Good morning Africa

Good morning Africa
Originally uploaded by paulwroe

Took this photo just before I left - shows the early morning fog over Potter's Village, reminds me of the film "The Village"

Home Sweet Home

(Sunday 5th December)
Left Kisoro at 7am (4am UK), then drove to Kigali, left Kigali International at 6pm (3pm UK), arrived in Nairobi at 9.30pm (6.30pm UK), left Nairobi at 12am (9pm UK).

Arrived back in the UK Sunday morning at 6am. Sat on Freezing bus from Heathrow to Brighton and finally got into bed around 10.45am...I'd been up for 30 hours! Slept like a log and after feeling rested returned to work Monday morning. It's strange being back in the UK after such an intense 3 weeks. Part of me feels sad longs to get back on the plane and another part is glad to be home for Christmas. I've started uploading my photos on flicker and some videos too, check out www.paulwroe.com for links and easy access. I hope to keep this blog updated (though less frequently) with any interesting news, maybe a little commitment to do just that could be my 2011 resolution :)

Last day

A lady organising her oranges for sale

Today (Friday 3rd December) is my last day in Uganda and I woke with more mixed feelings.

I felt excited at the prospect of going home and seeing friends and also a white Christmas, but felt sad at the thought of saying goodbye to my new friends and the community centred lifestyle I was living.

The first night I arrived I tried to wish away the whole 3 weeks looking out into the rain, flooding and darkness, but since have seen those weeks fly by filled with great memories and a growing urge to return.

Thursday Market

Fresh tomatoes

Wednesday and Thursday (1st and 2nd December) I collected items to be posted back in England for Christmas, I had lots of space in my bags, so was happy to oblige.

Thursday was my last Market day here so I took the opportunity to go with Rose (a Ugandan girl who buys for Potter's Village) and use her as my model to get some shots. In Uganda and some other African countries it's considered rude to photograph people and some even believe you are taking part of their soul when you photograph them, which could antagonize a crowd easily. I had 2 men shout 'Mzungu no' very loudly and then I pointed at Rose who was in my shot and they said 'Ok'.

Lazy day

Tuesday (30th November) started with the staff meeting and as it was my last I had to give an impromptu goodbye speech. After the Rifumburu translation and handshakes with staff, it started to dawn on me that I'd be going home in 4 days.

It was mixed emotions for such a short period of time, on one hand I was looking forward to on-demand fresh water and fast Internet and on the other dreading the fast pace of life I was likely to fall back into. I think after 3 weeks I was just getting settled, not fearing the slowdown of time and not racking my brain on what I'd spend my evening doing.

Monday morning (29th November) we made our way to Potter's Village ready for our hike. We couldn't do the volcano in the end as it was $50 a head to get there, a quarter of the Peace Corps monthly allowance. We instead opted for Lake Mutanda, a shorter 4 hour hike.

We started out following a path but before long decided to take it cross country, cutting through fields of sugar cane, heards of cows and goats and through small tucked away villages. At some points I felt I was Indiana Jones searching for a lost temple as the foilage was your typical jungle and the terrain dense and wet.

Final Sunday

The last few days post are below (Thursday onwards) no pictures for Sunday, lots of short videos though, but can't upload them as would take an age...

This morning (Sunday 28th November) I made my way to Sunday school to teach Christmas carols. They were doing a play on the birth of Jesus and needed to learn 3 carols, Judith thought a guitar would help aid the process. I was a little nervous as I approached the 50 strong group of children but within no time at all we were into the swing of things. We played 'Away in a Manger', 'Joy to the World' and 'Go tell it on the Mountain' on some adlib chords and beats.

Judith has lived in Africa all her life as her father had moved out to Uganda in 1947 to work on supplying many of the towns with electricity.