Ninkunda (I Like)...

"Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things--air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky--all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it." –Cesare Pavese

Not surprisingly, I've found myself missing home--the familiarity of the people, customs, and foods--as my time here continues. So, I wanted to write about all the things I've been enjoying here to take my mind off what I might not like so much.

Some pleasures thus far:

1. Waking up in the morning to a rooster’s crow, interesting bird calls I’ve never heard before, or, even better, the call to prayer. What a magical sound. Unfortunately, I’ve only heard it once while we stayed in Kampala. We can hear it from Tank Hill in Mbarara, but I’ve just been exhausted and have slept too soundly thus far.

2. The fruit! Pineapple, watermelon, and bananas, oh my! I don’t think I’ve ever had pineapple this delicious in my life. I may just live off fruit the entire 9 weeks I’m here… I did try goat one night (ehh, not really my thing), but I’ve been mostly vegetarian here. I have the feeling that rice, beans, and potatoes are going to get old fast. P.S. I was totally let down by passionfruit. Our hotel in Kampala served us a delicious fruit medley, which contained passionfruit (or at least that’s what the girls and I deduced from the little seeds), so I was under the impression passionfruit was sweet and yummy. False. Super tart; same with the citrus. Papaya is yummy though, and so is avocado.

[Oranges in the market.]

[Passionfruit.]

3. How relatively cheap everything is. 1 USD is approximately 2,200 shillings. I got a litre of bottled water for ~25 cents in Kampala, and when we stopped for lunch in Masaka, two vegetable samosas cost ~80 cents. Not surprisingly, imported goods are expensive, like Jif (the peanut butter brand). I should have been smart like Lauren and brought a jar with me... alas.

4. Sleeping/hanging out underneath my bednet. It is pink and makes me feel like a princess. It also keeps me safe from mean mosquitoes, which brings me to my next "like"...

5. Ultrathon! What a great find--no bites thus far (one tick, but I guess that doesn’t count). Granted, it is the dry season here, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to be a loyal Ultrathon consumer for the rest of my life.

6. The ~1 hour car ride to Kashongi. Level of enjoyment varies depending on weather, dust, and mood, but I like looking out the window and having some time to collect my thoughts at the beginning and end of each day in the field.

7. The World Cup. Kinda self-explanatory. It’s in Africa; I’m in Africa. People here actually care; I care.

8. The hospitality and grace of the people here. Everyone is incredibly warm and respectful, and it has been an absolute delight to interact with Ugandans, from our drivers and Gordon at Tank Hill to our partners and colleagues on the intervention and even just the children who are always curious and excited to see us.