My first taste of Uganda

We arrived in Uganda late Tuesday night. It was weird. I immediately felt an affinity to this country, more so than I did in Rwanda. The drive from the airport showed a vibrant street life, even at 10:30pm. The layout and stores and city life reminded me much more of Senegal. Perhaps that is why I immediately identified more with this country. Or perhaps it is because I don't feel the discomfort I felt in Rwanda over the fresh wounds that remained from their genocide. Or perhaps it's because I can suddenly communicate with many more people as most people speak English. It's hard to know, but I've just felt more at ease here.

Daylight has revealed another beautiful country. Though it is a bit flatter than Rwanda, especially the eastern region where we are staying, there are still beautiful hills and, I would even venture to say, mountains. The land is lush, again with vegetation and cultivated fields.

We stayed in Kampala Tuesday night. This afforded me the opportunity to see my friend Johan whom I know from Macalester. It was great to see him as I haven't seen him in over 2 years when he was my resident and I was his RA. He met me at the hotel and took me out for a delicious breakfast. We rode boda-bodas (moto taxis) to the cafe. It was an exhilarating start to the day. Driving here is crazy! Good thing the one helmet was safely lodged between my driver's legs and the handle bars. After breakfast, we walked around downtown and enjoyed a refreshing mango juice box. It was good to catch up with him and get a personal tour of the main drag of Kampala.

Once rejoined with the group, we went to the Uganda Crafts Cooperative. It is a fair trade art co-op for (mostly) disabled and widowed women. The work was beautiful. I bought many souvenirs and gifts.

Then we loaded into our buses and drove to Mbale. We crossed the Nile River and that was exciting. The drive through the country side was, well bumpy, but also gorgeous. Words cannot do the scenes justice.

It turns out the computer lab at our posh hotel closes at 11:30 so I must finish this now. We are staying at a hotel much nicer than places I stay in the US. I struggle with this at times, but I'm counting my blessings and enjoying the luxuries while I've got them. Keep reading the two other posts I made today. Hopefully soon I will be able to describe our time at FDNC and at the coffee co-op.

We are going to services tomorrow with the Abayudaya. I'm so excited! Shabbat Shalom.