Bujagali Dam Update, and a rock with a penny glued to it...

Hey All- just got this bit of news from Jamie Simpson at Kayak the Nile:

Dam Update
Hey all just to let you know i met with dam people a few days ago and it looks like we will have access to Silverback up untill the end of 2009 beginning of 2010. A bit longer than we expected. When it does go ahead we will loose the top 10km but will still have over 40km of whitewater, including Itanda and all the major playwaves.

Sweet! This is exciting news, as we were expecting to loose access to this section almost a full year earlier. This means that there is even more reason for you all- even if you don't kayak to get over there, sooner rather than later. I know i am going to do my best to figure out a way to get back...

Don't know if i mentioned it, but Morgan got Annie's job- and is going to be the next volunteer coordinator for Soft Power. She will be there at least until this next summer- so good for Morgan, and congrats, i hope it will be a great experiance. Morgan heads over at the end of the month, where she will be all trained up for at least another month before taking over. She is continuing her blog, www.morgankoons.blogspot.com so be sure to check there for updates on Soft Power and Uganda if you are interested.

all is good on the western front, ive been busy packing up for Nepal, trying to figure out how many pairs of pants i am reasonably allowed to take with me. I don't know how cold its going to get, so its hard to decide what i want to bring. Which equals me trying on everything i own, and packing and repacking my bag several times.

I think the hardest thing is because i do own so much here- i had almost gotten used to it, and now i think that i just have too many choices. As anyone who knows me well can attest too- i am one of the most indecisive people ever.

I was up at my grandmothers yesterday helping my aunt to go through all of her stuff. She is 93, and is moving into a mildly assisted living community this fall. I was amazed at the sheer volume of junk (okay, things of value to no-one but her) and other items she had. Patty and I were laughing our way through some it, partly because of the absurdity of it. After emptying out 2 shelfs of cookbooks and recipe clippings, we opened a cabinet to find 4 more shelves of them. Everywhere we looked were more restaurant clippings. It was unreal. After that, we tried to empty shelf after shelf after windowsill of trinkets- you know the type: the snowglobe from california, the model of "David" from Rome, the stuff we collect from god knows where, and that some of us keep and display prominently in our homes. An then I came upon a plastic bag that contained a rock with a penny glued to it, and a glass monkey. Needless to say, i was a little confused. After about ten minutes of laughter, Patty finally figured out that it was a slightly broken souvenir from the Rock of Gibraltar. Who knew?


Rock of Gibraltar and the Rock Apes that live there...

It was a bit shocking to see the materialism of Western culture in this fashion. The amount of stuff we threw out in one day doesn't even begin to rival the material belongings of an average family in bujagali. It put into perspective the contrast between the items that we need, and the items that we think we need. I am in no way saying that we should all live as they do in Kybirwa village, but simply that sometimes it is a good idea to take a step back and re-evaluate what we have and what we use. Humans by nature, i think, hoard things, souvenirs non-withstanding. But, if we were to move homes, or be forced to leave at the last minute, what things would we take with us, and why those items?

just something to think about...

Book Review

In my time in Uganda, and since i've been home, i have had the opportunity to read numerous books- and i just thought i would share a few of my favorites here.

On the subject of Africa:

The State of Africa by Martin Meredith- A really good overview of African history, from colonialism to post independence. Meredith covers all of the major issues, without making the book sound like a textbook. It is extremely informative, and i found i needed to intersperse it with other, less intellectual reads.

Where We Have Hope by Andrew Meldrum- An American journalists memoirs of Zimbabwe in the years since Mugabe took power. After living and working there for 20 years, Meldrum was forced to leave the country because Mugabae saw his articles as damaging to Zimbabwes global image. I found Meldrums account of Zimbabwe's rapid decline fascinating, as he mixed personal stories and memories with larger historical fact, and his own frustrations as a journalist.

The Shadow of the Sun byRyszard Kapuscinski- Memoirs and stories from Polands first African correspondant. Each chapter is a different story, a different experiance in a different country. Kapuscinski's stories range from the day of independance in Uganda, all the way up to modern day, giving a varied point of view, and a lot of perspective on post colonial Africa.

Scribbling the Cat: travels with an African Soldier by Alexandra Fuller- Fuller, a white Zimbabwean writer residing in the states, returns home to her family farm in Zim, where she meets X, a former soldier for Ian Smiths Rhodesian Government. As Fuller embarks on a road trip with X, she challenges her own memories of her country, her childhood and her very understanding of who she is. "A haunting tale of love, godliness, hate, war and survival."

When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin- More memories of growing up white in Africa, as Godwin, a foreign correspondant for an American paper returns to Zimbabwe for his fathers heart attack, his sisters wedding, and other experiances as he watches his country unravel as an outsider.

Rules of the Wild by Francesca Marciano- One of my favorite books that i have read, it is the fictional account of a white community living in Nairobi. Told from the view point of Esme, an Italian woman who comes to Africa lost, it is a love story, of a women for two different men, of a woman and two countries, of one man and Africa, one man and suffering, and above all, a population and its love affair with a certain lifestyle. Esmes points of view, and her struggles with being white in a black country, her efforts to understand those around her as well as her self echoed many sentiments i myself had in Uganda.

The Darling by Russel Banks- A fictitious account of a white American woman who rebels against the American government in the era of the vietnam war, and who eventually finds herself in Liberia, on the coast of Western Africa, married to a government minister, and intimately involved in Liberia's devastating civil war, and close friends with warlord Charles Taylor.


Other Fictional Works:

Pride and Predjudice by Jane Austen
A History of Love by Nicole Krauss * READ THIS*
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer *READ THIS*
Memories of my Melancholy Whores- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Book of Lost Things- John Connolly *READ THIS*
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen *READ THIS*
The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Other Non- fictional works:

Reading Lolita in Tehran- Azar Nafisi
Me Talk Pretty Some Day- David Sedaris *READ THIS*
Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in LA- Louis J. Rodriguez *READ THIS*
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Emergency Sex :and Other Desperate Measures by Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postelwait and Andrew Thompson

This of course, does not include the trashy books i read by the hundreds. Enjoy! and if you would like any further thoughts or comments on any of the books, or have your own to share, i would love to hear them. Of course, i always welcome further recommendations as well!

I have to say that the experiences i had reading these books, living in Uganda will doubtless be different than if i had read them in the States, or any other country, or at a different point in my life. This is a list of the most notable books i read, that i wanted to share, because in their own way, each of these books doubtless had an impact on my experience, whether it was to give me some perspective, or simply to help me relax, de-stress and laugh a bit.

Sports bra update

local prodigy... the ball is bigger than he is!

Got this message from Megan Hatch the other week, and totally forgot to post it. Wish i could take credit, but thanks is for everyone who donated a bra. Here are some photos taken from Megan's facebook page of the girls playing "football" and loving it. Megan bought them shorts from the market and made them wear them. I believe the quote was "knees are not sinfull"...

Here is the message :

Anyways, the women absolutely LOVE the sports bras. So I wanted to thank you. They give me full on boob demonstrations ALL the time, involving stripping their shirts off and show me without a sports bra and with a sportsbra how their boobs move.
Megan coaching in her village

Gotta love it. Wish i was there to experience the fashion show..
showing some skin...
pushups- like african women need to build muscle.

Empowering through Paddling

http://www.farawayadventures.com/images/proposal.pdf

The above link is the Inka's project proposal for the Nepali Girls... please check it out! She is doing some very cool stuff, which i am thrilled to be a part of. Also.. if anyone has any experience in Nepal, i would love to hear about your experiences as well.

Don't know if i mentioned, but my official dates for Nepal are as follows.

Oct 28th- fly to Delhi on a 15 hour flight.. eesh.
Oct 29-Arrive in Delhi
Oct 30- Fly to and Arrive in Nepal to meet up with Anton and Will for some photo, paddling and general fun missions.

Nov 14- head to Pokhara to beign working with Inka and meet up with the kiwis
Nov 15-Start Part 1 of Inka's program on the Sun Kosi river
Nov 28- Peak UK Himalaya Challenge
Dec 1- Trisuli River Raft guide Training, Inka's project part 2
Dec 19- Nepali trip end, awards and certificates given

Dec 22- Fly to Delhi, then JFK to return home in time for the holidays.

should be good..

Nepali Girls Update

The Nepal project looks like it is going well, with a huge debt of thanks owed to Sophie Haskins and the rest of the Kiwi girls. Sophie has done heaps in terms of publicizing Inka's project- she recently started a facebook group that already has 93 members! Sophie and the rest of the Kiwi's have also done a fabulous job of collecting gear for the Nepali ladies, check out their blog www.nepaligirlskayak.blogspot.com for all the details.

Even with all the hard work that the Kiwis have put in, it looks as though the project could still use some help. If you have any old paddle gear- kayaks, paddles, rashguards, drytops, etc... (preferably in size small) I know it would be much appreciated. Contact me, or the kiwi girls to let us know. I myself am plannin on donating two old IR semi-drytops, a helmet, and some rashguards/thermals. It will be a mission to get stuff over there for sure, but thats all part of the fun right? Karl and Tara have also expressed interest in Inka's project, but they are currently tied up with their plans to go to china later this year, so it is hard to say what will happen. For more on their project, check their website. http://china.riversindemand.com/

I have purchased a ticket to Nepal- i leave the 28th of October, immediately after a friends wedding, and giving me time to drop off my absentee ballot to rock the vote. Will leaves for Nepal the 8th, and Anton is already over there. The rest of the Kiwi girls show up the 12th of November, so it will be fun to meet up with everyone before getting down to business. Thats about all for now, trying hard to earn, not spend everything i have, though its harder then it looks. I am easily distracted and everything costs money here. wish me luck, and please contact either myself or the kiwis if you have gear you are willing to donate. Cheers!