Source of the Nile. Source of Life.

So who knew, when I was young and in grade school learning about the world's most famous body of water (The Nile River) that I would ever stand on a small cement outlet at the very source of it, near where Gandhi's very ashes were poured in? I sure as hell didn't. But yesterday, as God would have it, was full of surprises.
After class I stripped off UCU dress code, threw on my walkin shoes and jumped in the car with another Honours student- Joel - to go and visit a school where he sponsor's an 11 year old girl (Brenda) who is an orphan from his village. On the way through we were stopped by some police and a soft spoken conversation and 2k shillings later from Joel into the discreet hand of the police woman, and we were back on our way with no penalty. (if only it were that easy to get out of tickets and fines in the US!) We drove through past Jinja to a small village where there are multiple school compounds and had to go through two of them before finding the newly placed Brenda with her beautiful smile and soft voice. Joel- in the middle of supporting himself through university here studying Law is also fully covering four children from his village to go to school through the end of secondary (high school) as conviction of repaying the favors done to him as a child by his extended family. (( in hearing multiple stories like his, I'm thinking I would love to take these young African men home to slap around some of my guy friends. Step it up world. If this "developing country" or "third world"s young adults have it figured out- what's your excuse?))
On the way back towards Jinja Joel's car broke down, thankfully right next to a mechanic. So we grabbed our jackets, left the car, and went for lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed that we were sitting inside while the downpour started, and that we had entertainment of watching another muzungo fool on the other side of the road trying to wade through torrents of rushing street water in flippy floppies. (ha!) Jumped a boda boda to the Nile River and as we were sitting on a tiny cement jetty in the water, three other muzungo showed up and started up conversation. James and Chris- two Canadians- have been travelling for the past 3.5 months throughout Africa, starting in Capetown and jumping all over the continent, working their way to the Mediterranean. They picked up a lone ranger from New York- Erik- who I believe they met hiking Kilimanjaro (something I desperately want to do). So the three gentlemen joined us for drinks on the Nile and we sat- Ugandan, American, Canadian- united discussing the two subjects you should absolutely never bring up in conversation with strangers and employers: politics and religion. There is something so vivacious about conversing with strangers- the freedom to know that everything happening is ultimate and beautiful and fresh and there will be no pressure to try and create more than what is going on RIGHT THEN when the interaction naturally wears off into the evening and your individual paths. We all went to grab dinner together and exchanged blogs and emails and blessings and wishes for safe journeys all around and our vagabond troupe dispersed into the Jinja evening covered by freshly bright stars- the kind of bright that you only notice after too many cloudy evenings in a row.
However- the night wasn't over. The car broke down again on the road home…which only preceded me drifting in and out of consciousness on the side of the road while Joel and various other mechanics pointed and shouted in a few different languages at whichever car part they suspected being the source of our troubles. Left the car in a garage, jumped a taxi, met two guys that had been robbed on their previous taxi at gunpoint, reached Mukono, jumped a boda boda and through the gates we collapsed in laughter, relief, exhaustion, and elation- the kind of ALIVE feeling that only comes after such a ridiculous day of unpredicted, unexpected adventure that you just had to greet with a shrug of the shoulder, a smile, and a soft mumbling of TIA baby, TIA. (this is africa).
Welcomed home into the laughter of a couple other girls fresh back from Kampala with adventures of their own, and the worried arms of Eddie and his bemused smile at my ability to just embrace the day. If there is anything I have learned in life that has best prepared me for Africa- it's this:
In 99% of situations you are faced with, worrying will get you no where. So just go with it.
*Someone asks you to go meet a child: you jump at that beautiful opportunity.
*Car breaks down: slip your shoes on and find some food.
*Cell phone runs out of air time: may as well just wait for someone to call you, and enjoy the time in the afternoon you have being fully present in the human interaction directly in front of you.
*Meet some guys on the Nile: grab a beer and share travel theories, perspectives on Africa, spiritual differences, laugh, kick back, enjoy the freaking Nile!
*Car breaks down again: take a nap, let the men work (feminist views fading..what?)

*USP gives you some rules: bend them a little bit for sake of humanity and growth. :)