R&R

I just got back from my first, week-long R&R. I admit that it was great fun, but I am not sure how much rest and relaxation I actually got. Several weeks ago I decided to make my first destination Jinja, Uganda, since my cousin Melissa is there for another several days. She is a volunteer at the Amani Baby Cottage. Jinja (the source of the Nile River) also happens to be the location of several tourist attractions associated with the ancient river.

Last Sunday Jared and I flew up to Entebbe so that I could begin my R&R and he could head on to Kabul. Afghanistan. Luckily for us, his flight to Dubai did not leave for another week, which gave us the opportunity to tour Uganda together - a very good deal!

The highlight to our travels was definitely the white water rafting on the Nile. Although, I had never been rafting before, Jared and I joined the "wild" group on their journey up the Nile. The Nile is unique for rafting because its large volume of water. Although there are many class four and five rapids, they are relatively safe because there are less rocks to cause injury - but that in no way made them appear any less frightening. By the way, that is our raft in that pick. I think I swam most of that rapid.

Another fascinating thing I discovered in Uganda was the bota-bota. If you need to travel round town all you need to do is track down a bota-bota (actually they track you down) and get a ride to your destination. You can choose from either motorbike bota-botas or bicycle bota-botas. We used both on several occasions. I was most fascinated by the bicycle transportation.

I must admit, I really like Uganda. It is Africa without all the Congo problems. People are friendlier, most understand English, and the governmental system actually seems to work. That may explain why there are so many more ex pats in the area. Jared and I both were amazed at the number of short term mission organizations that we ran into. Who wants to go to Congo on a mission trip? I am not sure I would...although, I am reluctantly grateful for the experience that I am having here in the DRC.

Well, as this R&R drew to an end, so did my time with Mr. White. I am sad to see him go. I am sure that he will have a good time in Afghanistan, but we will miss him here in the Congo!