MK's First Impressions

We spent all of yesterday relaxing, eating, drinking, catching up, and eating some more. The weather here is wonderful - about 80 degrees - a little hot in the sun but perfect in the shade. Waking up is like being in the middle of a bird house in the zoo - there are tons of birds here all over the place. Apparently Uganda is one of the best places in the world for bird watching - who knew?

So I had no idea what to expect before I got here, apart from what Mike and Chuck told me, what their pictures looked like from their last trip, and what my guide book said. So far the biggest surprise was how dark it was when we landed! We were descending, about to land in 10 minutes, but when we looked out the window we couldn't see a thing. We thought maybe it was cloudy. But then before you knew it, there were the runway lights and we were on the ground. Looking out past the runway, it was pitch black. We saw one car off in the distance driving by. Then we taxied to the terminal, and saw a big banner that read "Welcome to the Pearl of Africa". Very cool.

After our reception, we loaded up the cars in the dark parking lot, and went on our way. With no street lights, driving through Entebbe to Kampala felt like the city temporarily lost power. Driving is on the left here, and although we landed at 9 we saw plenty of pedestrians walking along the streets getting to where they needed to go. Every now and then we passed through an areas with shops, bars, "discos", and roadside BBQ stands (which are not safe to eat unfortunately - I asked).

If anyone had visions of us staying in a rustic grass hut, let me put your mind at ease. Conche's house is fantastic - the kitchen is huge with granite counter tops and everything. She has four bedrooms and three bathrooms, a huge back patio, backyard, and garden. She grows avocados, oranges, bananas, guavas, and papayas (called "po-pos", which we said is slang for the police back home). Beck (and everyone else I know) - you'd love it here - happy hour started before 5 yesterday. Beer, wine, cheese, crackers, and peanuts on the back patio.

Our walk to the shopping center up the road yesterday was a big success. I was very excited to see a woman carrying a big package on her head, but I played it cool and resisted the urge to point and take pictures. I also found diet coke in the grocery store, which Mike bet me I would not be able to find in all of Uganda. I saw my first Barak Obama t-shirt, and when we walked by a group of boys they said "hey, mzungu!" which means white person. Actually, they called Kristen and Mike mzungu, so Chuck and I figure we must look like locals. OK to be exact, they said to Mike "hey, mzungu! Give me your water!".

Today we're heading into the center of Kampala to see the sights - we'll check out the tombs of Kasubi (a royal burying ground), a few markets, and the big new shopping center called Garden City. I have a feeling it's different than the Garden City in RI with Ann Taylor and the Gap, but I'll let you know.

Missing you all but loving it here,
MK