African Sole!

July 29th

We wake at 5:30 am to prepare for the early-morning start of our Safari. After teeth brushing and cool-dressing, we make our way to the canteen to pick up our packed breakfasts. Felix, the 20-something technological engineer student, laughs at me when I ask about tea of coffee. He came back from the kitchen to say that's he's sorry but they're out of instant coffee and do I have ten minutes to wait while he brews me some in a french press?! Ummmm, 'Yes!' The coffee is delicious and I'm in heaven, quickly turning my morning from groggy, to peppy and excited! We take our Safari van down to the Nile, (precisely the same spot the four of us girls stood to watch the sunset the evening before), and board a burg to carry us, our van, and six other vans and their passengers across the river just as the sun rises over the water.
Coffee, the Nile, and the sun rise- my trip has just been made. I decide it's already worth the ten-hour bumpy hell-ride from yesterday that I'm fairly sure left cranial bruising...the sun rise is my ice pack. ( :
Once we're across the river we lift the roof off our Safari van and the scene is awe-inspiring, spontaneous-laughter-inspiring...just all-around inspiring! As I stand up on my seat, with my head above the van and the African wind whipping through my hair, I can feel my chest muscles begin to loosen their grip on this month's stress. I become sick with glee and drenched in sunshine as we ride with the sunrise into the African terrain for a Safari of a lifetime.

Palm trees bearing hundreds of unripend, creamsicle-colored coconuts tower over wide, canopy bonsai trees. I think of Jen, Scott, Amanda, Aunt Lisa, and I singing 'I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, deedley-dee!' as we walk to our beach blankets, spread on the sand in Bethany. And suddenly, I find myself feeling a strange combination of Safari thrill and longing for Delaware while in AFRICA!...strange. Little American memories have been popping back into my mind, and I find it somehow impossible not to think about the 'Lion King' ha! I'm sure it comes as such a shock to hear that I have been playing the music of that Disney favorite in my head throughout the Safari (until the guide points out the African Violet- a purple, pansy-looking flower- and 'Violets and Silver Bells' pops into my mind's playlist).
As for the animals, by the time it's 11 am, I feel like we've seen the entire African animal kingdom (sung: 'the cir-cle of life!'). We came across several dozen giraffe families, feeding on palm leaves high above our van. The dark in color are male and the light are female. Giraffes are my (and my Grandma Voigt's) favorite! They are so tall and regal with humorous mouths curving back and down as if they're taking a bite off the tree for emphasis on a dry joke they've just made. Their fur is so smooth with a sheen that begs to be pet. Most of the giraffes we see have white spots that interrupt their exterior pattern, and Jimmy, our safari guide, tells us that it is a fungal skin condition. So when I ask (only half jokingly) if I can reach out and touch them, he says no quite firmly (I'm sure it has nothing to do with their enormous front legs that are so lethal even the lions wont attack them...nah...it's the skin fungus).
I did not want to pet the hippos, however. The hippos are HUGE and can out run a human at twice our speed! They roam the land at night (including our camp site, so we are to be careful not to approach a baby hippo at night on our way to the bathroom, because the mother is nearby and will attack 'quite viciously'...great) and in the day, they keep cool in the water. When we drive out to the popular water spot where they swim daily, to find the baby hippo splashing about between parents, looking much like a bright-pink rubber ball being passed around. They let out a sound that's part groan, part grunt, bellowing so loudly and that it fells like they're right next to me....it smells like it too.
We also saw three different types of antelopes including the National Animal of Ugandan, the Ugandan Kop. Based on how many glorious birds we see, we gals decide to take advantage of the 7 am bird walk tomorrow morning before we leave.
After the 'tracking' portion of the Safari, we make our way back to the Red Chilli site for lunch. As I oder lunch I become increasingly aware of just how much my hip, thighs, and stomach have loved the poshu, beans, and matoke (mashed plantain bananas) in the last month. Undressing at night has begun to feel foreign- I don't even recognize my body to the touch. The same goes for looking in the mirror. Every couple of days we encounter a rare bathroom with a toilet AND a mirror and I notice the subtle changes occurring. Some eye-brow tweezers, mascara, and nail clippers will do me good, but it's more than that. My eyes have something different in them. Even Dana, a fun-loving sweetheart nurse from New York City, saw a picture of me before I left for Africa and didn't believe that it was me. Now don't get nervous- I've not morphed completely unrecognizable in one month, but it does feel as if my appearance has adjusted right along with my heart. I feel differently (I haven't quite figured out how yet, but I'll be sure to let you know when I do), and to see, for myself, the shifts in my appearance, has been jarring enough to make me wonder what else has changed. As I eat lunch, looking out over the vast African terrain in the middle of nowhere, I can at least put my finger on a new peace- a calming acceptance of the world as I know it now.

The late afternoon boat cruise was gorgeous. We saw all the creatures of Africa make their way to the Nile for a drink. Elephants, single and in herds, more hippos and antelope, and the most exciting of all, crocodiles! (oooooooooo-aaaaaaaahhh). They are fascinating creatures mainly due to the danger they impose. Our boat guide, (and later our bird guide), David, says that crocodiles are indeed dangerous meat-eaters, but they are too lazy to chase after a human and, get this, they prefer their food to be in the decaying stages with a side order of maggots! (I know, ew!) With thick, dusty skin that appears to have hundreds of Egyptian pyramids spiking from their bodies, they sit, frozen atop a rock, with their mouths spread wide open to reveal rows of ragged teeth the size of my arms. I ask David if they are waiting with their mouths open to have food enter so they can snap down to eat it and he laughs as he says it's just to keep warm! He said that statuesque position is actually the safest point to approach the crocodile because it means they have just eaten, and since they are cold-blooded, they are now trying to warm their bodies for digestion! Wow. So I decide to do like the crocodiles do, and sit back, soaking up the sun to help digest my 'Nile Special' beer while I coast down the Nile.

Friday morning we took a short bird-watching tour. I have always loved birds, their sounds especially, but I never, in a million years, would have imagined myself as a bird watcher!? I loved it! We found beautiful birds with more colors, shapes, and sounds than I knew possible in one eighth of a mile! We then drove out to Murchison Falls for a hike. Opening in 2002, the park has been taking people on hiking tours through the steep hills and rocks up to the water falls of this area and I have to tell you- what we witnessed was stunningly powerful! We stood at the top of the mountain with our mouths all agape, taking pictures that caught maybe half of the beauty and force that we saw with our eyes. Then we made our way down a slippery cliff 'trail' to the bottom of the falls to be showered with splashing residue from the Nile explosion. We stood beneath a double rainbow feeling the coolness of the river shower, and I wonder just how many other beauties of the world I've missed.

I've often been wondering just that- 'What have I missed?' I lay awake at night seeing the faces of any one of the 300+ children that I've worked with on this trip, and wonder about what I did not do. What could I have done, and what can I still do?

On our way back to Kampala we are driving with the afternoon sun along the highway (the only highway) from Murchison Falls to Kampala. From 3-5 pm schools let out for the day, and the otherwise desolate highway is flooded with students in their colorful rainbow of uniforms. For five minutes I see all bright pink, then ten minutes of trees before we reach what resembles a swarm of bees, boys and girls buzzing with school excitement in golden-yellow t-shirts and black shorts and skirts. Blues, greens, oranges of all kinds, covering these children as they laugh and carry their books on their heads often holding hands as they go. The look of these school children, all of them, is obviously carefully considered. To go to school in Uganda (and I would imagine most African nations) is a privilege that the kids here value at the utmost, and they literally 'dress to impress'. I notice, all but their shoes. While driving I see that at least one out of every four students are walking, on the black, hot, highway, through random piles of trash, however many miles to the place they call home- without shoes.
And it hits me: a small thing that I've missed, but can surely still do. The kids here walk everywhere, so one pair of shoes doesn't last as long as one might think. Living in New York and walking everywhere myself, I can attempt to understand this dilemma on a lesser scale because I am constantly looking for a durable pair of shoes to carry me to and from work. So when Sula pulls to a stop behind traffic, I find a shoeless student (with ease) and reach out my window to hand him my sandals. They're good Havanah sandals that have lasted me the entirety of the trip- even hiking!- and so I know they will last even longer on his journey to and from school. There is a slight embarrassment on his part to be in need of the shoes to begin with, but he bends at the knees to say thank you in their culturally respectful way, drops the shoes on the ground in front of him, and walks away in his new sandals. I beam with happiness at the sight of him wearing my shoes. 'Perfect fit', I think, and suddenly, just like that, I know how I can help!?! For the last twenty minutes of the drive, I put together a draft version of my new, baby NGO.

I'll tell you my thoughts, and then (since we are practically best friends after this month-long travel) you can tell me what you think and give me suggestions!
I think I'll call it 'African Sole', and the premiss is this:

"African Sole!
To provide the safety and support of a good pair of shoes to students throughout Uganda at a sustainable and not-for-profit low cost. Literally carrying these students to school, and thus toward success, 'African Sole' will hope to accumulate approximately 310 pairs of shoes per year to send to four different Ugandan organizations to start. The majority of these students are also orphans, achieving highly successful marks in school, speaking a minimum of two languages by the age of ten, and staying out of troubled situations by studying in their evening time. Studies show that Ugandan students who are supported in any way, either through a sponsor or foster parent, have a much higher likelihood of finishing their schooling and even graduating to the University level or vocational work. 'African Sole' hopes that with our help, children can travel the distance to school, avoid nasty infections and contamination leading to missed school time or the loss of a limb, and most importantly, to gain the confidence that someone who cares about them can bring. With that said, please consider the shoes in the bottom back corner of your closet, and if you are able, pass them along to a child who will wear them with pride and motivation. The soul of Africa lies in the future generation of their hard-working and determined students. By donating one pair of shoes, you are helping the foundation of Uganda grow into the educated and bright future I have witnessed first hand to be possible.

For all donations, please include a pair of shoes (with a pair of socks and two dollars for international shipping if you're able). Send me a message on the blog and I will be happy to send you my address!

So what do you think?


More soon!
Love,
Carly