Days 17 & 18: Ugandan History & Back in the USA

Sorry for the delayed final journal entry, I wrote it and completely forgot to send it! Since writing this two weeks ago, I have felt ever-increasing gratitude to my father for making this trip a reality. Thank you, Dad, for giving me the opportunity to serve as a volunteer for AAH, travel to a new continent and experience an incredible new culture, and spending 18 awesome days with me. This was one of the greatest gifts I've ever received and the timing was absolutely perfect in my life. Friday 2/13/15 Feeling better! Dad and I had a good breakfast and checked out of the hotel, hopping right back into Isaac and Geoffrey's van - for a closer look at Kampala culture and Ugandan history. We first drove to a nearby market area and hiked the urban jungle - dodging boda-bodas and busses - to visit some haphazard shops, including a music store for dad to buy a CD of his favorite new Ugandan gospel vocalist. We walked around a bit, taking in the markets and busy streets. We brought a few little gifts and trinkets, but mostly staved off hungry shop owners who were hustling us hard. Issac had mentioned to us that he wanted us to take a tour of the King's Palace, which sounded a little fancy and boring to me, but when we got there I realized we were in for a very unusual experience. The Palace used to be the residence of the King of Buganda, back when Uganda was divided in kingdoms ruled by Kings and districts ruled by clan chiefs. The politics were very complex and hard to wrap my brain around. It turns out that Idi Amin had staged a coup right here at this palace and it was the site of some very violent socio-political history. We heard about murders and military training, makeshift prisons and torture chambers, and details about over 200,000 people who were killed during Amin's reign of terror, most of whom were academics, Indians, and peripheral political enemies. The tour guide walked us around the grounds and spoke about the dates and the different ways the Palace was used over the years. His stories were extremely educational and disturbing, but none was more upsetting than our final stop: the secret underground bunker hidden in the grassy hill behind the palace, featuring five connected torture chambers that were about 20'x30' each. The soldiers crammed every concrete chamber with around 100 people each and over ten years, countless thousands of people were murdered there, suffocated, starved, and deprived of light, food, and water. The main hallway connecting the rooms was filled with electrified water and when prisoners would die in the chambers, they would just throw the bodies into the water. Regularly, the soldiers would remove a batch of corpses and dump them in Lake Victoria. Standing in these chambers, briny goosebumps raced up my arms and I like seasick. After the Palace, we visited the Museum of Uganda, which was sweet and quaint - and ancient in its curation. There were lots of centuries-old artifacts from early tribes: instruments, weapons, tools, pottery... I'll be honest, I got a little sleepy. We drove through the unbelievably slow traffic to the airport early enough to have one last great dinner with Isaac and Geoffrey outside at a restaurant overlooking the beautiful Lake Victoria. There is a bliss that comes with traveling, seeing new sights, learning different ways, steeping yourself in other cultures, stripping away your routine. I had a great last day in Uganda and am so excited to get back and show you all the videos and photos of the trip! I'll email you when I've re-worked these emails into blogs - with pictures! Two long but painless flights back and I'm now in NYC for a few quick days before the next chapter in my little 2015 Adventure - a week with mom at her home in Naples, FL!