It has a week and somethigs days of rain and grasshoppers, and it (the rain) has made it hard for me running around on 'open roof' (boda boda). Today, I got out of the house dressed so well only to turn around after a 20min rise, go back home and cahnge clothes because my pants were covered by mud. Well, at least the air was purified by some morning rain.
Talking about grasshopper: it was by sister's birthday on Saturday (which she had no idea it was) and she loves grasshoppers, so I went to Nakasero market (right in the middle of the city) to get her some. The boda boda man took me right infront of all these huge baskets full of raw and cooked one, of course, separated. As soon I got back on the boda, I saw people sneezing and covering their noses, and immediately, there was a traffic jam, and my nostrils started burning. Soon I found out that a few yards away, the police had releazed sneezing gas (people called it tear gas although they were covering their noses). It was such an uncomfortable thing and I am grateful that I was not any closer to the source. I cannot imagine how the people at the Constitution Square felt.
Well ladies and gentlemen, the reason there was sneezing gas was because an opposition party (Kiiza Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change) was banned from using the Constitution Square to launch its party cards. When people assemble, peacefully, the police used the gas to disperse them. The reason for doing this, at least as given by a representative of the government via radio, was that they were congesting and poluting the city. Ladies and gentleman, we have a democracy!!!
Oh, something random, I have recently found out that I was in the Burundian airport when the preseident to Rwanda, Habyarimana, was short down in 1994. I, Peter and others had traveled to Germany with Buganda Road Primary School for a children's festival. I do not remember if we were supposed to land there in the first place or we could not land in Uganda at the moment, but I remember being confused sitting for hours in an empty airport. There were no explanation, I guess because our guides did not want to scare us. When I returned to Uganda, I just heard and saw the aftermath of the genocide, but I never connected my time in Burundi to the events of the genocide.
This past Sunday, I ran the 10K MTN race in 55min. Well, it might be slow for many of you, but it's really fast for my sister Esko! I did not get a certificate because, as a true Africa, I missed the deadline, but I ran with friends from DFCU Bank, a major sponsor of the marathon. The money raised went to lots of wonderful causes, and I came out feeling great about myself. There was a 42.198K and as always, the first 5 men were Kenyan. A Ugandan woman redeemed us by coming first and a Kenyan, second. A funny moment came when I and another girl were passing all these men, and as we passed one, he started yelling to his fellow men that they should not let women beat them. I wanted to tell him to save his energy, but I needed mine as well. Well, we left him...struggling!
And the good news...I have an intership at the International Law Institute (ILI); they are such good people and they are willing to help me find the job and experience I am looking for. I was originally brought in to manage their database (thanks to all the skills obtained from the International Students and Scholars Office at BC and at Children of Uganda), while helping with random special projects. Well, technology did it again, it failed us when we needed it most, so I was put on a special project - taking minutes in four discussions on the Legal Empowermenr of the Poor. ILI is partnering with the High Level Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor, based in NY and chaired by Madeline Albright and Hernand DeSoto. These discussions are part of a global dialogue that is focusing on the linkage because poverty, property and law. The four areas of discussion are Labour Rights, Access to Justice and the Rule of Law, Property Rights, and Entrepreneurship. Participants have ranged from representatives of tiny grassroots organizations to ministers. They have been such intriguing discussions and I have learned a lot.
One of the interesting things I learned in the entrepreneurship discussion was that in 2003, Uganda was ranked the number 1 country with the most entrepreneurial spirit and it was second to Peru in 2004. I guess you are wondering about the terms of the survey (I guess that is what we call them). Well, the survey was based on how many people start a business every year. However, when it comes to success rates, we are in the top three worst. As the presenter put it, 'we are a factory for burying our enterprises.' There you have it - we learn something new every day.
I am going to also take minutes this coming weekend in the overall conference with the four groups, with many more participants from all over the globe. I am excited!
I hope each one fo you is doing well. To all my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving. Someone eat a lot of pumpkin pie for me, but do not rub it in my face.
Lots and lots of love!
Monday, November 20, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Challenging Societal Norms - anywhere
I love to get into conversations with my boda boda men everytime I sit on one. Well, we are usualy yelling because of the wind, but I guess that just gives other people a chance to hear our conversations. My sister thinks it's crazy that I am able to converse with anybody. Well, I call it my gift, and it gives me a chance to pick brains from all social corners. I have been learning a lot from the most random people.
So, I got into one conversation on a 20min ride home with John, who said he has a gift of immediately teling who can become his friend. He said he saw me and knew I was a nice person and we could be friends. Anyway, the topic of the day was choosing spouses. He was disgusted by the classist system we have hear (I guess Uganda in not unique in this aspect). He said the rich want to marry the rich and the educated only want the educated. We were both in agreement that many people here don't look so much at compatibility, but at support/survival. That is why cheating, especially among married men, is so prevelent and very much accepted here - I guess people get bored with each other rather quickly. In the end, we have people who have money and/or are educated, but are so unhappy or dying of AIDS.
He concluded that if compatibilty was taken as an important aspect, you would find many uneducated guys marrying educated/rich girls and the marriages would stick because an uneducated/poor guy would never think of cheating because if he lost someone so good, no one would consider him worthy of someone else's daughter - they would think something was wrong with him. He also said that people usually think that they uneducated are lazy and stupid, whereas they are some of the most hardworking and dymanic enterprenuers - which is true. I often find that many people here are schooled, but not learned. The educated often have academic skills and the uneducated exhibit life skills. Reconciling the two is the challenge for the country, especially developing the skills of the educated. The problem is that there is an inherent tendency among the educated to extract the highest pay for the least amount of work done.
We need a change of attitudes!
So, I got into one conversation on a 20min ride home with John, who said he has a gift of immediately teling who can become his friend. He said he saw me and knew I was a nice person and we could be friends. Anyway, the topic of the day was choosing spouses. He was disgusted by the classist system we have hear (I guess Uganda in not unique in this aspect). He said the rich want to marry the rich and the educated only want the educated. We were both in agreement that many people here don't look so much at compatibility, but at support/survival. That is why cheating, especially among married men, is so prevelent and very much accepted here - I guess people get bored with each other rather quickly. In the end, we have people who have money and/or are educated, but are so unhappy or dying of AIDS.
He concluded that if compatibilty was taken as an important aspect, you would find many uneducated guys marrying educated/rich girls and the marriages would stick because an uneducated/poor guy would never think of cheating because if he lost someone so good, no one would consider him worthy of someone else's daughter - they would think something was wrong with him. He also said that people usually think that they uneducated are lazy and stupid, whereas they are some of the most hardworking and dymanic enterprenuers - which is true. I often find that many people here are schooled, but not learned. The educated often have academic skills and the uneducated exhibit life skills. Reconciling the two is the challenge for the country, especially developing the skills of the educated. The problem is that there is an inherent tendency among the educated to extract the highest pay for the least amount of work done.
We need a change of attitudes!
Monday, November 06, 2006
The good, the bad, and what could be...
It is now mango and grasshopper season - yum!!! Rose and I bought a small container of grasshoppers today and shared them with our two American friend, who said they tasted like shrimp. So, please trust me when I say our grasshoppers are pretty, nutrious and tasty.
Last week a couple of friends and I witnessed an accident. Well, I did not have the guts to get really close, but my brother Peter and our friend David saw the aftermath. What happened is that a truck hit a boda boda (scooter bike) while turning. As happens in any accidents here, the truck driver took off running. Other boda guys took the bleeding boda rider away. The passenger of the boda boda, a lady, lay on the ground bleeding with a broken leg. There were policemen around, but there was nothing being done to transport he to a hospital 2km away. So, Peter offered to pay for a special taxi to take her to the hospital and all the drivers refused. We found out, of course after yelling at them, that there was an existing law that allows the police to detain anyone who takes a victim of an accident to the hospital. The sad thing is that they are not questioned for invistigative purposes, but they are basically accused of causing the accident. So now people just look on until a police truck comes, but sometimes the truck is too late. The country needs an ambulance system, but before we get the will and money to do that, we need some competent lawmakers.
Having said that, there is a hospital that is doing lots of good - the International Hospital Kampala. It was started by the most wonderful Irishman (Rose's adopted father). This hospital is working so hard to revolutionalize patient care not only in Kampala, but also in the rest of the country. It has clinics in several areas of the country and in Juba, Sudan. One new initiative of the hospital is Hope Ward. Hope Ward is a 25 bed ward that will offer free and comprehensive care to the poorest and neediest patients at the hospital. The hospital is also partnering with several companies to adopt beds. This weekend I participated in a 5k run to raise money for the ward. I am still open to sponsorships (I am sorry I thought the run was this coming weekend, but I do have evidence that I participated, which I will send tomorrow). Please if you can sponsor me to support this wonderful cause, you will be enabling IHK to do so much good. If you can do anything, please send it to Gyavira Kasule at 4916 Junius Street, Dallas, TX 75214, so he can collect it and send it via Western Union or MoneyGram. Thank you in advance!
More to come soon. I am sorry I have been taking long to update you.
Last week a couple of friends and I witnessed an accident. Well, I did not have the guts to get really close, but my brother Peter and our friend David saw the aftermath. What happened is that a truck hit a boda boda (scooter bike) while turning. As happens in any accidents here, the truck driver took off running. Other boda guys took the bleeding boda rider away. The passenger of the boda boda, a lady, lay on the ground bleeding with a broken leg. There were policemen around, but there was nothing being done to transport he to a hospital 2km away. So, Peter offered to pay for a special taxi to take her to the hospital and all the drivers refused. We found out, of course after yelling at them, that there was an existing law that allows the police to detain anyone who takes a victim of an accident to the hospital. The sad thing is that they are not questioned for invistigative purposes, but they are basically accused of causing the accident. So now people just look on until a police truck comes, but sometimes the truck is too late. The country needs an ambulance system, but before we get the will and money to do that, we need some competent lawmakers.
Having said that, there is a hospital that is doing lots of good - the International Hospital Kampala. It was started by the most wonderful Irishman (Rose's adopted father). This hospital is working so hard to revolutionalize patient care not only in Kampala, but also in the rest of the country. It has clinics in several areas of the country and in Juba, Sudan. One new initiative of the hospital is Hope Ward. Hope Ward is a 25 bed ward that will offer free and comprehensive care to the poorest and neediest patients at the hospital. The hospital is also partnering with several companies to adopt beds. This weekend I participated in a 5k run to raise money for the ward. I am still open to sponsorships (I am sorry I thought the run was this coming weekend, but I do have evidence that I participated, which I will send tomorrow). Please if you can sponsor me to support this wonderful cause, you will be enabling IHK to do so much good. If you can do anything, please send it to Gyavira Kasule at 4916 Junius Street, Dallas, TX 75214, so he can collect it and send it via Western Union or MoneyGram. Thank you in advance!
More to come soon. I am sorry I have been taking long to update you.
The way women dress: legs vs breasts (Sept. 25, 2006)
Dear All,
I know many have been longing for an update and here it is.
A fortnight ago, I was in Rakai - about a three hour drive from Kampala. I visited the orphanage there and also saw my family. Other than the people, there were three great things - the chapatis, the air and no mosquitoes. The mosquito aspect is not so great though because it means the area has not had rain in a while. Being an agricultural district, a few mosquitoes are better than none.
I saw my grandma. She looks good and her arthritis is not so bad, although she refuses to eat everything that is good for her. She will not eat, greens, beans, potatoes or peanut sauce. She only eats (matooke - plantains), beef and fish. The best part about seeing my family was my aunt, Lucy. She, like my sister, Mary, makes me feel like I am the most important person in the whole world. She is one of the happiest people I know. When I got there, she made sure she got me everything I craved to eat in one seating. I guess it's good that I have self-control, otherwise....
I almost had a meeting with World Bank Uganda today. The director got stuck in a meeting with donors and had a video conference to attend by the time she got out. I am rescheduled for Oct. 10th. They were very nice people though and I look forward to the meeting in a little over a week.
I have a contact at USAID and I am waiting to see what happens. I am also waiting for a job description from the International Law Institute. They have a position for which they would like to consider me. If I get and accept it, it will not be in the areas of water and land, but they do have lots of important figures in various areas of local and international law. They also have occasional special projects. So maybe it would be a good start.
So now, the subject of the email. I know my former IAs and anyone who has gone through Dean Nussbaum's (that is Adrienne, mom to some) training on cultural differences will enjoy this. So in Uganda you can wear a shirt that barely covers your chest on a Monday morning and it is perfectly ok, but the moment you wear a skirt above your knees, you will get comments from both women and men. Some people say it's because women breast feed everywhere and I say, there is a huge difference between seeing a feeding mother and an 18-yr old strolling on a Monday morning surrounded by people dressed in business attire. They also do not not appreciate any skin showing between whatever you're wearing on top and bottom. We are not talking belly buttons - it's just any inch of skin. But you can wear a bottom that is 2 sizes too small. By the way, we're talking about women here. So in conclusion, when you come to Uganda, any top will do as long as the stomach is covered. Bottoms? Any size as long as it is knee length and longer. Don't worry about the tightness :-)
Healthwise (if that's a word), I am congested a lot, but I found an ok decongestant. I miss coated day/night cold medicine. I am also drinking a lot of plain hot water (Sarah, I no longer think you're strange). I hear it hydrates really well besides helping you sleep during a sleepless night (works better than milk, Teddy A).
That is all I have for today. I look forward to the replies.
Much love!
Agie
I know many have been longing for an update and here it is.
A fortnight ago, I was in Rakai - about a three hour drive from Kampala. I visited the orphanage there and also saw my family. Other than the people, there were three great things - the chapatis, the air and no mosquitoes. The mosquito aspect is not so great though because it means the area has not had rain in a while. Being an agricultural district, a few mosquitoes are better than none.
I saw my grandma. She looks good and her arthritis is not so bad, although she refuses to eat everything that is good for her. She will not eat, greens, beans, potatoes or peanut sauce. She only eats (matooke - plantains), beef and fish. The best part about seeing my family was my aunt, Lucy. She, like my sister, Mary, makes me feel like I am the most important person in the whole world. She is one of the happiest people I know. When I got there, she made sure she got me everything I craved to eat in one seating. I guess it's good that I have self-control, otherwise....
I almost had a meeting with World Bank Uganda today. The director got stuck in a meeting with donors and had a video conference to attend by the time she got out. I am rescheduled for Oct. 10th. They were very nice people though and I look forward to the meeting in a little over a week.
I have a contact at USAID and I am waiting to see what happens. I am also waiting for a job description from the International Law Institute. They have a position for which they would like to consider me. If I get and accept it, it will not be in the areas of water and land, but they do have lots of important figures in various areas of local and international law. They also have occasional special projects. So maybe it would be a good start.
So now, the subject of the email. I know my former IAs and anyone who has gone through Dean Nussbaum's (that is Adrienne, mom to some) training on cultural differences will enjoy this. So in Uganda you can wear a shirt that barely covers your chest on a Monday morning and it is perfectly ok, but the moment you wear a skirt above your knees, you will get comments from both women and men. Some people say it's because women breast feed everywhere and I say, there is a huge difference between seeing a feeding mother and an 18-yr old strolling on a Monday morning surrounded by people dressed in business attire. They also do not not appreciate any skin showing between whatever you're wearing on top and bottom. We are not talking belly buttons - it's just any inch of skin. But you can wear a bottom that is 2 sizes too small. By the way, we're talking about women here. So in conclusion, when you come to Uganda, any top will do as long as the stomach is covered. Bottoms? Any size as long as it is knee length and longer. Don't worry about the tightness :-)
Healthwise (if that's a word), I am congested a lot, but I found an ok decongestant. I miss coated day/night cold medicine. I am also drinking a lot of plain hot water (Sarah, I no longer think you're strange). I hear it hydrates really well besides helping you sleep during a sleepless night (works better than milk, Teddy A).
That is all I have for today. I look forward to the replies.
Much love!
Agie
Another great week (Sep.12, 2006)
Dear All,
I guess another update is due. I am glad to say that I am over my cold. I thought it would not last as long since I was having fresh juice everyday day, but the body can be a stubborn object.
I have been doing something I thought I would not do. You know the scooter bikes that have almost run me over many time? They are my favorite mod of transportation now. Our taxis (14 passenger vans) do not know such a thing as customer service (worse than the rest of the country). They call you, will wait for you, and will even back up to where you are if you're a distance, but the moment you enter, you're nothing. Some will even refuse to reach THEIR destination when you're the only passenger remaining. They will ask you to get out wherever they feel like.
Well, it happened to me last week. The taxi stopped about 3/4 of a mile from its destination,which was also mine, and asked me to get out. Well, the conductor wanted all the money. I refused and he asked for 3/4 of the money and still I refused. In the end, I got a little exercise and kept my money.
Oh, a woman almost ran over a friend of mine and I as we were exiting a restaurant compound on Sunday night. When we approached her with the guard to ask what was going on, she asked if we knew who she was and what car she drive. Well, we said we didn't know who she was and that she drove a very old-some-model toyota. She went on to tell us that was her brothers car and asked us again if we knew what car she drove and who she was. We asked her who she was and never got an answer.
I have noticed that people like to parade themselves around Kampala, especially those who think they have it (they don't have to have it, they just have to think it). In a land I always thought was about respect, people tend to disrepect each other alot. If one has a car, then everything has to move out of its way - bikes, men, children, women (pregnant or not), cows - really, anything smaller. They say NYC is fast, try KC (Kampala City).
Oh, I had a meeting at the International Law Institute yesterday and I met the most pleasant people I have met in all of Kampala. I will tell you more about the meeting when I return from Rakai on Thursday. I have to run now.
I hope you're all well.
Love,Agie
I guess another update is due. I am glad to say that I am over my cold. I thought it would not last as long since I was having fresh juice everyday day, but the body can be a stubborn object.
I have been doing something I thought I would not do. You know the scooter bikes that have almost run me over many time? They are my favorite mod of transportation now. Our taxis (14 passenger vans) do not know such a thing as customer service (worse than the rest of the country). They call you, will wait for you, and will even back up to where you are if you're a distance, but the moment you enter, you're nothing. Some will even refuse to reach THEIR destination when you're the only passenger remaining. They will ask you to get out wherever they feel like.
Well, it happened to me last week. The taxi stopped about 3/4 of a mile from its destination,which was also mine, and asked me to get out. Well, the conductor wanted all the money. I refused and he asked for 3/4 of the money and still I refused. In the end, I got a little exercise and kept my money.
Oh, a woman almost ran over a friend of mine and I as we were exiting a restaurant compound on Sunday night. When we approached her with the guard to ask what was going on, she asked if we knew who she was and what car she drive. Well, we said we didn't know who she was and that she drove a very old-some-model toyota. She went on to tell us that was her brothers car and asked us again if we knew what car she drove and who she was. We asked her who she was and never got an answer.
I have noticed that people like to parade themselves around Kampala, especially those who think they have it (they don't have to have it, they just have to think it). In a land I always thought was about respect, people tend to disrepect each other alot. If one has a car, then everything has to move out of its way - bikes, men, children, women (pregnant or not), cows - really, anything smaller. They say NYC is fast, try KC (Kampala City).
Oh, I had a meeting at the International Law Institute yesterday and I met the most pleasant people I have met in all of Kampala. I will tell you more about the meeting when I return from Rakai on Thursday. I have to run now.
I hope you're all well.
Love,Agie
News From A Long Week! (Sept. 5, 2006)
Dear All,
It's seems so long since I wrote to you. I may have forgotten some of the happenings of the week, but I will try. I will start will the non-exciting facts: I finally caught a cold. I knew it would come at some point, but I did not except it overnight. I went to bed and woke up with a runny nose - imagine that! I do honestly think we should stop catching colds at age 5 - after that, it's embarrassing. Well, it helps that I live with a nurse. I am recovering quickly.
I realized last week how banks in the US spoil us. When you enter one, it does not matter whether you have $50 or thousands, you get wonderful customer service. Of course I understand that some customers are "more equal than others", but it nonetheless is still good service. I will spare you the details, but I thought you should hear this. I went to open a savings account; the lady looked at my application and asked how I was going to pay my rent if I were not employed. I told her it should not be any of her concerns especially considering that I was about to lend her bank money. She was nicer to me after that. Many businesses treat customers as though they are doing them a favor (I know that is a very unclear sentence and my professors and a few writer friends would not be pleased). So this is what I am trying to say - that the customers, with their money in hand, are often treated as beggars/favor seekers. I have been complaining and my friends say it is the way of Uganda and I will get used to it, but I said that I believe I can change things around and I believe I have done so in some areas.
And the wonderful aspects of my country: the air in the morning is so refreshing that if I did not love to sleep as much as I do, I would wake up at six everyday and just...breathe. We have avocados so big and tasty that they could sell for $6.00 each in the US. We also have the best pineapples in the entire world. I know I have not eaten pineapple from the entire world, but I also know that it does not get better than this. I am sorry Ali, but the roasted pork is, oh so fabulous!
Jazz lovers - get jealous! I went to see and hear Hugh Masekela of South Africa play right in the middle of Kampala on Saturday. I guess you would describe his music as Afro-Cuban with South African vocals (and if you know South African music, you would agree that those people have some of the best vocal anywhere in the world). The wealthy Ugandans who paid hundreds of thoughts of shillings to have a meal during the show took up all the dance space, but we did quite fine in the aisles. It was a fun night.
Job search update: I have an appointment with World Bank Uganda for the 18th of September. I know they fund the Nile Basin Initiative. I am hoping that something will come out of it. I am waiting for an appointment confirmation from the director at the International Law Institute (thanks, Neha). And I am still waiting to hear back from the Uganda Law Society. In the meantime, I am reading a lot on the Uganda Land Act and Constitution.
Well, this a bit of a boring e-mail - I guess beings inside with a cold does not bring about many exciting events. And I am sorry my emails are not including pictures. I am still a film girl, but I do promise to invest in a digital camera as soon as I get settled and have a steady income.
I hope work, school and all else you're doing is going well. Enjoy your last warm days -:(
Much love from the land of sunshine!
Agie
It's seems so long since I wrote to you. I may have forgotten some of the happenings of the week, but I will try. I will start will the non-exciting facts: I finally caught a cold. I knew it would come at some point, but I did not except it overnight. I went to bed and woke up with a runny nose - imagine that! I do honestly think we should stop catching colds at age 5 - after that, it's embarrassing. Well, it helps that I live with a nurse. I am recovering quickly.
I realized last week how banks in the US spoil us. When you enter one, it does not matter whether you have $50 or thousands, you get wonderful customer service. Of course I understand that some customers are "more equal than others", but it nonetheless is still good service. I will spare you the details, but I thought you should hear this. I went to open a savings account; the lady looked at my application and asked how I was going to pay my rent if I were not employed. I told her it should not be any of her concerns especially considering that I was about to lend her bank money. She was nicer to me after that. Many businesses treat customers as though they are doing them a favor (I know that is a very unclear sentence and my professors and a few writer friends would not be pleased). So this is what I am trying to say - that the customers, with their money in hand, are often treated as beggars/favor seekers. I have been complaining and my friends say it is the way of Uganda and I will get used to it, but I said that I believe I can change things around and I believe I have done so in some areas.
And the wonderful aspects of my country: the air in the morning is so refreshing that if I did not love to sleep as much as I do, I would wake up at six everyday and just...breathe. We have avocados so big and tasty that they could sell for $6.00 each in the US. We also have the best pineapples in the entire world. I know I have not eaten pineapple from the entire world, but I also know that it does not get better than this. I am sorry Ali, but the roasted pork is, oh so fabulous!
Jazz lovers - get jealous! I went to see and hear Hugh Masekela of South Africa play right in the middle of Kampala on Saturday. I guess you would describe his music as Afro-Cuban with South African vocals (and if you know South African music, you would agree that those people have some of the best vocal anywhere in the world). The wealthy Ugandans who paid hundreds of thoughts of shillings to have a meal during the show took up all the dance space, but we did quite fine in the aisles. It was a fun night.
Job search update: I have an appointment with World Bank Uganda for the 18th of September. I know they fund the Nile Basin Initiative. I am hoping that something will come out of it. I am waiting for an appointment confirmation from the director at the International Law Institute (thanks, Neha). And I am still waiting to hear back from the Uganda Law Society. In the meantime, I am reading a lot on the Uganda Land Act and Constitution.
Well, this a bit of a boring e-mail - I guess beings inside with a cold does not bring about many exciting events. And I am sorry my emails are not including pictures. I am still a film girl, but I do promise to invest in a digital camera as soon as I get settled and have a steady income.
I hope work, school and all else you're doing is going well. Enjoy your last warm days -:(
Much love from the land of sunshine!
Agie
Home Safely (Aug. 23, 2006)
Dear Friends,
I am sorry this email is long over due - I accidentally deleted my contact list, so I had to go back from email to email and re-save addresses. Anyway, that's all done. I just wanted to thank you for your prayers - I am safely in Uganda and it feels good to be back.
I slept 95% of the flight. I was afraid I would be so lonely since I have never made the trip alone, but as it turns out, I was perfectly fine. The only dramatic event is that I almost missed my flight in Amsterdam. I had the wrong gate on my boarding pass. As I was wondering why there were no people at the gate, I heard my name on the intercom saying I was delaying the plane and they were about to unload my bags from the plane. Well, I ran like a mad woman from E17 to D53 (starting from the beginning of the D block). I was the last one to get on the plane, and I call it my lucky day!
Uganda is alive, busy, fun and hot, but not as hot as Dallas. I am still getting over the jet lag, but it does not last that long in Uganda. I had my first job search meeting on Monday with the Uganda Law Society (very nice people). They are reviewing my resume and we will meet again next week. I am still hunting down the other contacts.
Yesterday I went on a long run in the slums of Muyenga, kinda got lost, but was joined by a young man, nicely dressed, but nonetheless wanted to run with me. So we ran for about 2 miles to the path that led me home. I am slowly finding my way around and taking in everything. I will send more interesting news next time - this one was to just let you know that I am ok.
I hope you're all well. Until next time..
Love,
Agie
I am sorry this email is long over due - I accidentally deleted my contact list, so I had to go back from email to email and re-save addresses. Anyway, that's all done. I just wanted to thank you for your prayers - I am safely in Uganda and it feels good to be back.
I slept 95% of the flight. I was afraid I would be so lonely since I have never made the trip alone, but as it turns out, I was perfectly fine. The only dramatic event is that I almost missed my flight in Amsterdam. I had the wrong gate on my boarding pass. As I was wondering why there were no people at the gate, I heard my name on the intercom saying I was delaying the plane and they were about to unload my bags from the plane. Well, I ran like a mad woman from E17 to D53 (starting from the beginning of the D block). I was the last one to get on the plane, and I call it my lucky day!
Uganda is alive, busy, fun and hot, but not as hot as Dallas. I am still getting over the jet lag, but it does not last that long in Uganda. I had my first job search meeting on Monday with the Uganda Law Society (very nice people). They are reviewing my resume and we will meet again next week. I am still hunting down the other contacts.
Yesterday I went on a long run in the slums of Muyenga, kinda got lost, but was joined by a young man, nicely dressed, but nonetheless wanted to run with me. So we ran for about 2 miles to the path that led me home. I am slowly finding my way around and taking in everything. I will send more interesting news next time - this one was to just let you know that I am ok.
I hope you're all well. Until next time..
Love,
Agie
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