It’s been a busy week starting with last Saturday’s party with the local village. Allison’s group returned to their loggings and spent the night singing and having a good time. She said it was a highlight ‘sitting around the campfire in a tropical rainforest in Africa’. Sunday, Allison and 6 others accepted an offer and went to a local Catholic church with Peter (Field Assistant at Kibale). There was lots of singing and then the Canadians were asked to come up front and do some of their singing - their rendition of ‘Like a Prayer’ (Madonna) and ‘Proud Mary” was quite the hit. The service was followed by a marketing of goods where the group bought pineapples, sugar cane and a chicken! When reality set in about keeping a live chicken with them they offered it to a very appreciative Peter – something in very short supply in his village.
On a rainy Tuesday the group moved from Kibale down to Lake Nabugabo which she said was amazing. In Uganda they travel by coach bus unlike the two giant trucks they used in Kenya that they will meet again at the border next Wednesday. Thirteen of the group opted for tenting (Allison) while the rest were in a variety of cabins. Some of the tents are army-like while others are less durable. She said they eat steps away from the waterfront but swimming is not an option because of the threat of Schistosomiasis. The next day they spent at lectures followed by a visit to a local health clinic. Thursday, the excursion was escorted by a local Councillor and a health worker to local villages but was highlighted by a visit with a traditional healer. They watched as he worked himself up into a ‘possessed’ state.
This morning (Friday) Allison awoke at 5 am to howling winds and lightning in a tropical thunderstorm. It was then that Allison and Jess realized that their tent was not one of the durable army tents. They quickly dressed and fired their belongings into their day backpacks and made a run for one of the cabins as the tent collapsed and flooded! Luckily for them they had pre-packed their main packs and had them in one of the cabins ready for the day’s early departure. As they ran for it they could hear the other ‘tenters’ screaming while running for various cabins. She said it was hilarious and quite the start to the day. They then spent another rainy day (so far, just the travel days are rainy) on the bus for 5 hours going up through Kampala, getting lost and finally arriving at a hotel in Seeta, Uganda. They spent some time on their research papers and finished the day drinking some beer and playing football by the pool. It was quite a memorable day for Allison.
She likes the diverse background of the group and some photography enthusiasts have been helping her to take a lot of great pictures so far.
Allison wanted those of you that might have been texting her to know that she will not be able to reply until they get back to Kenya next week and back to her Kenyan cell.
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