Uganda Visit - November 2006

 

It took several months for me to prepare to go to Africa.  I needed a Yellow Fever shot, and when I went to the International Doctor, he strongly urged me to also get typhoid, diptheria, pertussis, tetanus, and hepatitis B.  There are no shots for malaria, and if a person gets it, they have relapses with it for life.  So I got the most expensive one he recommended, Malarone.  One of them would have given halucinations, and I didn't want that one!  They warned me that one of my arms would be really sore.  It turned out that I actually had to sleep in the recliner so I would't roll over onto it.  However, I was pleased that I didn't have any bad reactions to the shots nor the malaria medicine.

 

I have never liked experiencing jet lag when going to Europe, so I decided to try a plan I read about on the internet.  Two months before my flight, I started getting up a half hour earlier each week.  By the time I went, I was comfortable getting up at 2:00 AM.  Happy to say, I didn't have a bit of jet lag in Africa nor when returning home.  It took a couple of weeks for me to return to my regular schedule back home, however.  That's a lot better than being brain dead with my eyes wide open.

 

My passport was still current, but I needed an entry Visa into Uganda.  I paid $100 to have a courier take it from Rapid City to the Uganda Embassy in Washington, DC.  I knew that my son and his family had planned to get theirs at the airport in Entebbe.  However, because they didn't have roundtrip return airfare, British Air in London made them purchase return airfare, and then refunded it when they were accepted into Uganda. Upon arriving in Entebbe, I saw people easily getting theirs for $30, so I will buy it there next time.

 

I scheduled long layovers at Minneapolis and London, so I would be sure I wouldn't lose my luggage.  After the 9 hour overnight flight to London, I got a hotel room for a night to rest, rather than waiting at the airport all day for the next overnight flight to Uganda.  Then the next day I got to the airport in plenty of time for the 9 hour overnight flight to Entebbe. 

 

I wish I had my camera out as we were coming in to land at Entebbe.  There was a beautiful sunrise with red clouds.  As I looked out the airplane window, I could see gorgeous Lake Victoria.  Between us and the lake were big, flat topped trees silhouetted in black in front of the pink sky. 

 

I walked out the front door of the airport, pulling my heavy suitcases.  The sky was beautiful blue, and the sun was bright.  Many days while there, I noticed how the beautiful skies reminded me of South Dakota.  The kids arrived about 10 minutes later.  During that time, men would come up and say, "Madam, mumble mumble?" (something with a strong foreign accent).  I figured they were taxi drivers, and I would reply that my son was coming to get me.  I later found out that they speak very softly to their elders out of respect.  Many times during my trip, I would try to get people to speak up, but then they would speak even softer!

 

I was afraid of spending any extra time in Entebbe because of its history.  However, it was a lovely, clean town, with a nice, small airport.  I had previously told my son that I wanted to go straight to the capital of Kampala upon arriving.  And so, we were soon in Kampala, stuck in horrible gridlock traffic for hours.  The main problem is that rather than public busses, they have zillions of 12-passenger taxivans everywhere.  One can always see several in every block.  There are no stoplights and no street signs.  It is an ancient city that wasn't made for modern traffic.  Vehicles squeeze in where they can, and there are bicycles and motorcycles everywhere.  Most of them were carrying riders.  The women passengers ride sidesaddle, which looks like it would be a real balancing act.  There was a constant mixture of foul smells including vehicle exhaust, animals, sanitation smells and charcoal smoke.  It was one of several times that I thanked God for my poor sense of smell.  We tried various side streets, and they were gridlocked there, too. 

 

After a very lengthy ride, we pulled into a lovely hotel with gate keeper and high security walls around it.  Voila!  It looked like something out of the movies.  There were marble floors and high ceilings, and all the staff was wearing uniforms or tuxedos.  The rooms were air conditioned unlike most hotels that have screened windows.  Thus we didn't need to sleep under mosquito nets.  Their restaurant was very elegant.

 

We spent the next day shopping in Kampala.  We went to a nice mall that caters to international people.   At the end of the day, we got groceries.  My daughter-in-law called ahead and had the milk and meat frozen.  We packed the frozen foods in large coolers on top of our van.  The next morning, we started early for Soroti. .  Our van wasn't air conditioned, and the equatorial sun was hot and direct.  However, as long as we were moving, it was fairly comfortable. 

 

It was a 7 hour trip on previously paved highways that have large potholes and washboard ruts.  Many vehicles came toward us on our side of the road until just the last moment, because they wanted to drive on the better side.  We sometimes drove on their side, also.  They would usually flash their headlights and their blinkers (sometimes both at the same time) as they were approaching, thinking we didn't see them.  (My son later told me he if would turn on his headlights at dusk, the other drivers would signal to him that he was wasting his battery)  When we were following trucks, they would sometimes signal with their blinkers that it was safe to pass, or that it wasn't safe to pass.  We didn't trust their help.  Some trucks had their suspension so warped, that they looked like they were driving sideways as they approached us.

 

I couldn't help thinking that Uganda looked a lot like Iowa.  Located between the Congo and Kenya, they usually have ample rainfall for 8 months of the year.  However, the cornfields looked just a little different than Iowa with round mud huts and thatched roofs located throughout.  We saw several other fields with different crops, but a lot of land areas were undeveloped.

 

I was relieved when we arrived in Soroti and drove up to their home.  Actually, it is called a compound with high concrete walls, barb wire on top, large steel gates and an armed guard.  Unfortunately, city workers had been digging a trench across the properties and hadn't filled them in very well.  We dropped our front wheels down as we tried to enter the compound.  Neighborhood kids came to see the sight as the Grandma had come to town.  Their three dogs were excitedly greeting us, as well.  With great effort and commotion, the men got the vehicle in the compound.

 

We spent the rest of the day unpacking, resting and catching up on errands.  The grandchildren needed to run outside awhile, and climb their favorite tree.  (Thankfully, the picture of the big spiders in the tree was taken 8 months later.  I will check the tree thoroughly on my next trip) I enjoyed checking my email on their internet.  It is really sluggish, but greatly appreciated.  Now I knew why they usually send me two of the same emails.  I couldn't tell when mine was sent.  We were glad that the electricity was working that day.  And of course as every day, my son was servicing the two vans.  They try to keep at least one of them in operating condition at all times.  Their mechanic comes by bicycle, whenever "Uganda time" works for him.  He is very loyal, and even rides out in the country if they break down on the road.  Cell phones work nearly everywhere, and are a vital communication.  We were home!