Sunrise on the highway Beautiful scenery of Ugandan countryside
Shrine that thousands of people traveled to worship together.
Nick and Michael surrounded by all the ladies! :) Rose, Nick, Galvin, Michael, Aggie, Teddy, Betty. Nick and Betty carrying bananas and water to police and bodas.
Shrine that thousands of people traveled to worship together.
Nick and Michael surrounded by all the ladies! :) Rose, Nick, Galvin, Michael, Aggie, Teddy, Betty. Nick and Betty carrying bananas and water to police and bodas.
Thursday was a special Ugandan holiday, Martyr's Day. It's a day that remembers the persecution of 14 Roman Catholic priests who introduced many Ugandans to Christianity. Now, most of the population in Uganda and surrounding areas is Roman Catholic. On this day, people from all around walk and pray as they march toward a holy shrine to worship together. Since we were off work, most of the office decided to check out the ceebration. We made plans to wake up at 4:30 AM and make a 21 kilometer (a little less than 12 miles) trek to the shrine.
On Wednesday night, MF and I were talking to Galvin, the lady who manages the house about our exciting day ahead. Michael asked if she wanted to go, and she excitedly responded, "YES! I was going to go all by myself!" When we told her what time, she raised her eyebrows, sighed, and just smiled, "I'll be there!"
So, with the sky still pitch black, Michael and I dowsed ourselves in mosquito repellant, took our malaria medicine (Mom, I know those pictures with me in shorts probably worried you), left from a local church, and made off toward the city like a pack of wolves (I've added many to my pack haha!). Some decided to run ahead, but most of the younger group stayed behind and decided to chat. We told the others that we would catch up with them later. We promised we would walk/jog the entire time. We talked, joked, and laughed all throughout the morning. It was beautiful to see the sun rise early in the morning over the city. After about 4 miles, we all decided that our promise would be hard to keep. 5 minutes later, we were crammed in a cab. Oops! We stopped 2 miles outside of the city, and decided we'd walk the rest of the way so that we wouldn't be caught by the rest of the runners that left us. It worked. A few minutes later, we saw Aggie, who was with the runner group, already running back to catch up with us. She's so fit! She exclaimed, "Wow, you guys are good at powerwalking!" I think she was pulling our leg, but the rest of the group is convinced she doesn't know. I ran with a couple of other people the rest of the way, and it was great to see the city on foot in the cool of the morning.
We finally arrived after passing through the thick crowds of people. Since most of us were running, we had on shorts and t-shirts. For some traditional African Catholic followers, women especially should not wear shorts. Thus, many of the elders of the church and crowd gave some pretty disapproving looks. Finally, I know what women mean when they talk about "that look that girls give". We walked deeper into the crowd to see the shrine. With smells of matoke, potatoes, fresh fruits, and holy fragrances heavy in the air, the experience was one to remember. There were literally thousands of people lining the streets. We eventually stopped and took a quick snapshot before it got too crowded. Tired and sweaty, the whole group walked back to a van that had been arranged to pick us up to eat bananas and drink water. We had lots left over, so we walked around giving water and bananas to police officers, boda bodas, and traffic instructors. Oh, fun fact, everyone in Uganda LOVES to give parking instructions...reminds me of my dad when I'm pulling into the garage Haha!
Galvin, Michael, and I returned home with intentions to go to sleep, but Michael and I began discussing religion and race. It was interesting to hear our different cultures and learn how similar/different many of our beliefs are. I learned a lot from our conversation. We ended up talking so long that we weren't even tired any more! Michael's been a great guy to travel with. He's always ready with some funny story to tell me. He does the funniest impressions! We laugh at the different people and things we hear on the trip. We have tons of great tales and adventures already, who knows what's to come over the next few weeks?!
On Wednesday night, MF and I were talking to Galvin, the lady who manages the house about our exciting day ahead. Michael asked if she wanted to go, and she excitedly responded, "YES! I was going to go all by myself!" When we told her what time, she raised her eyebrows, sighed, and just smiled, "I'll be there!"
So, with the sky still pitch black, Michael and I dowsed ourselves in mosquito repellant, took our malaria medicine (Mom, I know those pictures with me in shorts probably worried you), left from a local church, and made off toward the city like a pack of wolves (I've added many to my pack haha!). Some decided to run ahead, but most of the younger group stayed behind and decided to chat. We told the others that we would catch up with them later. We promised we would walk/jog the entire time. We talked, joked, and laughed all throughout the morning. It was beautiful to see the sun rise early in the morning over the city. After about 4 miles, we all decided that our promise would be hard to keep. 5 minutes later, we were crammed in a cab. Oops! We stopped 2 miles outside of the city, and decided we'd walk the rest of the way so that we wouldn't be caught by the rest of the runners that left us. It worked. A few minutes later, we saw Aggie, who was with the runner group, already running back to catch up with us. She's so fit! She exclaimed, "Wow, you guys are good at powerwalking!" I think she was pulling our leg, but the rest of the group is convinced she doesn't know. I ran with a couple of other people the rest of the way, and it was great to see the city on foot in the cool of the morning.
We finally arrived after passing through the thick crowds of people. Since most of us were running, we had on shorts and t-shirts. For some traditional African Catholic followers, women especially should not wear shorts. Thus, many of the elders of the church and crowd gave some pretty disapproving looks. Finally, I know what women mean when they talk about "that look that girls give". We walked deeper into the crowd to see the shrine. With smells of matoke, potatoes, fresh fruits, and holy fragrances heavy in the air, the experience was one to remember. There were literally thousands of people lining the streets. We eventually stopped and took a quick snapshot before it got too crowded. Tired and sweaty, the whole group walked back to a van that had been arranged to pick us up to eat bananas and drink water. We had lots left over, so we walked around giving water and bananas to police officers, boda bodas, and traffic instructors. Oh, fun fact, everyone in Uganda LOVES to give parking instructions...reminds me of my dad when I'm pulling into the garage Haha!
Galvin, Michael, and I returned home with intentions to go to sleep, but Michael and I began discussing religion and race. It was interesting to hear our different cultures and learn how similar/different many of our beliefs are. I learned a lot from our conversation. We ended up talking so long that we weren't even tired any more! Michael's been a great guy to travel with. He's always ready with some funny story to tell me. He does the funniest impressions! We laugh at the different people and things we hear on the trip. We have tons of great tales and adventures already, who knows what's to come over the next few weeks?!
-Nick
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