In some ways, we achieved this goal. In other ways – not at all! Certainly, the first couple days were devoted to resting and taking in small chunks of the city outside the house. However, we soon made contact with Denis, our language helper, and began devoting two hours a morning to Lwo lessons. Our errands around town then fell to the afternoons. It’s hard to believe, but we’re leaving for Pader tomorrow at 6 am, and we’ve only had just enough time to do all the errands we needed to do.
Well, the sorts of errands we’ve had include getting our final work permits (which we did on Friday – praise God!), getting driver’s licences, picking up supplies for living up North that are likely not available near Pader, practising driving around Kampala, and meeting with key people involved in the CHE ministry, including the CHE Uganda directors and the Bishop of Kitgum.
Another reason? Traffic!! Kampala is unlike anything either of us has ever experienced before. There are motorcycle taxis *everywhere* (most do not wear helmets) that weave in and out of the traffic. To begin, there are no real lanes. Any semblance of lanes is quashed by the motorcycle taxis going between, around, and even towards the larger vehicles. They even drive on the sidewalk! Sometimes, there is also a group phenomenon whereby one side of traffic decides it wants to occupy lanes on the oncoming side. In addition to all of this, Kampala is full of traffic circles that are controlled by police directing traffic – and this can involve completely stopping flow from one direction to allow flow from another direction for 5-10 minutes. This is when we most feel the heat!
We’re thankful for the time we’ve had here in Kampala. It has allowed us to become comfortable with our surroundings, have meetings that have allowed us to start off on a good foot for working relationships, spend time getting to know Alan and Cheryl, get connected to a Kampala church and homegroup (that we can visit when we’re here every so often), and even start to learn Lwo!
We even got to see a friend and friends of friends from Canada who were passing through Kampala!
Diki, wan wabe cito i Pader! (Tomorrow, we will go to Pader!)