11 July 2008

(PHOTO: HOUSE WE ARE RENTING IN MUTUNGO, KAMPALA)

Hello again

So we’ve been here just over a week now.

We came to Kampala, the capital, several days ago and have been very fortunate, as we now have a house to stay in for a while. Eric, the president of the British Residents Assoc'n has been incredibly helpful. His neighbour has gone to the States till 5th Sept so we are able to rent her house till then. It's lovely, in a peaceful setting, with a lovely garden and beautiful views. He has been so helpful in explaining how things work, taking us to the supermarket, helping us get internet access etc.
The house comes with a houseboy who does the washing, ironing, house cleaning, washing up, cleaning the car etc
It’s very strange having someone in your house most of the day who does household chores. We don’t even have to make the beds.

Kira has been merrily playing with a couple of lovely little African children next door. It's been such a joy to watch them playing together. They are aged 3 and 5 and call her 'Kiki'

It feels very much like ‘Africa’ here – lots of African people who are intrigued to see muzungus (white people), though are always very friendly when we greet them. Little children will stand and stare, then laugh and shout “muzungu!”

There is lots of very basic housing around, with people living quite poorly. It’s very much an outdoor way of living, unlike NZ and the UK which is an indoor way of living. It’s a slow pace of life and while people are often outside doing things there are lots of people who are outdoors, just sitting around, in no hurry at all.

Getting around Kampala is a bit of a challenge – it’s enormous, with horrendous traffic. There seems to be very few road rules, and you seem to drive however you like as long as you get to your destination.
We all braved using a boda boda today (motorbike taxi) – only used them because we are in a quiet area. Great fun!

Resources here are scarce, so you don’t waste anything. We have to buy bottled water, and bottled gas for the cooker. Power cuts (‘load shedding’) are frequent, and happen at planned intervals. We have them every 3 days, and as the house we are in doesn’t have a generator or inverter, we have no power at all, so go around with candles, torches and kerosene lamps. It’s a very different way of thinking.

We only have dial up connection (when the power is on!) and it’s very slow, but at least we are connected from time to time