Day 26: The Best Weekend Ever

I have never been more eager to "get away" than on Friday after giving my students their first test. I realized that there are several that truly cannot grasp anything I have taught because they cannot read or communicate in English. I felt like I was letting them down and was so ready for the weekend to arrive so that I could regroup and try again on Monday. I couldn't be happier when Habtamu our driver arrived at the school to take us back to the house for our big road trip. Two guys who sometimes teach with Watt and I also came with us. They are from UNC too. So our group had the 11 of us from Cherokee, Jeremy and Reed, and Abraham - 14 in all. Abraham got us a great deal on a small bus which was much more comfortable and roomier than it would have been on a minibus.

We left around 1:00 with very little knowledge of what to expect, but filled with sheer excitement and anticipation of a great adventure. Our group is so fun and full of energy that even though the ride turned out to be three hours longer than expected not a moment was lost on us. Just getting out of the city was a thrill because the air is cleaner and the terrain is beautiful. We descended into the low-lands surrounded by farms and green rolling hills. Our bus ride was the first of many amazing things to happen to us over the course of the weekend. We thought dodging oncoming traffic was living on the edge when all of a sudden one of our tires popped and the bus went careening into the other lane and swiftly swerved onto the side of the road. I was at the very back of the bus at the time and almost landed face first into the back steps. After the initial shock we jumped off the bus and greeted the spectators that had quickly gathered. Locals just appeared out of nowhere...literally, for there was not a village or sign of civilization anywhere. We had hoped we could mingle with the local tribes, but hadn't expected it to come about by flat tire! Child shepherds walked up to us in sheer curiosity and we decided to walk across the field toward a hut. People came from all directions and by the time we had gotten to the middle of the pasture we had a crowd of about 50 just staring and saying hello. It was incredible and so surreal - to be in Africa, in the wide open splendor and visiting with people of such opposite lifestyles as our own. Their reality is survival. Technology is the use of a spear for hunting and a staff for herding. Some of the children didn't even have pants on. But they also have joy and community. If given the choice of my life or theirs I don't doubt that they would chose the latter. Materialism and image complicates things to such an unnecessary degree. There was something so pure and real about how they lived. Still, their lives are so primitive in comparison to what we have. Even Addis felt like a booming metropolis after being in those fields surrounded by villagers and their livestock. We had a great time connecting with them though. Watt and some others showed them a hokey dance, and Rebecca gave them all of the cookies Asni had made for us. An hour later, our tire had been replaced and we were on the road again.

We got to Lake Langano around 6:00 I guess. The view was incredible. The lake is so huge you sometimes can't see all the way across from it. And the trees are massive and just what you would picture of Africa. We just kept saying "we're in Africa!" Finally our bus turned off the main highway and onto a dirt road. This 12 mile haul was incredibly bumpy and at times terrifying as the bus seemed to be driving on two wheels instead of four. We passed by more huts and villagers, occasionally seeing one holding a spear. It was nearing nightfall when we reached the boxcar bridge. This is significant because the bridge was our only gateway to the lake and the bridge was literally a boxcar so our bus could not fit. It was being guarded by men holding spears and AK47s. That didn't bother me as much as the realization that we were going to walk the last four kilometers. Fortunately we had each only packed a book bag, but unfortunately none of us knew where the lodge was located or how to find it. We had no guide or map - just a trail that lead into the dark jungle. I guess we were freaked beyond thinking rationally and just decided to have faith that somewhere out there was our destination and our path would lead to it. (Sidebar: our original plan was to go to Langano for one night and stay at a really nice hotel until we found it would be cheaper to stay at Wenney Eco Lodge for two nights. Seeing as it had taken us 7 hours to get to the lake we were glad we had chosen two nights, but picking a lesser known lodge that appeared to be in the middle of no man's land had yet to be determined.)

I was the only one who had brought a flashlight. It really only came in handy when we had to read the trail markings. The rest of the time the path was lit by the moon. At times it was quite scary. We had the sense of being watched and could see the outlines of huts nearby. Sometimes a villager would stand on the path as we walked by and follow us for a bit. We had no clue what type of animals were lurking on either side of us and we knew that we could startle a snake at any step. Seeing the men with spears had been disconcerting and walking as fast as we could without tripping or falling was our ultimatum. At one point a man asked in broken English where we were headed. We blindly pointed toward Wenney Lodge. He said, "it is here." We stopped for a second and looked around. He was standing in front of four small huts with no electricity or markings. We hesitated and gave each other sideways glances half believing that this was it and then realized he was confused and so were we. We kept walking. Now praying that our lodge was a little more equipped than that and fearing the worst. We knew that if we weren't walking toward our lodge we were probably not going to find it until morning. We were trying not to think about it, but we were wondering what the heck we would do if we could not find the place in the dark. Finally, we reached the sign we had been looking for and entered the gates of Wenney Lodge. The guards were quite perplexed as to how we had managed to get there on foot. We didn't have the stamina to ask if we could have done it differently. We were sweaty, tired, and hungry, but it looked like we had found it. Still all we had in front of us was a one-room wooden "reception" lodge. We looked around but there were no signs of our "bungalows." We were handed keys and the guys and girls were divided into two groups and escorted first to the restaurant. The restaurant was our first good impression. It was a massive open-air shelter with exotic decor and wood furnishings. It was very reassuring and being the only guests we were guaranteed the restaurant would stay open for us. So off we went down another windy trail to our "bungalow." Again we kept our expectations low, but when we stepped inside we were enchanted by the rustic ambiance. Our lodge had two main rooms each containing two double beds and a bathroom with a real toilet, shower, and running water (more than we expected!) Our bathroom even had a tree growing through it which served as our toilet paper holder and hanging over our beds were mosquito nets. We loved it and screamed for joy that we had arrived safely.

Dinner that night was fresh tilapia straight from the lake. We dined and exclaimed over and over again at how amazing our weekend had been and it hadn't even begun! After dinner we crawled into beds enclosed in our nets and immediately wrote in our journals about our adventure - that was until the lodge shut off the generator and we no longer had power. We learned in the morning that the lights only work from 6:00 in the evening until 11:00...hmmm, oh well.

My room set the alarm for 8:00 am but woke at 7:00. We couldn't wait to see everything in daylight. When I got up Rachael and Victoria were already in beach chairs reading by the lake. That first view took my breath away. It was so peaceful and serene. Everything was silent except for the sounds of the birds and the frogs. The water was still and the sky was hazy casting a blue tint over the distant mountains. The tall sea grass bordered the sides of the water. The beach was soft. I sat with them and just sat in awe of my surroundings. I could feel how far from home I was - this place is another planet. I don't know if I have had a closer view of God's divine creation than at that moment. The scene in front of me could have been a painting. I hated to pull myself up from that moment, but breakfast called. As we ate our breakfast the rain began to pour. It was a cold downpour. Our plans for horseback riding seemed to be shot, but the group remained optimistic. Not to be deterred for a moment, the guys decided to play in the rain. They literally put on their swim trunks and ran around barefoot splashing in the floods of rain. Soon all of us had our bathing suits on and were making our way to the lake. Ten or so stole a boat and began to paddle out into the water. It was so spontaneous but it was awesome! We put aside all inhibitions and went wild! The lake was a disgusting mushy feeling under our feet and at any other time I would not have dared walk a foot in it, but I gathered my courage and waded out to the boat. The water was not deep and it was almost warm. After most of them had headed back to shore a few of us lingered and began sloshing the grime from the bottom of the lake at each other. As disgusting as it felt and smelled we still proceeded to smear it all over each other and get pictures to prove that we had gone insane. Then Page came to our rescue and threw us a bottle of shampoo. We figured it wouldn't hurt to bathe in the lake since it was the same water that was coming out of our faucet.

That was our first excursion of the morning and by the time we had worn down the rain had stopped. So we prepared to go on a "trek." That trek turned into a two hour hike through the jungle. Again, one of the most amazing things I've ever done. We weaved through the tropical forest with ancient trees towering above us. Soon we got our first glimpse of the monkeys. If I hadn't felt it yet, that was my confirmation that I had arrived in Africa. Seeing monkeys jumping from the trees - black and white furry ones. As we continued our hike we found some big, brown baboons who were much more intimidating than the others. Every now and then we would pass a villager, and they would stop and stare. Always eager to shake our hand or nod hello. Most of the time they were herding cows, donkeys, and goats. It has become commonplace to pass livestock on the road (or path.) Our guide took us through many narrow pathways and always pointed out an exotic bird or tree. At one point we came across a cemetery of a tribe buried six hundred years ago. It was overgrown by the forest and all that remained were six tiny moss covered tombstones. Then he showed us a tree that spewed a milky liquid when struck open. He urged us to sample it. The taste was like liquid chalk and the texture was very sticky until I tried to wash it off with rain drops and then it felt like silk. We continued on until we reached the hanging vines and everyone took a turn swinging from the trees. We took pictures to capture the moment knowing that this was another capstone to our great adventure. We didn't have to retrace our steps to get back to the lodge and when we reached a clearing we were once again in awe of the beauty of the land and the lake. The flat open space surrounded by the jungle was a sight to be seen. As we walked a parade of villagers passed by. Who knows where they were headed - there isn't anything but the most primitive plots of land for miles. When we got back we were starving.

After lunch we divided into groups for horseback riding. Since there were only five horses we divided into two groups and the rest chose not to ride. Our plan was to have one group go to the waterfall. Then walk on foot to the hippo watching while the horses came back for the second group. Then the rest were going to walk straight to the hippo watching. It was a little unsettling to try to iron out this plan with our guide since his English was not clear, but we just hoped for the best as we had with everything else. The first group headed off while rest of us relaxed and waited our turn. I rode with the second group of five. When we reached our horses I could tell they aren't treated like our horses in Kentucky. And of course our saddles weren't quite the same either. I was given the small horse with a saddle that had one stirrup that was too long for my foot to reach. I also only had a rope for reigns. But we weren't given the liberty of using the reigns on our own. Each of us had to have a guide walk with us down the trail. Most of our guides were young boys. Mine walked barefoot through the rugged terrain. He was very sweet and intent to show me surroundings. I was told that my horse was very dangerous and couldn't be trusted to ride on my own. We were frustrated that we couldn't really ride our horses at a faster pace, but once we got to a clearing they let us run for a bit. It had been so long since I had ridden a horse that I felt certain it was going to end with a crash, but I managed to stay on - one stirrup and all! The most surreal moment was riding into an open pasture within the jungle and being among hundreds of cows, horses, sheep, and villagers. It was a scene right out of a movie. I couldn't believe what I was doing. It was so liberating. We finally rode through the jungle to the waterfall. There we got off our horses and got to take a look. Then we got back on and rode to the water to see the hippos. That part was so much fun because once we could see the rest of our group our guides let us take off on our own. We didn't run full speed but at least we got to ride at a smoother and faster pace than a trot. When we got to the coast we were escorted to the rocks at the very edge and the guides began to call out to the hippos. Within seconds three hippos popped up in the distance. I don't know what sound the men were making, but it piqued the hippos' interest and they were actually coming closer. Incredible. Seeing the hippos in the wild like that was simply incredible. As the sky began to darken with an approaching storm we made our way back to the horses. The first group rode back while the rest of us had to walk. It was actually a nice walk. We had our escorts with spears so we were "safe." (We laughed at how trusting we were with the natives.) One of the boys with a spear apparently hadn't been a part of the horseback riding package and decided to part ways when the evening came to a conclusion; he simply said bye and headed home...into the jungle.

Upon our arrival at the lodge we quickly grabbed showers and headed to dinner. A nice long dinner gave us plenty of time to think back to the last twenty-four hours and realize what an incredible adventure we had had. Words can hardly describe how awesome it was and I can't believe it was just yesterday! It feels as if it were a dream. After dinner we piled into one of the rooms and played guitar and sang praise worship (we managed to haul the guitar with us too.) This morning we got up early, packed, and ate breakfast before we hiked back out the way we came (except this time a shortcut.) When our account was settled we had each spent approximately 900 birr -- $90 for everything: room, transportation, food, excursions. The best money ever spent.

On our way home I predicted that the mouse had been captured. Sure enough, when we got back I heard a scream and the mouse was stuck to the glue trap. Sadly, he was still alive. Matt decided that the most humane way to kill him was to behead him with an axe. Thus ends the saga of the menacing mouse. The perfect ending to a perfect weekend.