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.
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