Peak into the Past

Uganda is part of Eastern Africa and sits on the equator. Because of this, they only have two seasons. The wet season when it rains a lot! Then there is the dry season, when it is very, very dry! 

And HOT!

I was in Uganda for most of the dry season, so it was very dusty and very hot everyday! Despite this, I wanted to see and explore a bit of the country. A country so different and so unique from my own!

The team of us at Nyero Rocks

The first place I went to explore, was the Nyero Rocks. They were a large hill full of boulders and brush. From the outside you would never be able to tell that they were covered in cave paintings. Our guide was a sweet old man, with a few missing teeth. He seemed ancient, but was still very fit and strong! He lead us up a rugged path to where the first set of paintings were. The paintings were drawn with a red and white pigment that had lasted for several hundred years. The drawings were of animals, canoes, families, and the sun, which represented their God. 

It was very captivating to be surrounded by the giant rocks covered in glimpses from the past. I imagined the small children playing bellow the rocks, the men and women recording their memories on the boulders. Them having meals by fire light, the light illuminating their stories....the stories that still remain there today. Faded, but they are still there! 

While we were there, a traditional Uganda family let us explore their compound! We got to go inside their brick mud huts. There was one hut that was the kitchen. It had a few holes in the wall to let the smoke vent outside. There was one painted in white and blue colours, which was a bedroom. There were also a few others used for different things. The whole family, and even some extended live together in these little compounds! 

On the way back to the school, we stopped at a market. I had brought only one skirt, so I wanted to buy one or two dresses. The market was full of fresh fruits, vegetables, traditional foods, and clothing. I went to one dress vendor sorting through their array of dresses. I found two I wanted, but unfortunately I was off by about 1000 UGX shillings. Suddenly Fred fished in his pocket pulling out the remaining amount. "Here," he said handing the money to the vendor. Thanks to Fred I got my two dresses! 

A little girl we saw on the way to the market

Women selling bananas

One of the dresses Fred helped me buy

Sorry for my delay in posting! I have been without a computer for several weeks. I will be getting my laptop back soon, and then I can be more diligent about updating this! Thank you all for following my adventure! More stories to come! 

Photo Cred: Sheri and Ian Kahane Federman