Monday, January 30, 2012

What I've Noticed

Normally I miss a lot of the things that happen around me as I would not consider myself to be very observant. Last week I actually commented that I miss a lot in Bundibugyo when we are walking because I stare at the ground the entire time looking for lines of Safari Ants to avoid. However, this weekend in Kampala I have noticed a few things…

A truck that said, “Water Is Life” with water gushing out onto the road and into the gutter.

People shoveling raw sewage onto the street (which I noticed because I was looking to see where the dreadful smell was coming from…NOT ok).

A sign in a parking garage that said, “Caution! Flammable Substance!” And my thought was…what?! where!? Is the whole garage going to explode at any moment?! (I quickly found my way to the exit.)

There are SOOOO many signs here that either make NO sense, have numerous misspellings, or are just inappropriate (but usually not on purpose). There will be a blog post in the future with a collection of these signs.

Seeing men walking around carrying automatic riffles just seems normal.

Pulling in front of oncoming traffic doesn’t even cause me to flinch any longer…they’ll stop…usually.

When there is a car accident a mob of people will quickly surround the scene of the accident and all start yelling...hmmmm...I don't get this one.

You can transport ANYTHING on a motorcycle. Seriously...furniture, refrigerators, bikes, a life sized wooden giraffe, live animals, an entire family...seen it all.

Waiting in line for 30 minutes at the bank to find out they can’t even do what I needed is not even annoying, just typical. (And the five people that got in line in front of me was fine…maybe they had to go run an errand in between waiting or something…typical.)

Waiting for my food for 45 min to an hour doesn’t even phase me anymore. I can’t even fathom the idea of “Fast Food” working in Uganda. (I think when I get back to the US I will be blown away by how quickly things happen.) Today I ordered an iced tea and I went and ran errands and came back for it 30 minutes later to find that it was almost ready.

Ugandans are super friendly, polite, and helpful (for the most part…occasionally I do hear them mocking me as I walk away, repeating what I said in a high nasally voice, which is how Americans sound to them).

I LOVE living here.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Uganda From Above

Last week we had some visitors come to Bundibugyo, and they had a MAF flight come pick them up at the end of their trip to take them back to Kampala to catch a flight home (the only airport in Uganda is just outside of Kampala). I needed to be in Kampala this week anyway (the Johnsons are attending a conference and I will be teaching Rwenzori Moving School) so I asked if I could squeeze into the plane with them and spend a couple extra days in Kampala. What a treat it was to fly across Uganda, see how beautiful Bundibugyo is from above, and enjoy a smooth one hour ride (instead of the bumpy 8 hour drive we normally have). Enjoy the pictures from the flight :)
Lilli and Patton seeing me off at the airstrip
The kiddos were excited to see a plane in Bundibugyo!
Preparing for takeoff 

The beautiful jungle of Uganda :)

Love those Rwenzori Mountains
So thankful to be flying over the Bwamba Road instead of driving on it :)

Kampala is in sight!
Just one hour later and we have arrived!
The MAF airstrip

Monday, January 2, 2012

Happy New Year Bundibugyo Style

Here's a link to Anna's Blog conveying the events of our New Year's Eve celebration :)

Happy New Year!