Kampala Visit: Mar 15th-18th

     Well this has been a long overdue update, that much is for sure. I don't even have much of an excuse as to why I haven't done this other then I just didn't get around to typing it. I even had a lot of it written down so I could type it, I guess I could blame it on the break. That will come in another update though which I will do later. With out further stalling though I will just jump right in, and talk about what this whole thing is about. My weekend trip to Kampala

     Well as the last sentence says, I went for a weekend trip up to Kampala. The trip was part business, part pleasure, and part humor the unique blend of curiosity and adventurousness that I naturally have. (the first time I was in Kampala was very much a whirlwind half day spent going all over the city) While up there my base of operations was the AIM guesthouse, Matoke Inn. Though it is located a little ways from downtown Kampala I like it a lot. It is conveniently located near the Kampala-Entebbe Road, which makes it easy for getting to the downtown area. It also means that it is quieter then staying closer to or in the city (quiet is always nice especially since it is something I rarely ever get at ABIDE just because of the number of people here at the Juna Amagara compound.

     One of the reasons I was in Kampala was some business I had to attend to at the AIM offices. The very fact that I was taking care of this business was a definite answer to prayer. Other then the fact that it was the will of God there was no reason for me to even be in the position to take care of this. I know it probably seems like I am drawing this out just a little, well to be honest it makes it more dramatic that way. With out drawing it out (to much) more the business I had to attend to was...........*Drumroll*......... was paying for my Ugandan work permit. This might not seem like a lot but there have been quite a few recent hurdles facing an AIM personnel seeking to get work permits here. It is not the easiest to explain but a very short explanation is that we (Aim) was experiencing trouble in getting permission from one government for another to issue us work permits. That I know of there are still those even in the South-west Uganda team (the team I am part of) who last I heard had not gotten their work permits. So needless to say that when I found out I had gotten mine it definitely came as a little bit of a shock.

    Really those last to parts just sorta fit together, kinda like a dovetail on a box. The reason why is that one way I relax is to explore, which is something I did. First bit of the exploring was going over to the American Recreation Association (ARA), I know doesn't sound like much. Once a month though they have a flea market, which happened to be on the Saturday I was up there. I heard that it can be hit or miss as to whether you will find anything worth while, I was more then happy to find a few nice craft booths set up. (which you have to pay to get in the flea market, but it is only 2,000 UGX or about $.75) After wandering around there for a bit, and spending a good bit of money I decided to walk over to Freedom city (the Ugandan version of a mall). It was a goodly 3km-4km over there from the ARA but it wasn't bad cause it was only around 11am. (so not quite as hot as afternoon) I wandered around there, and spent a good amount of time exploring the supermarket there. (I know weird but in a way it just kinda seemed much bigger then the Nakumatt here so I just wandered for a while) This also spent a good amount of time looking over their tea, coffee, and spice collection. One find from there that definitely made it worth while was finding a good lemongrass tea. (It coast 5300 UGX for a 250g bag, over about $2.04 for a half pound bag) I then spent a little more time wondering around in the "mall" then went to a fast food place there. (literally the only one I remember seeing in the entire country). On Sunday I went over to a place called Mish Mash, really not the easiest place to describe. Just think an art exhibit, a restaurant, live cultural exhibits, and a few other odd things all rolled in to one place. That will give you something of an idea of Mish Mash, from went to run an errand in another part of town. Then later on I went to garden city (another "mall"), and decide to explore the supermarket they had there. Do you kinda see a theme developing here?

     Well there is a summery of most the things I did up in Kampala. Really a lot of it was just a chance to get away and unwind after about two months of being at ABIDE. It was much needed because the first few months were pretty hard. It was kinda a smooth initial transition considering I was very quickly thrown in the middle of a completely different culture. Really most the difficulties set in for me once the houses split (prior to the split my roommate was another american, after though it was a national). This made it hard because if some certain cultural thing was bugging me on a particular day, I got little break from it. It is just hard to explain but there is just something about being around those that are either from the same country or just think fairly similarly (Canadians, and Brits). A lot of this is just hard to explain or understand unless you have been there. (which I know some might look down on sentiments like those I expressed and those who say them. All I can say to that is that if there are thing back home that sometimes bother you, then there are typically similar things other places that will. Yes, you just go with the flow but doesn't mean things wont try and get under you skin. It is just part of life and being sinful people, things will bother us no matter were we are in the world)