Gulu, Day 1 & 2

I have arrived in Gulu. It really is another world, but an amazing one at that. We rented 2 Mutatas and drove up to Gulu, which is about 6 hours from Kampala. Everyone said it was really bumpy, but it didn’t seem too bad to me. Yes, it was bumpy, but I didn’t hit my head on the roof of the mutata, which was a plus!

The road up to Gulu was something else…just bush and jungle, and about every 20 mins. or so we would pass by a tiny, tiny village of sorts. We did pass through a larger town (but nothing close to the size of Gulu). This one town was pretty funny. We slowed down as we drove through, b/c of traffic and potholes. People came up to the car, offering all sorts of food to us, which had been cooked on the side of the road. Some kids offered us bottled water, and my favorite was one guy, who was with these guys selling meat on a stick. He said to all of us, “I would like to kiss you, muzungo.” That was HILARIOUS! (muzungo=white person).

Then we passed by, and right over the Nile River. It was crazy! Whitewater rapids everywhere. (Hello Tut!) Although we will be rafting much farther south, I cannot wait to go at the end of July. We also saw monkeys by the side of the road.

Then, we arrived in Gulu. Or at least I knew we were close once we started passing the IDP camps (Internally Displaced Persons). It was really surreal. Strange. Acres and acres of little huts, placed really close to one another, just outside of the town of Gulu. I only saw them from the road though, passing by at about 70 mph, or should I say ~110km/h.

It was honestly a little scary as we entered Gulu. I kept thinking, “well, this is where I will be living for the next 4/5 weeks, and I don’t know if I am ready for this…”

But now as it has been a few days that I’ve been here, I love it. Although I’ve spent a lot of time at the IC Volunteer house, which has been described as a little America, inside of Gulu. It has been fun walking around town, and doing the little bit of exploring we’ve been able to do so far. We’ve even rode boda bodas around town a few times. They are basically motorcycle taxis. They are fun, and Cole, maybe once I come home I will feel confident enough to ride with you on your motorcycle. Although maybe Louie is a safer bet!

We haven’t had much free time for exploring though, as we’ve had a lot of meetings with people who run various programs here, learning Lwo, and meeting Jolly. That was amazing. Although she looks very different in person than what she looks like in the videos. Tomorrow we meet our Acholi teachers, and then the next day we spend all day with them at their houses. It should be an experience. Oh, and didn’t mention, I’m teaching at Awere Secondary School. I’m totally stoked!

And now I will reward those of you who’ve been patient enough to read the whole posting. There are 10 teachers in Group 2 including myself. This afternoon we rode from the house, to the IC office, which is essentially from one side of Gulu to another. It was like this big Muzungo Boda parade. Like 7 Bodas following one another through town, all with white people on them. As we got closer to the office, I heard this weird screeching, and saw a bunch of black crows. Well I thought they were a bunch of crows flying out from these really tall trees lining the road. They weren’t crows. They were bats. At just about the time I realized it was a huge (flock, herd, school, gaggle, pod…??) group of bats, some Acholi school girls started to hold their notebooks over their heads, and ran away, screaming. It took about a micro-second to realize that the bats were pooping, and we were about to drive right into it. Yum! I think some hit me, but it didn’t get stuck in my hair or anything which was really good. So, those of you who’ve worked at Gretna Glen with me now know that not only has a bat flown into me, but it’s poop has also! :o) Sweet!

Well, this posting has been long enough. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading. Getting to the internet connection is not easy, so I will probably only post once or twice a week. Hope you all are enjoying your summer. God Bless!