Still here...

I joined a free walking tour of Munich and learned all about some amazing historical sights. The guide was hilarious and I really enjoyed myself. We started with the famous Glockenspiel which has characters that act out famous Bavarian historical events. I saw the sights related to Hitler and the Third Reich, I listened to tales of beer drinking and rubbed 2 lion's paws for good luck. I think the 1st one I rubbed this summer was more lucky!

I met Sabrina, a friend of Michael's. She took me for Bavarian food, which was amazing. Even more amazing, she introduced me to beer with lemonade. 1 Litre later, I was feeling pretty good about Munich. Sabrina's tour included Hitler's favourite pizza place, the veterinary campus including the infamous party room, the nude sunbathers in the Englischer Garten, Siegstrasse 12 where I sent so many letters, cards, and good thoughts, the site where Oktoberfest is held, and finished with a beer garden.

Yesterday, I learned fairytales are true. I visited the ultimate fairytale castle, Neuswanstein, located in Fuessen. I was up at 4am, took the 4:50 train, and made it into the short line for tickets before 8:30am. I toured both castles and marveled at their lavish interiors. There were so many fine things to look at, my eyes didn't know where to focus.

I took the cablecar to the top of the hill and had a spectacular view of the alps and castles. Only after I had started up did I realize people were parasailing from the top. I wish I had done a tandem jump...would have been a great way to see the castles. A Chinese-German guy rode the train with me home and we had a good time comparing the three cultures. He also taught me some more German, which is great.

Today, I went to Dachau Concentration Camp. I decided to join a tour this time and I was glad I did. Our guide didn't gloss over certain details or cite the politically-correct statements like I heard in Sachsenhausen. This place was just as horrible, if not worse. I walked through a gas chamber. The design and planning seems incredibly sinister. Someone worked hard to plan such an efficient system. What really struck me this time was a description of how the German people felt. Only about 40% actually voted for Hitler, the rest had to support or face the consequenses. I found myself wondering what I would have done...deep questions that will never have an answer.

Tomorrow, I think I will be going to Austria with Sabrina to see the birthplace of Mozart. After that, I'm not sure because I can't reach Dr. Siefert's family and there is a huge rock concert in Rothenburg (the tourist office told me to come Monday when they have all cleared out). It's okay, I'll find something to do and someplace interesting to visit.

Berlin, Dresden, and München

I went to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp outside of Berlin. For the second time this summer, I stood in a place of tremendous human suffering and was horrified by the actions of humanity. The shoe testing site was a track made of various types of terrain. A company commissioned a 'study' to evaluate various shoe sole materials. Men were forced to march for hours at a time. If you stopped or collapsed, you died. I walked through the passage between infurmiry buildings and felt like I was near the dementors described in Harry Potter: that I would never be happy again. Once I was outside, the audioguide revealed that the passage was used to store bodies when the autopsy room was full. This is one experience I couldn't have shared with anyone.

I got lost leaving the memorial and a kind man took me to the trainstation. I guess he restored my faith in humanity. I rode to Berlin with a group of Austrian guys who were on their annual beer-drinking holiday. They had some excellent travel advise.

I went to the Jewish museum and was again horrified. It changes things when personal stories are involved. I decided to attend a show to remind myself of the good things in life. The only thing I could get tickets for was a Spanish Dance rendition of an opera. It was fantastic! They were incredible. It occurred to me as I watched that people living in concrete jungles must be so far removed from nature's beauty that they rely on art to fill the gaps in their lives. I met a Dutch couple and had a drink with them after. It was really great to visit with such nice people.

I met up with Dr. Siefert's friend, Gudrun. I expected an elderly grandmother, instead, I was greeted with a lively blonde with more energy that I have! Her English was a bit rusty from lack of use and my German hasn't improved significantly, so communication was slow but rewarding. She fed me juice and cake, showed me around her massive garden, then insisted on taking me to Potsdam. Ok! She got me there, set me up with tickets to the palace and left me to explore. What a great experience! I saw several of the palaces (including the room where the king ordered the start of WWI). The gardens were magnificent.

After consulting various people, I choose Dresden over Leipzig, despite my gut feeling. I ended up going twice! I was almost there when I was asked to show my ticket, only I couldn't find it. Another girl I was sitting with had a pass that wasn't good for the Czech Republic, so we got off at the next stop and went back to Berlin. My pass was sitting at the deli where I bought my breakfast. I caught the next train back and was absolutely delighted. The hostel I stayed at is located in a trendy, youthful part of town. I dropped my stuff and headed to the Old City to see the magnificent buildings. Although they were bombed to smithereens during the war and have been resorred, I was still in love. Classical music played from a hall as I walked the edge of the Zwinger. I am so happy I went.

I took the early train to Munich and arrived around 1pm. I saw the main sights yesterday, drank a huge beer in a park (and barely stopped myself from dancing on the table as the blue-eyed bar man promised) and got a job offer to work as a groom at the University stables. It is really hard being here and I think I will be leaving soon. Everywhere I went was a place he had told me about or shown me pictures. It is not a good place to be alone. Munich is nice but every second person seems to be smoking. The streets are crowded and busy... I need a small town to visit and collect my thoughts.

Berlin or bust...

This is one busy city! I have been going full throttle to get all the sites in. I viewed the city from the Reichstag Dome (National Parliament building). I toured the Museum of Medical History. They had some crazy gross pathology specimines. Lucky for me (and my feet), they had only a few displays with English, so lingering wasn't an issue. I a saw the Deutches Historishes Museum (Germany History Museum) which had an interesting display on the war. It was interesting to hear the other side of the story. I passed through Checkpoint Charlie without a scratch.

Today, I bought some new shoes. I picked up HushPuppie Sandles in London and hoped the blisters would go away now that I don't have to run after Mr. Long-Legs-Let's-Go, but instead, they seem to have gotten worse. My theory is that my feet are not accustomed to so many hard surfaces and the new shoes. Combined, this has been rather unpleasant. The sales lady was great, she even sent my new über cool shoes to the till by a space-aged elevator. I also looked in KaDeWe, Berlin's Harold's equivalent, but refrained from buying. It was expecially hard in the chocolate section. I had my first Currzwurst (Curry Sausage), which was fantastic!

I saw the Museum für Naturkude (Natural History Museum) which was like the British Natural History Museum, only in German. Again, lucky because I had not reason to linger. I saw the Pergamon's exceptional display on Babylon. I had supper beside an ancient church. I sadly missed the Jüdisches Museum, but I'll try tomorrow.

Germany so far is gute. I think my lack of German hasn't been too much of a problem so far. The hostel I'm staying in is nice. Overall, things are working out just fine.

I am going to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp tomorrow. I might go to Dresden or skip straight to München, I can't seem to decide. You'll know when I do!

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat Where have you been?

I'm in Berlin.

London was great. I saw the Tower, the bridge (which isn't falling), Oxford, the Underground, Westminster and St. Paul's, Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews, Stonehenge, Chicago...the list goes on. It was so amazing to see these famous places. Today's Royal Day Out and Westminster was definately the best day here.

I continue to be amazed at how things run on time, work properly etc. compared to Africa.

I will be in Berlin for the next few days. I have lots to see and have no idea exactly how long it will take. From here, I will travel to Munich for another long stretch, then Rothenburg. From there, I want to take a boat trip up the Rhine River and see a few towns in the north, including a visit to Dr. Siefert's family to deliver a gift and try their world-famous sweets.

When life gives you lemons...

you make the most delicous lemonade ever! I had great lemonade in Queen Elizabeth National Park due to the abundance of lemon trees. Only, Mary, the elephant liked to pick the ripe ones!

Dr. Siefert was amazing. I had the time of my life with him and learned so much. Everytime I sat near him, I assumed my best sponge pose and tried to absorb as much of his vast knowlege as I could.

He darted a lion to radio collar it. I had my hands in the lion's mouth and got to hold his paws in my hand. Words cannot describe how amazing the experience was for me.

Then next day, we darted an elephant to remove a wire snare. Once again, I couldn't believe I was able to do what I did. I have my hand burried inside the wound, debriding the dead tissue to help this elephant literally get back on its feet. They have incredible ears! Pinch me!

I'm in London with he-who-must-not-be-named. I'm riding a rollercoaster of emotions here. The sites are amazing! This city is crazy busy and there is so much to see. I'm so fortunate to be here. The days have been jam-packed with site-seeing so this has left little time for internet. I will have some awesome pictures to show! The hightlight so far was the War Chambers and Winston Churchill museum.

Don't worry, Mom, I'm still alive and mostly well.

The girls are back in Town

I said goodbye to Bwindi on Friday morning and headed to Lake Bunyoni for a weekend break. The road took us through sections of the park, which were fantastic. The lake was very beautiful, despite the rain. Angela and I shared a tent the first night. It was on a raised platform with a roof, so we didn't get wet, but it sure was cold!

We met 5 medical students (this seems to be an ongoing trend) and helped them celebrate their Independence Day. The next day, we boarded canoes and headed out onto the lake. At one island, we landed and partook in the nature walk around the parimeter. I didn't partake in the rope-swing-thingy into the water though, I forgot my swimsuit (shucks!). After lunch (which took 2 1/2 hours), we paddled to Punishment Island. Legend has it that unmarried, pregnant women were taken here and abandoned as their 'punishment.' They either died to starvation, drown trying to swim to shore, or were rescued by a man who couldn't afford to pay a bride price. We considered leaving someone there, but decided against it after some serious discussion. The next island we came to had an older man, a hut and not much else. We stopped only briefly to have a picture, oogle at the gigantic grasshoppers (about 12 cm in length), and look at the flowers.

Somehow our navigator missed a turn and we ended up paddling several km out into the lake. Before sundown, we came across a man with his wife and 2 kids paddling in the other direction. We asked for directions only to be told we were really far from the hotel. He had someone call the manager from on land to tell them where we were. It was after dark by the time we paddled back to the inlet. Thankfully the hotel lights directed us once we made the correct turn. What an adventure!

The next day, we took it easy and drifted out on the lake reading our books and singing 'repeat after me songs.' Thank-goodness Ang used to be a camp counselor. We took the Uganda Post bus to Mbarara; Angela continued on to Kampala to meet her sister.

The last few days have been restless: we don't know really when Dr. Siefert will be able to come get us, if at all. Hopefully tomorrow we will be either 'picked' or we will take public transportation to Queen Elizabeth National Park. I'm excited to start our last project!

I have posted pictures of Bwindi on my Flickr website, please take a peak!
Also, dear readers, after 2 months away from home, I'm feeling a bit homesick...please feel free to leave me some comments.

As I write this in the FAOC office, I heard a thump. When I looked up, I saw a bat had flown into the window and landed on an old copy of National Geographic. I'm all alone here and pretty scared of bats...if I don't write for a while, chalk it up to a rabies bite from this vicious vampire bat who continues to watch me (and listen) from across the room. Seriously though, I'm vaccinated and I likely won't have internet in the park, so once again, my apologizes for the sparse postings.

Canada Day in Uganda

CTPH has been a wonderful experience so far. Our days are spent in the Gorilla lab analyzing fecal samples for parasites. The work is very interesting! I even identified a new type of parasite egg (confirmed by my colleagues of course). Once the samples are prepared, there is lots of down time because we have only one microscope. Between my turn to scan the slides, I have been planning my trip to Germany and reading the most fascinating book: Tales of a Female Nomad. I’m starting to get excited and inspired.

Our evenings have been busy. Supper is usually street food. Typically, we order chips (French fries) then walk to the open market where we purchase banana cookies/cakes, a tomato, bananas, corn on the cob, or avacados. Then we cross and buy muchomo (meet on a stick). I’ve developed quite a liking for the goat meat cooked on coal cooking pots. We were half-joking, half-serious about finding a local butcher in Saskatoon and buying an Mbuzi at the auction mart. Once our meals are purchased, we go back and eat at the chip place where the children quiz us on the local language and laugh at our accents. I am thriving in the small-town attitude of the place where everyone is starting to recognize us and all seem willing to help us learn the language.

I made a friend with Immaculate, a local school teacher. I lent her my copy of Anne of Green Gables (a testament to how much I like her). One evening, we ‘picked’ Immaculate and bought ingredients at the market for dinner. She taught us how to cook cabbage and Irish (potatoes) in the local way. Her neighbour kindly shared his bean stew so we had a complete meal. Later in the evening, he was not-so-subtlety hitting on me: I forgot my ‘wedding’ ring. We danced the Eclipso, which is a local children dance involving shoulder shrugs and simple steps, for the first time in the shelter of the yard. It was so fun to delve into the local culture. I feel so fortunate to have met her and even luckier she is an English teacher. Yesterday, we went to her school and danced for her students. We first attempted the Eclipso. I’m the only one who seems to do it reasonably well, but we all enjoy laughing at the experience. The children were thrilled when we taught them the chicken dance. That’s right, the best we could do was the chicken dance. They did a local dance for us involving drums, stomping, jumping and beautiful lyrics in a language I don’t understand. I continue to be so fortunate to have these experiences.

We celebrated Canada day with our usual supper, some dancing in the streets for the Boda drivers (apparently everyone heard about our Eclipso performance). At our hotel, another Canadian, Der, Missy, the American we are working with, and 2 English Medical students all drank a beer with us and visited. There were no fireworks, but it was very fun.

My time here is almost finished, but I have been very content here and I will be sad to leave. I have not seen the gorillas, my sore throat made my decision for me (you shouldn’t treck if you are sick), but I will be doing a walk in the park this afternoon. I’m excited to experience my first rainforest in all its gory. I should be able to see the Congo and Rwanda from the trail, places I never imagined I would ever see first hand. For now, viewing the Congo from Uganda is close enough!