Home, Waterfalls, and Birthdays

 I continue to be shocked at how fast time is going. There is one more week in our home-stays and then we are moving out. I finally took pictures of the house I have been staying in. I haven't got any of my family yet, but the home-stay party is tomorrow so I'm sure I will get some pictures there.

Here is the front door of our house. It is in a walled compound with a couple other buildings on the property.

This is our sitting room where most of our time is spent. This is where we take tea, eat meals, and watch all of the Nigerian Movies.

This is my room. I am really lucky to have my own room and plenty of space to spread out

This is the "kitchen" where all of the food is prepared. The room is where dishes and pots are kept, and the stove os on the ground on the left. This is also where all of the washing takes place.

On Wednesday we left for Eastern Uganda, so we have now visited each region of the country. We stayed in a district called Mbale. There were not any really significant sites to see, we traveled there just to get a full picture of Uganda. It was a beautiful town with a really friendly feel to it.

We drove on Wednesday and that evening had a lecture about the cultures in Eastern Uganda. The next day we visited Sippi Falls. It was a beautiful waterfall that we were able to hike to. Because it is still the dry season, the falls was small enough to get right next to. 

After the hike we sat in a creek at the bottom of the falls. It was so refreshing after consecutive days of mid 90 degree weather. 

After visiting the waterfall several of us went to a swimming pool near our hotel. It was such a treat to jump in the water. Eastern Uganda ended up being a very relaxing and refreshing excursion.

My birthday was on Friday which was the day we traveled back to Gulu. The drive from Mbale to Gulu is about six hours so most of my birthday was spent on the bus. My classmates surprised me by singing to me right before we left. 

Celebrating birthdays is a very Western thing to do, and 21st birthdays are not significant in Uganda because the legal drinking age (and driving and voting and becoming an adult) is 18, so I did not expect a big celebration. It happened to be Corporate night at a bar and restaurant called the Blue Mango. Corporate night is a big deal in Gulu; it is the last friday of every month so people look forward to it, and it's always busy. It is basically "oldies night" so all of the music played is popular African music (and some American music) from the 60's and 70's. Corporate night has sort of become a running joke to our classmates, because we had never gone but everyone is always talking about it. Since it happened to fall on my birthday a few of us went. It was a good time but we didn't stay long. 

Overall I had a memorable birthday. Thank you so much for everyone who wished me happy birthday, I felt so connected to home, I really appreciate it.