This post I a hodge-podge of a bunch of different things, first these are the pictures that I was going to post before. The first few are from my visit from the Kabaka’s palace. This is the building that the King of the Baganda people lives in when he is in Kampala.
When Idi Amin was in power he had an interesting relationship with many of the world super powers. One of these people was the royalty of the UK, from which Uganda got its independence. As Idi Amin was rising to power he was given a fleet of Rolls Royces and Bentleys from the Queen, these were the first cars of their kind in Africa. All that remains of these cars not are these crumpled chaises and axle sets; they were destroyed in the 70’s in the bombings of the city when Amin was being forced from power.
This is what is left for Amin’s torture chamber; they are in an underground bunker on the grounds of the Kabaka’s palace. Amin would have his victims driven around the palace grounds then taken into the chambers so that they wouldn’t know how close they still were. What a horrific place.
Directly across the city on another hill is the Buganda parliament, the parliament had a wall with all of the 56 clans represented. This is me next to my clan, the crested crane.
This is a new fruit I had never seen, they called it a tree tomato. It was sort of strange, it tasted just like a tomato.
When we were visiting the healers in the field last week one of them knows how much I like passion fruit, so she gave me a whole basket full of them when she had grown and picked from her own garden that morning.
These next few are from my time staying in Buyijja. From the croc farm. This is a man fishing on Lake Victoria; he caught some while we were there.
These crocodiles were brought to the crocodile farm from the National Wildlife Authority. The guide at the croc farm told us that they needed to be removed from their natural area because they had eaten someone...
This little boy is named Mathias; his Dad is the caretaker for the land of the field school. Every morning he would bring me some passion fruit, most of the time they would be under ripe and as hard as a rock, but it was still nice. He also brought me a squash one morning.
This last weekend I went to the source of the Nile in Jinja. It was only about a 2hr taxi ride. I stayed the night at a hostel that is perched above the first set of rapids on the Nile called Bujjagali Falls. This is the view from the bar of the hostel, and my new desktop background.
This morning I was at a site called the Official Source of the Nile. From this site I took a boat ride around the headwaters from where that funnel out of Lake Victoria. I saw this monitor from the boat.
This concrete pillar is the official “Zero Point” of the Nile, this is the point from which the length of the river is measured, all of the way thought Egypt to the Mediterranean.
These next few pictures are of my commute to work. Part of the reason for me doing a blog is that I don't want to forget my experiences, and my daily walk from my apartment building to the office is definitely something I don't want to forget. Plus, i thought everyone would like a glimpse into my daily activities.
As I leave my building I first pass the armed security guards, but they didn't want their picture taken. Across from my building is this sculpture thing, it is the entry gate to a daycare. Although the kids are on break now, when they were in school some of them would run out and say "Bye Muzungu" to me in the morning.
This is the road on my way out the door.
As I walk, I pass a grocery which is also a stage area for several boda-boda drives. This guy has given me free rides to work a couple of times when he was headed in the same direction. These bodas are the main way to get around the city, they don't need to wait for the traffic. But, because of that they can go pretty fast weaving between cars and other bodas its a new adventure every time you get on one.
The little girl in this picture waits for me to walk past most mornings, I taught all of the kids on this particular corner my English name, "Tyrah," because I see them so often. Most of the time they run at me with their fists out, and yelling bonga. They make me laugh every morning.
These are just your everyday cow and a few goats, my mornings in Uganda would be complete if I didn't see at least one type of livestock.
This is the primary school which is on the way, I take a left here.
This is the entrance and sign for the office. Most mornings when i arrive at work about half of the office is there working already, that is when they usually engage in the customary East African greetings which take about 5-10 minutes.
Introductions are very important here, and a sign of respect for both parties involved. They try and force me into doing it in Luganda, which I can usually struggle through. The staff has told me that being able introduce myself in Luganda is one of the more important things while I'm here. I have also noticed this sort of hum that most Ugandans make as they are talking to someone, it is almost like a sigh as if they are agreeing with what you are saying. I think I've started doing it. I'm going to miss the introductions when I get home, it makes having a conversation so much easier.
My time here is almost over, less than a month left. This summer is slowly fizzling out, and I am definitely not ready to go back to school yet.
