Eventually we made it through and picked up our luggage. I was so astonished that my two bags had actually arrived at Entebbe airport after all the trouble I had in Chicago that I didn’t complain about the newly broken handle on my suitcase (unfortunately it didn’t end there). We made our way out and were greeted by our SIT representatives, who ushered us to the parking lot. The first thing I noticed was the smell of the air. It smelled like a distant campfire, something that was both comforting and familiar in this strange place. Making our way to the van was an interesting experience. It was about 11:30PM, and the parking lot had very few lights. We began to pack the back of the van, and I couldn’t stop laughing because we were literally bumbling around in the dark trying to pack it up. When the back was filled, our driver climbed on top to place extra baggage up there. The sight of three or four girls struggling to lift up several over-stuffed and over-sized pieces of luggage into the hands of a man standing on top of a van in the extremely lit parking lot must have been an entertaining one. When we all piled in and drove away, I realized that the entire airport parking lot was probably smaller than the one at my 400-student high school.
The drive from Entebbe to Kampala was probably about 30 minutes, 29 of which found me clenching my seat or squeezing my muscles like a nervous wreck. Driving in Uganda is very different than the US. Not only is it on the left side of the road, but it’s completely insane. Cars pass each other right in front of incoming traffic. There aren’t sidewalks in many areas, so people (including children) are walking on the side of the street merely inches away from speeding vehicles. Boda Bodas, which are crazy dangerous motorcycles, zoom in and out of traffic, almost grazing other vehicles and driving so close they make my stomach hurt.
Even though it was late at night, people were still out and about. Unfortunately, in the dark we could not see very much, but the feelings and thoughts pulsing through me were quite vivid nonetheless. Entebbe airport is right on Lake Victoria, so I was able to catch a glimpse of it, which really made me smile.
As our van got closer and closer to the city center, I began to notice increasing levels of smog. I could see it in the soft glow of the lamps, and could feel it in the back of my throat. Ugandans burn much of their garbage. They also burn coal and wood for fire, which release increased levels of carbon dioxide into the air. In the capital city of Kampala, they have in incredible of cars, vans, and boda bodas on the roads, which I noticed emit black fumes. All of these things combined create smog, with the humidity and CO2 trapping it quite efficiently.
The rules of the road in Uganda are very interesting, or perhaps rather the lack thereof. The only stop sign I have seen so far was the one at the exit of the airport. I don’t think I’ve seen a speed limit sign, and most of the roads are not marked, even in the capital city. People just pull right in front of one another as bodas zoom around every corner of every vehicle. Taxi vans crammed with people are the norm in local public transportation. The city only has a handful of stoplights, which are even more inefficient than the madness that goes on without them. The streets are paved, but littered with potholes, craters, and horrific speed bumps. I don’t think I could ever drive in Kampala, but I certainly have a huge amount of respect for the people that do.
When we finally arrived at our hotel, I couldn’t wait to get right into bed. My room is on the second floor (called the first floor here). It’s simple, yet comfortable. It is actually much more spacious than I thought it would be. A big wooden door opens up to a small hallway that leads to the sleeping area. There are two beds, one for me and one for my roommate, with mosquito nets hanging above them. On the right is a door to the bathroom. Our room even has a TV and mini fridge.
When I set down my things and began to open my bags and get organized, I realized it must have been an incredibly traumatic journey for them. My shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste had all exploded on my things! I really couldn’t be angry; all I could do was laugh. After all, it was kind of funny and I was kind of delirious from the long hours of traveling. In one of my suitcases I also had a bottle of permethrin spray. Permethrin is an insect repellent that is sprayed on clothing and other gear it is especially useful because it lasts up to 6 washes and it repels different kinds of insects rather effectively. I used some of this stuff to spray my clothes, and I brought the rest to re-spray after a few weeks. Unfortunately, this too exploded and soaked through a few items of clothing. Well, at least I’ll be super-protected with those.
We started bright and early the next morning (yesterday) and will be going through a sort of orientation until Saturday, when I will move out of the hotel and move in with my host family. We’ve been so busy for the past couple of days that I cherish any bit of time I get to myself. I got to exchange some of my US dollars to Ugandan shillings yesterday. The exchange rate is so ridiculous; it’s around 2300 shillings to the dollar, which will take me a little while to get used to. We went on a driving tour of Kampala yesterday, and got to drive up a huge hill where we stood before gorgeous panoramic views of the city.
We went to a restaurant for lunch that is right next to Presient Museveni’s Kampala residence. Unfortunately, I have no sightings to report. The food was delicious, but I’m beginning to see some interesting patterns in meal composition. Ugandans don’t seem to measure their meals and diets by the sorts of nutritional guidelines Americans use. They eat SO many carbs, and much fewer amounts of proteins, fruits and vegetables. Although these things are usually present, one meal could easily contain three or four types of carbs with one type of protein, vegetable, and fruit. I can already see this as being an interesting indication of health and nutritional knowledge in Uganda and other countries of Eastern Africa. Perhaps so many children are malnourished because they eat these filling carbs, but receive inadequate amounts of other important vitamins and nutrients? This is something I know will be explored further later.
We went to the SIT resource center, where we will be taking our classes, took a tour, and met some of the staff that will be helping us during the next 3 and ½ months. Toward the center of the city, there is some sort of problem with the water pressure. I haven’t heard many of the details, but what it means at this building is that if we use the toilet, we need to fill a bucket of water and pour it in the toilet to “flush” it. I’m going to try to avoid this as much as possible. I hope the problem is fixed soon. I’ve noticed it at our hotel, too. Fortunately, the toilet flushes, but only a small stream of water comes out of the sink and shower. I don’t know if this is just the norm or part of the same problem, but it definitely saves a lot of water.
The shower in our hotel room is the type that you hold and spray on yourself. The water doesn’t warm up, but I’ve found that it really isn’t that bad, and it ensures that I use much less! I asked our academic director where the water at our hotel comes from, and she told me they get it from Lake Victoria. This water is safe for bathing, washing hands, and brushing teeth, but we can’t drink it. We can’t drink any tap water, so for the moment, we only drink bottled water. This leads to many used plastic bottles, and I still haven’t found out whether or not they recycle plastic. I hope they do, but I’m worried they probably don’t.
The Uganda sense of time is very different here. No one is in a hurry. Any person on the street is willing to stop what they are doing and talk to you or help you find where you need to go. Making an appointment or reservation at 7:00 means it could basically start any time from one minute after 7 to one minute before 8, and still be on time. The traffic is so congested, that it usually takes a very long time to drive only a short distance.
Today we spent the whole day in the garden at our hotel under a shady tree continuing our orientation activities. We had two different doctors come to talk to us about caring for our own health and safety in Uganda. We then had one of the chiefs of police talk to us more about safety and the role of the police in the city of Kampala. We then had a course on social etiquette in Uganda, and followed with a yummy lunch outside. After this, we had “Survival Luganda” lessons for a couple of hours. I was so exhausted, but was relieved when we were granted two hours of free time before dinner at the hotel. Some of the others went out and explored the area around our hotel a bit, but I just had to rest a bit and felt much more refreshed afterward. After our 7:00 dinner (which began at 7:35), we stayed outside and chatted for a little while.
Right now I’m sitting in bed with my mosquito net around me. It’s 12:23AM and I’m listening to my iPod. The walls are paper-thin here, and just a little while ago I was inundated with the loud laughter of people in the courtyard and garden, speedy traffic outside, and blaring TV next door. It really doesn’t bother me, though. I’m just happy to be here. Remarkably, it’s pretty quite now!
Tomorrow is a big day. Thus far, we’ve been closely guided by our SIT staff, but in the morning we will be put in pairs to take on some sort of task in a “drop off” activity. I’m a bit nervous, but I’m ready for the challenge!
I’m starting to learn the importance of patience here. Things are just a little bit different. I received a wireless modem at the SIT center, which didn’t work. I finally got it up and running this afternoon. Cereal is served with warm milk. I patched a couple of holes in my hotel-issued mosquito net last night. I cut my finger trying to open a bottle with a fork. There’s reddish-brown dust all over me by the end of the day, especially in my hair (as I found out when I washed it an hour ago). I have to take my malaria prophylaxis every day with half a bottle of water or I will feel sick. These things might have troubled me before, but the general mellow attitude and happiness around here keeps me at ease.
This post is very voluminous and disorganized (sort of like traffic in Kampala!), but I hope it fills you in a little bit about what I’ve been up to for the past couple of days!
I’m so tired, and I know I’ll have even more to share after tomorrow. Nighty night!
til next time
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