I arrived in Kampala on October 2nd at 7:30 a.m.. The flight between London and Kampala had been much smoother and I had been able to sleep but I was still tired. On my flight I had met two interesting ladies sitting next to me. One was an older British woman who had been working with humanitarian organizations in Uganda for a number of years, the other was a young Ugandan woman, trained as a social worker but acting as a consultant for a local charity. It was great to hear their insights and we are still following up.
Upon arriving at the airport we were met by a driver sent by the UCA (Ugandan Cooperative Alliance) who took us to a hotel in downtown Kampala close to the Nakasero market, which even early on a Sunday morning was bustling.
For the first two nights we stayed at the Tourist Hotel, a cheapish hotel which offers the essentials (having seen the inside of the Imperial Royal Hotel in Kampala I'm not really sure how to describe the rooms in either hotel but they were quite opposite. I'm not saying the tourist hotel wasn't nice but it was simple, not luxurious like the Imperial.)In any case the Tourist did offer free high speed internet and had a nice cafe. The only real downside was that it's proximity to the market meant constant noise 24 hours a day. Kampala is generally a very noisy place.
After settling in the hotel room Carolyn, the other CCA intern and I, adventured out for some food, and we ended up with what was so far the worst meal I had in Kampala. Matoke (mashed plantain) with beef chunks in a tomato broth. Yuck. We then returned to the hotel room and jet lag got the better of me so I slept. In the evening we went salsa dancing at a Mexican restaurant and had a nice Indian dinner which was great
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Finding an Apartment
Before leaving Ottawa Carolyn and I decided that we were going to live together. On our first day of work our supervisor took us to look at a variety of apartments in different corners of Kampala. By Tuesday we had settled on a furnished three bedroom apartment in an area called Muyenga, halfway down one of Kampala's many hills. The apartment is very beautiful with shiny tile floors and wood trim, it also has a modern kitchen with a stove and fridge. In case you were wondering, it also has running water and electricity, except when the power is out. Power outages have been a problem since I arrived in Uganda with one occurring approximately every other day. During the first power outage at our home we discovered that our apartment has cockroaches and a very frightened mouse. However, I haven't seen the mouse since the first power outage and the cockroaches for some reason only seem to come out during power outages and are very easy to kill. On Monday we had a third roommate move in named Mo from India. So far, I quite like our living arrangements.
Work
Everyone at work is very lovely. It's a bit hard to describe the building I work in, but basically there are two adjacent buildings which are connected by a small foot bridge. On the one side of the bridge is the main office where my supervisor works and on the other is the office that I work in which is a fairly small room with six people and five desks. The math doesn't quite work out but it's okay we seem to be able to get work done anyway. On my third day of work there was some confusion because I was asked by my supervisor to speak with the Microfinance manager who informed me that he was hoping that I would partially fill the role of Gender and HIV officer. I was a bit distressed by this because I had, had the opportunity to do this work in other countries but I was keen on the peace and conflict position I had hired to do. Luckily by Friday after some clarification from my supervisor, we had established that there had been a mis-communication and that I would in fact be doing peace and conflict work. This week has been a bit faster paced with meetings and things to do and I think I am going to enjoy working here quite a bit. It's also worth mentioning that the Secretary General of the UCA has taken us out for lunch a couple of times which has also proven to be quite enjoyable.
Socializing
I am getting to know people here in Kampala, mostly through contacts that I had before I came, in addition to my neighbours and coworkers. I have been out for dinner several evenings, often at Indian or Italian restaurants and I'm sure in time some of these contacts will become close friends.
Thanksgiving
As I did when I was in South Africa, on Monday night I prepared Thanksgiving Dinner. I prepared Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatos and Green Beans and our guests, a work colleague and one of Carolyn's friends contributed a lovely pumpkin (squash) dish, salad and drinks. Cooking the chicken proved to be quite a challenge because the gas element in our oven kept extinguishing. Since I'm afraid of matches we had to get one of the workers at the apartment, Peter, to relight it for us. The first time Peter lit the oven there was a small explosion in the oven but Peter was fortunately unharmed. I also had the opportunity to talk to my family on the phone late Monday night which was wonderful, although it did make me a bit homesick.
Why Yesterday was Awesome
On my way to get a Matatu (minibus) yesterday morning a car pulled up beside me and stopped. Rather than being a boda boda looking to pick me up I was delighted to discover that it was my nextdoor neighbours who I had not previously met. In a twist of fate I soon discovered that the woman in the couple, Olivia, is a program office for the UN High Commission on Human Rights. Excitedly, I explained my internship to her and she invited me to attend a screening of Uganda's Universal Periodic Review at the Office of the High Commission on Human Rights the same night. Olivia and her husband James also gave me a ride to work.
Before attending the screening I also had the opportunity to meet with the Executive Director of the Center for Conflict Resolution, a peace and conflict organization in Kampala. I quite enjoyed our meeting and hearing about their organization. Their collection of publications on Small Arms and Light Weapons alone was enough to make this academic's jaw drop. I am also eager to explore further opportunities to work together with the organization.
At about four o'clock yesterday afternoon I hopped on a boda boda (a motor cycle which you ride on the back of which are quite unsafe, I don't particularly like and only ride out of necessity) and headed for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The driver got lost so of course I was late, but what I did catch of the Universal Periodic Review I quite enjoyed. Despite my fascination with the UN I've never had the opportunity to watch in full any of it's proceedings and this offered an excellent opportunity to learn about the human rights situation in Uganda. I also had the opportunity to network with others working on similar issues to me, which is important because there is no one else within the UCA who is doing conflict work and the only people within the organization who have experience in the area, are those who have experienced it directly.
So, I think that's about enough writing for now.
I really enjoy reading your Blog!!
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