Day 2

---

So, it's 2:30 am (I went to bed at 10 but woke up at 1:30...apparently my timeclock is still off...I have to be up at 6 so I should be sleeping!) and I thought I'd write a little update. So, I had heard the traffic was really bad here and that's VERY true. The roads often look like they're only big enough for one car but they are two way roads, which have cars, motorcycles, bikes, and then pedestrians walking on the side, in addition to some major potholes. So far my biggest challenge here has been crossing the street 😊 I did meet the owner of the house, who is an Indian man (in Uganda they call Indians Asian and the Asians were kicked out during the Amin era, but he said he was one of the 100 or so who wouldn't leave). He is an interesting man and was friendly--he is in the field of construction and is now working on some projects in Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan (not the most stable of areas).

It is sort of interesting being a white foreigner here. It seems like there are numerous of them in Kampala, but I keep wondering if I'm getting taken advantage of. For example, I went to the supermarket with Josephine yesterday and then had to go to CRS so she said she'd drop my groceries off at the house. When I got back only part of them were there so I wondered whether the check-out person had purposely not put them all in the bag. It turned out though that they were at Josephine's by mistake. I think I just have to get used to the fact that there are different prices for foreigners, and actually Kampala is a safe city for African standards, but I do still have to watch my stuff....I was going to carry a backpack yesterday and Natasha (woman who let me in) told me to make sure it's on both arms because the motorcycle drivers sometimes just come by and snatch it. Then the owner of the house said that sometimes the workers of houses end up stealing things (many people have a cleaning person and sometimes a cook...he has a cook who has worked here for 10 years but apparently just went to his village or something and hasn't returned and no one has heard from him!) so that didn't make me feel very comfortable! But there are some locks on the cupboards in my room so I started to use those. And the house as I mentioned has an electric gate and there are pretty (really, it's in a nice pattern) bars on the windows and there are screens so you don't need a mosquito net. You guys shouldn't worry, though, it does seem pretty safe and there are all these precautions (guards, etc.) people take.

I walked to an area nearby that had some stores (to get a little more food) and that area is actually not so nice looking...a bunch of shacks and small stores. The grocery store had an armed guard out front which was a little alarming but I guess it's just so no one steals. There seem to be a large group of people who are employed here to just stand guard on residences and offices and let the right people in. Seems like a boring job. There are also a lot of people who are drivers (I wouldn't want to drive here!) and other things like people who take care of the house, etc. As you go down the street near my house, there are tons of aid organizations, and then a random Oracle or something! I'm right by the Heifer Project's office (some of these places are in what looks like a large house). I don't have a sense yet of whether the aid organizations are the major employers or if there are major industries in Kampala. That street is actually a really pretty street with nice houses/buildings...it seems to vary street by street but they all seem okay during the daytime (some are just very hectic). It's very green here and was warm today--in the 80's I assume.

I went to the IRCU office today, which was a little funny, but as I expected. I walked in on time for my appointment and sat by the reception desk, unacknowledged, while the guy at the reception talked on the phone for quite a while. Then the person I wa going to meet with wasn't there so I waited around 20 minutes for him while someone else waiting at reception was snoozing 😊. He actually seems like a good, professional guy, he just has a lot going on because his conference has started. I then met a man who works on conflict resolution and is employed by CRS (Catholic Relief Services). I think he said he got his masters in DC and he also taught at Eastern Mennonite University. He mentioned Zartman who is a prof. at SAIS and will probably be my advisor, so that was cool! He lives in Kenya and has been doing peacebuilding work all over the world for 15 or 20 years. He's here for the conference and then is supposed to facilitate the one I'm going to help plan which will happen in June. We talked for quite a while--it was interesting. Then we went to the CRS office--they only stayed briefly but Hilary had invited me to a party they were having after work. It was fun, I stayed until around 8 and spoke mostly to a few American who are the internal audit team for CRS. They travel 100% of the time and stay in each place for 1-2 months reviewing the work of the office (apparently CRS is in 99 countries!) Seemed like an interesting but tiring job! I was speaking to one guy for quite a while who seemed a little young and then I was talking to the head woman who I told my age to and she said that guy was too young for me (not that I was speaking to him for that reason!) and she should set me up with her 31 year old son! That was funny, I guess I made a decent impression. 😊 Anyway, the group is trying to find a place to listen to music on Thursday before they leave on Friday and they invited me to join them...as long as I can reach them...I didn't have a chance to get a phone yet! So that sounds fun. People have been very friendly and inviting so far. It was so nice of Hilary to include me in this and she also said she'll probably have a bbq or brunch soon that she'll invite me to. I am having more contact with foreigners so far than Ugandans, but that should change once I start working. I should probably try to get back to sleep and stop babbling! Tomorrow I'll be in Entebbe all day for the first day of the conference...I am supposed to meet the driver at the office (a 10 minute walk away) at 7am. Lucky for me, my timing is off enough that this doesn't sounds horrible (although if I end up with 3 1/2 hours of sleep, that won't be good!). Thanks for your e-mails--great to hear from everyone! I haven't been taking pictures because it has seemed weird/conspicuous to stand on the road taking pictures (such as of the hen and her little family that were cute or the truck driving down the road with a bunch of fresh caught fish hanging on the front grill) but I will at some point!

---

Comments

[Elana]

Don't walk around alone! There are armed guards everywhere for a reason!