The day has come. White water rafting on the Nile River with a total mix of anticipation and fear. As we drive to Jinja, we all wonder why we are doing Grade 3 and not Grade 4 and 5. I mean YOLO right? We arrive at the Nile River Explorers backpackers sight and ask if we can change. No problem says the manager. We are all set for Grade 4 and 5 rapids on the Nile River. As we drive up to the beginning of our trip, we have fruit and rollexs for breakfast (chapatti rolled with an omlette). As we get closer, my nerves start to get more out of control but I am so excited!! We have spotted a guide on our bus that we hope can be our guide for the day. However, we get placed with another guide and this is how he starts off his introduction, "I am not very good at English so I talk very slow." Greattttttt we are all thinking, this is going to be a horrible guide. However, Yo (yes that is what he wanted us to call him) turned out to not only be the best guide, but the funniest guide on the trip. Our boat was full of laughter and song in between the rapids. He got the biggest kick out of calling us mzungus and even said he had a boat full of mzungu crocodile biscuits. One of my favorite lines from Yo came when we had to go to the bathroom in the river. "You say you are saving Africa, but you pee in my river! How are you saving Africa?!"

Rapid number 4 was called Vengance-- I saw the light. We hit the rapid and flipped over and were all pulled down by the undertow. As I tried to break for the surface, I was trapped by people. Finally, I came up but hit the boat, not once but twice, until I finally got air. Imediately, the next wave brought me back under and I was bobbing in the water. Yo had to pull me on top of the boat and joked later that I looked at him like I saw Jesus. At the time, I was scared out of my mind and on edge for the rest of the rapids. Now, I look back and laugh and just picture myself "looking at Yo like he was Jesus". We flipped over a total of 2 times out of the 8 rapids which was pretty impresive!

The trip as a whole was amazing and the scenery was breathtaking. We ended and had a buffet up the hill with Nile Special. We then took the bus back to the backpacker's sight for the end of the white water rafting journey.

I ended up going to bed at 9:30 and woke up at 10 o'clock. My roomies thought I was dead. ooops-- I just need my zzzz's!

Apparently, when you say you are staying in a convent with a bunch of Sisters, people believe you are a sister. We were referred to the boat of sisters the whole day. We tried to tell Yo we weren't, but he was having too much fun with it.