The Case of the Numb Bum

I should start off with the definition of ‘Numb Bum’. Numb Bum is when a person’s buttocks turns to a state of numbness and tingling to the point of unenjoyment and utter pain. Reasons that may cause numb bum may be: taxi rides, boda-boda rides, church, rafts, and foam mattresses.

Now that we are all on the same page, I will now go through and explain each of my cases of the Numb Bum. Coming to Africa I had 3 things on my ‘To Do’ list. 1) Safari, 2) Equator, 3) Float the Nile. The other Saturday I had the grand experience of floating the White Nile River. It was a blast to say the least, even though I did see what seemed to be my life flash before my eyes quite a few times. The rafting company we went with came and picked us up in Mukono and drove us to where we put in. We began with the most delicious meal I have ever had (I mean that in the nicest way mom). I do believe it was because for the first time that I have been here: all you can eat and food that didn’t consist of rice, beans, or posho. After breakfast we put into the water. I was on a raft of 7 girls and our rafting guide Tabani—I felt sorry for him, I’m sure he had to work harder than usual. The first rapid we encountered we were, not going to lie, somewhat pansies about it. Afterwards we asked what size rapid it was and he told us a class II. At that point we freaked because we were later going to be going through class V rapids. Anyway, things turned up and it was so fun (thank you adrenaline). Before each rapid we would scream as our war cry, “TABANI, TABANI, TABANI!!!” There was a rapid when we actually went down a waterfall! On one wave Tabani, in his explanation of the next rapid, explained that the rapid was going to be “disturbing”—real reassuring Tabani! On another rapid, there was a split that we got stuck on a rock in-between the two and we were wedged LITERALLY vertical in the air. All of us girls were screaming for our lives, when…dun, dun, dun…Tabani saved the day and yelled to us “DO...NOT...MOVE.” We then proceeded to go down the rapid backwards. Despite all the drama, we were highly talented rafters and only managed to flip once (all the other rafts flipped more than that). During our flip, I somehow lost my watch. My theory is that a massive, life-threatening crock bit it off my wrist. However, due to my underwater skills he was only able to get away with just my watch! Not today Mr. Crock, not today. On the water they fed us pineapple and cookies. The worst part about the experience was a long strip of no rapids where we had to row for like 40 min. This was when my Numb Bum came into action. The last rapid was the best to end on. It was so large, that we had to actually get out of our rafts and trek through the African jungle barefoot to get to an easier portion of the rapid. After we were done floating the Nile, the rafting company prepared for us a scrumptious barbecue, great way to end the day! Overall, my experience was incredible; I am pleased that I am able to check it off my list even though I probably came out of it with 50 parasites as my souvenirs.

Another way to get Numb Bum is on taxis. This last week I went to Kampala three times! Each time we were packed with about 20 other people going over speed bumps and horrible dips in the roads. It was all worth it, because I was able to, get this…AMERICAN FOOD!! This entails pizza, chicken sandwiches, fries, milkshakes, red velvet cake, frozen yogurt, and even a cinnamon roll. Now this may actually seem disgusting to you, but be aware that this is over a matter of three days and rice/beans/egg plant/posho/matoke everyday for the past month…American food was well needed and much deserved in my mind! In Kampala I also went to an artisans market and the Ugandan Museum. The market was way fun, I will be returning later on in the summer, but sad to say the museum was somewhat a joke — needs some TLC.

We are putting on an Eye Camp June 22-23! Ah I am so excited about it; things are actually getting past the planning stage and happening soon. We are partnering up with Nakasero Hospital in Kampala to do free eye screenings, cataract surgeries, and other eye services. We are having it in the Kojja Health Center IV and are encouraging all people in the local villages to come. The last two days I have had the most severe case of Numb Bum ever! Despite the pain, it was a great experience because I was on a boda going through the sub-Saharan African Jungle for two entire days dropping off fliers to all the sub counties and their health centers! C’mon that is pretty cool, right? I even got to go down to Lake Victoria and see where they bring the fish in to sell. The most common fish here is Tilapia, but there were massive catfish too. For lunch, I ate a legit chicken wing off a stick--skin and leftover feathers as well. I also had a barbecued banana, odd huh? It was pretty good…

Another thing causes Numb Bum here are the beds. Haha. The mattresses here are like 2 inch foam pads…no tempurpedic! At first it wasn’t all that bad, but now it is starting to get flat and I practically sleep on the wood boards of the bed so that I wake up with an aching back and a case of the Numb Bum. I can’t wait for my first night back at home in my comfy bed, (I should add that to my list of blessings from the previous blogpost). Speaking of sleeping, so we got a goat BUT one goat was clearly not enough so we got a SECOND goat…yeahhh…not. As much as I didn’t really care for this decision, it was much needed. Our first night with Aberforth Wilberforce (our goat), she would not shut up…it was the worst night of my life. We later found out that goats need partners to be quiet, so this now leads me to introduce our second goat-Wendy Peffercorn.

Well now you know all about the average day in Africa—Numb Bum!! No but on a serious note, things are going great here. I can’t believe that I have been in Uganda for over a month now, less than three months left! Time is going so fast. As much as I miss home, family, and friends; I am forming great relationships with some of the people here. I have had the opportunity to work in the health clinics with people who are HIV+ and planning logistics for hand washing stations in schools. We are working with local schools and setting up peer mentoring programs. We are putting on festivals at primary schools where we are teaching 5 lessons. I am in charge of teaching the health lesson including sanitation and hygiene. We are going to a different school every week for about 4 hours and the students are going to transition between the 5 centers. I am also doing a lot of research on setting up a recycling program here in the Mukono area where we can do‘cash for scraps’ kind of incentive program. Lots and lots are being done, so I am constantly busy. Thank you for those who read about my adventures here and who have stayed in contact while I am away. I appreciate and love you all! Bella Bulungi.

Megan