Holla From Kampala

I have returned safely from Cape Town, and I had an amazing trip with Maggie. We were so happy to go shopping, shower and feel like real people. I ditched my yoga pants and bleached stained tees for new jeans and sweaters. It was great to get out of my "village" clothes. Of course we still had some trouble adjusting. We had poor manners and blatantly stared at people. Peace Corps kind of made us socially awkward.

South Africa did not feel like Africa at all. Granted we were in Cape Town, which is a very nice city. Regardless, it did not feel like any of the cities we have seen in Eastern Africa, we were in awe. Of course we still had moments where we'd say, "Oh right, we're still in Africa." When we first arrived in Cape Town, Maggie and I went to the grocery store around the corner from our hostel. We had taken about ten steps from the gate when a group of street boys started to harass us. I don't really know what they were saying - something along the lines of "hey baby." (At least they don't say "mzungu" in South Africa. That word makes me want to punch someone, now). They kept hassling us, and Maggie started to whine loudly, "NOOOOOO!!!! This isn't supposed to happen here!" I couldn't stop laughing, but I had to admit, I thought the same thing. Thankfully, it was a one time occurrence in our ten day trip.

While we were in Cape Town we went to Table Mountain (one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World), did a wine tour, went cage diving and visited the apartheid museum. We also ate a ton of food. There was no stopping us - we definitely didn't miss a meal, even if we weren't that hungry. According to the scale at home, I gained 7 pounds. I guess that I went a little overboard. Oops.

Cage diving was really cool, and I couldn't believe how many sharks we saw. They were huge! I don't think I will be going in the ocean any time soon. Unfortunately, our pictures didn't turn out the greatest. Especially our underwater ones. We bought a disposable underwater camera, but the sharks swim so fast, it was kind of hard to get a good picture. So you will just have to take my word for it that it was cool.

As for the rest of my trip, I will let you see it in pictures.

Thank you to everyone who has read my blog and kept up with my adventures. It's nice to know that people other than my parents and sister read it. Even though I had an amazing experience in Uganda, I am so happy to finally be home. As you've gathered from my blog - I have definitely had my ups and downs. While I will no longer miss public transport, being a celebrity or eating bland foods; I will miss my neighbors, students and the laid back lifestyle of Uganda. I am also going to miss those "What the heck" moments, which I knew would turn out to be a great story for my blog.

Now that I am home, everyone asks me, "Are you happy you did it?"

Without a doubt, yes.

Final photos from Uganda: