Learning to swim...or something like that

You know how sometimes when a person doesn't know how to swim someone decides to throw them in the deep end?
That was my day, and I LOVED it!

I woke up before my alarm to the sound of African music coming from somewhere nearby. It was a fun way to wake up on my first full day here!! I had a peaceful morning with lots of time to get ready, have breakfast, and do devotions.
At noon we picked up the pace quite a bit though! Faith, a Kenyan who's lived in Uganda for a while, and Rachel, another short-termer working with AIM, came by the guesthouse to pick me up. We took a boda down to the main road (Entebbe Road) then got on a taxi headed into the city. The taxis are big vans that hold 12 people and they are everywhere!!  I asked Faith how she knew the taxi was going into Kampala..she laughed and said "I guess I just knew". Apparently if a taxi is on Entebbe Road and is pointed in the direction of town, that's where it's going! Good to know! =]

Once we got into town we walked up some different streets and Faith pointed out various places to me. There are different landmarks that are good to know in Kampala whether you're meeting someone or just trying to get around. We went to the post office and a book store before we started getting thirsty and hungry. We got on another taxi that was supposed to drop us off at Jinja Road but for some reason or other it kept going...when it finally stopped we got out and got on another boda and headed for Garden City.

Garden City is a big shopping area. It has a bunch of stores and food places in it and it's very modern looking. I was actually really surprised, it basically looks like a mall back home. We went to the food court for lunch and though it looks like a food court back home it was really different!! We found a table and sat down and within seconds we had a bunch of people around us giving us menus. Instead of going up to the place you want to eat at and ordering, they bring the menu to you then when you choose a place the waiter from that restaurant serves you. It was really quite amusing because we had about six different menus in front of us and we had no idea what we wanted...if you look at one thing for too long the waiter from that restaurant will start to think you're going to order it and if you don't look at one menu at all the waiter will open it up for you and basically start reading different things to you!! It was a bit overwhelming but like I said, also amusing. We ended up all ordering some sort of chicken wrap from a Lebanese restaurant that turned out to be delicious!

After lunch we stopped at a pharmacy so I could get some stuff for my sore throat then Faith had to leave. Rachel and I went across the street to another shopping center called The Oasis. She showed me around there a bit then we went to a little coffee shop where a lot of mizungos (white people) go. As we were walking towards the coffee shop a group of men carrying guns was walking through the parking lot. All of the people outside the coffee shop and a bunch of people in the parking lot were gathered watching them. I was concerned, but only for a second; we just kept walking and went into the shop. We never heard what happened and by the time we left you couldn't tell there had even been a crowd. (Don't worry! I was totally fine...besides, if there was a reason to worry I wouldn't write about it in here!!!)
I was really grateful for the time at the coffee shop because I was able to ask Rachel lots of questions about life in Kampala; she's been here since January so she was super helpful!

On the boda ride back I felt like I was going to absolutely burst with excitement! I was sitting on the back of this little motorcycle zipping around Kampala...can't you just picture it?! There were a few places where when you looked around you could see a really beautiful view of the city; it's very hilly so when you're up on a hill you feel like you can see everything! I wish I could have taken a video or something so you all could see it here...actually I wish you could all just come ride a boda for yourself because they are so much fun!!!

So anyways, that was my experience of being thrown headfirst into a foreign city without knowing a thing! I think I did pretty well; especially because I had Faith and Rachel there to show me how things are done!
For now though it's time to let the mosquito net down, put in my earplugs to drown out the barking dogs, and get some sleep!

->if you thought riding in the back of a big red truck was cool, just wait till you get to ride a boda! =]