Today we finally slept in! I think I got up around 7:00 am.
Trevor is a great host and got breakfast for us around 8:30/9:00am. As Trevor attended to some business Ardith and I brainstormed about the possibilities here and how we would lie to shape our course. The rest of the day was spent traveling to the Official Source of the Nile!
Not a bad ride. It only took about an 1 ½ hours to get there. Jinja is a beautiful place and was once home to a great deal of industry. There are several kayak and raft guide services as well as many accommodations so this could be a good spot for our students to visit.
The river is so unreal my words and pictures will not do it justice. Funny thing happened today as I was admiring the Nile. There were three sit on top kayaks on the on the Nile. From memory 2 singles and a double. I decided to take some long range photos of the paddlers as they went through a rapid. First single through, no problem. The double was second, no problem. The third kayak a single got tossed. I have not looked at the pictures but I do believe I got a picture of the kayaker holding on to the boat.
I must say that the weather is nice. It does get warm but not too hot. If you get hot you just move into the shade.
Tomorrow we go to the the American Embassy & Makerere University.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
KKl Visit
KKL Program Visit
The most obvious thing when you get up in the morning is the SMOG!
Believe it or not the smog is worse than in the ATL! I have had some sinus issues because of it, lots of nose blowing in the morning!
Besides that we went into town today to watch KKL in action. It is basketball season here so I was stoked. The kids were great and really loved playing. It reminded me of my old Prattville Parks and Rec Days when we use the County's multi-purpose shed as a make shift practice area. It was so cold!
Here they have nice outdoor courts which of course are concrete. The games were very fun to watch. The rules were generously enforced meaning that it was much more important for the kids to have fun and enjoy the game.
We also observed the “A” League today. The “A” League is the adapted league. They seemed a little more disciplined about the game and really worked well together. It was fun to watch. The kids in wheel chairs did not get to play basketball today due to the goals being to high. They played Boccie instead. We were told the modified goals will be ready next week.
Anyway have got some great pictures (I think they are anyway).
Trevor to us to Kampala's first shopping mall. It was very western and we ate lunch at a food court. You choose you table and a representative of the restaurants brings a menu from each for you to choose from. So you are sitting at a table with 6 people standing over you while you make a decision...talk about pressure! The other thing is that they take your order, bring your food, then th bill, and you pay at the table. There were a lot more internationals at the mall so it might be a good place to bring students.
Dinner tonight down the road and some vegg'n!
The most obvious thing when you get up in the morning is the SMOG!
Believe it or not the smog is worse than in the ATL! I have had some sinus issues because of it, lots of nose blowing in the morning!
Besides that we went into town today to watch KKL in action. It is basketball season here so I was stoked. The kids were great and really loved playing. It reminded me of my old Prattville Parks and Rec Days when we use the County's multi-purpose shed as a make shift practice area. It was so cold!
Here they have nice outdoor courts which of course are concrete. The games were very fun to watch. The rules were generously enforced meaning that it was much more important for the kids to have fun and enjoy the game.
We also observed the “A” League today. The “A” League is the adapted league. They seemed a little more disciplined about the game and really worked well together. It was fun to watch. The kids in wheel chairs did not get to play basketball today due to the goals being to high. They played Boccie instead. We were told the modified goals will be ready next week.
Anyway have got some great pictures (I think they are anyway).
Trevor to us to Kampala's first shopping mall. It was very western and we ate lunch at a food court. You choose you table and a representative of the restaurants brings a menu from each for you to choose from. So you are sitting at a table with 6 people standing over you while you make a decision...talk about pressure! The other thing is that they take your order, bring your food, then th bill, and you pay at the table. There were a lot more internationals at the mall so it might be a good place to bring students.
Dinner tonight down the road and some vegg'n!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Local Village Visit
We left earlier this morning from QEP after a successful visit finding some hostels within the game park that could potentially house the students for a few days. There is a medical facility or Dispensary just in case as well as affordable housing. We tried t spot some Lion prior to leaving the park but failed.
Speaking of Lions they have Lion's Clubs here. Who would of thought?
We also passed the Equator again. Trevor wanted to test the GPS units accuracy. Not so accurate. We traveled 450 meters north of the Equator to get the GPS to read all 0's! Not sure which is wrong but something was off!
We visited a wonderful Scottish man named Steven that started a project just down the road a little over 2 years ago. There is actually a nice hotel for relatively cheap right next to his house. Another opportunity for us. Nice rooms TV, dining area, and a pub. The views of the Rwenzore (check spelling) Mountains. The highest peak is roughly 16,000 feet. It was WOW!.
Not only did we meet with Steven and discuss his project he had some traditional village food prepared for us! I loved it! Can't really tell you what I had, because I do not remember the names but some kind of thick mushy banana dish, a white dish that was corn based I think, a sauce/broth with some kind of meat in it, and a fried meat as well. I will find out details later. I eat fast anyway but it was rather tasty although I do no think my traveling partners liked it as much as I did!
After lunch, which was on “Africa Time” again, Steven showed us around the area he works. We saw the fields where the program runs it sporting events and by this I mean everything from matches to practice. The children are so funny! Digital technology is amazing I must admit, but they love for their picture to be taken and then you show them the photo you just took. t was big fun for me too! We got to see Steven's program at work. School has just started back so they were running training sessions at the next several sites where I got to knock the ball around a bit with the kids. They love Muzungu's (not sure how to spell this but it means white people) because they do not see us often and I think they were a little imressed by my skills. I know, I know...I have to go all the way to a small village in Uganda to have someone appreciate the skills I do have left.
The boys mainly played soccer while the girls played both soccer, netball, and some just had a ball throwing it around to each other and running. It seems like it has been a long time since I have seen children playing because it is fun. In the Atlanta (and maybe the States as a whole) area sport has become more about competition and getting on the right team with the right coach at the right club in order for my child to get into the right college. Sport here is what sport is...FUN!
I saw soccer pithes/fields set up in the front yard with handmade goal posts and handmade balls. People are playing here because sport is fun and a physical outlet. The power of sport and play was evident today and it was a good reminder of why we came...To learn about the things Uganda can teach us and our students. I was having some fun knocking the ball around with the children that Steven, Trevor, and Ardith had to yell at me to “come on” so we could finish the visit timely.
I could tell you about the view in this part of the country but words have not been invented yet to describe it!
Speaking of Lions they have Lion's Clubs here. Who would of thought?
We also passed the Equator again. Trevor wanted to test the GPS units accuracy. Not so accurate. We traveled 450 meters north of the Equator to get the GPS to read all 0's! Not sure which is wrong but something was off!
We visited a wonderful Scottish man named Steven that started a project just down the road a little over 2 years ago. There is actually a nice hotel for relatively cheap right next to his house. Another opportunity for us. Nice rooms TV, dining area, and a pub. The views of the Rwenzore (check spelling) Mountains. The highest peak is roughly 16,000 feet. It was WOW!.
Not only did we meet with Steven and discuss his project he had some traditional village food prepared for us! I loved it! Can't really tell you what I had, because I do not remember the names but some kind of thick mushy banana dish, a white dish that was corn based I think, a sauce/broth with some kind of meat in it, and a fried meat as well. I will find out details later. I eat fast anyway but it was rather tasty although I do no think my traveling partners liked it as much as I did!
After lunch, which was on “Africa Time” again, Steven showed us around the area he works. We saw the fields where the program runs it sporting events and by this I mean everything from matches to practice. The children are so funny! Digital technology is amazing I must admit, but they love for their picture to be taken and then you show them the photo you just took. t was big fun for me too! We got to see Steven's program at work. School has just started back so they were running training sessions at the next several sites where I got to knock the ball around a bit with the kids. They love Muzungu's (not sure how to spell this but it means white people) because they do not see us often and I think they were a little imressed by my skills. I know, I know...I have to go all the way to a small village in Uganda to have someone appreciate the skills I do have left.
The boys mainly played soccer while the girls played both soccer, netball, and some just had a ball throwing it around to each other and running. It seems like it has been a long time since I have seen children playing because it is fun. In the Atlanta (and maybe the States as a whole) area sport has become more about competition and getting on the right team with the right coach at the right club in order for my child to get into the right college. Sport here is what sport is...FUN!
I saw soccer pithes/fields set up in the front yard with handmade goal posts and handmade balls. People are playing here because sport is fun and a physical outlet. The power of sport and play was evident today and it was a good reminder of why we came...To learn about the things Uganda can teach us and our students. I was having some fun knocking the ball around with the children that Steven, Trevor, and Ardith had to yell at me to “come on” so we could finish the visit timely.
I could tell you about the view in this part of the country but words have not been invented yet to describe it!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Today May 27, 2009
Great day!
Dinner was great last night and we talked with Trevor about the possible programs we can get our KSU kids involved with. This took most of our dinner time. I think we are on the right track.
We also learned a great deal about the Ugandan culture and Politics on the ride over. What else do you do for 9 hours! Today was good. We saw Elephants, monkeys, Cob (deer), Waterbuck (deer), Wild Hogs, a Hippo, buffalo, and many birds. I am setting up an online web album for some of the pictures. The internet that we have most commonly is similar to our 3G cell phone internet connections. It is amazing to be so far up country and still have a cell signal! I lose signal in my house! Needless to say it is slow and the pictures may have to wait.
As far as our current location the Hostels are very nice! They even have hot water!
Not sure when I will update again but I will keep writing at night. Thanks for reading!
This just came to me in an email. Check it out. http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/travel/24uganda.html?emc=eta1
Dinner was great last night and we talked with Trevor about the possible programs we can get our KSU kids involved with. This took most of our dinner time. I think we are on the right track.
We also learned a great deal about the Ugandan culture and Politics on the ride over. What else do you do for 9 hours! Today was good. We saw Elephants, monkeys, Cob (deer), Waterbuck (deer), Wild Hogs, a Hippo, buffalo, and many birds. I am setting up an online web album for some of the pictures. The internet that we have most commonly is similar to our 3G cell phone internet connections. It is amazing to be so far up country and still have a cell signal! I lose signal in my house! Needless to say it is slow and the pictures may have to wait.
As far as our current location the Hostels are very nice! They even have hot water!
Not sure when I will update again but I will keep writing at night. Thanks for reading!
This just came to me in an email. Check it out. http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/travel/24uganda.html?emc=eta1
Traveling in Uganda
Wrote this last night! Was worn out and not feeling very upbeat!
This “African Time” phenomenon is very real. I trip that should normally take about 6 hours took nearly 9 hrs. I have some pictures that will explain some of the difficulties of traveling here. The road was not quite as good as it use to be which made the drive extra slow. We are checking a place where students may be taken potentially for some R & R. Question marks have already been raised about this possibility but those are not for here.
We are on our way to Kasese to look at an example of a place where TKL might run a program. This will be very interesting. We have not really stop in any local villages so I am looking forward to the experience.
Today we did pass the Equator!!!!!!!!!!!! Super cool! The GPS did read all 0's. Well almost! I was on the North side when I looked so it was something like 00 00.005. We have some pictures to prove it as well. We did not get to do it but there was a sink on either side and one one the Equator so you can watch the water flow. As I said we missed that because no one was around to show us. It is a paid event.
Pretty worn out so that's it for now.
Coordinates
This “African Time” phenomenon is very real. I trip that should normally take about 6 hours took nearly 9 hrs. I have some pictures that will explain some of the difficulties of traveling here. The road was not quite as good as it use to be which made the drive extra slow. We are checking a place where students may be taken potentially for some R & R. Question marks have already been raised about this possibility but those are not for here.
We are on our way to Kasese to look at an example of a place where TKL might run a program. This will be very interesting. We have not really stop in any local villages so I am looking forward to the experience.
Today we did pass the Equator!!!!!!!!!!!! Super cool! The GPS did read all 0's. Well almost! I was on the North side when I looked so it was something like 00 00.005. We have some pictures to prove it as well. We did not get to do it but there was a sink on either side and one one the Equator so you can watch the water flow. As I said we missed that because no one was around to show us. It is a paid event.
Pretty worn out so that's it for now.
Coordinates
S 00 11.320
E 029 53.971
Day 4???
Ok...Let's talk about the food!
For breakfast we had fresh coffee. Not freshly ground coffee, I mean coffee that was just roasted and packaged on Friday of last week! It was good. Other than that we had some cereal that was similar to what we can get in the States.
For lunch we ate a Chinese restaurant. I know...you go all the way to Africa to eat Chinese! Well there is a growing Chinese influence in Uganda and Africa as a whole. It was good and only cost us $20 for the 4 of us. Trevor, Ardith,myself, and Emma. Emma is the The Kid's League manager. She is quite nice.
African time has been mentioned over the past year. I am starting to understand. As I will post pictures later it is crazy driving around here! You have to see it to believe it.
We did meet with the National Council on Sport Jasper Aligawesa and Justine Ligalingi. They were very receptive and want to meet with us again for lunch before we leave on Tuesday. This was a good result and could lead to other opportunities.
We stopped by a local mall near Trevor's. Much like our mall's a cell phone store, book store, grocery store (Wal-Mart or Target). There was an interesting sign for the bathroom which I will post soon. We did a little shopping and bought a cell phone for $30 and a few phone cards for about $20 (which is below $.50 a minute). This is a must if your phone will not support the local sim cards.
Harriet is the house staff and made a great dinner of Talapia, potatoes, salad, and mixed veggies. I must say that the local beers are quite adequate. Not sure why but the beers are all lager style and no ales!
I am sitting with Trevor right now and learning Cricket. Fascinating.
Here are some coordinates for you!
The Mall
N 00 14.450
E 032 33.813
Gas Station
N 00 17.199
E 032 34.158
Kampala
N 00 18.588
E 032 34.781
KKL
N 00 19.562
E 032 34.628
For breakfast we had fresh coffee. Not freshly ground coffee, I mean coffee that was just roasted and packaged on Friday of last week! It was good. Other than that we had some cereal that was similar to what we can get in the States.
For lunch we ate a Chinese restaurant. I know...you go all the way to Africa to eat Chinese! Well there is a growing Chinese influence in Uganda and Africa as a whole. It was good and only cost us $20 for the 4 of us. Trevor, Ardith,myself, and Emma. Emma is the The Kid's League manager. She is quite nice.
African time has been mentioned over the past year. I am starting to understand. As I will post pictures later it is crazy driving around here! You have to see it to believe it.
We did meet with the National Council on Sport Jasper Aligawesa and Justine Ligalingi. They were very receptive and want to meet with us again for lunch before we leave on Tuesday. This was a good result and could lead to other opportunities.
We stopped by a local mall near Trevor's. Much like our mall's a cell phone store, book store, grocery store (Wal-Mart or Target). There was an interesting sign for the bathroom which I will post soon. We did a little shopping and bought a cell phone for $30 and a few phone cards for about $20 (which is below $.50 a minute). This is a must if your phone will not support the local sim cards.
Harriet is the house staff and made a great dinner of Talapia, potatoes, salad, and mixed veggies. I must say that the local beers are quite adequate. Not sure why but the beers are all lager style and no ales!
I am sitting with Trevor right now and learning Cricket. Fascinating.
Here are some coordinates for you!
The Mall
N 00 14.450
E 032 33.813
Gas Station
N 00 17.199
E 032 34.158
Kampala
N 00 18.588
E 032 34.781
KKL
N 00 19.562
E 032 34.628
Monday, May 25, 2009
Day 3 Kampala
What a trip! We think the most amusing and aggravating part of the trip so far have been the "Evangotourist!"
After around 30 hours of traveling we made it to Entebbe Airport. Reminds of the Gulfport Mississippi airport. Everyone has been very pleasant and accommodating. Trevor's house is nice and the variety of flowers and plants is mind boggling. So when I post pictures and you see a bunch of flowers that's why.
We had a meeting Minister of Education this morning, but the President called a meeting of all the ministers so we are rescheduling. We have another meeting with the National Council of Sport (I think I have that right) this afternoon. Will update on the progress of those meetings as they happen.
Right now we are at the TKL and KKL offices which are housed in the same compound as the Acorn School. The Acorn School is an international school Trevor's wife Ann started here in Kampala. It is a nice school. I will post pictures later. They have outdoor classrooms!
Driving here is about the same as driving in downtown Atlanta rush hour traffic. You need to add about 100 people on bikes and motorcycles weaving in and out of trafffic, it is INSANE!
After around 30 hours of traveling we made it to Entebbe Airport. Reminds of the Gulfport Mississippi airport. Everyone has been very pleasant and accommodating. Trevor's house is nice and the variety of flowers and plants is mind boggling. So when I post pictures and you see a bunch of flowers that's why.
We had a meeting Minister of Education this morning, but the President called a meeting of all the ministers so we are rescheduling. We have another meeting with the National Council of Sport (I think I have that right) this afternoon. Will update on the progress of those meetings as they happen.
Right now we are at the TKL and KKL offices which are housed in the same compound as the Acorn School. The Acorn School is an international school Trevor's wife Ann started here in Kampala. It is a nice school. I will post pictures later. They have outdoor classrooms!
Driving here is about the same as driving in downtown Atlanta rush hour traffic. You need to add about 100 people on bikes and motorcycles weaving in and out of trafffic, it is INSANE!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Day 1
Very nervous about leaving the family. So many things to consider when you leave the country. Not only their safety, your safety, but do I have all of the documents I need. If so did I make copies of my passport and put them in different places, make sure you have the yellow card!
Anyway, I am packed and trying to enjoy Logan and Bre before I leave.
Anyway, I am packed and trying to enjoy Logan and Bre before I leave.
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