Uganda Love This

Before I go any further, I would like to thank my parents for their constant support. Without them none of this (including the ability to type this blog post) would be possible. Now if you ask any of my friends, they will tell you that if something strange and unlucky is going to happen to someone its going to happen to me (like that time I got pulled over by a bike cop). Upon my arrival in the States in April my computer started to work very slowly and then suddenly stopped working all together. When I brought it to the Apple store they were both amused and quite frankly disgusted to find that my computer had bugs. Not a virus, but actual, physical bugs that had eaten away at my hard drive. I am currently typing on a new computer, which I have successfully (hopefully) bug-proofed this time around.

Now, on to my trip back to Uganda. My travel experience was long, but very uneventful-only one 30minute delay. I also couldn’t help but laugh when my extremely white, British pilot stood at the door and said “ welcome home” to every African appearing person as they exited the plane. Side note: half of these people live in London. Probably one the most politically incorrect things I have witnessed but he was such an upbeat and happy person that I couldn’t hold it against him.

 

 

Its funny how familiarity can make a seemingly hard transition that much easier. When I arrived in January I remember going through all the what ifs in my head- “what if no one is there to pick me up?” “who do I call and where do I go?” “What if my bags don’t show up?” This time around these things didn’t even cross my mind. Would they have been inconvenient? Absolutely-but I am now in a country that I feel relatively safe in, know my way around in and know who to call if something doesn’t go as planned. The drive from the airport to Kampala felt just like a drive home from BWI would feel.

 

By the time I arrived to my hotel in Kampala it was almost 2:00am on Saturday morning. Seeing as though it was only 7pm on the East Coast, I was wide-awake. I took advantage of the decent Wi-Fi at the hotel and streamed the Women’s world cup game that was on at 3am local time; since it is the only game I will probably be able to see while over here. I know people always say that when changing time zones you should get up at a decent hour to make the transition easier. I had plans to wake up at 9:30…but may have accidently slept until 2:30. Needless to say my internal clock is still a bit messed up after that. My Saturday included a trip to the phone store so that I could buy a Ugandan SIM card. This means that I will be unreachable on my US number/through iMessage like I was last time. The plus side is that I have a data plan and should be well connected throughout my time here (PS- WhatsApp is probably the best way to reach me) .

 

On Sunday morning I began the 6.5hr trek up to Gulu. It usually takes between 5.5-6hours but for some reason the construction delays were worse than usual. To put this into prospective, the drive is only about 215 miles, a trip that would take 3.5 hours in the States (or 4 if my mom is driving). This just shows how horrible the road conditions are.

 

I am currently crashing at Sophie’s place (which is conveniently located next to the hospital) until Tuesday when I get to move into my new house (more details to come)! Literally could not have been more excited to see her! Its so comforting seeing a familiar face.

 

This morning I will be meeting up with the nurses to plan for the arrival of some very important, key players in our upcoming research. The arriving team consists of research and RHD experts from all over the world including South Africa, the U.S, Switzerland, Tanzania and Uganda. Super excited to see what my first week back has in store!

 

PS- Happy Anniversary to these cool kids- lucky to call them my parents!

 

*while I have internet access on my phone, I am no longer living in a place with WiFi access. I will do my very best to post 3 times a week like last time.