Ugandan Observations

Africa » Uganda » Central Region
March 3rd 2011

Published: March 5th 2011

Washing dust off my feet, handwashing, drinking Fanta Pineapple, having cold showers, making beads, riding in matatus....these are the norms of my life in Uganda. It has been an incredibly interesting time so far, and living in a semi-rural area between Kampala and Entebbe has given me a lot of insight into the lives of those Ugandans around me, and how they cope daily with things Westerners may s... Read Full Entry

Photos are below

Photos: 29, Displayed: 21

Comment Follow (15) Message

Lara and Al

laandal

After 10 months travelling through Central and South America in 2007-08 we have well and truly settled into life in London (with Lara spending 3 months volunteering in Uganda early in 2011). We are continuing our travels on weekends and for shorter breaks, whilst possibly planning something on a larger scale in the future. But plans can always change - so who knows? If we're not travelling we're probably sitting at our desks in London dreaming of far-off destinations.... (We're very behind on our blogs at the moment. To come: Cinque Terre, French road trip, Aus... full info

Blog Options

Top Photos Blog Map

Print Version

[blog=583140]

[blogger=51853]

6th March 2011

Peter Craig
non-member comment

Another good read
Hi La. Fanta Pineapple set the scene and I could smell the dust. Enjoy Al's visit Love Dad

6th March 2011

Ric
non-member comment

Dust
Great insight into daily life - there are superficial similarities in the daily routine to those in Australia who struggle from day to day but apart from the gum trees, that's where similarities end ... Australia's national infrastructure is vastly different - we complain about a rare 15 minute electricity outage, we have running water, sewerage, gas, sealed roads etc. Your comment about the dust brought back memories of the unsealed roads we traversed while living in Woomera ... I think there is still about 1Kg of fine red dust in the Volvo. Have a great week showing Alan around.

14th March 2011

joseph
non-member comment

I liked your blog but......
those were quite some interesting observations you made about Uganda. I am a Ugandan living in America. I just wanted to correct you alittle bit, your pic of roads and your depiction of Uganda is utterly biased because I have lived in Uganda and not all roads look like that. It has been a trend the world over to think of africa as poor and underdeveloped. I have witnessed the silent and even worse poverty in America and Europe yet nobody talks about it or even takes pics of poverty in America and Europe. My only request to any tourist or visitor to Africa and Uganda in particular is to give the country a fair depiction and wipe out the stigma most westerners hold about Africa, because in actuality, most western economics are filled with high costs of living and unimaginable levels of poverty that go unreported.

16th March 2011

laandal
Lara and Al

Thanks
Hi Joseph, thanks for your comments. And believe me when I say that I meant no offense to Uganda or Ugandans in my blog. In fact I love it here! I agree with much of what you have said. Not all roads look like the roads I have taken photos of, and there are tarred roads in Uganda, although they are few are far between where I am living. I also never meant to portray Uganda as underdeveloped. It has malls, banks, petrol stations etc etc of which are no interest to me because I have them at home (hence the lack of photos). I do think that the gap between the rich and poor is greater than in Europe though. Many of the people living around me have no running water or electricity and welfare is non-existent. I agree that there is poverty in the US and Europe, and I also agree that Africa isn't the basket case it has been made out to be....but as a Ugandan living in the US you would be able to see a disparity of living conditions between the two countries. Having said that I would like to add that Ugandans are some of the friendliest people I have come across, and I would strongly encourage people to visit this wonderful country!

Tot: 0.396s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 24; qc: 139; dbt: 0.1879s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.5mb

Do not copy images or text from this page without requesting and receiving permission. All rights are reserved by the author and photographer.

Contact Lara and Al (laandal) - a lack of a response does not mean that you have permission to use material from this page.

Ugandan Observations

Copyright Notice: All Rights Reserved