here i go again: Kibale 2.0

In total, we spent about ten days at Kibale National Park at the Makerere Field Station. When someone told me that that's how long we spent, I really couldn't believe it because it went by SO QUICKLY! The time at the park was great because we had really structured classes during the day, and then long, warm afternoons to write in our academic journals, eat a healthy dinner, and then maybe pay $1.50 for beers (its almost like Bar Des Arts!) 'Tusker' is the name of Kenyan beer, and "The Nile" is Uganda's beer. We drink these at the 'canteen' and hang out/play cards for the rest of the night.

We are like young children (who drink.....). We wake up early, eat regularly, and then head to sleep by ten or ten thirty. Its completely strange for me to have so much free time, considering I have no extra curricular meetings or a library to study at. I feel especially lucky because I heard that it has been the coldest EVER in Toronto and Montreal and that SNOW DAYS have been going down!

This past weekend at the park was really wonderful. The CFSIA students attended a celebration to mark the second year anniversary of the Health Clinic that was set up at the edge of the park that my professors, the Chapmans who live in Uganda for part of the year, help to set up and reach a point of sustainability. The health care is for the local community but the center has been funded by Canadians, more specifically, past CFSIA students so both the locals and ourselves performed for this event.

The Ugandans performed a very truthful skit about AIDS and sang a bunch of lively songs about the importance of having conversation on these taboo topics. We closed off the evening with our CFSIA performance where we sang "Proud Mary/Rolling on the River", which the town loved SO MUCH that they took our lyrics and tried to figure out the music.

Kibale has been really exciting because it has been way more than just walking into a rainforest. During our time we saw all these different aspects of the community such as the health center, the science center (where women learn to make briquettes for fire), and our field assistants humble homes and were truly welcomed into the town. I'm really sad to leave our home!

Next Stop: Lake Nabugabo.

Scenes from Kibale: