Close of Service! :)

I am an official Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) as of April 15, 2009! It's unreal, I am still trying to adjust to not being a PCV anymore. First things done after leaving Peace Corps:

1. Ride many a piki piki (motorcycle) throughout Kampala city.
2. Drank a few beers and shared a hookah with Christopher to celebrate
3. Saw some of the sites of Kampala in preparation to leave Uganda (using afore mentioned piki pikis).

We went to the Baha'i Temple in Kampala first. It was really cool to see it, one of only a few in the world and the only one on the African continent. We learned the history of the newest world religion and spent some time in the temple itself. You must take off your shoes and are not allowed to speak when in the temple, as it is used for meditation. While inside, Christopher and I were struck by the calm silence, though sometimes broken with the echoing sound of the birds outside. It truly was a holy place.
Next, we visited the Kasubi Tombs of the Baganda kings. It was interesting to see the momument built to honor the last four kings of such an expansive kingdom. We learned about the history of the kings, especially Mutesa I, who was the first Buganda king to come into contact with Europeans and even made a deal with Queen Victoria for some canons to ward off his enemies. The tombs themselves are housed in the largest grass thatched hut in the world -- which was cool to see. Also, there was the stuffed leoard pet of Mutesa I, to whom he fed a goat a day. Weird but cool!
We said our goodbyes to Kampala and headed West for the beginning of our African travels, but I am very happy we visited these two sites as they are an integral part of what makes Kampala special.

For more info on these two places, please visit the links below!

http://www.kasubitombs.org/index.htm

www.bahai.org

http://www.bahai.us/bahai-temple-uganda