Uganda

Uganda is a beautiful place; it's been called the pearl of Africa - whether or not this is true I really can't say yet, but it is quite nice.  In fact it actually reminds me of Oregon in a way - lots of green, but Uganda has the tropical thing going on.  It's very lush and green, set off by the red dirt.  We were surrounded by trees, grasses, palm trees, various types of banana trees, sugar cane fields, and we saw pineapple plants, avocado and mango trees. I didn't see many flowers though, just a lot of green. There are also animals all over the place, farm animals.  Lots of goats and chickens, cows, some pigs.  As you walk down the road the goats and cows are tied up and grazing, while the chickens, chicks, and occasional ducks are roaming around.

First day, driving with the window down - not a tan or a burn, just covered in red dirt!

The people are pretty fantastic, whether you're in town or in a village.  In towns and the city they're more used to seeing mzungus, than in the village, so you get a slightly different response, but they're all usually very welcoming. Ugandans are proud of they're country and excited to share it with visitors, they hope we enjoy it as much as they do.  Everyone wanted to know where we were from and what we thought of Uganda, and share their favorite things.  Though we get some strange questions and some curious looks, it's all good. 

Goat

I had some women be absolutely in awe of my hair, some in the villages have never seen anything like it, and think it's the most beautiful thing (which, I assure you, by our standards it's a dreadful, dirty mess).  And the kids are in awe of the fact that we have body hair, freckles and moles, and tattoos!  This was pretty funny.  Africans appear to have very littly hair on their bodies, so my hairy arms (and yes, I'll admit it, legs too - shaving in a cold shower is rather unpleasant, and therefore did not happen often) were very interesting - which was funny until they started trying to pull it out!  Tattoos were a whole other crazy thing - they even found mine, which I didn't think they'd see. They pick and rub at them - I suppose trying to fugure out what the heck that is!

Stephanie getting examined

I spent all of my time in the southern part of the country, which was fantastic, but unfortunately did not have time to explore the rest.  I saw the capital city, Kampala, a bit of the up and coming Entebbe - where the airport is, rafted the Nile in Jinja, and spent time working and living in a few different towns and villages.  There is plenty more to see though - lake areas, mountains and forests in the west where you can go Gorilla trekking (heard it's amazing) and Murchison Falls and other important towns in the north, which I hope to go back and see at some point.  The conflict in the north has recently ended, so it is still coming back, but it's supposed to be fine to visit, just check before you go.  Kampala has also been experiencing some new issues lately, that started up right when I got there.  They weren't effecting anything outside of the capital as of the time I left - my fingers are crossed that it gets taken care of quickly and doesn't become something to deter people from visiting.  Uganda, and east africa in general, are an excellent introduction to Africa.

In Jinja, at the Nile

Uganda is a beautiful place, with plenty to do and see...you should go!