Arrived in Kampala

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Ok, so after a first terrible plane ride, we have made it to Uganda. On the flight from Jacksonville to Detroit, descending was not good. I had been sick with some sinus-something and when we descended, the pressure built up in my ears so much that I passed out on the way to landing. With some other issues that occurred, I was not in the best mood and thought this was an omen to a terrible summer. However, the flight on the way to Amsterdam was a dream. I got a whole row to myself and I slept like a baby. The plane rides to Nairobi and Entebbe were fine as well. It was just a long trip. So, we were picked up by this guy named Charles who drove us to Kampala—we got all of our luggage by the way. 

In Kampala, we stayed at the Holiday Express—which had a welcome rug that claimed it was the Holiday Inn Express. It was decently priced and we got a discount for being connected to Kibale—a hot shower, nice beds and E! TV were a part of the price. We learned of Paris Hilton getting out of jail in favor of house arrest only to be told by the judge to go back to jail. But that’s all we know for now.

Friday was a day packed full of errands in Kampala.  Surprisingly, I find Kampala to be a very pleasant African capital.  African capitals are particularly my favorite places to be but Kampala is very easy-going and comfortable. It was hotter than hell though. We exchanged money and I became for the first time a “millionaire” with my 3,300,000 Uganda shillings.  I had a difficult time counting all the bills of 20,000—I haven’t seen so many zeros in my life! We then did some shopping at ShopRite—the South African version of a mini-Wal-Mart that is sweeping across Africa. Joel also needed to do some shopping for gifts so we got to see all the nice places to go for gifts. There are some gorgeous items here and such a selection to choose from. I have told myself that I am not waiting to get anything, it I find something, then I need to get it. There are such lovely woven baskets and other crafts—some of the best work I have seen.

Oh, and we rode on boda-bodas. These are motorcycles that drive you where you need to go. The sweep through traffic jams and can apparently go in the opposite direction of the driving lane. We rode these 4 times! It’s kind of exciting to go through traffic with no traffic lights and dodging minibuses and other vehicles. I will never drive in Kampala but it was fun to ride those.

Friday night, we met up with Ferek and Gosia who are field researchers at Kibale. We had dinner at this great Indian restaurant and then decided to go to this local Ugandan restaurant—the Slow Boat—for beers. When we arrived, we learned that the Fabulous Squad was there and it was a night that the bar lady called “karaoke dancing”. The members of the Fabulous Squad were showing off their dancing skills as well as their lip syncing skills. Oh yeah, Britney Spears had nothing on this group! Well, one of the acts, 2 guys were lip syncing a ballad and I guess it is a part of their act, they went and grabbed Kate and me from the audience. We had to go on stage and dance with this guys while they lip synced to us. It was so embarrassing. And we have it on video! Well, not to be out-done, two ladies from the Squad got up to sing their ballads and got Joel and Freerk up on stage. Those boys really hammed it up for the crowd! The got down on the ground and yes, we have video of that too! =) Then this amputee guy gets up on stage and hands over 1000 shillings to Joel for his dancing skills. It was just too much. You had to have been there to really share in the laughter (and if I had written this soon after the incident, I would have recalled more details!). At this one place, I so more gyrating and moves that I didn’t expect to see in conservative Africa. One of the Squad members dressed in drag and came out with the biggest ass. They stuffed some black shorts and made this table-top butt that you really could set a tray on and then put bright red undies over the shorts. He then had a skirt on that swished at the right time whenever he moved. He also painted his face black which we couldn’t figure out why. Anyway, he had great legs and arms and the moves he did had us rolling on the floor. I can’t do this bizarre episode justice but it was definitely a night that will remain for stories later. =)