Finally in Kampala

I made it here! The flight was fairly typical and long, but it got me here.

We got into the hotel last night (which was like at  4 pm Kansas City time). I was exhausted so I went straight to bed.

We finally got to walk outside and see the city late this morning. It's gorgeous. In some ways it's sort of similar to Guatemala (where I've been twice before) in that it's underdeveloped, but there is much less American influence here than in Latin America. The US has had very few interests in the African continent than it did in Guatemala, so it is much more of a different land than Guatemala was.

The elevation here is 4000 feet, so it looks like I'll get some higher altitude training in. I can't run the first week because we're staying at a hotel in a more dangerous part of the city. But, next week when we start our home stay I should be able to run every day. I'll just make do with abs and push-ups for now.

There are a lot more trees than I was expecting. A lot of them look like Rafiki's tree in the Lion king. It is also pretty hilly. There is vegetation everywhere--it's very pretty. The buildings are very different and it's very crowded. I haven't seen another white person here outside of our group. We walked by an elementary school and about 200 kids ran up to the fence and shouted "bazinga" which means white person. All the people have been really friendly and often say hello.

The streets are INSANE. There are about as many motorcycles and bikes as their are cars and the roads don't have lanes which makes it a huge free-for-all. We got grazed by another car 3 times on the way to the bank to exchange money and the driver didn't think anything of it.

Well, the rest of the group is about to leave the internet cafe. Later!

Departure Time

A Fed Ex package arrived this morning containing my visa and passport. Looks like both the nice man from Atlanta and the Ugandan embassy finally pulled through.

So, I am finally headed out for Uganda. While six weeks in Kansas City has been a fun time to spend with friends and family, I am definitely ready to escape the snow-covered suburbs and head to a very different terrain.

A lot of people have asked me what I'm taking to Uganda. Even more have asked me what I will wear. My grandma bought me a "safari" outfit, but unfortunately that wasn't quite the appropriate attire. From everything I've been told and researched, the Ugandans are a very, very modest people. In order to avoid being branded a harlot, I have to wear shirts that completely cover my shoulders and aren't tight and skirts that are below the knee. The knees are very sensual in Uganda, so it's unacceptable to show them in public. It is also very important for me to wear skirts because in the rural areas (and with some more conservative minded people in the city), a woman is assumed to be a prostitute if she wears pants.

So, with these rules of dressing in mind, here's what I'm taking to Uganda in a camping back-pack:

Clothes:
5 skirts
12 "nice" shirts
5 plain white t's for running
3 pairs of running shorts
2 week supply of underwear
Socks
Light rain jacket
1 sweater
1 pair of business casual capris

Shoes:
Running shoes
Teva flip flops
Closed toe canvas shoes
Dress shoes--gray flats

Other:
Ultra-light weight sleeping bag
Camping towel
Anti-malaria medicine
3 bottles of bug spray
Water bottle
mp3 player
Gates BBQ sauce as gifts for the family I will be staying with
umbrella
vast quantities of sunscreen
books

Hopefully that will be enough to sustain me for 4 months!

Here's to a 20 hour flight and 4 months of the unknown.

Atlanta is not Kansas City

If anyone is reading this, you know me well enough to know that I am the world's worst procrastinator. You've probably heard tales of me pulling an all-nighter to start and finish a 15 page paper or beginning to study for a final less than two hours before it occurs.

I, however, have been a good little girl and done everything I could to get important items taken care of. Granted, I did wait until yesterday to send in my final medical form, but other than that I was on top of things. I had forms done in November that didn't have to be completed until December.

Despite these efforts, I am still in the exact same situation that I normally am. I do not have my passport or visa in my possession despite submitting an application to the Ugandan embassy in November.

I received a Facebook message today from a man in Atlanta, Georgia informing me that he had received my passport in the mail along with his wife's visa from the Embassy. Luckily, this man was nice enough to FedEx it to me overnight, so it should get here tomorrow. Still, how did my visa end up in Georgia?!

I have called the Ugandan Embassy at least 3 times a day for the past two weeks in an attempt to get my visa. Almost every time I have called, the person I need to talk to is in a meeting or at lunch. They always promise me that I will receive a call back in the next half hour. I have never once been called back.

Finally, on Tuesday they promised me I would receive my visa in the mail by noon today. It is now 5:38.

So, will my visa and passport make it here on time? Only time (in the exact amount of 30 hours) will tell.

Procrastination Pro: A week before Departure

In five days I will depart for Kampala, Uganda. I am very excited for this.

However, in typical fashion, I have procrastinated to the point of misery and now have to rally to accomplish months of preparation in five days.

Thus, my to-do list:
1. Call the Ugandan embassy and inquire as to where my pass-port and visa are: In a rare moment of forward thinking, I mailed in my passport and visa application to the embassy in November. Unfortunately, I have yet to receive these rather important items back.
2. Pay my GW tuition bill so I'm not kicked out of my study abroad program while in Uganda: this sounds simple, but I have had too many close calls in the past.
3. Convince my doctor to write me another prescription for anti-malaria medicine since I accidentally threw away my first one.
4. Get another World Health Organization vaccination sheet: You have to have proof receiving the yellow fever vaccination. I lost that somewhere in route between DC and KC.
5. Skim the 15 plus books I was supposed to read about Uganda pre-departure....
6. Figure out exactly when my plane leaves and from what terminal: this sounds like a no-brainer, but I once missed a flight because I didn't know which airline I was flying on and wander around the airport for a half hour before figuring it out. Not my best moment. I also missed a flight once because I thought it left an hour later than it actually did.
7. Pack four months worth of stuff into a camping  back-pack.
8. Buy gifts for my host family. I'm thinking some Kansas City BBQ sauce.
9. Skype all of my DC and Michigan friends before I'm out of communication.