I sucked in a deep breath as I stretched out on my comfy bed in our banda…and the first thing I noticed was the smell of nature…so good and very reminiscent of the smell of summer at home.  The second thing I noticed was the roar of the Nile River’s Bujagali Falls several hundreds of feet below us.  Oh Africa…

(The third thing I noticed upon waking up and getting out of bed was how sore my entire body was from rafting the day before!!) 

A night in Jinja was just what my tired body needed after weeks of living in the city.  I am a country girl at heart, and I require weekends of camping to refresh and recharge.  Jinja was just that for me.

We stayed at a place called The Nile Porch, and Kerrie and I shared a double banda (safari tent-type) on a ridge that overlooked the powerful river; I instantly fell in love with it! Just like Blaise and I’s weekends down in Brown County, waking up, walking out of our tent, and sucking in the clean, jungle air harmonized everything in me.  It was also pretty darn awesome that the shower faced the Nile, so as I showered I could watch the river…ah-maz-ing! The fact that this little oasis exists in Uganda only an hour and a half (or 2-2.5 depending on traffic) from Kampala is an added bonus…quick weekend getaway!

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After breakfast, Kerrie and I walked down to the Bujagali Falls so that I could see them up close (as if rafting the day before was not close enough).

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Jinja is a quaint, little Ugandan town FULL of tourists! It seriously reminded me a lot of Nashville, Indiana…except for the fact that I’m in East Africa! There were a ton of little craft shops, restaurants, and coffee shops on Main Street (yes, that was the actual name of the street) and the buildings were being restored from the 1930s colonial period.  We shopped for a couple of hours before we sat down at a little restaurant called Ozzie’s, which Kerrie was quite fond of, being an Aussie and all! The I headed across the street for some cappuccino (I promise, I do actually accomplish more than just drinking coffee here…although I do a lot of that, too).  The coffee shop, The Source, advertises itself as “the African Starbucks,” and I would have to agree.  The coffee was great, the place was absolutely adorable, AND it is a Christian-based company.  LOVE.

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Yes, these are earrings made from bottle caps, and yes, I bought a pair of Fanta Orange…

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This Goodwill shirt was being sold for about $15…what a rip off!

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Yes, even in Africa (maybe, especially in Africa)…

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The ability to nap anywhere is one that comes with age! =)

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Word of God in Luganda…

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Annnnddddd…on the road again…

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I wonder if they have a pub for each of the 50 states…or maybe they just really like Indiana!

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The break was much-needed, especially given that in addition to director of education, I have also become IT Support and iTunes radio programmer!! Let’s just say that it’s been a busy week!

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