Monday, March 18, 2013
Research in Kampala, Uganda
We probably looked crazy…a group of bzungu (the plural of mzungu, a Swahili word that means “foreigner”) wandering around Uchumi, taking pictures of food and other items on the shelves, and asking each other lots of questions. But Monday was all about researching food and other items.
We will live in Nasir, South Sudan; however, because there are very few resources available in Nasir and because the environment is rather harsh, we will be on a rotation in which we’ll take “breaks” in Kampala, Uganda. Kampala is a modernized, East African city, and there we will be able to enjoy the mild, tropical temperatures; fellowship with other missionaries and expats; spend time with the Hendersons and focus on member care; and restock our food/supply reserves. Our times in Kampala will be huge for our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, as well as huge in the kind of variety we are able to have in our meals in Nasir.
Snapshot of Monday:
-South Sudanese Embassy for visas
-Coffee at Dorman’s
-Research at Uchumi
-Lunch at Garden City
-Research at Game
-Nap time!
-Dinner at Caffé Roma
-Birthday celebration for Laura
Wasuzotya, Uganda!!
So that Monday, we started out at South Sudan’s embassy in Kampala to fill out paperwork and apply for visas. I LOVE (and this will probably change once we live there) doing business in Africa. The process of answering their random questions and not quite understanding what’s going on is a uniquely African feeling to me, and while I know it will be crazy frustrating when we live there and are trying to get things done, it also makes me feel a familiarity with that place I love to much.
Our next stop was to caffeinate our team! We were all sort of like the walking dead, until we arrived at Dorman’s, a new Kenyan coffee shop that opened (sometime after 2011) at the Garden City Mall. It’s quite a trendy shop with WIFI!!
Just outside of Dorman’s is Yusufu Lule Road, one of the busier/crazier streets in Kampala!
After a delightful break in Dorman’s, we headed into Uchumi to start doing research/price checks on items that we can and will buy to take into Nasir with us. I LOVE looking at all of the items for sale in foreign countries. Just for reference, the exchange rate is approximately 2,500 /= (shillings) per $1 USD.
Powdered milk is about $10.48…
Black currant juice (one of my FAVORITES) is about $0.52.
There is a LOT of pasta available, as well as tomato paste packets (just add water)…this excites me!! And for only about $1.92.
Packets of soup are about $1.00.
TONS of spices and seasonings are available…so no bland rice and beans! About $1.84.
Long-life shelf milk…this will be really good! It’s about $0.96 and lasts 9 months on the shelf, but once opened has to be used VERY quickly.
Even Starbucks coffee is available…for only $23.96!!! Ummmm…no thanks! Local African coffees are actually VERY delicious, and inexpensive!
Shopping/researching was tiring! At one point I lost Blaise, only to find him sitting in some outdoor chairs later…
After our shopping excursion, we went to the food court to grab lunch. That is a fun/different experience. You go to the food court and there are several choices, just like in an American mall. The difference is you sit at a table and ALL of the restaurants bring you a menu. There are 5-6 people swarming you, shoving menus in your face, flipping to different items and pointing. I usually enjoy the food court experience, but after only 5 hours of sleep and a lot of shopping, I was overwhelmed and didn’t comprehend food choices well.
Then, Kerry demonstrated what it was like for him trying to collect receipts for EV’s new accounting program. We’re using it, too, but since it’s all we’ve ever known, it’s not bad at all (actually pretty convenient). That’s not exactly Kerry’s take on it! 🙂
After all of our researching was done, we had a few hours to relax back at the guest house. I tried to take a nap, but my mind was buzzing with all of the information we’d learned that morning, plus all of the coffee and Coke I’d had to try to stay awake. I ended up wandering around the grounds, and ended up meeting a couple from Indiana who were there adopting their children from an orphanage in Kampala. I sat and chatted with them for a while, sharing ideas about adoption, missions, and the Midwest. It was pretty awesome!
Once everyone had rested up a bit, we all went to Caffé Roma for dinner. If you followed my blog in 2011, then you’ll know that’s one of my favorite restaurants in Kampala. Their pizza is delicious, but more than that, the atmosphere is fantastic!
Just before bed, we celebrated Laura’s birthday with style! We had cake, sang happy birthday, and watched her blow out candles. It was a lot of fun, and it really points ahead to what it will be like to celebrate birthdays (and other holidays) as a family once we all live there together.
Just before bed, our passports with our new South Sudan visas were delivered to us. The Republic of South Sudan is getting quite official now!!
Highlights of Monday:
-Catching up with everyone in the Uganda office (the Hendersons and Kerrie Snow)
-Getting to walk about in the delightful, Ugandan weather
-Realizing just how many supplies we’ll have access to when we live there–we’ll have much more variety than just rice and beans!
-Meeting fellow Hoosiers in Uganda!
-Caffé Roma and Laura’s birthday celebration
Lows of Monday:
-Exhaustion and jet lag…never fun
-In Kampala the spiritual attacks I experienced throughout the trip began. It’s very difficult to explain, and I journaled about it a lot, but I really struggled hard with discouragement and some other really personal attacks from the enemy. I didn’t know it that day, but the attacks were about to get a LOT worse as we travelled into South Sudan.
