So, this was a solo trip for me, the boys did not get to go because this was a work trip- don’t feel too bad for them though, they had a great boys weekend in Shanghai while I was gone. This was also my first trip with my new camera that Mark gave me for Christmas. It’s an absolutely fantastic camera with a terrific zoom, I certainly notice a difference in my pictures, I wonder if you will too.
Because of my studies, and who my advisor has contacts with, I get to do fieldwork in Uganda. This is great for a variety of reasons, one being that my friend Christine is Ugandan and at the time I was there was also in country getting work done.
I’m not a great flyer, I get pretty anxious, and usually I have Mark and Alex to buffer me and keep me on track. This was a super long flight, well really two long flights- Shanghai to Doha and then Doha to Entebbe. When I got to immigration check in, you have to pay in USD$ and I was prepared, except that one of my dollars had an ink mark on it so they wouldn’t accept it. I had to ask to run outside and meet Christine to have her help me get more cash to pay my visa. Luckily for me, she’s amazing and had extra money just in case. It was so good to see a friendly face at the airport!
There are two hotels with the same name, one right by the hotel that my boss would be staying at when she joined us later and one across town…. which one do you think I booked my room at, and which one did I show up at after such a long flight? That’s right, but luckily Christine had booked a room she didn’t need because she would stay with her family that night, so I got to steal her room and then we made a reservation for her to join the next day. The hotel was very nice, and the breakfast in the morning was great.
I took this picture below, and the police in the truck were not thrilled that I had taken it, but I’d never see a police truck like this.
This was traffic in the morning on the way out of Kampala, we were on our way to my first meeting of the trip. There is a group named COCTU, Coordinating Office for the Control of Trypanosomiasis, and they were having their annual training and review session. I had to meet with the man in charge in between sessions because he is going to be essential for me getting any work done in Uganda.
Meeting with COCTU was also what was bringing my advisor to town as she had a big project progress report with them at the end of the week.
Christine’s brother Moses drove us around town, and even helped me get a sim card for my phone so I could use the internet while I was out and about in the country. Moses was a really nice guy and so much fun to be around.
The scenery was amazing, and Moses knew every back road and shortcut to keep us out of traffic!
Unfortunately, the day I arrived in town Christine had lost a mentor and professor from the University that she graduated from, and as a result, we needed to go to some meetings about how he would be honored. While it meant we had to postpone a trip to the source of the Nile, I got to see Makerere University, and Christine got to have some say in memorial arrangements.
Kampala is made up of Seven hills, which make up the different neighborhood areas. It’s a very unique landscape with lots and lots of ups and downs while driving. To get to Makerere we had to leave on hill neighborhood and drive up another hill, it was a good opportunity to see a lot of Kampala on one trip.
At Makerere University, there are tons and tons of Marabou Storks. I was in the parking lot killing time while Christine was in her meeting, and the trees in the complex next to us were full of the storks. It’s hard to judge size by these pictures, but these are some ginormous birds, approximately 5 feet tall.
I spent a lot of time wandering around the surrounding buildings with my camera out, a security guard came to see what I was doing and I asked him about the birds- he told me he didn’t know what they were called and walked away. He came back about 10 minutes later with the name of the bird written down for me, he had gone and found someone who did know to get the information for me, it was very nice of him.
I chased this butterfly for a good 10 minutes to be able to get this shot, every time I would get the camera set up he would fly off or close his wings.
In the area behind the Veterinary school building, there were wild flowers every where, and all this beautiful bright red and orange, butterflies and bees buzzing all around, it couldn’t have been prettier if someone had planned it.
While I was walking back to the main building, I found this bird taking off to fly up to a shed in the wildflower garden. I was so excited because I thought I had found a Ugandan crane, the national bird. Its not one as they are pretty rare now and almost never seen in the cities, but it’s still a pretty cool bird.
This was the end of the second day in Kampala, it was such a neat experience, and I’m looking forward to going back. There are a lot more Uganda pictures to come!
Traveling Expat Family 