Holla From Kampala: A New Post, Finally

My sister sent me a text the other day saying, “Uh, hello, can we get another blog post already?” I guess I have been slacking this past month, sorry! I have been busy with applications for Business School and it has been taking up a lot of my time. Also, power has not been the greatest lately. I like to save my computer battery for the important things – like watching “24”. (I am recently obsessed with watching Jack Bauer save the world).

The weekend after I got back from Rwanda, I had a reunion with three girls that I studied abroad with. Joey is actually in PC Uganda, but our friends Ashley and Alana came to visit. Joey left her posh PC house (she has running water and a shower!) to spend a night at my sweet digs. I gave her the full “Aubrey Marsh” experience – complete with latrine, peeing out my back door, bathing in a whale shaped kiddie pool, and eating Weetabix with peanut butter for breakfast. (For those that don’t know, Weetabix is like a giant Mini-wheat. Everyone says it tastes like cardboard, but I think it sort of tastes like toast when you have PB on it). Joey had me model my kiddie pool, so there will be some great pictures to follow this post.

We had our “Kenya Reunion” in Jinja and we went rafting. So this was my fifth time. I know…it is getting a little out of control now. However, we had a great time. I am not sure I can say the same for our raft guide. He was frustrated with our lack of coordination and we kept cracking jokes the whole time. Though, I think the lack of coordination stemmed from the couple that joined our group. The guy could not paddle straight to save his life and our guide was getting pretty irritated. As per usual, I got thrown out of the boat and had to be rescued by a kayaker since I was so close to the rocks. Joey was screaming and pointing at me the whole time; the look of horror on her face was both hilarious and unnerving. I got creative for my fifth time and I did the “flying squirrel.” On the last rapid, I sat at the very front of the boat so when I hit the wave, I flew off. In Joey’s words, “I titanic-ed the sh*t out of that rapid.”

Last week, we had our annual Peace Corps All Volunteer Conference in Masaka. I finally made it out to Western Uganda - only took me a year and a half. It was probably my first and last time because it took forever to get there. The night before leaving, Caroline, Ryan and I had a sleepover so we could catch the 5:30am taxi. We all cuddled in Caroline’s bed, with Ryan at the far end from me. He had not showered in a few days and the “baby wipe” bath was not cutting it for me. Our taxi ride to Kampala was the worst – I was crammed in a row with 7 people! We had 4 adults and then 3 kids on laps. I could not get out of that taxi fast enough. We filled a taxi from Kampala to Masaka with Peace Corps Volunteers, so that was not too bad. At least we were seated 3 to a row and we did not have to make any stops.

All Volunteer Conference was uneventful, but it was nice to stay in a hotel with hot showers and good food. Plus, it is always a good time when you get to see everyone. The ride back to site was, again, awful. On the way to Kampala, a thirteen-year-old girl behind Chelsea and me stared at us the whole time. She was leaning over our seats and breathing down our necks. We told her to move, but to no avail. At one point in the ride, we got stuck in some bad traffic because of road construction. I decided to work on some essays while we were just sitting there. The girl behind me proceeded to read aloud everything I wrote. By that point, I had had enough, and I decided to have a little fun with her. I started to write: “I see dead people. I speak to evil spirits. I love to eat children, especially Ugandan children.” She continued to read this aloud, but I think she became a little afraid of me. I, however, cured the staring problem.

The other day, I got a call from Bethany to tell me that she had cut her toe to the bone while gardening. Peace Corps medical told her to get to a health center and get stitches, but Bethany is deep in the village and had no way of getting there. I picked her up in a private hire and then took her to Mt. Elgon Hospital in Mbale. My ride to her house was…interesting. The driver, Joseph, first decided to make a personal stop in the village to pick up his son. (It’s a good thing Bethany wasn’t bleeding out!) We were also listening to some great tunes, including 50 cent’s “Candy Shop.” On the way there, Joseph asked me, “Are you voting?”

I replied, “Yes. I am doing an absentee ballot.”

“Ah, are you voting for Romney or the black one?”

“Haha. I am voting for Obama.”

“The BLACK one! Very good, very good. Nice man.”

After picking up Bethany, we made another stop to see his second wife. Yes, that’s right, his second wife – multiple wives are quite common here. After meeting her, Joseph turned to me and said, “Now, I would like you to be my third wife. Is it ok?” No, Joseph, it is not okay. I can only be the first wife. Which is exactly what I told him and I think he was only mildly heartbroken.

Bethany and I finally made it to Mt. Elgon Hospital and fortunately did not have to wait too long. The doctor was really nice and even said I could do the stitches if I wanted. I turned down the offer, mostly because I did not think Bethany would trust me with a needle to her foot (weird!). Of course I watched the doctor clean the wound and stitch her up – I laughed and gagged the whole time. I am such a supportive friend. 3 stitches later, Bethany was as good as new.

Well, I will end this post by telling you that a guy who was sitting behind Chelsea and me at the café today just sent Chelsea a friend request on Facebook. We did not say a word to him the whole time or introduce ourselves, but he managed to find her. Creepy, yes? Just because we are all Americans does not mean we need to be friends!

Photos courtesy of Joey and Ashley:

How I do dishes. My water is not black, that is coffee!

Modeling the pool

Lots of dirt here, gotta scrub yourself clean!

Shaving time! Yes, I still do that.

Reunited!

A new Andre to replace the old Andre

Joey's favorite, tea time.

On the road to the river

Whenever we are together, we reenact the picture we took at Victoria Falls.

More photos of me rafting... Sick of these, yet?

We disappeared!

Joey always looks terrified. And she took out her fake teeth because she was afraid they would fall out. We liked to tell everyone she lost them rafting though.