Hello all,
Just realised how long it's been since I updated this, so I figured I best write something.
I've been in Chicago for about a month and have settled in well. Chicago is an extremely easy city to find your way around. You get to most places downtown by only making one turn (if you're walking, the one way streets mean you can't if you're driving). My time has been spent either working, exploring or setting up a new social circle.
Work is going well, I've been placed on shift so I work 12 hour days but get more days off. In fact at the moment I'm enjoying a long period of days off due to Thanksgiving. I last worked on Tuesday and am not working again until Monday evening. The major downside to shift work is I go on night shifts next week which is guaranteed to mess up my sleep cycle. But I have holiday left over so I'll be taking a few shifts off. I'm working on a pilot plant based in the main office which is great cause I'm not stuck at a desk. I can get my hands dirty and do some hands on work.
Thanksgiving was yesterday and I celebrated it with some people from UOP. Had them round my apartment and enjoyed an amazing roast chicken dinner, which was well cooked by Chris who is leaving Chicago to go on the road tomorrow. He's also from England and enjoys introducing me to people at UOP as "My replacement as the token British guy". The great thing about Thanksgiving is I get 2 days off for a holiday that doesn't really have any significance to me, plus it also means that you don't get Christmas adverts as early as we do in England.
Well there are loads of things I could write about but it would result in a stupidly long post that you'd get bored reading. The countdown to Christmas had started and the festivities have started in Chicago. Various parades and things for the turning on of various lights etc. No snow yet but it's starting to get cold so shouldn't be too much longer.
Til next time,
Friday 27 November 2009
Wednesday 28 October 2009
I Don't Drink Coffee I Take Tea My Dear
You can hear it in my accent when I talk. I'm an Englishman in ....... Chicago!
Admittedly those aren't the correct lyrics but I have been struggling to get that song out of my head recently. Been a fairly tiring few days in my new home. I'm sitting here in my new apartment in downtown Chicago, looking out over the city. I'm on the 18th floor so the view is quite nice.
The apartment is really nice. It's fully furnished complete with kitchen equipment (apart from a kettle, I have a coffee maker instead). It's located a few blocks away from Michigan Ave (the main shopping street in Chicago).
As I mentioned in my last post I flew out to Chicago on Sunday. My flight landed in O'Hare around 3. After a hour waiting an hour in the queue at immigration I looked for the carousel to get my bags to find the flight wasn't up on the screen. There was a flight with a similar number that also flew from Heathrow so I figured the was a mistake somewhere. However after waiting for a while I noticed my luggage on another carousel. The screens above this carousel had no flight number or anything on it. Bit odd but the important thing is that everything I took arrived with me.
A taxi ride later I arrived at my hotel for the next few days. After settling into my room and more importantly taking a shower I met up with Angela, another employee at UOP (me and her had our interviews on the same day) and Alberto (another UOP employee). We then went to a very nice Argentine restaurant not too far from Wrigley Field. I got back to my hotel at around 11 (or 4 in the morning according to my body clock). Straight to bed for me.
5.30 the next morning I was up again getting ready for work. As the office is in Des Plaines which is a suburb of Chicago we leave early to avoid traffic. We arrived at the office at 7.3o. The day basically consisted of lots of taking and meeting people. Head was spinning a bit at the end of the day. I found out I'm going to be based in Operations for the first few months which is good cause I won't be stuck at a desk. In the evening I explored Chicago.
That brings us to today. Again we left for the office at 6.30. The day was spent sitting around. I wasn't allowed in the pilot plant because I was wearing contact lenses so there wasn't much I could do apart from going to buy my safety shoes. Tomorrow should be more interesting and involved.
That's the quick update. I moved into my apartment today so spent the evening unpacking. It's Halloween this weekend and some of the decorations are quite something.
That's it for now, hope you enjoyed reading this.
Til next time.
Admittedly those aren't the correct lyrics but I have been struggling to get that song out of my head recently. Been a fairly tiring few days in my new home. I'm sitting here in my new apartment in downtown Chicago, looking out over the city. I'm on the 18th floor so the view is quite nice.
The apartment is really nice. It's fully furnished complete with kitchen equipment (apart from a kettle, I have a coffee maker instead). It's located a few blocks away from Michigan Ave (the main shopping street in Chicago).
As I mentioned in my last post I flew out to Chicago on Sunday. My flight landed in O'Hare around 3. After a hour waiting an hour in the queue at immigration I looked for the carousel to get my bags to find the flight wasn't up on the screen. There was a flight with a similar number that also flew from Heathrow so I figured the was a mistake somewhere. However after waiting for a while I noticed my luggage on another carousel. The screens above this carousel had no flight number or anything on it. Bit odd but the important thing is that everything I took arrived with me.
A taxi ride later I arrived at my hotel for the next few days. After settling into my room and more importantly taking a shower I met up with Angela, another employee at UOP (me and her had our interviews on the same day) and Alberto (another UOP employee). We then went to a very nice Argentine restaurant not too far from Wrigley Field. I got back to my hotel at around 11 (or 4 in the morning according to my body clock). Straight to bed for me.
5.30 the next morning I was up again getting ready for work. As the office is in Des Plaines which is a suburb of Chicago we leave early to avoid traffic. We arrived at the office at 7.3o. The day basically consisted of lots of taking and meeting people. Head was spinning a bit at the end of the day. I found out I'm going to be based in Operations for the first few months which is good cause I won't be stuck at a desk. In the evening I explored Chicago.
That brings us to today. Again we left for the office at 6.30. The day was spent sitting around. I wasn't allowed in the pilot plant because I was wearing contact lenses so there wasn't much I could do apart from going to buy my safety shoes. Tomorrow should be more interesting and involved.
That's the quick update. I moved into my apartment today so spent the evening unpacking. It's Halloween this weekend and some of the decorations are quite something.
That's it for now, hope you enjoyed reading this.
Til next time.
Monday 19 October 2009
Leaving My Adopted Homeland
Hello All,
First post in a while, simple reason being a lack of interesting things to write about. However I do have some news. My flights have been booked and I am leaving the UK on Sunday the 25th. Been getting quite excited about this. There's been a few set-backs and delays and I still don't have a place to live at the moment, but bring on the adventure. Packing has started, my visa has been obtained, flights have been booked and shipping has been arranged. Hopefully I will have plenty of interesting things to write about once I arrive.
Till next time,
First post in a while, simple reason being a lack of interesting things to write about. However I do have some news. My flights have been booked and I am leaving the UK on Sunday the 25th. Been getting quite excited about this. There's been a few set-backs and delays and I still don't have a place to live at the moment, but bring on the adventure. Packing has started, my visa has been obtained, flights have been booked and shipping has been arranged. Hopefully I will have plenty of interesting things to write about once I arrive.
Till next time,
Monday 31 August 2009
Return to England and Entering Professional Life
Hello all,
First blog post since returning to the UK. I've been back a little over a week now and am already missing Africa. Life over there is such a different experience to the modern western world that we live in, where we take such things as electricity and running water for granted. Although looking at the way things work I couldn't help but think that the western world could learn a few things. An excellent example is the way that nothing goes to waste and I really mean nothing. Me and Ben saw old car wheels being used as barbecues and grills being made out of old banding wire. One story Bob told us was about a guy whose scooter's front panel had been smashed. Instead of getting it replaced (cause there is little chance of him being able to afford it) he simply sewed it back together. Really wish I could of gotten a photo of that (Bob did say he had one, not sure if it was in the photos that Ben got off him). Ben used the example of his old car, it had a fault with it that caused it to be written off, but there wasn't really much wrong with the car itself apart from this one fault. In the UK the car was scrapped, in Africa it would of been fixed. Of course this is all driven by the lack of income that the majority of Africans have, but it was interesting to see how they dealt with life with very little income. One of the kids who came with the mission in Hoima said how happy all the children looked despite the fact that they had nothing and how kids in America simply weren't like that. But I ramble.
Tomorrow marks an extremely important day. My first day in my graduate job. I've been looking forward to this day for almost 6 months. I can quite clearly remember getting the phone call informing me that I got the job and remember with the fondness the feeling of elation as well as my celebration that evening and in fact the next day (dinner and a movie with Laura and then watching the final day of the 6 nations when Ireland got the Grand Slam, despite the rather large amount of work that still needed to be done at that point). Hopefully this job will make the last four years worth all the hassle, stress and pain. Althought the work for real won't start until I go to Chicago. One thing I have to stop doing is writing down Student as my occupation.
Well those are my thoughts for the moment and if any of you are interested in seeing some photos here are some links to the albums that Ben has put up.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/KibbuseVocationalSchoolUganda#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/LakeAlbert#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/WellDrillingInHoima#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/KampalaToQENP#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/MurchinsonFallsNationalPark#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/JinjaKisumu#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/MasaiMaraNairobi#
Till next time,
First blog post since returning to the UK. I've been back a little over a week now and am already missing Africa. Life over there is such a different experience to the modern western world that we live in, where we take such things as electricity and running water for granted. Although looking at the way things work I couldn't help but think that the western world could learn a few things. An excellent example is the way that nothing goes to waste and I really mean nothing. Me and Ben saw old car wheels being used as barbecues and grills being made out of old banding wire. One story Bob told us was about a guy whose scooter's front panel had been smashed. Instead of getting it replaced (cause there is little chance of him being able to afford it) he simply sewed it back together. Really wish I could of gotten a photo of that (Bob did say he had one, not sure if it was in the photos that Ben got off him). Ben used the example of his old car, it had a fault with it that caused it to be written off, but there wasn't really much wrong with the car itself apart from this one fault. In the UK the car was scrapped, in Africa it would of been fixed. Of course this is all driven by the lack of income that the majority of Africans have, but it was interesting to see how they dealt with life with very little income. One of the kids who came with the mission in Hoima said how happy all the children looked despite the fact that they had nothing and how kids in America simply weren't like that. But I ramble.
Tomorrow marks an extremely important day. My first day in my graduate job. I've been looking forward to this day for almost 6 months. I can quite clearly remember getting the phone call informing me that I got the job and remember with the fondness the feeling of elation as well as my celebration that evening and in fact the next day (dinner and a movie with Laura and then watching the final day of the 6 nations when Ireland got the Grand Slam, despite the rather large amount of work that still needed to be done at that point). Hopefully this job will make the last four years worth all the hassle, stress and pain. Althought the work for real won't start until I go to Chicago. One thing I have to stop doing is writing down Student as my occupation.
Well those are my thoughts for the moment and if any of you are interested in seeing some photos here are some links to the albums that Ben has put up.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/KibbuseVocationalSchoolUganda#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/LakeAlbert#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/WellDrillingInHoima#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/KampalaToQENP#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/MurchinsonFallsNationalPark#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/JinjaKisumu#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Benjamin.P.Riddle/MasaiMaraNairobi#
Till next time,
Friday 21 August 2009
Final Days in Africa
Well it's been a great few days since my last post in Jinja but this will be my last post in Africa. Currently sitting in a internet cafe in Nairobi reflecting on my time in the Dark Continent.
Last blog post I was in Jinja, having been white-water rafting me, Ben and 3 others from our group when quad-biking. The course was around an area just outside of Jinja. We biked through many villages which was great fun but then a little off-putting because I couldn't help feeling like I was being a public disturbance. I reckon some of the fee we paid for the quad-biking went to the villagers (at least I hope it did). The evening was fairly uneventful, just packing and getting ready to leave Jinja.
Sunday we left Jinja and Uganda and went to Kisumu in Kenya. We didn't have transport like in Uganda so we caught a public bus. However we weren't sure how we were getting to the bus station. Next thing an entire fleet of boda-bodas (motorcycle taxis) arrived, one for each person and a car to take our luggage. So there was us on 11 boda-bodas riding along to the bus station a few minutes outside of town. Was quite a sight. When we arrived at the bus station we waited for the bus to arrive. However when it did we were told that there wasn't enough space for all our luggage. The solution being to wait for another bus a few minutes behind and load our luggage onto that. We were a little worried about that but we went along any way. We then had to deal with the border crossing which was a fairly painless affair. Just a bit of waiting around for those who hadn't sorted their visas beforehand, then it was off to Kisumu. After arriving in Kisumu (thankfully our luggage made it as well) we checked into the hotel and went on a tour of the market (Kisumu means place of bargaining). Very interesting tour of the market which wasn't directed to tourist so it was a genuine place. We did get hassled by someone constantly trying to befriend us and get money of us but he left when he realised that we were heading toward the police station (according to our guide he could get 30 years prison for hassling us, have to say I didn't believe that). The evening was spent chatting in the hotel restaurant.
Monday morning was spent on a boat tour around Lake Victoria. We were told a lot about the local fishing villages and even got to visit one. We also went through some swamps and saw more wildlife. We had lunch at a local restaurant which was a very nice place but they often ran out of things. Ben didn't receive anything he initially wanted, the funniest example being when the waitress misheard his request for Lasagne as Tanzanian Fish Curry. He wasn't best pleased when his dish arrived. In the afternoon me and Ben wondered round Kisumu but to be honest there wasn't much there so we went back to the hotel and relaxed there. In the evening the group went out for dinner. Had a fantastic waiter who was very funny (he pretended that he'd misheard my order).
Tuesday was spent driving to the Maasai Mara. After some very interesting roads (I say roads) which resulted in us fishtailing many times and one truck getting stuck we arrived at our campsite. We had lunch and went out for a game drive. We managed to see our first Lion of the trip but it was slightly ruined by some of the other tourists (there were a total of 25 safari vans around these Lions, there were 7 of them). Still managed to see loads of animals.
Wednesday was a full day spent in the Mara. We left our campsite at 6.30 for an early morning game drive and spent 6 hours out in the park. The afternoon we visited a Maasai village and were shown around and shown the traditional dances etc. The evening we went on another game drive. We then had dinner with another tour group that had arrived. New animals we saw in the Mara included Impala, Lion, Thompson's Gazelle, Topi, Eland, Black-Backed Jackal and Bat-Eared Fox.
Thursday morning we had another game drive which was made memorable by two things. First we spotted two Lions and managed to get extremely close without having any other vans around. The second was seeing two ostriches mate. One of the funniest things I've seen. Can't really describe it here so contact me if you want me to. We then departed the Mara and drove on to our final destination, Nairobi. After a few stops including a church built bu Italian POWs we arrived at our hotel at around 4. We then showered etc and prepared to go out for our final dinner. Destination - Carnivore.
For those of you who don't know Carnivore is a restaurant that predominantly deals in meat. You go in and for a set price can eat as much meat as you can. Usually they have lots of exotic and different meats but the government is clamping down on people illegally providing game meat so the choice was a little limited. At the final count we had 6 different animals. The price also included soup starter and dessert. The restaurant itself is huge with an awesome atmosphere and we all had an incredible time there. We then said our goodbyes to the people who were leaving early the next day.
That brings us to today. Me and Ben are spending the next two days in Nairobi before flying back home tomorrow evening. It's been a great trip and we've met loads of people. Unfortunately we've also had to say goodbye but these things happen.
Just realised how much I've written. Hope you enjoyed it and till next time.
Last blog post I was in Jinja, having been white-water rafting me, Ben and 3 others from our group when quad-biking. The course was around an area just outside of Jinja. We biked through many villages which was great fun but then a little off-putting because I couldn't help feeling like I was being a public disturbance. I reckon some of the fee we paid for the quad-biking went to the villagers (at least I hope it did). The evening was fairly uneventful, just packing and getting ready to leave Jinja.
Sunday we left Jinja and Uganda and went to Kisumu in Kenya. We didn't have transport like in Uganda so we caught a public bus. However we weren't sure how we were getting to the bus station. Next thing an entire fleet of boda-bodas (motorcycle taxis) arrived, one for each person and a car to take our luggage. So there was us on 11 boda-bodas riding along to the bus station a few minutes outside of town. Was quite a sight. When we arrived at the bus station we waited for the bus to arrive. However when it did we were told that there wasn't enough space for all our luggage. The solution being to wait for another bus a few minutes behind and load our luggage onto that. We were a little worried about that but we went along any way. We then had to deal with the border crossing which was a fairly painless affair. Just a bit of waiting around for those who hadn't sorted their visas beforehand, then it was off to Kisumu. After arriving in Kisumu (thankfully our luggage made it as well) we checked into the hotel and went on a tour of the market (Kisumu means place of bargaining). Very interesting tour of the market which wasn't directed to tourist so it was a genuine place. We did get hassled by someone constantly trying to befriend us and get money of us but he left when he realised that we were heading toward the police station (according to our guide he could get 30 years prison for hassling us, have to say I didn't believe that). The evening was spent chatting in the hotel restaurant.
Monday morning was spent on a boat tour around Lake Victoria. We were told a lot about the local fishing villages and even got to visit one. We also went through some swamps and saw more wildlife. We had lunch at a local restaurant which was a very nice place but they often ran out of things. Ben didn't receive anything he initially wanted, the funniest example being when the waitress misheard his request for Lasagne as Tanzanian Fish Curry. He wasn't best pleased when his dish arrived. In the afternoon me and Ben wondered round Kisumu but to be honest there wasn't much there so we went back to the hotel and relaxed there. In the evening the group went out for dinner. Had a fantastic waiter who was very funny (he pretended that he'd misheard my order).
Tuesday was spent driving to the Maasai Mara. After some very interesting roads (I say roads) which resulted in us fishtailing many times and one truck getting stuck we arrived at our campsite. We had lunch and went out for a game drive. We managed to see our first Lion of the trip but it was slightly ruined by some of the other tourists (there were a total of 25 safari vans around these Lions, there were 7 of them). Still managed to see loads of animals.
Wednesday was a full day spent in the Mara. We left our campsite at 6.30 for an early morning game drive and spent 6 hours out in the park. The afternoon we visited a Maasai village and were shown around and shown the traditional dances etc. The evening we went on another game drive. We then had dinner with another tour group that had arrived. New animals we saw in the Mara included Impala, Lion, Thompson's Gazelle, Topi, Eland, Black-Backed Jackal and Bat-Eared Fox.
Thursday morning we had another game drive which was made memorable by two things. First we spotted two Lions and managed to get extremely close without having any other vans around. The second was seeing two ostriches mate. One of the funniest things I've seen. Can't really describe it here so contact me if you want me to. We then departed the Mara and drove on to our final destination, Nairobi. After a few stops including a church built bu Italian POWs we arrived at our hotel at around 4. We then showered etc and prepared to go out for our final dinner. Destination - Carnivore.
For those of you who don't know Carnivore is a restaurant that predominantly deals in meat. You go in and for a set price can eat as much meat as you can. Usually they have lots of exotic and different meats but the government is clamping down on people illegally providing game meat so the choice was a little limited. At the final count we had 6 different animals. The price also included soup starter and dessert. The restaurant itself is huge with an awesome atmosphere and we all had an incredible time there. We then said our goodbyes to the people who were leaving early the next day.
That brings us to today. Me and Ben are spending the next two days in Nairobi before flying back home tomorrow evening. It's been a great trip and we've met loads of people. Unfortunately we've also had to say goodbye but these things happen.
Just realised how much I've written. Hope you enjoyed it and till next time.
Saturday 15 August 2009
A Nile on the Nile
Hello All,
Last post I was in Kampala about to meet up with our tour with whom we would be spending the next 2 weeks. Saturday evening we met our group which consisted of 3 Canadians, 4 Brits (including me and Ben), 2 Germans and 2 people from Singapore. Out of the group me and Ben are the youngest by a fair amount. Sunday was spent driving to Queen Elizabeth National Park. We stopped off at the equator and did the usual tourist things like take pictures and do the water experiment (water flows down a plug in different directions depending on which side of the equator you are and goes straight down on the equator). Afterwards we continued on our way stopping for lunch. We arrived at QENP at around 5.30 and set up our tents. We then had dinner in a building than reminded me of an old scout hut before heading to bed.
Monday we were up at 5.40 and had a quick breakfast before heading on an early morning game drive. It was a fairly disappointing game drive as we didn't see much. Afterwards we had another breakfast and me, Ben and a few others went on a game walk, which was brilliant. Our guide seemed to know just about everything. He also proved to be very very good at spotting and identifying different bird species from a great distance away having only seen the bird for a split second. He showed us the various different species of birds (for instances the many different types of Weaver Bird) and showed us the subtle differences between them. How he could spot these differences considering that he bearly saw them for more than a second remains a mystery. We spent the afternoon in our tents hiding from the sun and in the evening went on a cruise along the river. We saw lots of different animals including Hippo, Elephant, Waterbuck, Kob, African Fish Eagle and more.
Tuesday was spent driving to Murchinson Falls. A fairly uneventful day with the only real highlight for me and Ben was passing through Kiziranfumbi and Hoima again. We arrived at our rest camp after dark and managed to spot some Hippos wandering through the camp.
Wednesday morning was spent on another game drive which proved to be a lot more successful than QENP. We saw many animals including our first Giraffe and Jackson's Hartebeast (not quite sure on the spelling there). On the way back our truck got stuck in the sand and we had to dig a track and lay cardboard down to get out. The afternoon was spent on another cruise down the Albert Nile down towards the falls themselves. On the way back me, Ben and a newly wed couple from London sat on the top of the boat with a Nile beer (Hence the post title). Evening was spent in the rest camp bar and packing.
Thursday was spent driving to Jinja with very little of interest happening. The exceptions being seeing the falls up close (we could understand why they are the most powerful in the world, the 50 metre wide Nile gets squeezed through a 3 metre gap) and our first hot shower in almost a week at the hotel in Jinja.
Friday was spent on the Nile. We went white water rafting with a fair amount of our group. It was a great deal of fun. Our guide (an international kayaker) was very funny and extremely good at what he did. Highlights included someone falling off on the very first rapid (the tamest one of the day), floating through a rapid out of the boat, being overturned and having to float down a rapid alone, the jokes told by our guide ("What do you call a black man flying a plane?" - "The pilot you racist"), seeing someone in the boat ahead of us getting catapulated a few feet in the air and the final rapid which was quite simply mad (no one stayed in the boat and Ben got thrown a few feet into the air) the only downside of the trip being the nasty sunburn many of us got. The rafting company also provided a BBQ and a few free drinks afterwards (all for $125). In the evening me, Ben, Tim and Amy (the newly weds) went to a "bar/casino" in Jinja. The casino was frankly crap but the bar was really funny. There was a live band playing and all the seats were arranged facing the bar instead of in clusters. The bar also had the best entrance policy ever. Instead of paying an entrance fee you had to buy a drink.
Today me and Ben went to the source of the Nile and will be Quad-biking this evening before leaving Uganda tomorrow to head to Kisumu in Kenya. Little sad to be leaving Uganda I've loved my time here but am looking forward to Kenya especially the Masi Mara game reserve.
Hope you are all well and till next time.
Last post I was in Kampala about to meet up with our tour with whom we would be spending the next 2 weeks. Saturday evening we met our group which consisted of 3 Canadians, 4 Brits (including me and Ben), 2 Germans and 2 people from Singapore. Out of the group me and Ben are the youngest by a fair amount. Sunday was spent driving to Queen Elizabeth National Park. We stopped off at the equator and did the usual tourist things like take pictures and do the water experiment (water flows down a plug in different directions depending on which side of the equator you are and goes straight down on the equator). Afterwards we continued on our way stopping for lunch. We arrived at QENP at around 5.30 and set up our tents. We then had dinner in a building than reminded me of an old scout hut before heading to bed.
Monday we were up at 5.40 and had a quick breakfast before heading on an early morning game drive. It was a fairly disappointing game drive as we didn't see much. Afterwards we had another breakfast and me, Ben and a few others went on a game walk, which was brilliant. Our guide seemed to know just about everything. He also proved to be very very good at spotting and identifying different bird species from a great distance away having only seen the bird for a split second. He showed us the various different species of birds (for instances the many different types of Weaver Bird) and showed us the subtle differences between them. How he could spot these differences considering that he bearly saw them for more than a second remains a mystery. We spent the afternoon in our tents hiding from the sun and in the evening went on a cruise along the river. We saw lots of different animals including Hippo, Elephant, Waterbuck, Kob, African Fish Eagle and more.
Tuesday was spent driving to Murchinson Falls. A fairly uneventful day with the only real highlight for me and Ben was passing through Kiziranfumbi and Hoima again. We arrived at our rest camp after dark and managed to spot some Hippos wandering through the camp.
Wednesday morning was spent on another game drive which proved to be a lot more successful than QENP. We saw many animals including our first Giraffe and Jackson's Hartebeast (not quite sure on the spelling there). On the way back our truck got stuck in the sand and we had to dig a track and lay cardboard down to get out. The afternoon was spent on another cruise down the Albert Nile down towards the falls themselves. On the way back me, Ben and a newly wed couple from London sat on the top of the boat with a Nile beer (Hence the post title). Evening was spent in the rest camp bar and packing.
Thursday was spent driving to Jinja with very little of interest happening. The exceptions being seeing the falls up close (we could understand why they are the most powerful in the world, the 50 metre wide Nile gets squeezed through a 3 metre gap) and our first hot shower in almost a week at the hotel in Jinja.
Friday was spent on the Nile. We went white water rafting with a fair amount of our group. It was a great deal of fun. Our guide (an international kayaker) was very funny and extremely good at what he did. Highlights included someone falling off on the very first rapid (the tamest one of the day), floating through a rapid out of the boat, being overturned and having to float down a rapid alone, the jokes told by our guide ("What do you call a black man flying a plane?" - "The pilot you racist"), seeing someone in the boat ahead of us getting catapulated a few feet in the air and the final rapid which was quite simply mad (no one stayed in the boat and Ben got thrown a few feet into the air) the only downside of the trip being the nasty sunburn many of us got. The rafting company also provided a BBQ and a few free drinks afterwards (all for $125). In the evening me, Ben, Tim and Amy (the newly weds) went to a "bar/casino" in Jinja. The casino was frankly crap but the bar was really funny. There was a live band playing and all the seats were arranged facing the bar instead of in clusters. The bar also had the best entrance policy ever. Instead of paying an entrance fee you had to buy a drink.
Today me and Ben went to the source of the Nile and will be Quad-biking this evening before leaving Uganda tomorrow to head to Kisumu in Kenya. Little sad to be leaving Uganda I've loved my time here but am looking forward to Kenya especially the Masi Mara game reserve.
Hope you are all well and till next time.
Saturday 8 August 2009
Don't Wait Until You're Thirsty!!
Hello All,
Slightly shorter time between updates this time so I can write a little more.
Last time I had just arrived in Hoima to spend two days helping with a mission group from the States. Wednesday afternoon was spent lazing around the pool and chatting with the group. Although the first thing we did was have a shower as there were no showers in Kiziranfumbi so me and Ben had gone 4 days without showering. The shower in the hotel was pretty poor by our normal standards but by that point it felt awesome. Even if there was no holder for the showerhead. A few members of the mission group had arrived a few days earlier and the rest had arrived in Entebbe that morning and were driving over. As we were standing around talking we heard a brass band playing. It turned out to be the rest of the group being led along the Hoima streets by this band. They entered the hotel compound and proceeded to play whilst everyone was saying hello. It was quite a welcome and reminded me and Ben of our welcome to Kibbuse a few weeks before. After our lazing round the pool and me Ben went and met with the well drilling team to introduce ourselves and get an idea of the process involved following that was dinner. Following dinner there was a entire group meeting where we met more people. We then spent the evening at the hotel bar. Was a pretty relaxed and luxurious day which felt a little odd after the last few weeks but was a good laugh. It took some of the younger members of the mission only around 3 hours to come up with nicknames. I was Willy Wonka because of my apparent resemblance to Gene Wilder in the film, which led to Ben being called Charlie (predictably) although I preferred those nicknames to Brit 1 and Brit 2 which is what we were called by the well drilling team (I was Brit 2).
Thursday started at the unpleasant hour of 6.30. We were slightly lucky cause one of the older guys on the mission tends to knock on everyone's doors at 6 to wake them up. We were saved from that because the guy didn't know which room me and Ben were in. We then had our final breakfast with Bob. Following a few delays with transport we were off for our first experience of well drilling. We arrived at the site and started to set up the drill at around 10. The drill rig consists of a wide base to which a vertical bar with the section for the drill bit is attached. The base has to be anchored into the ground using these long metal poles with two bits of screwed threads attached. However as we discovered there was a large rock about a foot under the topsoil. Me and one other guy succeeded in breaking one of these things (they're about 1.5 inches in diameter and made from steel). Eventually we started drilling. The drill bit is attached to the mechanism by a series of 5 ft metal pipes. So you drill down 5 feet then disconnect the mechanism and put another pipe on. After drilling down to about 45 feet we hit a rock and couldn't continue so packed up (I managed to get hit in the head during this process the first of many times) and went back to the hotel. Had dinner, a team meeting and then played cards at the pool.
Friday was much the same as Thursday. We drilled two sites before hitting rock, neither times reaching water, so fairly successful. The afternoon was made interesting by a large rainstorm which at first had us hiding under trees to try and kept dry then under a hut in a nearby village. I also got accidentally got punched in the face, A pump had cut out and we were trying to start it up again. The guy trying to start it was having trouble so I reached over and put the choke on. He then tried again (the pump was started by a pull string like an old lawnmower) and resulted in his hand colliding with my nose (the third time in two days I'd been hit in the head). By the end of the day we ended up so dirty that people were taking photos of us when we arrived back.
Both days we had audiences of up to 50 children watching us. We had taken so much water with us (one of the team leaders kept on saying that we have to keep drinking "Don't wait until you're thirsty, because you're already a quart low on water by then") so we had loads of empty bottles. We ended up throwing these into the crowd of kids which almost resulted in a riot. I actually saw a kid crawl over another one to get to a bottle. I was quite an interesting sight. During the team meeting that evening I spoke to the group and thanked them for having us. We apparently really impressed the well drillers with how hard we worked especially after being hit in the head so often. We spend the rest of the evening chatting people from the group. Me and Ben were a little sad to be leaving cause we really enjoyed the company and the experience of drilling wells. But we were heading to Kampala to start our tour (the holiday part of the trip now that the work section had finished).
Saturday morning was spent travelling to Kampala via taxi. The trip in total took a little over three hours. We checked into our hotel, said goodbye to Rev. James who had accompanied us and then went to Garden City (a shopping centre). However as we were going into Garden City we ran into Spencer and Mandy again (the Peace Corps worker and her boyfriend from Karaguza). Slightly amazed at this chance encounter we had lunch with them at this amazing Thai restaurant before saying goodbye and heading back to Garden City to write this blog entry.
Well despite only having two days of things to write about I've still managed to write far too much. Tomorrow we leave for Queen Elizabeth park in the south of the country (over 500 kms away so it's gonna be a long day)
Till next time,
Slightly shorter time between updates this time so I can write a little more.
Last time I had just arrived in Hoima to spend two days helping with a mission group from the States. Wednesday afternoon was spent lazing around the pool and chatting with the group. Although the first thing we did was have a shower as there were no showers in Kiziranfumbi so me and Ben had gone 4 days without showering. The shower in the hotel was pretty poor by our normal standards but by that point it felt awesome. Even if there was no holder for the showerhead. A few members of the mission group had arrived a few days earlier and the rest had arrived in Entebbe that morning and were driving over. As we were standing around talking we heard a brass band playing. It turned out to be the rest of the group being led along the Hoima streets by this band. They entered the hotel compound and proceeded to play whilst everyone was saying hello. It was quite a welcome and reminded me and Ben of our welcome to Kibbuse a few weeks before. After our lazing round the pool and me Ben went and met with the well drilling team to introduce ourselves and get an idea of the process involved following that was dinner. Following dinner there was a entire group meeting where we met more people. We then spent the evening at the hotel bar. Was a pretty relaxed and luxurious day which felt a little odd after the last few weeks but was a good laugh. It took some of the younger members of the mission only around 3 hours to come up with nicknames. I was Willy Wonka because of my apparent resemblance to Gene Wilder in the film, which led to Ben being called Charlie (predictably) although I preferred those nicknames to Brit 1 and Brit 2 which is what we were called by the well drilling team (I was Brit 2).
Thursday started at the unpleasant hour of 6.30. We were slightly lucky cause one of the older guys on the mission tends to knock on everyone's doors at 6 to wake them up. We were saved from that because the guy didn't know which room me and Ben were in. We then had our final breakfast with Bob. Following a few delays with transport we were off for our first experience of well drilling. We arrived at the site and started to set up the drill at around 10. The drill rig consists of a wide base to which a vertical bar with the section for the drill bit is attached. The base has to be anchored into the ground using these long metal poles with two bits of screwed threads attached. However as we discovered there was a large rock about a foot under the topsoil. Me and one other guy succeeded in breaking one of these things (they're about 1.5 inches in diameter and made from steel). Eventually we started drilling. The drill bit is attached to the mechanism by a series of 5 ft metal pipes. So you drill down 5 feet then disconnect the mechanism and put another pipe on. After drilling down to about 45 feet we hit a rock and couldn't continue so packed up (I managed to get hit in the head during this process the first of many times) and went back to the hotel. Had dinner, a team meeting and then played cards at the pool.
Friday was much the same as Thursday. We drilled two sites before hitting rock, neither times reaching water, so fairly successful. The afternoon was made interesting by a large rainstorm which at first had us hiding under trees to try and kept dry then under a hut in a nearby village. I also got accidentally got punched in the face, A pump had cut out and we were trying to start it up again. The guy trying to start it was having trouble so I reached over and put the choke on. He then tried again (the pump was started by a pull string like an old lawnmower) and resulted in his hand colliding with my nose (the third time in two days I'd been hit in the head). By the end of the day we ended up so dirty that people were taking photos of us when we arrived back.
Both days we had audiences of up to 50 children watching us. We had taken so much water with us (one of the team leaders kept on saying that we have to keep drinking "Don't wait until you're thirsty, because you're already a quart low on water by then") so we had loads of empty bottles. We ended up throwing these into the crowd of kids which almost resulted in a riot. I actually saw a kid crawl over another one to get to a bottle. I was quite an interesting sight. During the team meeting that evening I spoke to the group and thanked them for having us. We apparently really impressed the well drillers with how hard we worked especially after being hit in the head so often. We spend the rest of the evening chatting people from the group. Me and Ben were a little sad to be leaving cause we really enjoyed the company and the experience of drilling wells. But we were heading to Kampala to start our tour (the holiday part of the trip now that the work section had finished).
Saturday morning was spent travelling to Kampala via taxi. The trip in total took a little over three hours. We checked into our hotel, said goodbye to Rev. James who had accompanied us and then went to Garden City (a shopping centre). However as we were going into Garden City we ran into Spencer and Mandy again (the Peace Corps worker and her boyfriend from Karaguza). Slightly amazed at this chance encounter we had lunch with them at this amazing Thai restaurant before saying goodbye and heading back to Garden City to write this blog entry.
Well despite only having two days of things to write about I've still managed to write far too much. Tomorrow we leave for Queen Elizabeth park in the south of the country (over 500 kms away so it's gonna be a long day)
Till next time,
Wednesday 5 August 2009
Paint, Earthquakes, Coffee, Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Hello all again, Been another busy week with lots to write.
Wednesday the 29th July was spent by me and Ben working on the playground that we started a few days previously. However this time it was only me and Ben working. This was a source of great amusement to the local kids. Two Mzungu (Westerners) doing physical labour is clearly a rare event (considering that there aren't many around anyway this is hardly a surprise). One of the teachers was amazed that we were going out to work at around 2pm saying to Ben "Ben you are going to become an African". We also watched a bricklaying practical exam and was very impressed with what the students made.
Thursday was spent preparing metal brackets for reinforcing drying racks at a coffee farm a few hours away. This involved filing the metal so that it was smooth and then painting them. We managed to pull another crowd of local kids who were clearly amazed by us. The afternoon was made slightly memorable by a minor earthquake. Me and Ben were in our room when the whole place started to shake. We thought something had run into the building but when it stopped we went outside to ask if anyone else had felt it. Idah simply stated it was an earthquake and they happen around once a year there. The whole thing lasted bearly 10 seconds in total.
Friday was spent painting the rest of the metal brackets. In total there were around 400 brackets that were painted and hung in a classroom to dry. Again we had our crowd but that was partially due to the huge rainstorm that occurred halfway through the afternoon. Many local kids used the storm to have a shower. The rain only lasted for around 30 minutes but a lot of rain fell to the relief of many as the school collects rainwater to use for washing, drinking etc. Following the storm I gave a guitar lesson to Richard one of the teachers. The evening was spent playing Hearts with Bob and Brenda where I successfully managed to pick up the Queen of Spades in every round apart from 2. If you don't know the game, that card is the worse card to pick up.
Saturday morning was spent doing washing. Again to the amusement of Sarah (Bob and Brenda's housekeeper). In the afternoon we walked up a nearby hill. Bob reckoned it would take us around 2 hours to reach the top. 40 minutes later we were there and admiring the view. The path ended around halfway up so we had to scramble up rocks to reach the summit. We were joined by two students who had never made the climb. We also found a large rock that was hollow. But we couldn't find a place into the rock to find out why.
Sunday was our last day in Kibbuse. We started the day by being taught to make american style pancakes with Bob. We then went to the church and got a photo of all the churchgoers with us outside after the service. We then went to lunch and then prepared to leave. At around 3 we left Nyamarwa for Kiziranfumbi around 2 hours north. We arrived and checked into our hotel (equivalent of $4 a night but had no showers) and went to a local restaurant for dinner. This restaurant like all the restaurants we had been to so far had no menu and in this case only one dish. Beef and rice, it wasn't that bad a meal thought and only cost around 3 pounds. Afterwards we met some locals who had just come back from a town council meeting and then chatted with Bob for a while before heading to bed.
Monday and Tuesday morning was spent at the Wombabya coffee farm installing the metal brackets that me and Ben had prepared earlier in the week. Initially we had planned on spending the whole two days there but we worked so quickly we managed to finish early on Tuesday (including a break to see two birds who had managed to get stuck in the truck and to get some photos). Tuesday afternoon was spent at Lake Albert which forms part of the border between Uganda and the Congo. After a fantastic lunch we sat around and relaxed in the afternoon and then went for a game drive at dusk. Me, Ben and Faith (the daughter of Jessica who owned the Wombabya farm) stood out on the back of the truck during the drive and saw many different animals including Kob, Waterbuck, Warthog and the Great Crested Crane (the national bird of Uganda). We then returned to Kiziranfumbi for dinner.
Finally today we left Kiziranfumbi and went to Hoima. Here we will be working for 2 days with a mission group from the states. Hopefully we will be helping out with the well-drilling team before returning to Kampala on Saturday to start our tour.
Thanks for reading and once again I haven't written everything as there is to much to write.
Till next time.
Wednesday the 29th July was spent by me and Ben working on the playground that we started a few days previously. However this time it was only me and Ben working. This was a source of great amusement to the local kids. Two Mzungu (Westerners) doing physical labour is clearly a rare event (considering that there aren't many around anyway this is hardly a surprise). One of the teachers was amazed that we were going out to work at around 2pm saying to Ben "Ben you are going to become an African". We also watched a bricklaying practical exam and was very impressed with what the students made.
Thursday was spent preparing metal brackets for reinforcing drying racks at a coffee farm a few hours away. This involved filing the metal so that it was smooth and then painting them. We managed to pull another crowd of local kids who were clearly amazed by us. The afternoon was made slightly memorable by a minor earthquake. Me and Ben were in our room when the whole place started to shake. We thought something had run into the building but when it stopped we went outside to ask if anyone else had felt it. Idah simply stated it was an earthquake and they happen around once a year there. The whole thing lasted bearly 10 seconds in total.
Friday was spent painting the rest of the metal brackets. In total there were around 400 brackets that were painted and hung in a classroom to dry. Again we had our crowd but that was partially due to the huge rainstorm that occurred halfway through the afternoon. Many local kids used the storm to have a shower. The rain only lasted for around 30 minutes but a lot of rain fell to the relief of many as the school collects rainwater to use for washing, drinking etc. Following the storm I gave a guitar lesson to Richard one of the teachers. The evening was spent playing Hearts with Bob and Brenda where I successfully managed to pick up the Queen of Spades in every round apart from 2. If you don't know the game, that card is the worse card to pick up.
Saturday morning was spent doing washing. Again to the amusement of Sarah (Bob and Brenda's housekeeper). In the afternoon we walked up a nearby hill. Bob reckoned it would take us around 2 hours to reach the top. 40 minutes later we were there and admiring the view. The path ended around halfway up so we had to scramble up rocks to reach the summit. We were joined by two students who had never made the climb. We also found a large rock that was hollow. But we couldn't find a place into the rock to find out why.
Sunday was our last day in Kibbuse. We started the day by being taught to make american style pancakes with Bob. We then went to the church and got a photo of all the churchgoers with us outside after the service. We then went to lunch and then prepared to leave. At around 3 we left Nyamarwa for Kiziranfumbi around 2 hours north. We arrived and checked into our hotel (equivalent of $4 a night but had no showers) and went to a local restaurant for dinner. This restaurant like all the restaurants we had been to so far had no menu and in this case only one dish. Beef and rice, it wasn't that bad a meal thought and only cost around 3 pounds. Afterwards we met some locals who had just come back from a town council meeting and then chatted with Bob for a while before heading to bed.
Monday and Tuesday morning was spent at the Wombabya coffee farm installing the metal brackets that me and Ben had prepared earlier in the week. Initially we had planned on spending the whole two days there but we worked so quickly we managed to finish early on Tuesday (including a break to see two birds who had managed to get stuck in the truck and to get some photos). Tuesday afternoon was spent at Lake Albert which forms part of the border between Uganda and the Congo. After a fantastic lunch we sat around and relaxed in the afternoon and then went for a game drive at dusk. Me, Ben and Faith (the daughter of Jessica who owned the Wombabya farm) stood out on the back of the truck during the drive and saw many different animals including Kob, Waterbuck, Warthog and the Great Crested Crane (the national bird of Uganda). We then returned to Kiziranfumbi for dinner.
Finally today we left Kiziranfumbi and went to Hoima. Here we will be working for 2 days with a mission group from the states. Hopefully we will be helping out with the well-drilling team before returning to Kampala on Saturday to start our tour.
Thanks for reading and once again I haven't written everything as there is to much to write.
Till next time.
Tuesday 28 July 2009
First Week in Uganda
Been a roughly a week since my last update and lots has happened since then. Me, Ben and Bob left Mityana in a taxi van. Was a fairly crowded van when we left Mityana however en route to Mubende there ended up being 21 people in a 14 person van. The African attitude being that if there's space for people they will use it, and use it they did. We arrived in Mudende at around 12 and went to a hotel for lunch. Bob asked if they had a dish there that he liked, they said yes and told us it will take 20 minutes. 2 and a half hours later the dish arrived and it was delicious. Roasted chicken with potatoes, vegetables and a tomato sauce steamed in a banana leaf served with rice and makote (a banana dish made with steamed and mashed makote bananas). After meeting Rev James Adeeyi (the director of Kibbuse) for lunch we proceeded to the local market to buy supplies and then to Nyamarwa. Nyamarwa was around 26 km away from Mubende down a proper African road (Dirt track with massive ruts and holes). We arrived just as it was getting dark to a very loud and happy celebration of our arrival. The entire school and many other people were there to celebrate mine and Ben's arrival with song and dance. They got us singing and dancing with them. Following the singing me and Ben gave a little talk about ourselves. Following that dinner and bed.
There's a lot to tell about the next few days so I'll try and be brief. The general routine for the day is assembly for the school at 7.30 where they sing the national anthem and have readings etc. The students then go to lessons and we have breakfast. The students have breakfast at around 9.30 and then have more lessons. Lunch is at around 12.30 followed by more lessons with a break at around 3. Dinner for the students is at around 7.
Me and Ben have been kept busy with a range of activities. We have helped to clear out a house that is in construction. This involved picking up all the debris and sorting it into metal wood and brick. This was followed by digging around the house to find a huge amount of bricks that had been left around the house and had been overgrown. We have also helped with the preparation of a new playground. An area of land was put aside for the playground and had to be levelled. This involved a lot of digging in very hard soil. We have provided a lot of amusement for the locals with our inability to use a hoe (apparent inability me and Ben thought we were doing ok).
Our first Sunday meant our first experience of African worship. The church we went to was a mud hut a short walk from the school. The entire service was conducted in the local dialect (Runyoro) although I was lucky enough to have Rev. James translate for me. Ben wasn't so lucky. The way they conduct the offering is a little different. People who don't have money will contribute fruit which is then auctioned at the end of the service. Me and Ben bought a 7 ft long cane of sugar for 3000 shillings (around 1 pound) which is the local equivalent to sweets. In the afternoon me and Ben wandered around the local area and met some of the locals.
Monday me and Ben sat in a few lessons. One was a theory class for the technology students. The lesson was going through a past paper (It's exam time for the students) the entire paper was similar to GCSE science questions. The afternoon was a practical metalworking lesson. Where me and Ben joined in sanding metal brackets and drilling holes in the brackets (metal drilling is surprisingly tiring especially when you have to hold down the metal with your foot).
We have met several people out here. Ranging from the teachers at the school to the local Peace Corps worker and her boyfriend (Mandy and Spencer) both from Salt Lake City. Everyone is generally friendly although the language barrier is quite large. I have been giving some guitar lessons to one of the teachers and have giving a few talks to the students trying to encourage them with their exams.
Anyway I've written loads here and haven't told everything that there is to tell. Hopefully you've found this interesting.
Till next time
There's a lot to tell about the next few days so I'll try and be brief. The general routine for the day is assembly for the school at 7.30 where they sing the national anthem and have readings etc. The students then go to lessons and we have breakfast. The students have breakfast at around 9.30 and then have more lessons. Lunch is at around 12.30 followed by more lessons with a break at around 3. Dinner for the students is at around 7.
Me and Ben have been kept busy with a range of activities. We have helped to clear out a house that is in construction. This involved picking up all the debris and sorting it into metal wood and brick. This was followed by digging around the house to find a huge amount of bricks that had been left around the house and had been overgrown. We have also helped with the preparation of a new playground. An area of land was put aside for the playground and had to be levelled. This involved a lot of digging in very hard soil. We have provided a lot of amusement for the locals with our inability to use a hoe (apparent inability me and Ben thought we were doing ok).
Our first Sunday meant our first experience of African worship. The church we went to was a mud hut a short walk from the school. The entire service was conducted in the local dialect (Runyoro) although I was lucky enough to have Rev. James translate for me. Ben wasn't so lucky. The way they conduct the offering is a little different. People who don't have money will contribute fruit which is then auctioned at the end of the service. Me and Ben bought a 7 ft long cane of sugar for 3000 shillings (around 1 pound) which is the local equivalent to sweets. In the afternoon me and Ben wandered around the local area and met some of the locals.
Monday me and Ben sat in a few lessons. One was a theory class for the technology students. The lesson was going through a past paper (It's exam time for the students) the entire paper was similar to GCSE science questions. The afternoon was a practical metalworking lesson. Where me and Ben joined in sanding metal brackets and drilling holes in the brackets (metal drilling is surprisingly tiring especially when you have to hold down the metal with your foot).
We have met several people out here. Ranging from the teachers at the school to the local Peace Corps worker and her boyfriend (Mandy and Spencer) both from Salt Lake City. Everyone is generally friendly although the language barrier is quite large. I have been giving some guitar lessons to one of the teachers and have giving a few talks to the students trying to encourage them with their exams.
Anyway I've written loads here and haven't told everything that there is to tell. Hopefully you've found this interesting.
Till next time
Wednesday 22 July 2009
Arriving in Uganda
After 23 hours of travelling me and Ben made it to our destination for our first night in Africa. We left Gatwick at around 9.15 on Monday evening and via Dubai got to Entebbe airport at around 2.00 local time. After a bit of fun at immigration where we first forgot to fill in the landing cards and then were told that as we'd gotten our visas before we left we were considered residents of Uganda we got through (this resulted in us waiting in 3 separate lines). Thankfully our bags were on the carousel (seeing as it had taken 40 mins to got through immigration) we walked through arrivals to be greeted by Bob (my main contact and the person through which this trip was arranged) and Idah (the wife of the school's adminstrator). We then caught a taxi into Entebbe itself followed by a taxi van into Kampala. After changing some money ($400 equals a little over 800,000 Ugandan shilling lots of notes) we got another taxi to a taxi rank in Kampala followed by another taxi van to a town called Mityana around an hour out of Kampala. I've been really enjoying the local colour and vibe. Driving in Kampala is an interesting experience and I will always be amazed at how close people, cars, vans, bikes and motorcycles can get without actually touching. I'm also really enjoying getting around how the locals do. We stayed in a hotel in Mityana last night (1600 shillings for a night which is around $8). We are heading to Kibbuse today.
Hope you are all well and til next time.
Hope you are all well and til next time.
Monday 20 July 2009
University's Final Step
Dear all,
Friday was the last stage of my University career. It feels great to know I've completed formal education and am now qualified to enter the real world (academically at least). Now I have the certificate to prove it. I do reckon that the certificate should say survivor on it somewhere but I guess humour doesn't have much of a place on a degree certificate. It was a little odd seeing people that I'd been learning, working, laughing, crying and in one case living with over the past 4 years getting dressed up in all the fancy graduation clothing. I remember the first lecture and it doesn't seem that long ago. Still I'm glad to have made it through university, and am looking forward to the life that having the degree has allowed me to have.
I'm now about to embark on the biggest trip of my life so far. Have to say that I've been looking forward to this day for quite some time now. Flying to Uganda tonight with Ben to start on 3 weeks of volunteer work at a vocational school somewhere in the sticks. Following that a 2 week overland tour that will take us from Kampala to Nairobi via various different sites in Uganda and Kenya. Will attempt to update when I can.
Friday was the last stage of my University career. It feels great to know I've completed formal education and am now qualified to enter the real world (academically at least). Now I have the certificate to prove it. I do reckon that the certificate should say survivor on it somewhere but I guess humour doesn't have much of a place on a degree certificate. It was a little odd seeing people that I'd been learning, working, laughing, crying and in one case living with over the past 4 years getting dressed up in all the fancy graduation clothing. I remember the first lecture and it doesn't seem that long ago. Still I'm glad to have made it through university, and am looking forward to the life that having the degree has allowed me to have.
I'm now about to embark on the biggest trip of my life so far. Have to say that I've been looking forward to this day for quite some time now. Flying to Uganda tonight with Ben to start on 3 weeks of volunteer work at a vocational school somewhere in the sticks. Following that a 2 week overland tour that will take us from Kampala to Nairobi via various different sites in Uganda and Kenya. Will attempt to update when I can.
Friday 10 July 2009
Greetings
Welcome all to my blog.
The idea of this blog is to keep you all updated with my travels without clogging up your email. Initially I'll be spending a month in Uganda and Kenya followed by my move to Chicago and then wherever the fates and UOP decide to send me.
Enjoy
The idea of this blog is to keep you all updated with my travels without clogging up your email. Initially I'll be spending a month in Uganda and Kenya followed by my move to Chicago and then wherever the fates and UOP decide to send me.
Enjoy
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