After almost 20 hours of flight time from MSP airport, with layovers in Amsterdam and Tanzania (Kilimanjaro), and a quick flight delay, I finally arrived in Entebbe Uganda around 11:30 pm. After going through customs and taking out some Uganda Shilling, I was met by the driver and taken to Sunset Entebbe, the hotel where I stayed my first night. We arrived at about 12:30 and of course after sleeping about 7-8 hours on the plane it was a struggle to get sleep. I went to bed around 5 am and was (luckily) woken up by a phone call from the manager of the house I am staying in in Kampala after snoozing my 5 alarms. A driver took me from Entebbe to Kampala and I officially feel like the adventure has begun!
I am staying in a house with 9 bedrooms and there are 4 (soon to be 5) other people staying here. We all have our own rooms and there is a lovely patio on the top floor where I am currently typing to the sound of bright green leaves rustling in the wind. When I arrived, I met the house manager (M) and one of the housekeepers and was shown to my room. M was so kind and after getting my stuff settled took me on a little tour of Kampala where I’ll be for the next 4 weeks!
While it’s the rainy season, I have been lucky enough that it has been sunny all day so far (the universe is clearly trying to apologize for the whopping 9 inches of snow Minneapolis got the day before I left). On our little tour we walked by some small stores where I will be buying fruit and other groceries, coffee shops, restaurants. and the mall which is just a few minutes walk a way from our house. The streets are BUSTLING with people walking, cars driving, and wild motorbike (boda boda) drivers bringing people from place to place. The closest thing I can compare the streets here to are the game frogger. People are truly strategic when trying to cross the roads as the drivers are speeding by and boda bodas are weaving through traffic. While the newer roads have walkways, the older roads do not and you have to walk on the side of the road. I swear if you reach a hand out you could grab on to the passing cars and hop in! Luckily we can walk most places but Uber and other drivers are here for further journeys and day trips. Today is going to be a day of rest and getting used to the house and the city and then I’ll be starting in the hospital this week!
Images left to right: patio on the top floor of the house, view outside my window, my bedroom for the next 4 weeks
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