, and I all from the Deep South. We heard the road back to Dar was bad due to rain and actually got reports that a passenger pulled a gun out of frustration but no one got hurt. So Peace Corps kindly bought us plane tickets back to the Deep South. It was nice to return to site but very quiet. I agreed to meet up in Newala (more spectacular Pit of God pictures) to take a bus back to Dar for 4th of July celebrations with Mike, TJ, and Jen. The US Ambassador has kindly invited Peace Corps Volunteers to two parties at the embassy next month on the 4th and 8th. So at the end of the month I find myself traveling back to Dar. What a month: travel, travel, travel. Next month it's back to teaching.

Justin