Residency

Today is the beginning of my third day in Kamapla, Uganda. I couldn't sleep as of 4am this morning, mainly due to jet lag. I am sitting in the living room of the suite I am sharing with 3 other classmates. To testify to the liveliness of Kampala, when I cam out of the bedroom about an hour ago, it was to the sound of the call to prayer for morning prayers form a near by mosque. People are always up and about here, and what a beautiful way to greet the morning. There is also lots of traffic to be heard from the main street that passes by the Makrere University campus, where we are staying.

I left Calgary at midnight last Wednesday. I feel like I ran out on my life because I was busy right up until the end with wrapping up work stuff, and packing that I was mentally unprepared to go. I squeezed my entire life into my two allowed suitcases. I ended up having to remove quite a bit from said suitcases at the airport and send them back with the three lovely friends who drove me. I arrived here around 8pm last Friday on the same flight as 4 others from my class. It was nice to see some familiar faces at the airport in Amsterdam after my long, lonely journey there.

Day 1 was spent going into town with others to get some Ugandan shillings, buy groceries, and get a Sim card for my phone (which was unlocked the following day). In the evening we went to a place close by where street vendors prepare Indian style chapati bread and various toppings. The food was cheap and delicious, and the atmosphere was fun. People here are very friendly. They don't approach you, but they are helpful and friendly when you talk to them. Even when we were in the market we were not being approached by persistent vendors as has been my experience in parts of West Africa. Almost everyone I have come across speaks English. When locals speak to each other, however, they use local languages.

Kampala is a very large and busy city. The traffic is insane. You can get around by taxis (which are actually mini buses that can take up to about 12 passengers), private hires (which are the traditional taxis in North America), or boda-bodas (a taxi motor cycle you can see some at the market place in the picture above). The private hires are more expensive so we have mostly been taking taxis. I don't know if I will work up the courage to take a boda-boda considering the madness of the traffic here! You can find pretty much anything you want in Kampala. There are well stocked supermarkets (prices a pretty reasonable), cinemas, golf courses, and much more that I have yet to see.

It's finally getting light out, which means I should get ready for class. We'll be meeting the Ugandan students we will be working with today, and we'll also find out exactly how this residency is going to go down. I am excited that we'll be travelling around the country with locals who can give us an insiders perspective.