Un-planning the plans: I was warned

Sooo, I was supposed to be in a province called Mbarara working at a regional hospital called Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH); HOWEVER, I am in Kampala. I will actually be here for two weeks. In order to travel to Mbarara, I had to stop in Kampala because I was told this is where I would find a bus to take me to Mbarara. I planned to stay in Kampala for just a day. That would have given me enough time to rest up a bit and register myself at the American Embassy. Little did I know I was going to be here for two whole weeks. I guess there was a misunderstanding between my mentor (Dr. Nabukera), the physician with whom I will be working (Dr. Mwanga), and me about when I was scheduled to arrive in the Country. Apparently Dr. Mwanga has to travel to the U.S (D.C) for a conference from May 27, 2012 through June 3^rd. This means my project will be delayed for two weeks. I am basically here waiting for Dr. Mwanga to return from the U.S so we can travel to Mbarara together. I was told she wanted me to wait here for her because she didn't think traveling via bus to the province alone would be safe for me, especially since I don’t speak the local language and I have 3 huge suitcases with me..... “you could attract a lot of attention with all those bags”, a woman told me.

  Since I am in Kampala, I plan to make the best of it. My plan is to see and learn as much as I can.

Meeting Ugandans

Who says traveling alone is boring? Well, not for me. Though I am staying in a hotel in a somewhat quiet neighborhood, I take walks around the neighborhood/town and I have actually met some people (friends) that way. You know what they say, the best way to get oriented to a city and its people is through the local people. The local dialect spoken here in Kampala is called Luganda, which I know nothing about (very naïve of me I know). Fortunately, English is the official Language in Uganda, so most people I’ve met to far actually speak English.

Seeeeee it is not so hard to meet new people

The 3 little friends...they are beautiful!!!!

More friends:)

Ugandans are very welcoming and friendly, except for one man who I met on my very first day here. I ran into him as I was looking for a coffee shop where I could access the internet. I asked him where I could find one, "I don't understanding you" he said with a very heavy british accent that I found difficulty to understand at first, "why don't you tell me what you're asking in Luganda so I can better understand you" he added. I told him that I don't speak Luganda and that is when he said "you're Ugandan, why don't you speak your language?" I told him I was not Ugandan but he insisted that I was. He even said that he knew me and my family. I couldn't help laughing when he said that. When he saw me laughing, he suddenly became upset and walked away from me. hahaha This just made my day!!!!

People are not the only ones I have been meeting here, since I arrived, I have probably met thousands (with a little exaggeration) of mosquitos. God forbid, but I think It will be a miracle if I leave this country without getting diagnosed with malaria. Oh, and there are other insects...I HATE THEM!!!

This thing was crawling on me. I screamed so loudly when I saw it and of course everyone started laughing at me

Anyway, I have a lot more to say about my journey so far, but my fingers are getting tired to typing so this is all I have for now….UNTIL NEXT TIME