More details, as much for me as for you. :-)

06-04-09

Our first Sunday in Uganda passed very quickly and pleasantly. We went to church with L and M, a MAF family (also from Canada). The girls had a good time in Sunday School, and we enjoyed seeing church in a new culture. Let me sum up: loud, loud and more loud. :-) The bass thumped in my chest, making me wonder if my heart rhythm was about to be reset. The music was good, but unfortunately, we only knew 2 of the songs. The sermon was on Romans 12 and being committed to a local church body. Afterwards we chatted with the pastor and his wife for a bit. They’re Americans who have lived here for 7 years. They didn’t have a lot of time to talk though, since the next service started about 5 or 10 minutes after we were done. (I think there are 4 services a week.)

After church, L and M took us to a mall that was quite impressive! It has a number of features, including bowling, a large selection of shops (including a nice, not-too-overpriced English bookstore), and a food court. We ate lunch in the food court, which was definitely a cultural experience. We were seated by a hostess, then surrounded by servers from the different restaurants. They all offered their menus, and hovered around the table while we made our choices. There was Chick’n Express (a sort of KFC copy), Lebanese food, two Indian places, Italian food, Chinese food and Cuban food. The girls had boring chicken and fries, Matthew had a delicious pizza and I had chicken tikka masala with naan. I think we all enjoyed it and it worked well for us, since Matthew didn’t have to suffer through Indian food. :-) Our tables were beside the open air side of the food court, overlooking a golf course. Close to the end of our meal, the girls spotted some storks walking on the course. L told us that some years ago, there were only a few pairs left, and were protected. It seems that they flourished under this protection and are now considered to be pests and scavengers.

*I haven’t actually tried this yet, but I think if you go on Google Earth, you will be able to find our house at 0°17’11.81”N 32°35’18.54”E We are in the city of Kampala, but not right in the middle of it at all.

*Yesterday when we got home, I found rat poop in my kitchen. Ugh.

07-04-09

*Matthew isn’t flying today, so we’re going shopping in a bit. I think that people here think we’re a little bit crazy to think that it’s so exciting to go shopping here. :-) The girls also want to go bowling, so we are going to see how expensive it is. If nothing else, I’m sure we’ll have some ice-cream or something. (There’s also a theatre there, but I’m quite sure it will be very expensive...)

*Yes, Jocelyn, we can buy real Cheerios! I’ve only seen two kinds, multigrain and honey. We tried the honey and they were quite good. Shall I bring you a box? :-)

*Jenni mentioned in a comment that the tension seems to be gone...I feel more relaxed than I have in about a year. And for sure, more than in the last 3 months! I have no commitments besides my family, Matthew is relaxed because he is not responsible for anything besides the flights that are assigned to him, we aren’t worried about political drama, etc. It’s a very restful time for us, in many ways.

*I’m back from shopping now and feel very spoiled! :-) We experienced some culture shock...a mall with affordable things...I bought a t-shirt, found a great bookstore with a tempting selection of books that I resisted for today, ate fajitas and got groceries. It seems so different from Mada, and I have to keep telling myself that it’s not the real Uganda, either. I’m hoping that Matthew will take the camera on one of his next flights so that I can get an idea of what the rest of the country is like. It’s becoming clear to me, the more I travel, that you can’t judge a country by its capital city.

*The MAF team here continues to make sure that we have everything we need, including an active social life! Yesterday we went swimming with a few of the moms and their kids. Today we had a lunch invite, that we declined, as well as an offer of grocery shopping. Tomorrow evening we are planning to go out for pizza with one family. Tonight is their weekly prayer meeting. It’s been good to see how another MAF program operates. It’s especially interesting since it’s big compared to Mada.