Day 7
It is thundering outside, has been for a couple of hours. I expect wind, pouring rain, and cracks of lightening, but so far not. Down in the valley between rows of mountains, we are sheltered from most of the storms, but in the wet season, as it is now, the rains are inevitable. We've had two days now with no rain, and Denis, the Guest House Manager, says that just means that more is in store for us. The air is still, as it generally is before a storm, and I can hear all the sounds of rural Africa. The river down in the valley echos as a backdrop, but the rooster also crows and the cows moo, louder as it gets closer to milking time. There are pygmy goats as well, who wander about eating, but they generally are very quiet. There is also the sound of drums, and the sound of people.
The Guest House sits above the hospital, and there area always people there, talking, laughing. But there is a whole village around the hospital as well, and here, where the equator is a mere 1.05 degrees latitude north of us, people's lives are lived outside, except at night. So babies are crying, although not as much as you'd think. Many babies are carried on their mother's backs in a sort of sling, and are content there. People are talking, singing, washing clothes, and generally carrying on their daily living tasks, all outdoors. I've only seen one dog, loose of course, and he didn't look like anyone's pet. Of course there are birds singing, some loud squawks, and some parrot like bird that I haven't been able to see yet. I did see a Grey Crowned Crane, which is the bird in the middle (facing the staff) of the Ugandan flag. The bird was chosen because it was on the crest of the Uganda soldiers when they were a British colony, and also for its gentle nature.
I don't know what I expected as a back drop to the scenery and weather, but it wasn't the sound of people and farm animals here in the African jungle. There are also a lot less bugs than I expected. I've seen the dreaded malaria carrying mosquitoes and I've had a pet gecko in my room for a couple of days (he's now gone), and the wood ants are nothing to fool with (so I've heard, and you don't need to tell me twice). I heard about a big snake, but no-one came to get me to take a picture, so haven't seen it myself. I've also seen and tried to photograph the red-tailed monkeys who are all around, but the monkey moved, and the camera moved, and it's all a blur. I have not seen any gorillas, nor lions, hippos, or other large animals.
Reverend Bernard gave the Good Friday prayer this morning and drew an analogy of how Jesus must have felt as he gave up his life on the cross, as the Reverend remembered the day in 1979 when soldiers from Tanzania (to Uganda's south) crossed the border and stormed Kampala to oust the dictator. He said that when the people heard that Idi Amin had fled and abdicated, they relaxed and let go of their terror. It was what he was thinking, and I would never question a Ugandan's interpretation of religion or oppression.
Here are the classrooms of the Uganda Nursing School, Bwindi.
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