12/30/09 9:30PM
Uganda Day 1
We have finally arrived at Jinja, Uganda, our new home for the next six months. We left LAX at 4:00pm on 12/28/09 and arrived in Jinja at 8:00pm on 12/30/09. Emirates airlines made a wonderful first impression, I will definitely try to fly with them in the future. When we checked in our bags they were overweight, this came as no surprise since Kurt and I both packed six months worth of personal items into one bag each. Thankfully I came in 1 pound under the absolute limit, and the charge for an overweight bag was much less expensive than I had anticipated. To top it off, while we were paying for our stuffed to the gills bags the nice lady helping us asked if we were aware because we had an 11 hour layover in Dubai that Emirates would provide us with a hotel room at no charge if we put the request in prior to arriving in Dubai. Staying in a hotel overnight sounded much better than sleeping on the airport floor so we ran the idea past Eydie, our team leader and after asked a few questions about how difficult it is to get in and out of the Dubai airport we booked four rooms for our team. Upon arriving at the hotel in Dubai we were also informed we would all be getting dinner and breakfast compliments of Emirates as well. What a great way to start our trip, I just feel that God is giving his blessings all along the way.
As we drove from Entebbe airport to our hotel in Jinja, I wasn’t surprised by the buildings, or structures; however, there were a few new sites to me, such as the man walking down the road with a fully feathered turkey it appeared he’d just purchased from the market slung over his shoulder. Or the full skinned bodies of numerous animals hanging in the outdoor market ready for purchase. Cows and goats meander down the side of the roads unattended, and I’m left wondering how they know who’s animal it is? Are they community animals? I’ve heard that a community here is like a family so I suppose that would make sense. Eydie insisted that we all stop along the way and get what the locals call chicken on a stick, and bananas. I should have known better but I instantly pictured a shish-kobab. To my surprise I was handed a stick that looked like someone had just stabbed a chicken right through the breast and wing and severed the rest of the body from it. It wasn’t a pretty picture, after examining it for any feathers that might have been missed for a full minute I tentatively took a bite and found that it tasted much better than it looked. Eydie filled us in that it’s becoming a tradition that on the first visit to Uganda you have to try this deceivingly delicious food. I think it’s a good way to break the ice on trying things out of your comfort zone.
-Brandi
