Here in Uganda I find everything around me so fascinating. So far I can see that the topography and flora are distinctly different from the other African countries I've been to. There are lots of green mangos on the trees right now (maybe I'll get to eat some ripe ones :) ) and I saw pineapple, banana, papaya, melon, and other unknown fruit at the market. The countryside is indeed lush, as described in the literature. Kampala is sprawled out in a bowl and on small hills with a center that has a few tall buildings. The air pollution - mostly from diesel fuel (trucks and mini-busses, especially) - is terrible. The stores seem to offer a good selection of items.
The big news here is about the murder during a carjacking in Johannesburg of a S0uth African big reggae star, Lucky Dube. The Ugandan press says that after South Africa, Uganda has had the must Lucky Dube fans and all are in mourning, while also wondering why South Africa can't decrease its terrible crime rates to low levels like Uganda has.
So far I've been hanging out with the folks who arrived early and are staying at this hotel in Kampala. Only 1 is African - an Ethiopian, and the rest are Westerners with various English accents. In Jinja we will have the full group of 33 with about 7 Ugandans among them, so I expect to learn more about the country, perhaps especially when we go off to some park to have them do a scavenger hunt in teams using the GPS equipment.-Spee
1 comment:
Oh no! I didn't know that Lucky Dube had been murdered! I'm not sure if I've actually met him or not, but I've listened to lots of his music so I feel like I knew him.
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