botabota

So yesterday I went into town for the first time in daylight. We got a ride in a car into the center of the city with a nurse from Jean’s school and the mother of the cutest little baby boy, Michael. They are in the process of adopting him from an orphanage here and I got to play with for the whole ride!

Then we walked to the mall so I got a first hand look at the crazy traffic with motorcycles and buses and cars and people, and police directing traffic with whistles but completing disregarding traffic lights.

We walked to the only mall in Uganda and went to ‘Nakumat,’ a grocery store from Kenya which is comparable to a supermarket in the states. The entire mall was completely unexpected, with its escalators and modern stores. This was an atypical experience though.

Then we went to a store called ‘Banana Boat’ which is a souvenir/craft store and I got to see a range of traditional goods which were all amazing and I wanted to get something for everyone I know. It was good to have my cousin Jean there with me because she would tell me if things were over priced or if I could get it somewhere else.

Jean is the best cultural broker, I could ask her anything and because we grew up together she explain everything and contextualize it for me. Like wherever we go, people point and yell ‘Muzungu’ which means white person. Naturally I would just smile and wave, but I wanted to make sure with Jean. So I learned that it’s fine to that with women and kids, but I should just ignore the guys because a marriage proposal would be sure to follow.

They best part of the day was the ride home, we hired a botabota, or a motorcycle for the ride home. Jean haggled it down to the appropriate price since it’s always jacked up for Muzungus, and we both climbed on. And it was amazing! zooming through traffic and around turns. It’s definitely the best way to see the city, except when you get stuck behind a diesel truck. Since Jean was in front of me it was easy to hold on and there was about 2″ in back to hold onto. It only got a little uncomfortable closer to home on the unpaved roads which are really bumpy.

Today is the last day of school and we’re having a party with all of the food the kids brought in. Later we are going to Friday market, which has everything you can imagine at really good prices. So hopefully I can get some longer skirts.

It’s only a couple days until I leave to go out west to Kagando hospital where I will be for the next six months.

Peace