Monday, October 24, 2011

Africa is not a country - my trip to Uganda

About two months ago I left Rwanda to visit home for about a week so that I could attend a friend's wedding. It was great being back - everyone I met was excited and curious to learn about what I was doing in Africa. They asked me what I thought about Africa and what it was like. And I happily answered the best I could.

But I don't just live in Africa, I live in Rwanda. And Rwanda is not Africa. I don't usually correct people when they say Africa because I assume they might not remember what country I'm actually living in. Or they might just find it easier to say Africa. I'm sure there are some people who don't realize Africa is composed of many countries (like my Nani who definitely thought Africa was a country, but she's also old so I'll give her a break). For the record, Africa is NOT a country. In fact Africa is made up of VERY different countries. 

Rwanda was my first introduction to Africa and until recently I had never left Rwanda, but a few weeks ago Manu came to visit me and we decided to visit Uganda. My trip to Uganda prompted me to write this post because Uganda is SO incredibly different from Rwanda. Even though it's only a 1 hour plane ride (or 9 hour bus ride) away, Kampala is livelier, busier, dirtier, and much bigger than Kigali! The atmosphere in Kampala reminded me of New Delhi a lot more than Kigali.

So much trash! Not something you would see in Kigali.

Crazy and dangerous traffic! I loved the bustle of Kampala as opposed to the slightly boring atmosphere of Kigali.

We arrived in Kampala very late Wednesday night and only made it out to dinner. The next morning we left early to go white water rafting a few hours outside of Kampala (in Jinja) on the Nile. There were definitely moments after falling out of the raft where I panicked but the life vest would always pull me right back up. Since I'm not a very good swimmer it was reassuring to know that there were also canoes and rafts nearby with people to pull me out of the water if I needed it. What was really scary was the bungee jumping! Having everything upside down as you're falling 145 feet toward the Nile is the strangest sensation. It was an unforgettable experience =)

We flipped over almost every time we hit a rapid until we realized our uneven weight distribution was causing it.

Before the jump - we decided to go together!

Holding on tight - there was nothing strapping us to each other so we had to make sure not to let go.


The next day we explored Kampala. There are clearly a lot of South Asians in Kampala because as we wandered around we found a mosque, temple, gurdwara, and Jain temple all in close proximity. We navigated the market (nothing too exciting there, they sell basically all the same things in Kigali) and went out to dinner in an upbeat part of town (thanks for the food recommendation Nishant!). We headed back to Kigali later that evening - the trip was definitely too short!

Inside of Gadhafi National Mosque - think what you will about the guy, he built one gorgeous mosque.

I was very excited to see a Gurdwara!

Uganda showed me a very different side to Africa and if I'm lucky, before heading home I would love to see another country that this continent has to offer!

1 comment:

  1. I love the photos, Navita! I don't think I could go bungee jumping - too scary!

    ReplyDelete

About Me

SGBV Intern at the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) in Kigali, Rwanda

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