White water rafting

Jinja has become the 'adrenaline capital' of East Africa.  When Jen & I last went, we went horseback riding - at a trot, no less.  Fun, but worthy of the adrenaline capital?  Nope.
So, this past weekend I went to meet up with Kenn who has been staying here for the past week while he has been learning to kayak the white water.  After much prompting from Kenn and every other person I'd met here, I decided to take the leap and try white water rafting.  The rapids on the Nile are rumoured to be among the best in the world (where best = biggest and most frightening), and they are currently in the process of constructing a new hydroelectric damn which will supply the regoin with much-needed power, but will be the death of these famed rapids.  So, while in Rome... you know.

The morning started off wet.  Very, very wet.  I had unsuspectingly placed Kenn's tent on the only flat place around - which turned out to be in a valley, and we woke in the middle of the night to find that the tent had flooded and we were sleeping on what felt like a waterbed.
When day broke, we got up, dried off, went for a tasty breakfast (with GOOD coffee!), and took off for Speke camp where our rafting adventure would begin.  We were told that there would be 7 others joining us from Kampala - this was quite a relief for me, because more people = more power = more control over where the boat goes = less chance that we'll end up in a grade 6 rapid and die.
Well, wouldn't you know it, those 7 people showed up and they were all scrawny Asian men - straight from China.  ONE spoke English and not one of them had held a paddle before.  Kenn and I couldn't do anything but shake our heads and laugh as they completed the stereotype, posing with the peace sign for every picture.
Let the adventure begin.
We got in the water and our guide, Enoch, went through the basics.  He would command "FORWARD" and at least 2 of them would paddle backwards.  He would command "PADDLE HARD" and at least 4 of them would hit the deck.  He explained that the most likely way to get hurt is from someone else's paddle - so he taught us how to hold it properly when going through the rapids.  After this, we did a practice fall.  As the boat fell, the dude behind me bashed me in the face with his paddle - he clearly didn't understand a word Enoch had said while explaining the safety procedures.
I was ready to back out.  Scared of rapids to begin with, the idea of facing this raging water with a boat full of these guys was enough to make me shake in my boots.  But, Kenn convinced me that it would be okay, and if nothing else we'd have a good story to tell.
It's true.  Good story.  My arms are STILL sore since Kenn and I were the only ones paddling the whole day - but I didn't get bashed in the face again.  I also learned something new about myself: I have a LOT of trouble biting my tongue.  There were definitely a few, "You're paddling like a WOMAN" and "BE STRONG" yelled at my dark-haired boat-mates.... hopefully they didn't understand!

All in all it was a fantastic day.  I only ended up in the water 3 times: once when the boat flipped over a small waterfall (eeek!), once when I got knocked out of the boat - legs in the air - and perforated my left eardrum (on meds, doc says it'll be fine in no time), and once when they let us out to swim in the current for about half an hour.  It was such a great feeling to be swept up in the current like that - dragged along with no effort - particularly after paddling like crazy in the mid-day sun.

I'm glad I got over my fear of the white water, even if it has created a new fear: the fear of being in a boat of Chinese men!