Dr. O'Brien: Uganda...Truth in Advertising

Monday 2/24: I am sitting back at my desk at Watkinson...right where I spent countless hours planning our trip...except now it is over.  All the emails, meetings, paperwork, worrying and organizing paid off.  The trip couldn't have gone better...the students were eager and willing to do anything we asked, the service work showed us more opportunities to work alongside Ugandans and the travel was seamless (except for a few instances- see below).

I can't help but reflect on what we had advertised and pitched to the Watkinson community.  How accurate were our descriptions?  Had we promised too much?  Too little?  In many ways, I think we undersold Uganda.  From the moment the sun rose on our first morning, it was apparent we had undersold the beauty of the land...from the rolling hills and cone shaped volcanic mountains of the southwest. To be fair, my trip last summer with Dr. A. hadn't taken us the to the western and most magical part of Uganda, so the beauty of this part of the country was a revelation to us, too.  The beauty of the freshly burnt, dry season savannas filled with antelope, elephants and giraffes as well as the rolling hills of bean, corn, potato and tea fields.   But to be fair, no description in words or pictures can ever capture awe inspiring landscape of Uganda.  You have see you Uganda to understand!

Nate, Sara, Dan and Grace Mugisha, head of the Kyibumba Women's Center & Nursery School

Mitch, Tianna, Liz & the rangers at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

We undersold how genuinely friendly the people of Uganda are.  Again, you have to experience their warmth, curiosity and determination for yourself to truly understand the spirit of these resilient people.  Every interaction comes with questions meant to engage you in conversation...they really do care how you are doing today.  Everyone smiles, asks about your day, life, etc and will gladly share their lives with you.  I wondered before going to Uganda how its people had endured decades of hardship, but now I see that the only option is to come out on top.  Not worrying about the past or the future (we in the US tend to perseverate on what could happen), frees you to enjoy the moment and the people around you.




Other things we undersold:
-Tony: Our guide and hero! I had explained how great our guide, Paul Okot, was last summer.  This time, Tony Byarugaba- owner of Mamaland Safaris, not only lead us through Uganda, but gave us a real insight into the land, the people and all that is Uganda.  With a sense of humor (even after we broke one of the windows in the van) and lots of patience, he translated local languages, explained the social, political and historical landscape of Uganda.  Plus, his expertise as a birder taught us to be more observant of all the wildlife Uganda has to offer.  Tony embodied that Uganda optimism even when faced with challenges like coming upon a truck that had slid in the mud blocking the road when we are a few miles from our destination after a 12 hour drive north [We off-roaded it, driving through a schoolyard much to the amazement of the students there].  I also need to mention Junior- our other guide who traveled with us.  Often left with the unenviable task of driving our luggage between destinations, he also was a source of laughs and some courageous driving- especially when taking us over a volcanic rock strewn "road" on our first visit to see Grace's nursery school.  Thanks, Tony and Junior, without you our trip wouldn't have been such a success!

-Bugs:  While our consultations at the travel health clinics emphasized all the potentially malaria ridden mosquitos we would encounter, we found no more (maybe fewer) mosquitos than in the US. But the swarms of termites around the lights, armies of ants under our feet on the porch in the Budongo forest and other miscellaneous spiders, millipedes, ect were not part of our All School or parent presentations.  [Note:  the biologist in me found this to be one of the best parts of the trip; the other travelers- not so much.]

-Toilets:  We failed to fully explain the variety of options the group would encounter:  US style, compost and squat toilets. While I had it on my radar to show a funny video on how to deal with squat toilets before leaving, we ran out of time, and it was how we say in education: "experiential learning".

-Surprises:  OK, if we had known about them, they wouldn't have been surprises.  But travel like this brings opportunities around every corner.  For example, happening upon Sandra Grey, the primatologist fighting to save the endangered golden monkey in the mountain next to the town of Kisoro where we stayed...she is eager to have us come back and volunteer with her.  The Golden Monkey Guesthouse...a little rough around the edges upon our first arrival, it turned into one of our favorite places.  The workers there like Jackson made us feel so at home...as did the amazing banana pancakes with chocolate sauce.  We were sad to leave.  The Kyambura Safari Cottages we found at the end of a dirt road through a field of banana trees.  True safari paradise owned by Tony and Mamaland Safaris...cottages perched on a cliff above the savanna of Queen Elizabeth National Park with views of the elephants and banded mongoose (only Dan with his eagle eye could have spotted them) from your front porch.  The only regret...we stayed just one night.

View from the dining room at Kyambura Safari Cottages

Looking down on the savanna at Kyambura

The lone elephant Tony spied hidden in the trees along the road as we zoomed past.  He stopped, reversed and then it passed between our two vans! Felix Patton, the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary's consulting ecologist who happened to be visiting while we were there.  His talk gave us a real insight into the challenges of restoring rhinos to Uganda.

And finally, the children:  Shy at first, but ultimately full of energy and eager to learn, play and connect. They danced with us, played games of tag, diligently completed our lessons with a smile and often had a good laugh at our expense....our attempts at their games could reduce schoolyards to giggles. The potential to return, continue teaching computer skills and work with the schools to improve their school lunch programs, sanitation practices and add needed buildings quickly became obvious as we talked with teachers, Deo- the principal at Katarara Primary and Grace at the Women's Center & nursery school.

Now the real planning begins:  When and how to return.  How to stay connected between now and our return.  But most of all, how to try and capture the magic of Uganda and its people for the next group of travelers.