Until Next Time, Uganda!

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Well, this will be my last blog post from Uganda. I honestly can’t believe it’s over already.



The last few hours before leaving Mbarara ended up seeming a bit frantic as Brit and I tried to get everything organized for Susanne before we left. She and Joseph would have a couple more communities to go to for the second vaccination campaign and we wanted to make sure she had all the supplies she needed before we left her on her own. We also had to say all of our goodbyes, which is always, always hard. Having spent two summers on the project now, leaving everyone is so much harder as I’ve grown close to all these wonderful people. It’s difficult to be excited for the next chapter of my life when I feel the guilt of leaving so many great people behind. Last year I knew I was coming back this summer so I could tell myself that I will be seeing all these people again in a year, but this time I don’t know when I’ll be back. Keep your fingers crossed for me that the stars align and I can come back again soon.



Brit and I packed the car, and along with Anna and Anna Two who were carpooling with us, we made our way to Entebbe. Brit left for Europe the night after we arrived, leaving me to have some much needed downtime and give me a chance to catch up on all the blogs I was behind on. Besides blogging, I just relaxed by the pool, spent some time with friends in town for a few days, and tried to kick the cold Brit passed on to me before leaving. Although, late nights out and smoking hookah was probably not the smartest way to get over a cough! Oh well, had to make the most of my last days here.



I actually will miss this place with light switches that randomly electrocute you when you turn them on, and its seatbelts that come undone when you shift in your seat too much. However, I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again with no worries of waking up tangled in a mosquito net if I have a restless sleep. And having uneventful restaurant experiences where service and food are reliable and not a gamble each time (more on that later in this entry). And despite now being quite skilled at playing Frogger every time I want to cross the street, it’ll be nice not having to risk my life on a daily basis to do so. And of course, I’m excited to see all my family and friends back home, especially my handsome little boy, Monty!



So speaking of restaurants, I think I’ll finish off this blog with a list compiled by Lena, Brit and I to give everyone back home an idea of what it’s like to dine at a restaurant here. This list is stolen from Lena’s blog. Enjoy!



- We sat outside and the table had a layer of dust on it so I asked if they can give it a wipe, she came with a cloth, wiped half the table then dropped it on the floor (the nasty dusty dirty floor) and picked it up with the layer of dirt on it and continued wiping

- Ketchup as pizza sauce

- Sweet and sour sauce with red food colouring as ketchup

- Anything with veggies is canned veggies

- We will be a group of 4+ and they only give us one menu because they are shared between the whole restaurant

- Waitress brought the wrong plate of food and after taking the first bite we realized it wasn’t what we ordered (curry type dish so it was hard to tell by looking at it) and she tried to blame us saying we should have known and not taken a bite

- Ordered an avocado and tomato sandwich, received a sandwich with bread and onions (no tomato or avocado)

- Ordered a burger that came with no patty (thankfully with this one when I asked about it, it’s just cause they had forgotten it and it was already made in the kitchen)

- Waitress came and took our condiments away for another table in the middle of our meal

- At one of the restaurants we regularly go to, a waiter keeps asking us about getting a sponsorship to come to Canada. We keep telling him we have no idea and we can’t help him but he hasn't given up

- Two of us order the same thing and they come back to say they only have enough for one of us (happened twice with two different dishes)

-This is consistent in most restaurants - pictures in menus are probably just taken off the internet because they in no way match what’s on their menu

- Dinner interrupted by an elephant running through the restaurant

- Ordering the same dish, at the same restaurant, on multiple different occasions, and it coming out different every time

- Two of us ordered the same dish, same day, same time, came out with two completely different sauces

- Two of us order the same dish, same day, at the same time, and they come out 30 minutes apart

- They have 10 different banana plates on the menu, yet if you ask to buy a banana they can’t do it

- Forget about asking to substitute anything for anything or slightly changing something on the menu

- Complete inconsistency on wait time (Anywhere from 20 minutes to almost two hours)

- It’s a pleasant (and rare) surprise if all dishes we order are available that day

- However, there are things on the menu that if you try to order them, they say they don’t have, nor will they ever have, nor have they ever had



Alright, well I hope you enjoyed that! But now my plane to Germany is boarding. I’m off to bounce around my favourite country and drink too much of my favourite beer with two of my favourite ladies. Can’t wait to see Michelle and Sheila in a few hours! See you in a few days Canada!

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