Its a Bit Cold Here

April 14th: Tuesday

Got up early from the hostel where we slept, loaded the car, ad left the cheesey country western music that had been playing since 4 that morning and headed to the airport. We made it through security and got our tickets. Storms were ranging over lake victoria that morning although they didnt keep us from taking off on time.

We flew into London and somehow made it through customs in record time. Lots of Mzungus here. We picked our car up a silver vauxhall or something. the tires are so little and its so clean. Jim just about drove of the road in the first two minutes cause the steering is so sensitive. carefullly following the directions from Margaret we managed to get completely lost and ended up on the wrong side of london. its cold here. we stopped in a rest stop and ought dinner and a map. emboldened by the blessing of the chashier that London traffic wasntbusy this time of night we procededto drive through the center of London which took us nearly two hours. We finally stopped that night at a little hotel that was overpriced but warm and crashed at 1 which is 3 for us.

the next morning we got up early and drov all morning up to Scotland. stopped just after geting into Scotland and buying some bread and cheese for lunch. love cheese. listened to musci all day on the drive up. we got to stirling just after 2 and explored the town. its a really cool place. alot of th buildings are really old. several hundred years at least. We drove out to the Murchinsons where we are staying and met them. Murdo and Margaret and their kids, Sarah, Murdo Jr. and Duncan. had tea with them which i guess is dinner. after that we went on a walk with both murdos up and around the neiborhood and into the forests and backpaths. slept under three blankets that night. lovely cold.

Are The Animals Supposed to be Out of Their Cages?

April 12th: Monday

Monday we were in Kamala and Entebbe and that afternoon we decided to go to the infamous Entebbe zoo. the day did not get off to an auspicious start. As we got out of the car several monkeys scampered by us and hopped over the fence. Apparently trying to keep the animals captive was not a strong point of this particular facility. if it had been a petting zoo it would have been less worrysome but as they had lions and hyens and the like we entered with some trepidation.

After trying (and on my part failing) to get a reduced ticket part because “of course we’re residents” we walked in. Fortunately it seemed as though the staff has only given up on keeping the vervet monkeys behind bars. unfortunately the janitorial service seemed to have all been sick or on holiday, for months.

The range of animals was rather impressive including believe it or not, a cow. remember that this is a country where you cant go 20 minutes without seeing a cow. they are everywhere, even in the cities. And yet somehow this most mundane of beasts came to reside with the zebras and ostriches. While the animals are contained for the most part the style of construction is somewhat lacking. the phrase jua-kali comes to mind. At the rhino’s enclosure there was only a 6 foot high metal fence which might consul a few but didnt look up to the job of stopping a half ton charging rhino.

As if to reasure you there are helpful signs all over the Zoo like "Dangerous Animal" in front of the Lion's cage. Also they had signs with emergency phone numbers assumedly in case you were being chased by some escaped animal and needed some assistance.

The scariest animal in the entire zoo isnt even restricted to an enclosure and actually technically isnt even part of the zoo. around the trees throughout the zoo there are hundreds and hundreds of spiders hanging in their webs. this lovely arachnids ranged from about the size of a quarter to as big as a tea saucer. ugh. the scond scariest animal was this freaky looking bird called a shoe-bill. looke kinda like a dinosaur but it had this evil looked in its eye. it said “I am going to eat you.’” Obviously there wornt any baboons.

One Last Time

April 10th-12th: Firday-Sunday

Firday night a couple girls who are working up in northern Karamoja who Jenny somehow contacted came down to visit. We had a big meal with everyone o the mission that night. It was interesting to here aobut their work up there. The Tricaricos went rafting th week before along with Anna so they should their video.

Saturday mornign the Wrights left kampala. Martha and Leah are going to a conference on an island in the middle of Lake Victoria and the family is going to visist and then go up to mbale. after a bit of a rough start they got off and i said goodbye. they gave me a t-shirt with “My name is not muzungu” on the front. its funny because they mispell “mzungu.” it has only one “u.” its kinda like wearing a shirt that says “i am not an idiat.”

That day i packed. i am leaving Uganda with almost the same amount of stuff as when i came. just most of its different. that night Jim and i went over and had dinner with Moses who made enough food for the entire mission.i love african food. pocho and rice with cabbage and greens along with goat and soup. Sunday at church i said goodbye. sucked.

"Is This a Hostel or a Hostile?"

April 5th-6th: Monday and Tuesday

Monday we visited a game park and had a lovely safari. it was Nakuru park which is situated around a lake. we saw thousands of flamingos and Thomson and Grant Gazelle, Impalla, Cape Buffalo, White Rhinos, Zebra, Giraffe, Ostrich, Water buck, Warthogs, and Eland. Also a lizard who nodded yes to every question we asked him. It was a really fun safari although a bit expensive because we didt see any lions or other predators.

that night though was an adventure. It was getting dark and we needed a place to stay. Jenny say a guesthouse/hostel from the road side and called but was told to "just come" so i ended up running over and asking about it. they showed me a room and so i ran back and after geting lost and stuck in a matatu park we finally reached there after dark. the lady who was helping us, named Monica, was really nice although very confused. it took forever to figure out that we wanted a room, for only one night and we all wanted to stay in one room. apparently jenny looked scared because Monica offered that she could sleep with her. whatever. then we didnt want dinner and Monica was scared of Jim and wouldnt talk to him. i think she had a little crush on me though. it was like a twilight zone episode.

Tuesday we crossed the border and made it to Mbale. that night we had a dinner at the landmark wit a bunch of people. it was really good. as it turned out that would be my last dinner at the landmark.

Nairobbery

April 3^rd-5^th: Saturday-Monday

We drove into Nairobi a little after 5 and promptly got lost. Jim had met and stayed with a couple her in Nairobi when he had come for the medical conference in January and we planned to stay with them again. Jim was able to call the wife and we managed to find our way. Joe and Elfie are an interesting couple. Joe is a Kenyan born in a village, son of a witch doctor he has traveled and lived abroad while getting various degrees. He speaks something like 13 languages and is a pastor of a Presbyterian church in Nairobi. Elfie is German born and came here to work in the 80s where she met Joe.

That night we went to an Ethiopian Restaurant where we talked with Joe and Elfie an ate some amazing food. the next morning we went to church with them. they are renting a really nice private school for their services. they congregation is over a 100 strong and divided up between indians, blacks and a scattering of Mzungu. it was a realy cool service. we sang in 3 languages, english, kiswahili, and hindi. we didnt get to hear Joe preach though because there was a guest pastor.

After the service we had lunch with Joe and Elfie and then Jim, Jenny and i spent the afternoon evening going to various shopping centers throughout Nairobi. we finally ended up at a tapas bar for dinner. When Jim was telling Jenny and i about this place we kept thinking he said "topless" bar. which of course was rather confusing because he was saying he had gone there last time and really liked the food. anyway a tapas bar is apparently mediteranean food which is amazing. i had a glass of wine. again.

Masaai in the Rift

April 2^nd-3^rd: Friday night and Saturday

Friday afternoon we arrived in Masaai land just before dark where we met Jim’s Masaai friend Simon. He is a short wiry fellow who looks only 30 but is over 50. He is a part-time preacher, community leader, and health worker who has been to America and speaks excellent English.

We arrived during a weekend of celebration not only because it is Easter but also because two boys will be circumcised the next day as a right of passage into manhood. That night Simon took us to visit some other Masaai in another boma. The houses or bomas here are rectangular and full of smoke since the Masaai cook inside their homes. They sleep on beds made from the dried hides of cows and stretched taunt across the frame. We spent several hours inside as people came in and out and talked and Jenny made a friend with a small Masaai girl and people greeted us. Eventually we went back; walking through the brush to Simon’s erai where he showed us the small mud building where we would sleep, thankfully smoke free. The rain played against the tin roof as I dozed off.

Simon woke us at 5 to go to the circumcision. We hiked back to the erai from the night before in the cold and the dark through a gentle drizzle. The boma was pleasantly warm and cozy as we waited for the ceremony to begin. After some time we went outside to wait with the men. The boys arrived just after light naked and supported by their elders. The Masaai aren’t aloud to show pain during the operation and the two boys where in an almost trance as they where laid on their special cow skin. After the nurse had finished the operation an elder poured cow milk on each thigh and then they where whisked inside to recover. We returned as well although we soon had to leave again from the smoke.

Much later that morning Simon and his second oldest son and the three of us left to go to Mt. Longonot Park. On the way Simon took us through some back ways where we saw several Thompson Gazelles and a Giraffe. Mt. Longonot is a large composite volcano. We hiked to the rim and looked down at the grass covered crater several hundred feet down. We watched the rains roll in from the west across the escarpment and into the rift valley.

We ate lunch at a small hotel just outside or Maai Mahiu and then returned to Simon’s where we packed and after attending some preaching and things for Easter and the circumcisions we left for Nairobi. We drove up the eastern escarpment nearly 2000 feet over the valley.

I fly like paper get high like planes, if you catch me at the border i got visas in my name

April 1^st-2^nd: Thursday and Friday

Jim, Jenny and I are taking a holiday from their hard work and my goofing off to go to Kenya this weekend. We left Nakale a little after two since Jim was a bit worried about weather the roads would be dry. Our worry proved to be unfounded since the road was dry although very rough. We stopped to see Dr. Jan in Mbale and Jim and Jenny gave her a present of clinic supplies we didn’t need.

That night we had dinner at the landmark with Al and the McBride’s who I met in Tanzania and Tim who is a British medical student working with Dr. Jan. It was fun to see the McBride’s again and to meet Tim. The food at the landmark was as usual superb. Al gave Jenny and me our passports which had just gone through immigration where we both had gotten an extension.

The next day we left for the border at the break of dawn. it takes about an hour to reach the border although the border took us more than two hours to pass. All went well though and I got Kenya stamped in my passport. For the next 8 hours we drove through western Kenya.

This entire area is incredibly green and beautiful. we passed up over the escarpment on the west side of the rift valley and drove down into it. The roads here are little more than a year old and in excellent shape although the traffic here consists of an amazing amount of large trucks seemingly exporting things to Uganda. The towns here are larger and Kenya’s economic superiority in east Africa is easily seen. there are only 73 Kenya shillings to the US dollar as apposed to nearly 2000 Ugandan shillings.

We stopped in Eldoret just before lunch a town several hours from the border where we went to the Nakumat and bought such luxurious as cheddar cheese and ice cream. Since Jenny has here international driver’s license she was able to help Jim with the driving and her and I talked for a couple of hours while Jim napped. We left the main road at Naivasha to Maai Mahiu where we left the lovely tarmac roads behind us and onto the familiar dirt ones to visit the Masaai