We have arrived in Uganda! (8/27)

Katie and I slept a little bit more on this flight than our first flight, but again not nearly enough.  We landed in Entebbe and gathered our bags (all 8 of them total-4 checked and 4 carry on) and headed out to the general pick-up area where local Ugandans stood with signs letting everyone know who they were there for.  Katie and I stood for a few minutes and looked around trying to find Enoch, the man we were told would be picking us up.  After about five minutes, an older man walked into the airport, and as soon as we made eye contact with him, he opened up his suit coat just a bit so we could see a big ol’ Bucky Badger shirt.  It instantly put a smile on my face, and we knew our ride was here.  It was such a warm welcome in such an unfamiliar place. 

As I said, Enoch picked us up, as well as Edson.  Enoch will be our supervisor while we are here.  He will come and observe us when we are teaching.  Not only that, he has proved to be a walking Ugandan History book.  As well as a life-coach.   I will share more of what information and knowledge Enoch has shared with us in later posts.  Edson, was/is our driver.  Edson has been the driver for groups in the past, but we believe we will be getting a new driver.  We are not sure at this point.  Either way, Edson is very nice and has provided us with a more current/young adult prospective on Uganda, as Enoch is 65 years old.   

A lion we saw in the zoo.

The Crested Crane-the national bird.

Our first stop off the plane was the Uganda Wildlife Education Center/Zoo.  Enoch wanted to show us some Ugandan animals right away.  The zoo was similar to those in America; however, it was evident that the animals are actually living in their natural habitat, as opposed to a fabricated one that says Africa above it.  First, the animals were not as separated as ours are.  Meaning, it was common to see several different animals all living in the same area without walls up in between.  In addition, there weren’t large cages or fences, the animals were right there, in front of us.  This made the zoo experience unique.  Some of the African animals that we saw that were not new to us included giraffes, lions, rhinos, baboons, zebras, and the list goes on.  Some of the animals that were new were the country’s bird, the Crested Crane, the Kob, the Warthog, and a male ostrich (much more colorful than the one we normally see).

We then walked to the waterfront that over-looked Lake Victoria.  Lake Victoria is the second largest fresh water lake in the world, and according to Enoch is second to Lake Michigan.  Something Katie and I both did not know.  We then ate some breakfast at a restaurant called…Restaurant, that overlooked the lake.  It was absolutely beautiful.  It was a cool morning (for Uganda), with great scenery, and a time to get to know Enoch.  For breakfast we had two pieces of bread toasted with butter, and African Coffee.  African Coffee is coffee and milk.  Our other choice was African tea, which is water and milk.  Tea, here, is just boiled water with sugar added if the drinker wishes. 

The side of the road in Kampala

After finishing breakfast, we began to head from Entebbe to Kampala.  Kampala is the capital of Uganda, and as it turns out, a very busy city.  The ride from Entebbe to Kampala left me absolutely speechless.  In fact, most of the time we are in the car Katie and I do not speak much to each other because there is just so much going on right outside our car windows.  There is so much to see and take in.  First, there are people EVERYWHERE doing EVERYTHING.  People are working.  Working on cars, with bricks, agriculturally, on houses, with animals, and on, and on, and on.  Women are braiding hair, carrying baskets on their heads, carrying water, carrying children, nursing, selling things, and so on.  Others are sleeping, and kids are playing.  There is person after person selling something from vegetables to fruit to shoes to backpacks to calling cards to power cords. 

This amazes me!

And the streets are completely hectic.  There are a few stop signs and traffic lights, but otherwise it is a complete free for all.  The best way to describe it is as a game of chicken.  Everyone just drives until one person gives up and lets the other driver pass them or turn in front of them.  What Edson has told me is that there are not exactly laws or rules that drivers abide by, but rather there are considerations.  Besides the cars being completely disorganized, there are little motorcycles that cover the streets.  There are almost as many of these as there are cars.  They are used mainly to transport people places, so kind of like a taxi.  These are called Boda-Bodas.  The boda-bodas, which carry anywhere from 1 to 4 people seem to have no rules or considerations at all.  They weave in and out of traffic, drive on the left side of the road or the right, they make u-turns as they please, they are absolutely ruthless-the drivers.  This is how driving has been on every town/city we have been in (since I am writing these after a few days in other towns as well).  In addition, there are constantly people coming up to the car windows while stopped in traffic trying to sell you things.  Anywhere from reading glasses to CDs and just about anything else you would ever want or need.  A couple of times Edson and Enoch have looked at some of the things being sold more closely, and Enoch even bought some minutes for his phone one day.    

The boda-bodas!

So besides the complete chaos that fills the streets, it is incredible to me how easily a white person-or a Muzungo as the Ugandans say-can stop traffic.  People are constantly stopping what they are doing to look at us, to point, to call out “Muzungo, Muzungo!”  I will talk more about this later in a blog post that I am SURE I will entitle “Muzungo!” 

Once arriving in Kampala, we went to a mall-type place to exchange money, get our orange stick filled (our source of Internet), and our Ugandan phone set up.  The banks were interesting, as outside each one there was a guard holding a gun (Katie think it’s a riffle), and must pat you down before entering. 

After getting our “things you think are necessary” (according to Enoch), set up, we headed to Makerere University where we stayed while in Kampala.  At the University we stayed in the Guest House.  It was like a very small-scale version of a hotel.  Once here we were able to shower (which we hadn’t done in 2.5 days), and talk to family and Nick.  Unfortunately for us, the shower was a little chilly, as we did not have hot water at the guesthouse.  Katie and I then went for dinner in the guesthouse.  We waited for about a half hour for our food, and both of us were falling asleep at the table.  We were completely exhausted.  We ate quickly and then headed straight to bed for a 12-hour sleep! 

The Makerere University Guest House where we stayed for two nights

Today was exciting but also completely overwhelming.  It was like nothing I have ever seen nor could imagine.  As I said, there really aren’t words to describe the scenes from today; it is definitely something you have to experience to understand.  I am definitely going through culture shock, and am just trying to take everything in.  I feel like my head is spinning trying to understand everything that is going on!  I will do my best to share my crazy experience through words and pictures and maybe even some videos!