I love the greeting here that is said to everyone, “You are very welcome!”   I was greeted this way at the airport, my guest house and many other places I’ve been to.  When is the last time you welcomed a stranger to your city in this way?   The people here I’ve met are genuine and I love that.  They are open and lovely to speak to.  One thing that I noticed is if you talk about something that is not necessarily nice or involves something hard or difficult or sad, they give you genuine sorrow for that.  “I am so sorry for this….so sorry for her….” etc.   That is when I realize that I probably need to be more positive in what I say.  It is a great check and balance for me to gear myself in the right direction.  Since I have a tendency to be sarcastic, I have to put that on check here as sometimes sarcasm translates very poorly!

I am sitting in the gazebo this afternoon relaxing and enjoying really doing nothing at the moment.  That for me is unusual as I’m always on the go!   It is peaceful here listening to the birds and the African daily sounds. African Drums cadence in the distance.  I hear children and dogs and people shouting occasionally, roosters crowing and cows mooing,  but this guest house is on the hill and quite a relaxing area…quiet…retreat-like.  If I am quiet and listen I can hear something new each moment.

I was up most of the night because there was a huge party at the International Hotel, that went well into the wee hours of the morning.   I wish I had remembered ear plugs but I hate sleeping with them because I sleep way too soundly.   Luckily I had my trusty Tylenol PM.

Yesterday I went first to get my internet working.  This was a huge problem as I had some other software conflicting with my connection but we finally got that worked out.   I also had to buy more airtime for my phone.   You don’t realize these things because as an American I have unlimited talking capabilities on my cell.   Here you must pay for airtime and even the cost fluctuates from minute to minute.   You buy a card and then add that amount to your airtime.  I will need to recharge soon!

There is a custom here I now understand perfectly.  People “beep” or call and hang up to each other.   If that person needs to talk to someone then the other person might call them back if they have airtime.   These things signal also that you need something or want something or just need the other person to call you back.   My driver has beeped us when he was arriving so we know he is there.   This saves greatly on airtime.   There are people EVERYWHERE on the streets selling airtime.   When you stop your car they are leaning in the windows trying to sell airtime.   This is a precious commodity and someone is getting mightly rich!

I visited with my attorney yesterday, and he explained the situation here with international adoption.  Because we are not only providing humanitarian care to children, our main focus is adoption and so I’ve come here to make those connections.   Adoption here is not easy but certainly possible, but I feel it will take a family that is ready for quite an adventure.   To see some of these children find permanency in their lives will be such a blessing.

TOMORROW:  In the morning early about 7 AM I will travel with my driver to Kitgum.  This is in the Northern Part of Uganda.   I will do a separate post specifically about this area, and you won’t want to miss reading that one.  While I’m gone I will leave my big bag here at the Guest House and will travel only with a small one.   I’m going to make sure to take plenty of water and food and all my medicines.

I’m getting the phone number of a Boda Boda driver that is good, reliable, honest and safe.   One of the adoptive families uses him.  Yes I might get on one!   What is a Boda Boda?   Well basically it is a driver on a motorcycle.   I plan on writing about this specifically too in another post…the craziest things I’ve seen on a Boda Boda.   Boda Boda’s transport people and things from one place to the other.   I guess they can be quite dangerous in the traffic.   Some of the long-term missionaries here staying at the guest house had to sign a contract with their mission group that they would not get on a Boda Boda.   In exchange they have a van that takes them to their destinations each day.   Unfortunately they are on their own to get anywhere else.   Boda Boda’s are cheap and easy to manuver in the traffic grid.  They are certainly not for everyone.

Traffic is the craziest thing here.   First, people drive on the wrong side of the road!   Haha all my Brit friends will be laughing to hear me say that but it is true.  I’ve almost gotten used to it though because people travel all over the road here so I’m not sure there is a right side anyway!  Public transportation is the craziest.  Taxis sit in a park in the center of Kampala, and I will post a pic of this later.  They are dispatched from there and they are quite cheap but people pack in like sardines and they make a lot of stops, so it takes you a very long time to reach your destination.  You cannot imagine the chaos though with the taxis and the gridlock in the city when traffic is high.