All Work and No Play...Or Quite the Opposite

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been living the life and have been spoiled for the better half of the last 2 weeks.  During the last week of March - Four of us Public Health volunteers spent 3 days in a workshop, in Nairobi, with members of the PC Staff to refocus the Public Health Sector.  We also spent a chunk of time planning the next PST (Pre-Service Training) for the next group of trainees coming in June.  (Wait!  That was me a year ago…has it already almost been a year since I was worrying how in the world I was going to pack for 2 years in under 80lbs.!?)

Let me define spoiled for you.  King size bed, hot shower, delicious food – salad with lettuce (haven’t had that since the States.) Steak and cheese subs, Meat skewers, and yes Bacon Cheeseburgers!  My stomach hurt after every meal.  Worth it every time and I’d do it again.  I’m just not used to eating this food anymore. 

A lot of Mango iced tea was consumed.  I was nearly teary eyed when there was ice in my iced tea!  (It had been 10 months since ice and I had met last.)  It’s the little things in life. 

The planning sessions went great and I was glad to be a part. 

I then traveled to Nanyuki, near Mt. Kenya, where a handful of us went to an animal orphanage.  I’m gonna be lazy and let the pics tell you about that…

During Easter, 20 of us traveled to Uganda to take on the Nile – rafting and bungee jumping!  I don’t know if I’ve ever been so scared in my life while having so much fun.  Rafting was a blast. And the Nile is no joke. 

 Sure there were parts where we cruised along, sprawled out on the raft to sun bathe, jumped in and splashed around allowing the Nile to carry us.  And then…come the rapids.  At one point our guide told us to paddle, close our eyes, continue to paddle and then open our eyes.  When we opened our eyes there was a 90 ft rapid in front of us.  Ok I’m exaggerating on that but here was a ginormous wave crashing down on us.  It was wicked awesome.  Our raft together decided at one rapid that we wanted to flip.  In fact it was known that if we went down this rapid called the bad place we would flip.  All of us wanted to do it but would question the others to make sure they wanted to.  What we were doing was looking for an out, but none of us wanted to be the reason we didn’t do it.  We all put our brave faces on and pulled up our big girl panties.  Normally our guide Cam, who we at first thought his name was Camel and yes we were calling him Camel,  (c’mon he loved it) normally he told us to hang on to the raft and don’t let go.  At this rapid he instructed not to even try to hold on. 

Not even 5 seconds, ok maybe I lasted 2, but I was thrown from the front of the raft to the middle and on the opposite side taking out another girl.  In the next 20 seconds the rapids tossed and turned me, threw me, churned me and mostly dunked me.  The Nile had its way with me that’s really the point here.  When the safety kayak took me back to the raft I climbed in with a bruised and swollen foot. 

Backing up a week, I had already injured this foot.  I wish there was a good story that I kicked a rock and made water flow from it or that a motorcycle ran over it.  Not the case.  I tripped while walking and twisted it.  Leaving me with an over-sized foot and swag in my step.  Update: I still have swagger when I walk but the swelling has since peaced out and the bruises are nearly gone. 

I’ve been rafting a few times before and typically I would say ah I’ve done that before let’s do something new.  But the Nile -  I would raft that again in a heart beat.  It’s intense.  And in this picture little did we know this part was just for babies, but great introduction by the Nile. 

So bungee jumping hasn’t ever been on my list.  I figured I crossed off skydiving about 4 years ago.  But I will be anxiously waiting the next time I’m harnessed in and get to jump again.  The scariest part was climbing the steps and then inching towards the ledge with your toes hanging off.   The comes the 3-2-1- countdown and everything shuts off and you just jump for it.  For the next few seconds you are trying to figure out what in the world is going on as you are springing up and down and then you are hanging there until you are in the raft getting unstrapped from the equipment and you wanna jump again.  (At least that was my go of it) It was insane and my thrill seeking days have been reborn with this weekend.

After jumping, I got a massage and sat in the steam room.  It was nice being pampered for a little while.  Quite a change from village life.  Then a group of us took a boat out to the source of the Nile.  It was a good time jam-packed with friends, GOOD food, being scared out of my mind, ya it was a relaxing time. 

Now it’s back to the village and back to playing…or the opposite!