Spring Break Blog 2

So the time came for lunch before I got very far on that last blog. I'm all filled up again with dinner, so I'll try blogging some more of the story...

Where was I? Oh right, sitting in the cool of the afternoon, in the shade, enjoying the breeze and the cooler temperatures, writing my memoirs by hand... come back in time with me, and I'll type those memoirs out here...

Following our teacher training workshop on Saturday morning, we all jumped in the truck, packed in like little sardines in a tin can. The men started out in the front seat, graciously allowing all 4 of us hippy girls to cuddle in the back seat. Fortunately, it was a nice overcast day, and we weren't all sticking to each other! We couldn't have asked for better weather for the drive out there. I have to admit that I was slightly anxious as we drove down the road, past all the burned out vehicles and over-turned trucks, being passed by matatus and trucks with armed guards on top!

Just a little ways past the only bridge out of town, over the Nile, we actually had to stop to ask for directions, as we came to an unmarked T-intersection! We had a good laugh about that one... and an even bigger laugh when we got to the next intersection and again tried consulting our map (thanks to the UN!) to make sure we were going the right direction. Who knew there were so many roads out there?!

But the road wasn't really as bad as I expected, and in parts, it was downright good - practically a highway. With Andy driving, we were reaching speeds of up to 100 km/h! But then again, Andy is a trained rally driver, and there were moments when we were skidding around the corners when I really thought that we were in the Dakar rally or something. Yikes! It was, um, yeah, a little scary at moments, but the way Andy was coaching the rest of us as we took our turns driving, it seemed like he knew what he was doing, and had some practice and training in that sort of driving. The breath-taking moments and potholes were all accompanied by a chorus from the backseat. Andy refered to our yelps as, "Squeals of delight". I'm not quite sure if that would quite describe how we were feeling :) Actually, though, we did have quite a few laughs punctuating the drive with various sound effects...

The country side that we were driving through was absolutley beautiful. With the weather being so nice and cool and a bit misty even, the mountains rising in the distance through the clouds, the fragrant trees, the freshly thatched villages, the cool mud beneath the tires... man, it was really refreshing!

Of course, there were signs everywhere that we were driving through a former war zone. Tanks and burned out trucks littered the sides of the road. Piles of unexploded ordinances, just like what we saw in the photos at our landmine awareness training, were stacked by the side of the road. We even saw a group of soldiers playing a horse-shoes type game with big old cartridges! We also passed a few big lorries filled to the brim with soldiers, carrying all their gear. Jerry cans, bags and even bikes were all strapped on to the sides of the trucks. One soldier even had his flip flops neatly strapped on his belt, secured around his waist so he wouldn't lose them!

We didn't stray too far into the bushes for our potty breaks - there are too many landmines still hanging around. There is alot of road work going on, except in one section, where the land is too marshy to be cleared of the landmines. It was the location of quite a number of fierce battles, and the land is covered in mines. People are very careful to stay on the road and not even get close to the red rocks and landmine warning signs. That particular section of road actually even felt very "dark". It had an ominous feeling to it, and reminded me of the dead marshes in Lord of the Rings!

Thankfully, we made it safe and sound to our destination. There were a lot of people praying for us as we travelled, and I know that it really IS God who got us there in one piece! We first went to one camp, to see if there was space for us, but it was full... so we drove off to the only other camp in town, to see if they had space for us! Thankfully, they did! Grace and I got to share a room again... I don't think I'd be able to sleep without her 3 feet away from me! The introverts also got to share a room. It was quite a nice place. For $25/night, we got a bed, a towel, a bar of soap, three meals per day, electricity from 7pm - midnight, a cold shower and squatty potties. Not too bad, I'd say. Next time, I think I'll bring my own plastic bucket so I can have a little bit of a basin of water in my room - it's pretty hard to take out contacts and wash your face at night when you're pouring water from a jerry can in the middle of the forest! But the camp was nicely forested, and quite peaceful. The food was good, and they even had hot chocolate to drink!

You can see some of the photos that I've posted in the album to see some of the facilities that we enjoyed. One thing about the squatty potties, too, is that they really do need to make the target slightly larger... it was quite the challenge to aim properly all the time! And I sure am glad that I remembered to bring my flip flops, since the "polite note" in the shower room requested that bathers don't urinate in the shower. Ewwww.... but really, it was no worse than most campgroups at home!

We did get to do some 4 wheel driving to get into the camp, though! The road was so muddy, so Andy gave us some 4 X 4 lessons! That was so much fun splashing through the muck! I think I posted photos of that in the album, as well :)

Basically, on Saturday night, we all just went to bed early, and didn't even make use of our full hours of generator electricity! Sunday morning was a relatively early morning at church. Church was another great experience. Here I am, coming out of the church: