Hey there! I want to say thank you to Mrs. Zaino for the comments on my last few stories! Thanks so much they were really nice. I miss you guys a lot and I can't wait to see you soon! I have spoken to Sarah a few times, and glad she is having such a great time at Disney.
So I spent a few days in Mbale saving up some money after buying a 50 USD visa. It was a really great town, and I met some really nice people. I stayed at the New Mount Elgon View hotel, with really nice owners, a pool table, and a roof with a nice, quiet view of the city. I met Paul who studies Bible Studies and Divinity and his father, a local minister. They invited me into their home and fed me. We played baskettball with Michael at the local school, and even went to a local missionary's bible study class where we discussed how to choose a profession. I read to them the old testiment in Hebrew and translated it for them, and they were very impressed. I really feel that even though we come from different backgrounds and have different religions, we were able to discuss a relavant issue and agree on solutions to current problems. The next day I went hiking with Michael up the mountain near the town, past waterfalls and children screaming "muzungu muzungu!" This is the term for foreigner or white man and they had a great time chasing after me, as I dont believe many white people have ever passed that area. Then we went back to Michael's house in the "slums" as he calls it, which I really enjoyed. I met his family and friends, who all wanted me to take a picture of them. We then went back to my hotel to make pasta and ate ice cream with Paul. Sadly, it was time for me to move on in the morning and we had to say our goodbyes.
But then I got to the great town of Jinja! Just 2.5 hours from Mbale on the shores of Lake Victoria and the source of the nile river, Jinja is what I would call the adventurous capital of East Africa. Here there is everything you would expect from Uganda's second largest city (still with under one million citizens) and more. Boat rides, bungee jumping, HUGE fish to catch, kayaking galore, horseback safaris, ATV safaris (with kid sized vehicles? WHAT?!) zip lines, and the best white water rafting in the world. How can I choose what to do? Unfortunetly everything here is quite expensive. But I have been saving my money the last few days while staying at Mbale, and I am now staying at the amazing (although very touristy) Nile River Explorer's backpackers hostel and saving more money. Tomorrow there is a festival at the falls on the other side of town at the Nile Explorers' campsite to benefit the White Rhinos who were reintrotuced to the wild not to far from here. So today I was walking around Jinja and having a great time after last night, when we chilled out playing pool and drinking one dollar fresh fruit smoothies at the bar. Oh and I met Marissa, who goes to Notre Dame and knows Sissy Peters, a friend from LPJ rowing. Hi Sissy! What a small world. And of course there are some guys from Spain, England, and Australia as well. Tomorrow I am going to the festival which should be a lot of fun, and I have signed up to paddle in the rafting race on the nile! Its totally free and the winning team can get amazing prizes such as a 6 night stay in zanzibar! Then (with the money I have been saving by sticking in one spot) I will go white water rafting on Sunday! It looks amazing (after seeing so many videos) and I have been speaking with some people here about it, and its right up my alley. I met here the 2 English people I rode with in a truck for 36 hours, and they loved it, and also 2 of the Israelis that I met in the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia and they had a blast as well. I found a nice Swedish woman with a Lonely Planet guide book and I am trying to finalize where I will go next. I believe I am heading out to Kampala (one hour drive- free shuttle for rafters!) and I will stay at the totally inclusive Banda Island! It sounds great, and all the people I have heard of staying there really love it. I will write more when all this happens, but so far so good in the amazing Jinja town!
Peace
