Ki kati Kampala

Meant for 5/29

The first breath of Ugandan air was an experience I’ll never forget. The air was warm, but in a different way than I had ever felt before. It is beautiful and a way that pictures will never portray. As I looked around after I exited the plane, it felt more than a movie than my real life. I would have never anticipated actually being here…but so I am.

Though the flight was long, it went very well. I am glad however that I have 12 more weeks before I have to do it again because it was not exactly enjoyable either. I also have shorter layovers on my way home, which will also be nice. My biggest hang up was trying to find my driver at the airport. I must have walked was him when I arrived and it took a substantial amount of time to find him (in reality, it was probably only 5-10 minutes, but it seemed like forever). I wouldn’t say that I was scared, I just wasn’t sure what to do.

The drive from the airport to the house I will be staying in was one of the craziest experiences of my life. I read online not to take mopeds (aka Lubowa) as transportation and I most definitely see why. Everyone was weaving in and out of traffic. I did feel pretty safe through personally, considering I was in an escalade or some other monstrous sized amoured government vehicle. Plus, my driver is pretty awesome.

The only hang up so far is I don’t have wifi at the house I am staying in. There is currently one other intern who is moved in and we are going to work on purchasing internet this weekend. Apart from technology issues (very few American outlet converters, no wifi, no cell phone), everything has gone perfectly. I am sure though that it will slightly difficult to contact home for the first week or so, but I will continue to update anyone who is interested via this blog. Hopefully “skyping” will still be an option, but no guarantees.