Watching everyone in the Immigration queue, it was a mixture of local Ugandans returning home, foreign businessmen and American students who I think are here to volunteer.
I was met at the airport by Richard who drove me to the guesthouse in Entebbe where I am living. The people are really friendly and at 8.30am it was already beautifully sunny and warm!
Driving from the airport to Entebbe, we passed a large UN base and then as we entered the town of Entebbe I was amazed at how green and spread out it was. Entebbe has about 100,000 people and seems to be a really relaxed little place. On the way to the guesthouse, we also passed the President of Uganda's house which was pretty cool.
The first day here I just settled into my room (which is really comfy) and chilled until I met up with Cally, whose research project I am here working on, later on in the day. Cally lives in a house with her family next door so I spent the first night with them before crashing into bed!
The last couple of days have been nice just settling in. I visited Cally's girls UN school which is pretty awesome and the security everywhere is quite incredible. I guess there have been security threats in Uganda and against the UN in recent years and so on driving into the school and even the shopping centre near it, they inspect underneath your vehicle with mirrors! Also, every compound and foreigner's house is fenced with a security person that sits on the gate all night. I think most of it is for show as a deterrent and less because there is any real threat of violence here, but still, I have slept easier at night because of it.
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| Isla walking Honey with me around our neighbourhood! |
Cally has a dog here called Honey who I have taken for a walk a couple of times around the block with her daughter Isla. The locals are all really inquisitive and all of them either wave to you or say hi and ask how you are when you pass them. On my walk I look over a big field where loads of young boys are playing football on a daily basis with hilarious random cows just dotted around the field surrounding them. I have managed to get sunburnt already which was partly probably my stupidity in forgetting how close I am to the equator and possibly my anti-malaria pills so will have to be way more careful!
Today is a public holiday in Uganda (think it is called Martyr's day) so I have a nice long weekend to look forward to. Heading to a local hotel today with Cally and her family to sit by the pool and chill. Her girls are absolutely gorgeous and real fun to hang out with - at the grand old ages of 3 and 6!
All in all, a pretty great first few days here. First impressions of Uganda are that the people are among the smiliest and friendliest people I have ever met, the weather is amazing and there seems to be plenty to see and do. Hope to explore Entebbe a little more this weekend and will venture into the capital Kampala next week for the first time so will keep you posted!
xx
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