William Driscoll

I woke at 4am to make the first Kalita bus at 5. After finishing some last minute packing, making a final sweep, and then taking a second to soak in one last look at the place that had been home for the last three months, I rushed to the first round-about in town. The spot being the designated location of departures for the Kalitas. Of course I wasn’t surprised to find that no one else had done the same. At 5:10 there was still only two other people accompanying me on the idling bus, a young mother and her baby. She seemed to be just annoyed as I that we were somehow duped into showing up early. You will never find an empty seat on a Kalita, therefore, the bus didn’t fill up nor depart before ... read more

We arrived at the gates to find the place seemingly deserted. Looking at our watches we concluded that the memorial center would probably open soon enough. We walked up the long entranceway to the main building looking for anyone who might know when the center opened. I gazed around the grounds thinking how normal the school looked. Essentially, it looks the same as it did back in April of 1994. Had I not been told, I would have never guessed that this open hilltop was the sight of one of the worst single acts of genocide in modern day history. After news of mass killings throughout the country reached Butare Tutsis in area flocked to churches in hopes of hiding from the killers. There, authorities and priests convinced them that they should go to the college ... read more

Study on Ugandan Transportation: An Outsider’s Perspective The following is a look into the different means of getting oneself from one location to another in Uganda. Some of these options are unique to the country, some to East Africa. While other options are a bit more familiar. The purpose of this essay is to give the reader a perspective into Ugandans daily lives through their use of transportation. If safety is your main concern, as it is often mine considering what I have seen since arriving in this country, then walking is simply the way to go. Sure, everything seems to be really far from where you are but hey, it’s good for you! Or so I keep telling myself as I wonder down endless dirt roads on foot cursing the heat and the sweat that ... read more

Whether due to language barriers or cultural differences the randomness of some conversations with Fort Portal… (ites? Fort Portalans?) is always perplexing, but often times downright amusing. I had just spent the evening at Farrah and Emerald’s house; all three of us crowded around a small laptop trying to hold our breaths - straining to hear the pirated DVD through the computer speakers. Recently, this has become our favored pastime, especially when the power is out. After a few episodes of the Office Emerald concedes she doesn’t understand British humor and we decide to call it a night, a fitting end to the slow weekend. Em suggests I stay but my semi-comfy bed and frozen snickers bar in the freezer at home persuade me to decline my hostess’s offer. Lately, frozen snicker bars have become my ... read more

I had been waiting for this day for two years. No, I have been weighed down under complete anticipation of this momentous day for eight long years! It was finally here and I had reached the culmination of my East African vacation, Election Day in Nairobi Kenya. We started the day off taking a matatu from Moshi to Arusha Tanzania. The previous night was spent at a school Emerald had worked at two years earlier at the foot of Kilimanjaro with spectacular views of the mountain. She wanted to surprise the kids so when she showed up they were overjoyed to see her. The school has a couple hundred students but houses thirty or so children who are blind, have albinism, or other sun-related diseases. In Arusha we grabbed lunch in the shade of a garden ... read more

Finishing off a wonderful weekend, I traveled up north with my roommates to the Semuliki National Park. Now, Amanda and Janis are two of the best (and prettiest) housemates one could ever hope to find in the FP greater area, if not the whole of Africa. I say this because it’s true, but more to the point, I say this because they bribe me with amazing dinners and even better deserts. They have literally turned Banana-fritters into an art form. We got an early start to the day leaving at 6:30 am in a privately hired SUV. To get to Semuliki National Park we had to pass through the northern edge of the Ruwenzoris. The drive down to the Semuliki Valley floor was simply breath taking. It was truly impressive to see the seemingly impossible cultivation ... read more

Emerald and I were enjoying lunch at a local restaurant, deep in conversation when a smart (well dressed) looking gentleman walked over from his table to politely introduce himself. A bit jaded from cute children demanding that I give them “their” money, or the shifty characters continually proposing obvious scams that promise to make us both rich, I waited for the next less-then-entertaining business proposition. Instead, he explained how he is a program manager at the local radio station (Voice of Toro) and wanted to put us on the radio. He said he had overheard us talking and thought we both had good radio voices. Now, I know everyone hates the sound of their own voice, but I would have never expected to be approached with such an offer. We were both surprised, but more then ... read more