Final Days Traveling

Our final days in Gulu were bittersweet. I was so excited to go on safari, but I was sad I had to say goodbye to all of the coaches, Elephants and the boys at Negri. Santos, Emma and I all made our way to Negri on Tuesday afternoon. All of the boys wished me a safe journey back home and they all invited me to come back to Gulu. I obviously invited them all to come visit Canada. I also told them they could stay at my house .... Sorry mom haha! 

Gainline hosted a BBQ for all of the coaches, both Canadian and Ugandan. Tried roasted goat for the first time. It was interesting. It was so nice to have a wrap up party social atmosphere with everyone. It is so crazy how close people can become in such a short amount of time. A little over two weeks ago we were all strangers, and now it is hard to picture not seeing them everyday. 

Our three day safari was totally awesome!!! We went into Murchison Falls National Park. We hiked up to see Murchison Falls from the land. Got some great pictures of he beauty of the falls. We then traveled into the park to our home base camp. We all slept i canvas tents while warthogs and hippos roamed around at night. At one point there was a family of five warthogs just grazing right outside our tent. I think I'd rather deal with raccoons over warthogs and skunks over hippos... I don't think I'll ever complain about wildlife back at home again.  

We went on a driving game tour. It was incredible!!! We saw a million different species of antelope, water buffalo, baboons, monkeys, giraffes, elephants, lions, vultures, warthogs, meerkats, birds and others that I can't think of right now. At one point our driver stopped the van and killed the engine so we could take in the moment. Our van was surrounded by 15-20 giraffes!!!! It was absolutely beautifully breathtaking!!!!!! 

After the driving tour we took a boat river cruise on the Nile. More elephants were seen as well as buffalo, crocodiles, and hippos!! A billion different types of birds and so,e bald eagles. Pretty incredible!!!! So happy I invested in a new camera with a good zoom before this trip! I have some unreal photos from the safari!!!

We headed back to Kampala Friday morning. En route we stopped at Karuma Falls. Uganda is such a beautiful country!! So many waterfalls!!!!!! 

We met with with Dave, Andrea (Gainline founder and Gainline worker) as well as Speedo and Marlin (two coaches from Gulu) in Kampala. Everyone came down for the Uganda vs Kenya rugby game!!!

Rup and Carter left Friday night for their journey home. Unfortunately they missed out on the rugby game due to flight scheduling. Drats! It was hard to say goodbye. After they left, I realized it wouldn't be long until the rest of the goodbyes had to happen. 

Saturdays are rugby days!!! The Ugandan lady cranes defeated Kenya, but the men's team could not overcome the tough Kenyan team. It was crazy to think that we paid 10,000 Ugandan shillings to see two international rugby games!!

That's equal to about 4 Canadian dollars! Wish it was that way back at home. It was so fun to watch the games!!! I met a ton of other muzungos (white people) from all corners of the world as well. It's nice when rugby brings people together like that. I also met the former captain of England's women's team. That was cool!

Saturday night was also bittersweet. It was the last night in Uganda for some of us. We celebrated our time together and all that we had accomplished as the Gainline 2013 Canadian (and Kiwi) coaches. 

This morning (Sunday morning) Caitlin, Sofija and I said goodbye to Speedo and Marlin, as well as Dave, Andrea and Brittany as they all were going back to Gulu. Again, a sad realization that my travels are drawing to an end. 

Bags are packed and the three of us are hanging out until we head to Entebbe airport and depart. We are all traveling to Cairo together. I will then say the last goodbyes as I head off to Amsterdam and then to Toronto. Caitlin and Sofija are spending their 18 hour layover touring the pyramids. Lucky ducks they are!!

I've included a map of Uganda (I took a picture of like, the only postcard I've seen during my time here in Uganda). Entebbe, Gulu, Kitgum, Murchison Falls, Karuma Falls, and Kampala are clearly labeled. I've seen a lot of this beautiful country and I look forward to coming back in the future!!

Thanks for following me on my adventures this summer. I hope you have enjoyed reading about them as much as I have enjoyed experiencing them!!!

Gainline Africa website: http://www.gainlineafrica.org/

-Steph

Back from Kitgum!!!

Aruu Falls was incredible!!! So refreshing and so much fun to swim in and play in!!! Natural beauty is the best kind of beauty this world has to offer. There were lots of rocks to climb up on and lay in the sun. It was great!!

We literally had to hike down the side of the mountain/hill to actually reach the water, and the hike back up was also brutal. It was so worth it though!

After Aruu Falls we went to train with the Gulu Elephants. We played some touch rugby, which turned into hold/wrap which then quickly turned into full contact tackle. It was fun to play with/against the guys we have been coaching the high school teams with. 

Thursday nights are trivia nights at one of the local bars here. We participated and came third!! We won two bottles of Ugandan gin. It is not really good at all. 

It was fun to have a couple of drinks with the coaches and the Elephants. It was a very nice social setting and a fun night. 

Friday morning was our second prison visit. The inmates are definitely catching on!! After doing some ball handling drills, we had them play some one on one and some two on one/three on two drills. They had SOOOO much fun it was incredible!!! They gave us a very nice thank you/farewell. Totally worth spending the time in the hot heat and hot sun!

Mandala House shares the same compound as Gainline. Mandala House uses yoga to help people recover from traumatic experiences. George, the yoga instructor, lead a class for us. The yoga class was done during a rain storm. It was cool to have the sound of the rain on the roof while holding the poses. 

Saturdays are rugby days back home in Canada. It was no different here in Gulu this past Saturday!!

The Gulu Elephants did a wonderful job organizing a rugby tournament for the local high school teams in Gulu, as well as some teams from Kampala, Lira and Kitgum! About 7-10 teams traveled from these places to Gulu to play. 

It was a hot and sticky day, but everyone had a blast!!! Huge smiles all around! A lot of children from nearby houses came out to the pitch to watch the sport. It was nice to see the Negri Boys play well!! The drills we worked on in practice definitely made a difference. They played against the U19 team and although they lost, Negri played wicked defence and managed to be the only team to put points up against them all day!! Still a big accomplishment.  

It was very fun to ref a few games at the tournament!! I was nervous, but then realized rugby in Canada has the same rules and everything as rugby in Uganda. (Go figure). That's the beauty of an organized sport. Some of my fellow coaches refereed for the first time at the tournament! We all had a great time!!

It was nice to see all of the people who came out to watch the last few games of the day. We had a huge spectator section and everyone was cheering. I think everyone involved had a BLAST!! Players, coaches, Gainline coaches, the Elephants, supporters, the DJ, sponsors and the kids who came to check out the excitement. 

The trophies were presented to the first place boys and girls teams, as well as the runner up teams. 

It was an awesome day :)

We traveled about two hours north of Gulu to Kitgum Sunday morning to train with some of the high schools. Ronald, a former student from Layibi (a high school in Gulu), started the rugby program here. It is so awesome to see someone bring rugby back to his home town. He first was introduced to rugby through the efforts of Gainline Africa. Epic empowerment happening!!! 

Ronald took us to the village where his mother lives. There is about 13 people living in thus village. Santa, his mother, provided us with tea, roasted peanuts, millet, and chicken. Ronald and Sam (another coach in Kitgum...also a former Layibi student) shared some stories with us about the war. It is hard to believe everything we heard. Ronald is the same age as I am. When he was 9-10 years old, he, along with his family would have to walk into the bush or fields at night to sleep as it was too dangerous to sleep in the villages. The LRA would raid villages and abduct children around the age of 10 to become child soldiers. When I was 10, my biggest worry was having the correct brand of clothes to wear to school, not being abducted by LRA and living through a war. It was an intense talk. I will definitely do more research on the war that was happening here when I get back to Canada. 

Two Weeks In, Two More To Go

Apwoyo cho!! (Good morning in Acholi)

or.......

Dong maber (good day...depending when you are reading this haha)

Hard to believe I've been gone for two weeks now!!! I have done a lot while traveling, but it still doesn't seem like I've been gone that long. Time flies. Bittersweet as this is the halfway point on my summer 2013 traveling adventures. 

Coaching the Negri boys was a lot of fun. They really do have a good grasp of the game and some of them have really good natural talent. They are a strong team and I am excited to see how they will do in the tournament this Saturday. 

The captain of this team is amazing. He is currently not training because he is training for the track and field athletics competition that is taking place Thursday and Friday here in Gulu. This is a competition where the entire school gets let out and goes to see and support their fellow athletes. The assistant coach of the Negri team was trying to guilt them into staying behind for one of the days to train for the tournament on Saturday. The captain of the team actually stood up to the coach in a very polite way and stated that all of the boys want to go to athletics and that they would be willing to train on their day off and on the mornings. Ugandan culture is that the younger people listen and do what the elders, or older people say and suggest. I think it is incredible that he spoke out for the team. Obviously he is a very good captain. I will definitely not forget him. He is what a captain should be.

Wednesday was spent teaching the patrons of the high schools (like, the teachers who are supporting rugby) the basics of the sport and game. A lot of them had no idea what the concept of the game was. It was very difficult for them to help out and to even watch games due to their lack of knowledge. They had a hard time believing that this game was safe. (My mom can agree to this. At the beginning of Danielle's and my rugby careers, she hated coming to watch the game because to her it looked like a game without rules and where everyone just tackles and runs over everyone else. This is how a lot of the patrons feel. She enjoyed watching us play much more once she understood the basics). We taught them about the field of play, kick off, passing, tackling, rucking, mauling, scrumming, line outs, knock ons, forward passes and tries/kicks for points. They all had a blast and I'm sure are looking forward to watching some rugby on Saturday. 

I coached the wonderful girls at Gulu High in the evening on Wednesday. They are typical high school girls. They would get easily distracted by the boys team that was practicing beside us. I guess that type of boy crazy is universal. They are super excited to play some rugby on Saturday!! We did some ball handling drills (I taught them how to do a switch and told them it is a good play to do in 7's. They caught on quickly!!!!), and lots of tackling. They love to tackle! We played some touch rugby at the end of practice. 

After practice I gave them the letter/package Kellie sent for them. Kellie was their coach from Gainline last summer, and she is also my teammate at Western and at St. George's. oh my goodness I don't think I've seen a group of girls get so excited! They definitely miss you Kellie and hope to see you again!!! 

Today (Thursday) we plan to head out on a bus to some waterfalls somewhere to go swimming. It's a little chilly and overcast so I hope the weather is better where ever we are going. 

Here are a few links. 

Gainline Africa website: go here to read more about this wonderful organization as well as read more blogs from the coaches here in Uganda. 

http://www.gainlineafrica.org/

Gainline Africa Facebook page: Gainline will be posting updates and pictures throughout the trip. Also, like the page and spread awareness of what Gainline is trying to accomplish here in Uganda. 

https://www.facebook.com/gainlineafrica

Fundraising page: if you are able to donate to Gainline, please do. It's a non-profit organization that depends on donations and fundraising to keep going. Donations above $20 will receive a tax receipt. 

http://raiseathon.ca/gainlineafrica/profile.php?id=6nidet2 

Still can't believe we only have 2 weeks left here in Uganda!!! 

-Steph

Finally in Gulu!!!

The road trip up to Gulu was interesting. We had 6 people, probably 15-20 bags/backpacks, 2 Ugandans, and the potholes. I am surprised that the bus actually made it to Gulu in one piece!! Some of the potholes were like 2 feet deep and 4 foot wide craters in the road. The roads here are also much much much more narrow than the roads at home. We would have to veer off the road into the ditch/side when there was on coming traffic!! 

We got into Gulu around 9pm or so, unloaded into our hotel, and went to Sankofa for pizza. Not very Ugandan haha! 

Sunday morning started bright and early with some sort of church service happening right outside our hotel. It started at around 7:30. 

Orientation to Gainline and the next few weeks happened at the Gainline offices. We have a jammed packed time here in Gulu and Uganda!!! I am so excited. 

My first Ugandan meal consisted of sweet potatoes (not anything like Canadian sweet potatoes) and malakwan, which is this yummy peanutty sauce with some greens mixed in. Absolutely delicious!!! 

Caitlin, Sof and I toured around Gulu for the rest of the afternoon. We explored the market and some of the small shops around town. It was cool to see some people making flip flops out of old and used tires. Talk about recycling and reusing! 

Mom, there is a name for the way I eat my eggs!! Rolexes (rolled eggs)!! It's an omelette with peppers, onions and whatever other veggies wrapped in a chipatta. Super delicious!!! It's like street meat here, there are stands everywhere!!!

The people here are very nice to us muzungos (white people). Very nice culture and very honest. 

Monday we took a boda trip to Baker's Fort. It was about an hour on a boda driving through the Ugandan countryside. Super dusty. We had a tour guide for Baker's Fort, but he was quite drunk and I didn't really get a good summary of who Baker actually was. The fort was originally inhabited/controlled/established by the Arabs in the 1800's as part of the slave trade. They would separate the men and the women and the weak from the strong, and the ugly from the beautiful. They would execute the ugly, weak, old Africans via an axe, a gun, or by pushing them off of the rock formation. Not really sure how Mr Baker came or what his deal was though. We were able to have our "lion king" moment as there was a rock that looked like a smaller version of pride rock. Wicked!!! 

I got to work with the Negri College High School boys rugby team after the adventure in Baker's Fort!!! They just won a sevens tournament this past weekend and are hungry for another win at the tournament in Gulu this coming Saturday. They have been coming out in the mornings and training on their own which is totally awesome!!! We had a fun practice of just touch. I played and joined in their touch game. 

It was a little weird, but an amazing experience to be such a minority in a group. I was the only female on the pitch, as it is an all boys school, and I was the only white/non-African person there as well. I have never really been in such a minority before. All of the boys were wonderful and there was not one moment I felt unsafe or anything (don't worry mom! Haha) 

The boys were a little apprehensive with me on the field, but once we started playing I was just another rugby player. Obviously they touched me more gently then their teammates which they half-tackled and pushed, but that was the only difference. Rugby is cool like that. There is definitely like a brotherhood. Doesn't matter if you're black or white, rugby is for everyone. Great feeling. 

Today we went to prison. Guess they didn't much like us muzungos touring around. KIDDING. We did not get arrested. Hahahahahaha. Alfred is a former rugby player for the Gulu Elephants, he's a huge supporter of Gainline and he is a referee. He was arrested and thrown into jail for a crime he did not commit. He is completely innocent. Here in Uganda the police can be bought. So I could pay a police officer to arrest my neighbour for no legitimate reason. Anywhoooo, we brought a couple of rugby balls and went off to jail. We taught about 50 inmates the basics of rugby and played some touch sevens with them. 

I was super scared and nervous at first going into the prison. I read the board there. There was about 300 convicted prisoners, and 600 awaiting trial and a few others that I couldn't figure out why they were there. Then I realized that most of these men are innocent, and have become completely demoralized through their jail time. They just want something to do and have fun while they hope and wait for a better outcome. They are all super nice and super respectful as well. 

It was sloppy, but by the end some of the inmates were really starting to get rugby. We left two of the balls there so Alfred could continue teaching. I think hopefully we will be going back at some point later this week. We will get to see how much they have improved because I'm sure they will be playing rugby a lot over the next few days!!!

Currently I am sitting at Cafe Larem. It's a coffee shop that sells amazing coffee (says everyone else as I am not a coffee drinker) and awesome passion fruit juice!!! 

Tonight I'll be heading back to Negri for another practice. If practice ends early enough, I will be going to train with the Gulu Elephants! So much rugby and I love it!!! 

It'll be hard to leave this community behind that's for sure!!

-Steph

Travelling (June 5-6-7)

Hellie and I went for another nice jog together before heading to the post office. I sent a package of some heavier clothes and mittens that I was glad I had in Switzerland, but will not (better not) need in Uganda. They say it would take ten days to reach Canada. I am curious if it will take longer than ten days, and if I will make it back before the package arrives? Who knows!

She took me for a tour to the Black Forest in the convertible! I have never rode in a convertible before! It was a gorgeous day and we had the top down and everything! It was a lot of fun. We drove part way up a hill, parked the car and hiked the rest of the way up. We hiked up to a tower that was built in 1893 (the first part of the tower anyways...it was built in stages). We climbed the tower! At one point we were exactly 1000m above sea level! Very cool! From the top of the tower we could see many different mountains!!! On a clearer day, we would be able to see the French mountain range, and we could have had a better view of the Swiss Alps. We hiked back down the hill and ate at a restaurant. The house/building that the restaurant was in was built in the late 1700's (1780 or something!). It amazed me that such a building was still standing!

Hellie then took me to a grocery store and we stocked up on some munchies for me to take with me on the train/plane. Cookies, chocolate, gummies ... all the good stuff! (Also I some buns and an apple ... gotta balance it out somehow ...) as well  as some apple juice. 

We had a relaxing evening before it was time to drop me off at the train station. Hellie saw that I got on the correct train and we said goodbye on the platform. I sure hope it doesn't take 8 years to see her again!!!!

The train left the station at 22:23. (10:23pm). It was an overnight train. I was in a compartment with 6 beds total. They were beds that pulled down from the wall, and there were two columns of 3 beds. I was in the middle one. I shared the compartment with a family from Malaysia who was traveling Europe for a 2 week vacation, and some random guy who boarded the train obviously after I had fallen asleep. He got off the train in Köln at around 06:00. It was a good experience traveling on such a train! I slept fairly well too!

I switched trains and eventually ended up in Schipol Airport! I arrived quite early for my flight, but because the overnight train was late coming, I was not left with quite enough time to do any exploring in downtown Amsterdam. I put my luggage in a locker and toured the airport. There is a lot of stuff here in Schipol! 

I resorted to grabbing a cold drink from Starbucks (apparently in Dutch the "ph" in Steph doesn't exist ...)

and headed outside to read for an hour or so before checking in and getting the airport security process started. 

I was really excited to have purchased my very own Dutch soccer jersey!!!! Yay! I've been wanting one ever since the FIFA World Cup in Africa a few years ago.

I boarded my flight and was off to Cairo. It was about a 5 hour flight from Amsterdam to Cairo.

The plan was late and I had to rush to my gate (although some other Gainline coaches had to sprint through the airport to make the plane!). I met up with almost all of the other coaches on this plane. We were all conveniently (and very coincidentally) seated around each other. That was nice because I had no idea what I was going to do once I made it to Entebbe. 

This flight was about 4 or so hours as well. We arrived in Entebbe at around 0300 hours (3am). We got through customs, got our baggage and sat down for a beer. It was abot 0400 hours (4am!!!!!!) It was Nile Beer. 

We took two taxis to the Entebbe Backpacker's. Our rooms were not ready at 6am, so we crashed on the lobby furniture until we could get into at least one room. We all dozed off!

(Imagine this little place filled with 5 bodies and 10 large bags, and 5 carry-ons... soo full!)

Once we were showered and ready for the day, we explored the town of Entebbe. They drive on the left side of the road here. We decided to head to a beach to see a Ugandan beach. Spennah Beach was the smallest beach I think I have ever seen! It was nice though to walk on the sand and take some pictures of Lake Victoria and the birds. We then travelled to a botanical garden. Apparently there are supposed to be three types of  monkeys, chameleons, birds, and iguanas/lizards. All we saw was a chipmunk, birds, termite mounds and one little lonely gecko who was definitely king of the biggest termite mound. Termite mounds are HUGE! Some are at least 3 feet high and wide. 

We stopped and ate some samosa from a local seller. They were DELICIOUS! Green peas and bean samosas! Hmm!!!! We also experienced a drunk local. Uganda has a very high alcoholism rate. This man (his name was James) was a very interesting fellow. We were able to see through some of his comments the inequality there is between men and women. He had some sexist views and opinions.

We came back to the hostel and crashed hard. All of us napped until about 7pm. We then went out to this LOVELY nice restaurant for dinner. It was expensive. David said it would probably be the most expensive meal we would eat on the trip. My large glass of pineapple juice came to 32,000 shillings. Our bill came to roughly 250,000 shillings. No big deal or anything haha! $1.00 American is equal to about 2,500 shillings. In total, for the five of us to eat, drink, have coffee and dessert, it cost about $100.00 American. Not bad at all! 

The mode of transportation are bodas. Bodas are these guys who drive motorcycles/dirt bikes and we pay to ride on the back. It's cheaper than a taxi and a lot more fun. No worries mom, they do not drive fast or dangerous. Dave told us to tell the guys to stop and let us off if we ever felt uncomfortable. It's safe mom.

So here is a map of Africa with Uganda pointed out....

 And here is a map of just Uganda.

 Right now I am south of Kampala in Entebbe. We will be doing most of our coaching in the Northern part of Uganda in the town of Gulu (you can see it on the map). It is about a 6-8 hour drive up to Gulu. That is what we will be doing tomorrow afternoon once the last of the coaches arrive. I am getting so excited to discover what kinds of things coaching in Gulu has in store for me!

Not too sure what the internet will be like over the next two weeks. I will try to blog as often as I can!

Cheers!!

-Steph

Family Time in Germany!! June 3-4

It's hard to believe I've been away in Europe for a week already!!! It doesn't feel like that much time has passed. 

Family is wonderful! 

I have had such a nice time the past few days here in Lörrach, Germany with my mom's cousin Hellie and her husband Wolfgang!

Yesterday Hellie and I had the best breakfast! (Wolfgang was already up and at work...he missed out! haha) Very European! We ate fresh bread with sesame seeds on it with delicious cheese and smoked meat slices. Also with fruit and jam and of course some tea. Tea is a staple around here so it seems! (Fine by me !! I love tea!)

She took me on a tour of the small town yesterday. We did some shopping and browsing in the little stores in the downtown area. Very nice. 

We had a low-key afternoon/evening. Hellie is learning how to play the guitar, so she had to practice. I listened. I now understand why my dad enjoys listening to his kids practice music. It was lovely!!! I then played some songs for her as well. I also sight-read a John Denver song. I impressed myself doing that! I usually suck at sight reading. It was an easy song, but I am better at guitar than I thought I was! I cannot wait to get home and practice more and more! My goal is to be able to sing and play at the same time by the end of the summer. I took pictures of some of the songs so I can continue to play them at home.

Hellie made a warm supper for me. This is not very European! Usually people in Germany eat their warm big meal at lunchtime, and a smaller salad or sandwich type meal at dinnertime. We had a side of homemade asparagus/mushroom soup! SOOOO GOOOD! She used the water she boiled the asparagus the night before and added some mushroom-spice package with maybe some sort  of milk to make it a little bit creamy. It was delicious! I will have to try to recreate it when I get home as well.

We went for a jog this morning around the park near her house. It was a good jog! She stopped to show me the stained glass windows of the Catholic Church! It is a modern church with a gorgeous stained glass window across the entire one side. I wish I had a camera to capture the beauty. If we go jogging again tomorrow I will ask to go to back and I'll carry my small camera with me. 

Another nice European breakfast followed our jog. I also got the chance to throw in a load of laundry. All of my smelly clothes from hiking in the Swiss Alps were in desperate need of washing!!

They were starting to stink up my bag! I am quite excited as I was able to hang them out on a rack on the balcony to dry. They will smell so good!!!

After breakfast we casually biked to SWITZERLAND! How crazy is that?! On our bike ride we saw a stork's nest with a baby stork in it! So nice! (I had my camera at this point and could snap a picture of it!) We stopped in Switzerland and enjoyed some sorbet. It was my first time BIKING TO ANOTHER COUNTRY!!! It sounds so funny to say that! It wasn't too long of a bike ride either. It took less than an hour to bike across the Swiss-German boarder. Hellie said that sometimes she and Wolfgang bike through Switzerland, into France, and home through Germany. That trip takes about 4 hours to do. So crazy!

It is a very nice day today. I think earlier in the afternoon it was about 20 degrees and has been sunny! (YAY SUN!) I have been enjoying the view from the balcony while typing this sitting in the sun.

I can hear the birds tweeting (or twittering? #NoPunIntended #TotallyIntended #lol). It is also very nice to hear people playing tennis. In the picture of me, the tennis courts are just below...

you can kind of see them through the fence.

Hellie is at her guitar lesson but should be back any minute. I think for supper tonight we will be having a more European style dinner. 

I am thoroughly enjoying my time here in Germany!!

-Steph

Au Revoir/Auf Wiedersehen Switzerland, Hallo Germany!!! (June 1-2)

The pinning ceremony was very cool to be a part of. I learned that in Switzerland a raised flag means that there are people home. That is extremely appropriate for Our Chalet as I felt right at home my short stay there. The tour of Our Chalet was great and I also browsed the little shop there to buy some souvenirs. 

After the official Our Chalet stuff, I ventured back into Adelboden to finish off the Adelboden scavenger hunt and be that much closer to earning the Our Chalet challenge. Adelboden is a beautiful town!!! There are a lot of cute little shops and restaurants there. Adelboden is a HUGE ski resort town in the winter. Every year the world championships are held there. I can't quite remember if the event is just slalom skiing or not. In the centre of the town there are two giant rocks with the footprints of every world champion skier who has one that particular competition. Austria has most footprints on the rocks. They must be good skiers haha. 

I got back to the Chalet just in time to meet up with a group of Swiss leaders, who happen to be originally from Canada, USA, and the UK, and I joined their group on a hike to Bonderfalle and the Magic Tree. This group of leaders all have moved to Switzerland based on their husband's jobs. The lead a troop of Girl Scouts through the American Girl Scouts Overseas program. Very unique and awesome that there is an option such as that available! Bonderfälle is a set of waterfalls up high in the mountains. It was a nice hike to the base, then a bit of a challenge up the hill as it was raining and had rained for the past few days. The Magic Tree was awesome!!! It is a 500 year old tree that has become hollow, yet it is still alive! I continued the tradition/legend of stepping into the hollow portion and making a wish. It is supposed to come true!!! 

I returned to Our Chalet in time for a yummy supper. I spent most of this evening drying off and planning my train trip to Basel to meet up with my mom's cousin Hellie. 

June 2nd was a very busy day. I had planned to wake up early to tour more around Our Chalet on my own, but I fell back asleep and woke up just in time for breakfast. Oops! I did some SWAPing this morning with the summer volunteers that I have been lucky to get to know during my weekend at Our Chalet. I then packed up my bags, stripped my bed and continued working on the Our Chalet challenge. I COMPLETED IT!!! :D yay! The staff at reception as well as the program intern think that no one else has completed the challenge in such a short amount of time. Pretty exciting stuff!! I now have completed 2/4 world centre challenges!

On a side note, for any ladies involved in Girl Guides reading this, there is a pilot project happening in the fall for a fifth world centre in Africa! It will be a traveling world centre. It will travel between Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and Kenya!!! How exciting is that?! I have no other details about this world centre, but I plan to google it when I get back home to Canada.

I traveled with a lovely retired Australian couple from the Chalet to the train station in Frutigen. I got to know them over my stay at Our Chalet and they were more than happy to see me off onto the next leg of my summer travels. I also got an invite to visit them in Queensland the next time I am in Australia. 

(Me on the train watching the beautiful Swiss scenery)

I got off the train in Basel, Switzerland and met Hellie! We drove to Lörrach, Germany. It is a very nice and warm town. The sun was shining and we enjoyed some tea and cake on the balcony alongside her husband. It is nice to be with family!!! I thoroughly enjoyed catching up over some wine (something that did not happen the last time we saw each other in 2005 haha). We also talked a bit about our family, my Oma and Opa Willie. Apparently she liked the Nielens a lot as a child because of the cherry tree in their backyard and the French fry place they owned. She has also told me about several things to do including jogging, tennis and going into the downtown of the small village. I think Lörrach is about 42,000 people. 

Finally contacted home via phone. Glad to hear my dad planted my sunflowers!!!! Thanks dad :)

I am sure my few days in Germany will be fantastic!!

Auf Wiedersehen!!!!

-Steph

Finally in Switzerland! (May 29th, 30th, 31st)

It has been a long two days that's for sure! The flight over to Europe went very well. It was kind of weird because the sun never really set. Talk about the time change!

Arriving in Amsterdam was a beauty and all of the staff at the airport were very helpful and nice. They started my trip off to Switzerland!

I arrived at Our Chalet (one of the four International Girl Guide houses) at around 1630 on May 30th. I was greeted by a lovely receptionist. Got a room with a pretty nice view!!!!! The mountains are absolutely stunning! It has been far too long since I've seen any mountains. The Swiss Alps are comparable to the Canadian Rockies, but different still. It is a comforting feeling having that girl guide connection with the guests and staff of Our Chalet. It definitely made traveling by myself easier. It feels a little like home here. 

Random fact about Adelboden: it snowed here a few days before I arrived. There are still snowmen standing in the yard around the chalet!! And I was complaining Canada was too cold for the end of May!!

I have been asked many times if I am a new volunteer coming to work for the summer. (This weekend is the change over of spring volunteers to summer volunteers).I attended the final campfire for the spring volunteers on the evening of May 30th. Their three month volunteer period has come to an end. All this questioning is making me think about perhaps volunteering at a world centre. Scratch Pax Lodge and Our Chalet off the list. (That leaves Our Cabana or Sangam ... next summer's adventure maybe? ... ).

Today, the new summer vollies (slang for volunteers) and I hiked our very first Swiss hike! We took the trek up to the Woodcarver's. It was mostly along roads on the way up. We stopped and warmed up at a small cafe with hot chocolate and some cake. The woodcarver was fantastic! So many cool carvings and such all handmade. All of the wood they use is from the area (mainly Fruitigen). I learned that there are maple trees in Switzerland!!!! I was sad to find out that they do not tap these trees for syrup. I was told that this could be a new business endeavour for me as a Canadian in Switzerland. 

It hasn't been the greatest weather today, but I trudged through the rain. My socks are SOAKED! Good thing I brought many pairs. I am currently working on completing my Our Chalet Challenge. Lots for me to do over the next few days!

Tomorrow I will be attending an official Our Chalet welcoming/pinning ceremony alongside the other guests here at the chalet. I am very excited as this is an official Girl Guide event and I will be able to wear my uniform!!!!! I also plan on hiking to the Magic Tree. Apparently it is the oldest tree in Adelboden (about 500 years old!) and it's hollow so I'll be able to stand in it.

All for now folks!

-Steph :) 

Almost Ready to Leave!!!

Almost finished packing and ready to start my summer 2013 adventure. 

I was overwhelmed by the amount of soccer and rugby cleats that were donated from friends, teammates, high schools and people in the community. I do not have space to bring all of them with me to Uganda, but they will all eventually make their way over. I plan to continue collecting once I get back and send a package over next spring. Thank you to everyone who collected cleats from high school soccer and rugby teams, children's soccer teams, as well as anyone who dug through their old kits and closets to donate to Gainline. This picture below isn't even all of the cleats I have!

I am super excited to head off to the international Girl Guide house (Our Chalet) in Switzerland for four days!! Spending a few days in the mountains hiking and taking in the beautiful Swiss culture! After my time there, I am heading across the boarder to Germany to spend the weekend with some family. It will definitely be a change of scenery (and temperature!!!) once I land in Uganda. 

Well that's the update for now. Looking forward to blogging from across the Atlantic!

-Steph

What Am I Doing This Summer?

Hi!

I am super excited to begin blogging and eventually sharing my experiences from my travels this summer. I am new to blogging so please keep that in mind when reading this! 

We are so fortunate that we come from a peaceful and developed country. There are no major wars or conflicts going on in our backyard. There have been no civil wars in my lifetime and I have not had to experience any form of poverty. This is not the case in Uganda. 

Over the years the Gulu district in Uganda has seen much blood shed and violent attacks from Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army(LRA). Employing terrible raid tactics the LRA has taken many of Gulu’s young boys and forced them to become child soldiers. Since 2007 relative peace has returned to Gulu along with many former displaced children and families.

Gainline Africa promotes the values of the sport we love by working in rugby communities at home and abroad.  At home, we raise awareness and involvement through various initiatives that educate and engage Canadians about the issues our partners face. Abroad, we provide local community leaders and high school teachers with the tools they need to deliver after-school rugby programs to youth who have faced extreme hardships. 

Our sustainable rugby community club model incorporates sport, space and play as tools for addressing a variety of critical development areas, such as:

1. EDUCATION & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Gainline Africa’s programs foster the physical, cognitive and social development of youth, teaching them valuable life skills through role models in their community.

2. HEALTH PROMOTION & DISEASE PREVENTION
The structure of Gainline Africa’s programs effectively, and non intrusively, educates youth and their families about relevant health and disease prevention issues. (i.e HIV and AIDS, malaria, sanitation, immunization)

3. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, LEADERSHIP & PARTICIPATION
In order to create sustainable change and a lasting impact, Gainline Africa looks to build the capacity of rugby communities, not replace it. We work in partnership with local organizations and community leaders to build infrastructure through local engagement and leadership. 

4. CONFLICT RESOLUTION & PEACE BUILDING
Our rugby programs assist in teaching conflict resolution and peace building skills to youth exposed to war and violence. Regular participation in physical activities influenced by positive leaders and cooperative teammates facilitates healing and re-bonding of communities and reintegration of those affected by war.

I will be spending 2.5 weeks in June building up the rugby program and community in Uganda. Below you will find a link to the Gainline Africa website as well as a fundraising link if you would like to sponsor me and support this great organization.

Gainline Africa Website: http://www.gainlineafrica.org/

Fundraising Link: http://raiseathon.ca/gainlineafrica/profile.php?id=6nidet2 

Cheers!

-Steph