Ordering Take Out

There are only two places that I know of, so far, that deliver take out food here in Uganda. Thinking it would be fun to try, Renee and I decided we'd order food from JJ's Cafe, not too far down the road. We were watching the two Atherstone boys while Jeff and Christine went to dinner and then small group. The boys had Mac&Cheese, but we wanted something else.
Here's how it went (I know it's long, but this is just a glimpse of the night!):
6:15pm I call JJ's Cafe to order food. After several minutes of confusion on the phone, trying to find out what is in the 3 different wraps, the only info I really got was that the chicken wrap has chicken, pineapple, chili, and fresh pineapple? hmm? me: "I'll call you back."
6:30pm Jeff and Christine were going to JJ's for dinner anyway, so they called us and read off the menu to us.
6:33pm I call JJ's again to order. Renee and I thought we'd make it simple by ordering cheeseburgers and chips (fries), but find out even that is not easy! me: "I would like to order some food to be delivered. We would like 2 cheeseburgers." response: "I'm sorry what was that?" me: "I would like to order 2 CHEESEBURGERS." response: "I'm not understanding you." me: "I would like to have 2 cheeseburgers. You know, hamburgers with cheese?" response: "Oh, you want a cheeseburger?"
*hang up*
6:35pm I call them again. Me: "Hello? Yes, did you get that? I want TWO cheeseburgers and TWO orders of chips." response: "So, you want TWO cheeseburgers and what?" (AAHH! I handed the phone to Renee to complete the order- which went on for several more minutes)
Ok, first part down- getting the order made. Although, we were still not 100% sure we were going to get what we ordered.
Then, next part- giving directions to the house...
6:40pm me: "We would like you to deliver it to Pastor Jeff's house from the Gaba Bible Institute. Do you know who he is?" response: "You want it at the Bible Institute?" me: "No. I am at Pastor Jeff's HOUSE." response: "The guest house?" me: "No. Pastor JEFF'S house. (We go back and forth like this several more times.) Ask Jenny to give you directions. She knows." response: "Who? Jenny?" me: "Yes, Jenny. As in Jeff and Jenny's Cafe- JJ's Cafe." response: "I'm sorry what was that?" (AAHH! I handed the phone to Renee to communicate with this guy who was obviously not understanding me.)
Renee: "Ask the boda drivers at Zebra Point in Bunga to tell you where the mzungus live. If they don't know it's on Lake View Close (name of street). How long will it be?" response: "About 30 minutes."
7:05pm Nothing
7:35pm Nothing
8:00pm Put boys to sleep. Maybe we should make ourselves a drink?!
8:30pm My phone rings. "Ok, I'm at at Gaba Lake View Hotel. Where can I find you?" Renee: "No. We are not at Gaba Lake View Hotel. We are in Bunga. The name of the STREET is Lake View Close. Go back to Zebra Point stage and ask the boda boda drivers for directions." (She repeated this at least 3 or 4 times before he understood we were not at the hotel in Gaba)
8:45pm My phone rings. "Ok, I'm at Zebra Point. Can you meet me in the middle." me: "No. Ask the boda drivers. You need to go up the hill and turn left. Then, the road curves around and..."
*hang up*
8:55pm My phone rings. "Ok, I'm at Happy Venture Primary School." me: "I don't know where that is." response: "You don't know?" me: "No. Did you turn left going up the hill from Zebra Point?" response: "Yes, I turned left (no he didn't- he only turned left to get to Zebra Point). (AAHH! I handed the phone to Renee again and let them go back and forth with directions)
9:05pm My phone rings and I let Renee answer. "Ok, I'm at Bambula at Zebra Point. Can you come get it?" Renee: "No. It is dark and it is dangerous for us. You need to come here, etc. etc."
9:20pm Our food finally arrives!!! Only a little over 2 hours late. Cold meat, hard cheese, soggy fries. mmm :(
If only all the streets had names, it may have worked out a little more smoothly. Maybe.

Crazy Ugandan Weather!

Yesterday, late morning, I walked over to the ARM and school offices to meet with some people. It takes about 40 minutes to walk if you take some of the small dirt back roads. By the time I made it to the office I was hot, sweaty, and dirty. Every time a car drove by it kicked up more of the red, dusty dirt that covered me from the knees down.
A few hours later I walked with Renee to her house (just a 5 minute walk) to drop some things off, and then we were going to head downtown. The sky was starting to look a little dark, but it was still warm out. It started sprinkling as we were leaving her house, but we figured we would just catch a taxi and it'd be fine by the time we made it to Kampala.
Well, we made it about 100 feet down the first road when literally in 3...2...1...a huge gust of wind and a torrential downpour of rain drenched us before we could even run back to the house. It was like being in the middle of a hurricane! There was no way we were going out in this, even if Renee needed to make it downtown by 4 to FedEx a package! It should pass pretty quickly...Then, huge chunks of hail, yes HAIL, began to pelt the roof, and the backyard was already flooded with several inches of water. Maybe this storm was going to pass as quickly as we hoped.
We waited about 30 minutes before we peeked outside again. It was hardly even sprinkling anymore, it had just sounded like it was raining from all the water running off the house! We ventured out to find a taxi, which we found quickly and, to my surprise, was practically empty. Mutotus are never that empty. Now, my feet and legs were covered in mud- not a good day to be wearing flip-flops! During the drive into the city, the sky cleared up and it was once again a pleasant day. All this in a matter of a few hours!

The Taxi Park

So, here's a couple pics of the crazy taxi park in downtown Kampala. You have to find the sign of the village you want to go to and hop in to one of the taxis. The drivers wait until the taxi is completely full (at least 15 people) before leaving. Then, somehow, they get out of the gridlocked lot and you're on your way home. Sounds easy enough right?!

Almost Famous...

It feels a little strange, but I imagine this is as close as I am going to get to being famous. As I walk down the street the children run up to say, "Hi mzungu! Bye mzungu!" (Mzungu is a term used for any white or American person.) Adults on the street walk by and say, "How are you mzungu? How is your time here mzungu?" Taxi and boda boda drivers want to know if the mzungu needs a ride. They are never to busy to take a mzungu where they want to go. There was even a man at the taxi park today that said, "I love you mzungu!" So much attention. So many eyes constantly watching you. They don't know you from one mzungu to the next, but yet they are still intrigued. They are always wanting something. They know that they can get more from mzungus than anyone else. So, they are shocked when the mzungu wants to walk all the way to her destination by herself or when she knows how to respond to their greeting, "Oli Otya." My hope is that they will know me as more than just another mzungu, not just someone they want to get close to but that they can get close with. I know, crazy thought, but it's lonely being famous. Good thing I have other mzungus around for now. They just think I'm normal.

Some firsts...

Last night I spent my first night in my new home. As with any new place, there were all of strange sounds that you’re not used to yet. For me, it was a mixture of dogs barking, roosters crowing, and a series of mysterious noises that, I’ve gotta admit, were slightly freaking me out. However, the house itself is very nice, even in American standards. I live with an American family with two young boys and two other Ugandan women. The pictures are of my new room (at least it’s my room for the first month or so before I move to another one). If you look carefully you can see the chicken coops right outside my window…
I also experienced my first mutotu (taxi) ride into the city. Mutotus are small vans that, somehow, fit up to 17 people in. There always seems to be room for one more in Uganda. It takes anywhere from 30-60 minutes to make it downtown and only costs about 50 cents. Then, to get back home you catch a taxi from the taxi park- literally hundreds of taxis all packed into one little area. You have to find the ones going to Gaba, marked by a sign. Then, as soon as the taxi is completely full, they will leave. It is organized chaos! I’ll have to get a picture of it next time I go, because it looks absolutely insane.

Ready, Get Set, Go!

I'm here! The last week and a half has been filled with an assortment of experiences, emotions, sights, sounds, and SMELLS. One of the best parts has been seeing all the people I started relationships with last year. It was so exciting when some of the kids from Soroti ran up to me and yelled my name as soon as they saw me. They remembered my name! I wasn’t sure if they would, since most mzungus (white people) look the same to them. But, it just confirmed that my time in Soroti last year was worth while. It made a difference in their lives. If you haven’t checked out the team's blog yet, I highly recommend it. There were a lot of amazing things I got to be a part of: www.marinersteamuganda.blogspot.com

But, for this blog, I’ll be focusing on my experiences in Uganda from here on. I'm on my own now (well that's not completely true, since there are some other Americans helping me figure things out).