The White Nile

"missy aggravation
some sacred questions
you stroke my locks
. . .
you can gouge away
stay all day
if you want to"

I believe the last time I left off (ages ago, I know, I'm sorry) I was speeding through Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya. Or at least that was the plan anyway. I did make it through Rwanda fairly efficiently, spending enough time to get to know the country a bit and to see the mountain gorillas. Seeing the gorillas, for me as a biology student, was amazing, though expensive. In my opinion, the tourists are allowed too close to the gorilla families; however, if this allows the Rwandan government to successfully prevent poaching through the money made off the gorillas, then I suppose the tourists are the lesser of two evils. I found Rwanda to be fairly efficient and modern, with good roads and friendly people. It was hard for me to imagine the genocide happened only 13 years ago. I hope my positive impressions reflect what is really happening in the country; however, I heard later through some UN workers that there is still a strong undercurrent of tension and many believe another genocide is inevitable. Being surrounded by volatile countries such as Burundi and the DRC probably does not help Rwanda maintain peace.

I intended to make a few brief stops in Uganda on my way to Kenya, one of which was to go rafting on the Nile. I decided the stop was imperative, as another dam will soon be constructed on the river, changing many of the rapids. Kampala has frequent power cuts, mostly in the evening. My understanding is that these are due to lack of adequate power for the population, which is currently exploding, especially in Kampala. Hence the second dam. I did notice the power seemed to be cut more frequently during my second time through the country in September. I have heard various conspiracy theories that the power is being cut more often now to increase support for the dam. Frankly, it seems likely. I wish I was going to be around in November for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) because my hunch is that for that week, power cuts will decrease substantially. Need to make a good impression for the Queen, you know? Uganda has put tons of time and money into preparing for this meeting of prior British colonies. In some ways, this has been beneficial -- the airport is being renovated and roads are being improved. Unfortunately, I've heard and seen downsides as well, including poorer people with unattractive houses and stores being forced off the main roads. It does seem to be a big dog and pony show to say "Look how well we are doing"; I think it would be most beneficial to give a completely truthful picture of Uganda. Uganda IS doing well and should be proud of many things without feeling that Ugandans need to hide aspects of their country that still need work.

In Kampala, I met several people from the UK who were in Uganda to kayak. They told me that there was a good kayak school on the Nile and, that being the slow season, setting up lessons should be easy. This is how I discovered kayaking and ended up stuck in Jinja, Uganda off and on for 3 weeks. By the time I finally made myself leave, I had become pretty good at my roll, even in rapids, learned to surf a bit and partied a bit too much. I am certain I will continue kayaking now wherever I end up and may even decide to become a raft guide in the near future. My biggest hesitation is that I'm not sure that I am up to the crazy atmosphere that seems to be bred on the river. Now I just need to find a way to integrate this river life with some sort of actual career -- I've enjoyed my free time over the last 7 months, but I am feeling up for a more structured academic or work-related challenge.

I'm not sure what exactly Mr. Bonderman and the University of Washington Honors Program expect me to discover on this trip. My hunch is that they actually don't really care. At least that is my hope. Over the last 8 months, I have thought a lot about my life and what I am doing, but I have also tried not to think about it too much (a difficult task for me). I have become even more interested in conservation biology. I have also learned more about human rights, public health and foreign aid. Though I feel even more strongly that conservation programs must work together with human populations, I have to admit that I feel somewhat jaded toward foreign aid, many NGOs and many governments.

I am now in Kenya and have already booked a plane ticket home. It feels so strange to know that I am leaving in just two weeks. My sense of time is so skewed at this point that two weeks seems like nothing compared to 8 months. Somehow, my leave date seems so close, I kind of wish it was now. I hate waiting for things, especial waiting for new phases in my life. I feel that the sooner I return home, the sooner I can figure out what I am doing next; however, I'm trying hard to enjoy my last two weeks and not think too much. I'll be headed to the Kenyan coast for some diving and relaxing, then back to Nairobi for my flight.