Day 7: The book of the Jungle

                                                                                                                    23 May 2012

            Ladies and gentlemen, I am writing sitting on a little boat in the middle of the NILE RIVER!  Yep, the Nile.  Today we did the safari and now we are in little boats that took us to Murchison Falls.  I am speechless.  The peace of this river, the PERFECT weather, no one drop of cold and a beautiful refreshing breeze.  This is just incredible.

            The river is pretty wide, although for some reason I thought it was wider, I thought you would not be able to see the other side, but you clearly can. 

Among hippos, birds and fishermen

            I cannot believe I am here.  Here, in the same river where the Bible says that Moses was found, the longest river in the world, and probably the most known too, the one we learned about in primary school and saw in the atlases and never even imagined or dreamed of seeing in person….simply because, not only this, but the entire trip is beyond even my dreams.  When I stop to think that doing a safari in Africa is the dream of so many people, part of their bucket list, and here I am… having done it already!  During my first year of college, two days away from my 20^th birthday, of entering another decade…. I’m getting goose bumps. 

            We saw SO many animals today, I tried to remember all of them, but I don’t think I got all of them… here is my best try:

            

Water buffalos – so many of them!! They were everywhere, and birds apparently love to just sit on them and chill and ride along!

Amiguitos!

Go to the Facebook page and watch the sequence of these buddies... pretty amazing how they  coexist.

    

Lions – Yep, TWO!  And one… eating a water buffalo!!

            

Pumbas!!! – They even sneaked into the hotel lawn!

Giraffes – Fr. Kizito’s favorite animal… by far.  Every time we saw one he would scream as if it was the first time, “Look! A giraffe! That’s my favorite animal!”

Las elegantes

            

Elephants – So, so wonderful! And Also friends with the birds!

Chau!

            

Oribi- The models of the jungle… they posed for the pictures… I am not kidding, look!

The jungle´s Next Top Models!
Posaban!!

            

The bird from the Ugandan flag – One of the most beautiful birds I have EVER seen!

Such beautiful birds!
Eran hermosos!

African Bald Eagles- which the tour guide enjoyed calling Bold eagle..  

            

Monkeys- there were not that many but we just saw some on our way to the falls, hanging on some trees and some other ones on the street!!

            

Hippopotamuses – SO much bigger than I had imagined!  If I had to chose to be one animal, a hippo would be the last.  They don’t do anything!  They just sit there, with a smile on their faces because of the natural way their mouth curves up and just stay there.   In a school of hippos, (or a group, I forget the name of it for hippos) there is always one loner.  The loner is the brave one, the one that fights with others and wins.  He is all scratched up and looks like he is suffering all alone, isolated from the group and bloody looking…. But apparently that´s “cool” in hippopotamus world.

But as the guide told us, apparently hippos are not the only ones that include loners.  The giraffes, once they are old, also leave and just wander off by themselves.

Agarrate Catalina!

            

Crocodiles: The scariest ones!  Why?  Well apart from the fact that they have huge teeth that could rip one of us apart in seconds and that they do not mind showing for 10 minutes straight and intimidating scales, they are so quick!  I could barely get a picture of them because they would either be hiding or, when they went to get in the water they would do it too fast!

I see you!
Te veo!

            

Whispering Acacia – a plant that ants live on and giraffes like to eat.

Quails – so beautiful but unfortunately too quick for my camera.

Waterbucks- very pretty little animals... they liked to hang out with the Ugandan birds.

….and more that I don´t remember…

                One of the best parts however, was the lion.  At the beginning it was far away from us, eating the waterbuck that it had killed.  But then, after about 20 minutes, it walked towards the road… and crossed it!!!!  It was behind us and I could not take a picture.. but it was crazy!!!!  The lion was crossing the street behind us!!! 

El paisaje... como para no querer ser un animal y vivir acá...

                I have no words to describe how beautiful this place is… the plants, the trees, the animals… it´s like living in a zoo!  And I mean that literally.  We were having lunch today and all of a sudden… pumbas on the lawn!  Yep, they were just walking along… AND we heard from the hotel people that the day before we arrived they found an elephant in the pool!  That one… is less believable, but I believe it anyways, it makes everything more fun. J

There are A LOT of really awesome pictures of the Safari, the boat trip on the Nile and the hotel on Facebook! Check them out!

Hay muchas más fotos del Safari, del hotel y del paseo por el Nilo en Facebook! Que lasdisfrtuen! J

-Magda

Day 1: The Firsts

May 15th, 2012

WE GOT TO UGANDA!

Photo taken by: Nicole

            What a day! So many things we saw, smelled, heard, tasted! I cannot believe I am here!

            The first thing that went through my mind when the airplane doors opened and we began to descend down the little yellow stairs was… HUMIDITY!

            The change was amazing.  It was humid like one of those summer days in Uruguay in which you go outside and are soaked but can´t quite figure out if it is because it is about to rain, raining, or that you are simply sweating like a pig.  In other words, it was welcoming, I felt at home.

I lost my picture of the first step, but Brittany took one!
Photo taken by: Brittany

            Before leaving California I promised my friend Erynn that I would take a picture of my first step in Africa.  What I wasn´t expecting was that picture to come along with an anecdote: I was walking down the yellow staircase, and as I reached the last step I brought my camera to my eye and right as I stepped onto the ground I snapped a picture of my red slipper stepping onto the black Ugandan asphalt.  I was happy, that picture somehow made being here more real, although the fact was far, far from sinking in.  I was still pondering this (in the millisecond that it took to snap the photograph) when I look up and a women, airport personnel, points at me with her finger, her face about 20 cm away from mine, and says in a loud and demanding voice “No cameras! Put it away!”  I am not kidding when I say that the lady was angry, very, very mad.  So there I was, with my first traumatizing experience, but happy as can be, and the lady looking at me as if pondering to confiscate my camera.  For the first “shock,” it was far, far different from what I expected my it to be, but at least I’ll be able to look back at it and laugh.  I wish I had seen my face, I bet it was pretty funny. (Fortunately, this was one of only 2 of what I call “traumatizing experiences” on the whole trip, or in other words, instances that left me confused, guilty and disoriented, not knowing what to do)

            But finally we got in, went to immigration and met with Father Kizito, Sister Christine, Sylvia and two other nuns.  They were so happy to see us! We hugged everyone, twice, once on each side, and headed towards the bus.   It was Sylvia’s birthday so on our way we sang her “happy Birthday.”

            All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Sylvia memorized all of our names, and began taking out little gifts from her purse.  She would call out a name and give that person a gift.  She gave mi a little blue beaded bracelet that I still have on.

            Then we went to visit a church in Kampala. Beautiful! And two guys showed us around and taught us about the symbols on the windows, the statues, the Ugandan martyrs, etc.  It impressed just how important the Ugandan martyrs are!  There were  talking about the entire time, they were on the windows, and on the statues, and on the altar, and even the people on the street were talking about them to us!

            After stopping to eat breakfast, bread with jam, papayas, and eggs, we kept going on our way to Mityana.

Mityana

             The sides of the streets of Kamapala are lined with little stands of fruit, a lot of tomatoes, plantains and other vegetables.  Above all however, it was full of people!  Everywhere!  Many in motorcycles, called boda bodas and used similar to a taxi, and many vans, like buses.  Speaking of cars, it is weird to be driving on the other side of the street, I keep on thinking that we are going to crash because we are going the wrong way!  Also, gas here is apparently really expensive.  If they do not even have money to buy food, and gas is that expensive... how do they afford it?  The socioeconomic difference between the people I saw on the street and the few inside the cars must be huge! 

U$1= $2500 Ugandan schillings.

            But what impressed me the most was the not poverty of the people, living among trash and dirt, in tiny huts that seem fragile enough to be blown away by any small breeze or the incredibly large number of people everywhere. No, it was none of that, because what impressed me most was the abundance of ironies that I see everywhere we go.

            Among the dirt, the trash, the women carrying heavy baskets on their heads, the little fruit stands along the road and the smog, appeared Lexuses and Merdeces Benz!  It left be completely perplexed when I first saw it!  (most of them I saw them at the gas stations with the expensive gas)  How is it possible that in a country as poor as this one there are luxury cars?  Or actually, how is it that this country is so poor and that there are so many people suffering when fancy cars are driving on the roads? Because not all of the people driving the cars were American, or European, mzungu, as one may have thought. No! Many of them are Ugandan!  I am not trying to say that people in Uganda should not have the privilege of driving such cars, not at all!  If they are well of then they should enjoy it! I am not blaming anyone, not the rich or the poor, I am simply making an observation.  An observation of the reality, not only in Uganda, but in the entire world.  A reality that I know about, see in Uruguay ( but most certainly not to such an extreme), but have never experienced anywhere else, since Marin, although one may say there is a economic gap, it is basically inexistent in comparison.  In other words, although I know that this happens elsewhere in the world apart from Uruguay, where I don’t really think about it since that is just how things have always been, it is sad to have that confirmed here in Uganda.   Of course, like in every country, there seems to be a high class with great economic power, and at the same time, the majority of the people, living under almost inhumane conditions, considering the fact that not may seem to have clean water.   That’s it.  It’s the water issue that shocked me the most.  Because in Uruguay, yes there are the very, very rich people that buy the expensive cloth and have vacation homes in Punta del Este, and then the poor who live in the garbage dumps, but no matter how much money you make, or how lucky you are, both beggars and celebrities drink the exact same water.  That’s the shocking difference here! There are those that have the fancy cars, the money to buy gas, TV’s and computes, and then there are those that drink the muddy and dirty water from streams and puddles.

-Magda

Don´t forget to Like my Facebook page to all of the pictures!

No se olviden de ir a mi página de Facebook, ahí están todas las fotos! 

https://www.facebook.com/magdafitipaldi

Uganda!!!!

Hello again!  I am back from Uganda!!!  The trip was incredible, I can´t quite find the right words to describe it, but it was unforgettable! 

To give a little background on the trip/class… it was officially called Uganda 2012 Engaged Learning class.  LeeAnn, a professor of psychology at my university, and Sister Carla who works in the Campus Ministry department, had previously visited Uganda.  They got the idea of creating this class and through their contacts and much, much generous support from sponsors and individuals they were able to put it together.  They put out an application, I randomly heard about it and thinking that I had nothing to lose and that I was probably not going to get chosen to go on this platonic trip anyway, I applied.  In December I traveled to Uruguay and there, on top of my grandmother´s terrace (the only place where I cold find wi-fi at her house) I checked my email and saw that I had been accepted!

So, since January, the group of ten women selected (Sam, Brittany, Nora, Bryce, Sandy, Lianni, Monica, Nicole, Ashley, and I) met once a month with Sister Carla and LeeAnn to plan what we wanted to do in Uganda.  The best thing about this trip was just that… we planned it all!  We chose what we wanted to do, how to do it, everything!  After some research on what was most needed in Uganda, we broke up into groups and decided to focus on different areas that interested us.  Then, each group came up with a “lesson plan” to present at two fairs that we organized alongside our contact, Father Kizito.  The subjects were varied and included:

                                Animal husbandry and raising chickens (Ashley)

                                Nutrition (Nicole and Brittany)

                                How to start a small business (Sam and Monica)

                                Composting (Sandy and Nora)

                                Feminine Hygiene (Lianni)

                                Clean Water (Sister Carla)

                                Hygiene: Washing hands and brushing teeth (Bryce and I!)

Aside from teaching during the two fairs, which occurred on the 19^th and 25^th of May (my birthday!), we also visited many villages, parishes and schools around the area of Mityana, about two hours away from the capital Kampala.  From the 22^nd to the 24^th we took a little break and traveled to the northern area of the country, Murchison Falls, for some touristy glamour, animal watching, and an incredibly immense number of mouth dropping moments!

During the journey I kept a journal, both to obtain units for the class and for my own sake, and I will now be posting it here for you to hopefully vicariously experience some of the magnificent times I had there! Taking pictures, as you will soon see through my diary entries, was a very profound and intense experience, which I am still reflecting on now…. 

I hope you enjoy the journal and the photographs!!  Feedback is very welcome!!

Happy reading!!

-Magda :)

NOTE: unfortunately, on the first day of the trip I lost all my pictures (accidently formatted my card…L) So the first few pictures are not mine, they were taken by my wonderful journey partners!

**Para los que hispanohablantes**  El diario lo tuve que escribir en Inglés para que me den crédito en la facultad, osea, el viaje fue como una clase y mi deber era mantener un diario durante el viaje.  Por eso es que estas entradas van a ser en inglés.  Perdonen por la molestia, pero es que traducir todo me llevaría bastante tiempo!  Si tienen alguna pregunta ó quieren que clarifique algo díganme y con gusto les mando un email! :)

Don´t forget to Like my Facebook page to all of the pictures!

No se olviden de ir a mi página de Facebook, ahí están todas las fotos! 

https://www.facebook.com/magdafitipaldi

Una tarde con la pata y sus patitos...

Esta va a ser la última entrada por un tiempito.. por que el domingo me voy a Uganda!!!!!!!!!  Me voy por dos semanas, así que vuelvo a fines de mayo!  Apróntense porque voy a sacar bastantes fotos!! Pero antes de irme quería dejarlos con unas fotitos más :)  Ahora que estoy de vacaciones, no tengo mucho que hacer aparte de llevar e ir a buscar a mis hermanos del colegio, así que el otro día me mande un paseito a una lagunita que queda a unas cuadras de mi casa que siempre esté llena de patos y pájaros.  El día anterior me había llegado el nuevo lente para la cámara en el correo así que lo quería probar... y debo decir que quedé bastante contenta!  No es enorme el zoom, pero mucho más que lo que tenía antes, y las fotos salieron bastante claras!  :)  Que tengan unas lindas dos semanas!!  Cuando vuelva voy a tener un año más!!! :)

This will be my last post for a few weeks... because I am leaving for Uganda on Sunday!!!! I am going for two weeks and will be back at the end of the month!  Get ready because I will be taking a lot of pictures there!!  But before I left, I wanted to leave you guys with a few more of my recent photographs :)  Now that I don´t have school anymore, I don´t have much to do except for taking my siblings to school and picking them up so the other day I went for a little stroll down to a little lake a few blocks away from my house that´s always full of birds and ducks.  The day before I received my new lens for the camera in the mail so I wanted to try it, and I have to say I was not disappointed!  It doesn´t have a huge zoom, but it is a lot better than the one I had before and the pictures came put pretty clear!  :) Have a wonderful two weeks people!!  When I return I´ll be a whole year older!!!!!!!! :)

-Magda

Don´t forget to Like my Facebook page to all of the pictures!

No se olviden de ir a mi página de Facebook, ahí están todas las fotos! 

https://www.facebook.com/magdafitipaldi

Los colorinchudos : Colorful insects on a sunny day

Insectos colorinchudos! Estas son fotos que saque el verano pasado cuando estaba quedandome con mi familia en una granja de unos amigos.  Me pase los 4 días sacando fotos de flores e insectos, estaba lleno!!  Estos son algunos de ellos. :)

Colorful insects! I took these photographs last summer while on vacation with my family at a friend´s farm.  I spent the entire 4 days taking pictures of flowers and insects, they were everywhere!!!  Here is a bit of what I got of them. :)

El pobrecito no vuela como los demás, pero tiene la panza colorinchuda y me gusto igual.

This poor fellow can´t fly like the rest, but his tummy is colorful so I like him.

-Magda 

Don´t forget to Like my Facebook page to all of the pictures!

No se olviden de ir a mi página de Facebook, ahí están todas las fotos! 

https://www.facebook.com/magdafitipaldi