curt's journal from Uganda-July 30

The earplugs worked perfectly and I got my first good night of sleep. Ready to face the day. Today we went to the US Embassy to “check in.” Wow, talk about tight security! And grumpy too, until we got past the screeners. Once inside, we filled out the paperwork and then moved BACK through the grumpy screening facility so we could go to the library, where we heard there was free internet for American citizens. Free? Yes. Fast? Uh, NO! Apparently, our tax dollars have not upgraded the computers in the Embassy for quite some time. We spent about 30 minutes trying to read our emails, but no one was successful except Courtney, who was able to get off one email. Oh well, the quest for a good connection continues. I know in the grand scheme of things there are worse problems, but I am anxious to share our experiences with friends and family back home.

When we got done there, we went back for a quick lunch. Not much is quick here, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Since there was nothing on our schedule, we decided to take the afternoon to buy some gifts for people back home. It was really enjoyable to get out and check out the city. We haven’t really been out much yet as we adjust to how things work here. It’s been really relaxing though. I got to sit in the front seat of the van to get my first front row view of Uganda driving. Wow! Our driver, the other Moses, is really good and is trusted by our hosts. I wish I could somehow express what Uganda driving is like. Maybe it’s like this in a lot of countries, but this is my first experience with it. There are lines painted on the road, but I don’t think anyone notices them. Weaving in and out of traffic are the boda-bodas, which I’ve already described, stacked with everything from people to bananas to large plumbing pipes and crossbeams. Walking alongside the road and crossing anywhere, and any time, they want to are the pedestrians…some of the bravest souls I’ve ever encountered. Now I know where the term “walking the gauntlet” came from. They even walk down the middle of two-way streets. But, unlike the U.S., pedestrians here have absolutely ZERO right-of-way. Cars and boda-bodas don’t slow down a bit when someone crosses the street in front of them. I might be imagining things, but I think they might even speed up…just a bit. They just assume the person is going to dive out of the way. This happens several times on every city block. I seriously don’t know how people don’t get killed here all the time.

The African Village was touristy, but not too much. Our host/cook Resty assured us that it was real African stuff and that the shop owners expect you to barter. She told us not to buy anything until we had gone into all the shops and checked out the prices. Sure enough prices were different at each shop for the same items. Surprisingly, Leslie was the master barterer. She won’t ever do that at garage sales back home, but she was totally working it! Mary was a pretty good shopper too. Plus, she’s been learning a lot of Luganda, which is helpful at times. You can often hear Resty teaching her new words and phrases. Mary’s background in French is coming in handy. We walked around for a few hours and got some really unique little mementos. It was a really nice afternoon.

On the way home we stopped at a coffee shop/bar because we heard they had wireless internet. Like everything else here, it comes at a cost. It’s a little spendy, but it worked faster than the US Embassy! Everywhere you go, people are charging you coming and going. The other day, a policeman standing on the corner stopped Pastor Moses for easing into a crosswalk at the wrong time. I don’t get that. You can practically plow down a pedestrian everywhere else, but go into CERTAIN crosswalks and you’re in trouble. He ended up having to…um…pay a “special fee” to the policeman to let it slide. Otherwise, they take your license away until you stand before a judge and pay an earth-shattering fee. They take their traffic laws seriously here. (wink, wink, nod, nod).