Am I A City Girl After All?? (Part II)

The focus of our trip was eating and shopping and we were highly successful in both endeavors. We enjoyed authentic New York style pizza, juicy fresh hamburgers from a local butcher, almost-as-good-as-my-momma’s lasagna, and the darkest, richest chocolate ice cream! Not once did we eat rice and beans – And not once did we miss it!

Thanks to a little research ahead of time, we had discovered a hidden away boutique hotel with a reasonably priced spa. Once there we were speechless. This place was incredible! It turns out rooms went for $300/night…but they had real American mattresses and big comfy chairs and deep soaking bathtubs and air-conditioning!! We considered splurging for a night – but settled for lunch instead. They actually served salad! (Lettuce is hard to come by in Uganda.) We relaxed and leisurely ate our lunch as we looked out over the beautiful lush gardens and for a brief moment forgot that we were thousands of miles from home.

The next day was devoted to shopping. There are basically two places to shop in Kampala: Garden City (the mall…and I use that term loosely) and the ShopRite/Game Center. ShopRite is the closest thing they have to a grocery store while Game is more like Wal-mart. You can’t imagine our level of excitement with being able to go to these places. Here we can buy things that we can’t find in Mbale. Things like: pillows, pickles, marshmallows, bacon, deli-meat, colgate toothpaste, cherrios, shower curtains, postcards, rugs, cake mix, food coloring, books, broccoli, cream cheese, scented candles and I could go on and on. I went down each aisle giddy as a kindergartener on the first day of school – “Oh – they have marshmallows…Come look, I found cherrios!” It was the simple joy of shopping for the simple things. Crystal was close to hysterics when she discovered wooden clothespins! And there were tears when Jennifer found pickles.

We left Kampala with full stomachs and full shopping bags. I was not looking forward to going back to our simple small town of Mbale. This shocked me – was this southern country bumpkin a city girl after all?

Am I A City Girl After All?? (Part I)

Life in Mbale isn’t difficult, especially when compared to other towns in Uganda. There are (small) hotels, restaurants (if you don’t mind waiting 2hrs), and supermarkets (picture a country general store…not Publix). But when school let out for a whole week, the teachers knew exactly what we wanted….a trip to the city!

Not having our own vehicle, Jennifer, Crystal and I got up at 6:30 am to catch the 7:00 am bus to Kampala. It turns out the 7:00 am actually left at 8:30 am – so we sat on the parked bus and watched as the town around us began to wake up. We were finally on our way and I was sitting next to a window which I opened for fresh air when I felt something crawling on my hand. I look down to find a baby roach making its way up my arm. Calmly I flick it to the ground and smash it with my sandal. I look over at my friend who shrugs her shoulders and offers some hand sanitizing gel.

Somewhere along the way our driver pulls over for a bathroom break. Only – there are no facilities….folks just get off the bus and do their business on the side of the road and then we load up. (I just held it.) Further down, it is almost time for lunch. The driver pulls over and our bus is immediately surrounded with men and women selling roasted beef and chicken on sticks. These are shoved in our windows as the sellers shout their prices. (I got out a granola bar from my backpack.)

Four hours after leaving Mbale, our bus reaches Kampala, our destination. Or at least I think this is it. Everyone else has disembarked, but technically, the bus hasn’t reached the bus park due to heavy traffic. After sitting on the empty bus for several minutes I go to the front and confirm with the driver that this is actually where we should get off. It is intimidating to leave our quiet bus because outside there is only mass confusion. Cars are everywhere going in every direction – there are no traffic lanes. Bicycles are weaving in and out of the parked traffic and car horns are constantly filling the air. Being three white girls – we attract attention right away and before I even step foot off the bus, a taxi driver has grabbed my bag and is leading me to his car. We haggle over the price, but soon we are on our way out of the confusing city center and toward our get-a-way guesthouse.

Whew! That’s just the first few hours of our trip – I need a break and will post more later.

You Might Be A Redneck If...

Growing up in the country, I have seen a lot of different things in the back of pick-up trucks. It could be a load of hay, produce, fill dirt, or firewood. Maybe an old washer machine or an ugly old couch. I have even seen all my earthly belongings packed in the back of my dad’s truck a time or two. But this past Sunday on the way to church, I saw something propped in the back of a pick-up truck that I had never seen before….And no, it wasn’t 45 Ugandans squeezed together in the back – that is actually a normal sight around here. But what I saw was a wooden coffin being held steady by two men sitting next to it. What made it more bizarre was the comment from the missionary I was riding with. “They must be rich; you usually see coffins transported on bicycles.”