The top picture is me with my host family, Momma and Papa Kena. The bottom picture is of our hotel on the Nile, The Sunset Hotel.
As promised I wanted to write a special post about our rafting trip down the mighty White Nile River. We rafted the river on the 4th of July. It was nearly the most ideal way to spend America's Independence.
If I could describe the experience with one sentence it would be, "A rush." Nothing makes you feel more alive and in the moment than rafting down a torrent of water, looking up, seeing a ten foot tall wall of water coming at you, slamming into that wall of water, being tossed around like a rag doll, and living to tell about it. It is over in just a matter of seconds, but after your boat has capsized and everyone has been dispersed into the water, you get this brief thought, just a fleeting moment really, when you think "maybe this wasn't a smart choice." It is an enormous rush, and when you pop up out of the water and look around realizing that you won't drown because of this rapid you feel oh so alive.
So in a sense, every time our boat flipped over and we breached the surface again, it was like being born on the 4th of July.
To capitalize on the whole 4th of July motif, a few things happened that made me feel right back in America. 1) While rafting we looked up and saw an eagle soaring over us. It was an African fish eagle, which looks very much like a bald eagle back in the states. 2) After rafting we ate a gigantic BBQ with grilled chicken, corn, potatoes, and some other tasty treats that would often be found back home. 3) In the truest sense of the American spirit, we explored that river and in the end conquered it. It was man v. nature at its best. We looked Mother Nature in the face and kicked her right in the vagina. Haha.
Well that is all I can really say about rafting. It was an experience that I'm sure I won't forget anytime soon.
Take care.
Jordan
By the way, the shirt I'm wearing in the above picture is a bit ridiculous, but it's so comfortable that I'll probably wear it all the time when I get home.
I bet they hate you as much as your real family does. :) haha just kidding I just had to. Love and miss you!
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this may be my favorite post so far! hahaha. wish i could have been there to see mother natures reaction. PLEASE, PLEASE, please say you'll wear that shirt with your elf slippers when you get home! :) love you jordy paul.
ReplyDeletethat rafting trip sounds so fun! and that shirt is HOT. however, you won't be the first one to wear it on campus. today on my way back from class i saw a whole group of people wearing them. i wondered what they were doing. i'm wondering now if they are other fellow jordan-followers.
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