ponds, pimm's and proposals

November 4^th, 2010

This past week and a half or so has been a bit of a roller coaster.  Last week I was able to experience a part of Kampala that most people living here never will. And I am not gloating, but it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. And this week has been very hectic as we have been rushing around putting a proposal together for yesterday.

But let me begin with last week. Dave, my roommate, is the co-founder of his own organization – the United Future Foundation. An investor in his organization was here in Kampala last week, to check out the project, and also to enjoy a bit of a vacation. Dave played host for the week, and in the evenings, he would invite me out to have dinner with him. We ended up at restaurants in two of the nicest hotels in the city. The first night was Tuesday and we were at the Serena Hotel Kampala. I couldn’t have noticed a difference in the steak I had at this place from one you would get at The Keg.  The food was delicious; the conversation was flowing, and soon followed the alcohol. The banker made sure our drinks were not half empty before ordering us another round. I must have had 5 Club (a local Ugandan beer which have a volume of 500ml), and when you mix in several shots of Southern Comfort and Bailey’s it makes for an extremely difficult day at work on Wednesday! Nonetheless, the night wasn’t over quite yet. The restaurant sits on a patio, overlooking a pond. The banker looks at it, and thinks aloud, ‘I wonder how deep it is.’ It is an artificial pond, designed by the hotel, for aesthetics and to create a certain ambiance. Feeling pretty good at this point, I say ‘It’s not more than a couple feet.’ He comes back straight away with an offer of 400,000Ugandan Shilling ($200USD or so) to walk through it from end to end. At this point in the night, I can’t refuse. I roll up my pants, because I am so confident that is shallow. Lucky for me, I am right, and it was just up to my knees. I managed to get through it unscathed, but not without some difficulty mind you, compliments of the alcohol, the slippery algae and the sharp rocks at the bottom.  I have no idea what the hotel staff thought about us ‘mzungus’ (white people) walking through the pond, and the next day I felt like a bit of an ass, but it was definitely a fun night. And I made 400,000UGX!

The next day at work I actually find myself with quite a few things to do and I can’t remember the last time I was so hungover. I swear the hangovers get worse as you get older! It was a long day, to say the least.

Two nights later, and we are at it again, at another hotel in the city, the Emin Pasha. I tried to control the amount of alcohol I was taking in, but the banker had a way of keeping a watchful eye on your glass and ordering you a drink without you ever noticing. I did have the pleasure of discovering a drink I have never heard of before, and coming from English blood, I can say I am a bit ashamed that I hadn’t. Pimm’s is the drink, and it is considered to be England’s second drink (the first being tea, of course). It is a gin based liquor that you mix with sparkling lemonade and tonic, and you fill your class with fresh fruit (apples, cucumbers, strawberries, etc). Easy to drink and very refreshing. Friday wasn’t quite as bad as Wednesday had been, but I was certainly feeling a bit under the weather.

Friday was his last night in town, and we ended up at the same place as the night before, drinking Pimm’s, Souther Comfort, Club, Gin and Vodka, and enjoying gourmet cooked food. It was certainly fun, but looking back, it all felt a little colonial. That is not the Uganda I am here to experience.  And while it was fun at the time, I think it is important to remember that most Ugandans will never see the inside of these places, and that puts things back into perspective a little bit.

The next day is Saturday, and as I am sure most of you back at home did that night, I ended up celebrating Halloween at a party. I lazed around most of the day without a costume, when at about 5 Dave and I decided to venture down to Owino Market, in Old Kampala. And I wasn’t prepared for what I was getting myself into. The market is massive, and has everything you could want, I am sure, if you are prepared to look for it. You are walking on a path, one person in width, and sharing it with two or three people, through a maze of used clothing, electronics, toiletries and hygiene products and anything else you can imagine, all the while having every vendor you walk by grab you by the arm, or yell ‘Mzungu’ at you. It is 30°C, and you are just sweating. I was fascinated and overwhelmed at the same time. I ended up finally getting a Rastafarian outfit (a XXL Bob Marley t shirt, with a beanie hat, and a couple Rasta coloured accessories – all in all, a rather poor effort if I might say so). The party was fine, but I was exhausted from the week before. I was looking forward to a Sunday of relaxation.

Going into Monday, I knew it was going to be a busy few days with the proposal deadline being Wednesday. We had no shortage of things to get done, between completing the activities, writing the narrative, and creating the budget. Most frustrating was contacting the local governments of the districts AMREF was proposing to work in and getting a letter confirming their support. Dozens of emails and phone calls were required to get these letters scanned and emailed to us, and we only managed to get 7 of 8 before we had to submit the proposal. So we will see if that has an impact on whether or not it gets funded. Tuesday night, three of us were in the office working to get it done until nearly midnight, just to be back at 8 the next morning.

The whole experience has taught me how much different business is conducted here than back home. I was told to be prepared for the slower pace of life, and that things take a long time to get done. Knowing this doesn’t make it any easier to deal with when it is actually happening and there are deadlines to meet.

Now that the proposal is over, I expect I will be heading to Pader in the coming days – either the weekend or Monday I presume. I am excited to get out of Kampala. While I have familiarized myself with the city, I am at a point where I am ready to explore the country. The pollution alone is enough to make you want to get away! When you wash your face, blow your nose, clean your ears and do your laundry, you can actually see the black from the car exhaust! Also, at the end of the month or beginning of December I am hoping to make it to the southwest of the country, near the border of Rwanda, Tanzania, and the DRC. The other intern, Steph, has been down there since we arrived. You can check her blog out here. She has some pretty sweet pictures up, and it looks gorgeous where she is staying. The region is filled with lush forests and rolling hills.

I am preparing (and by preparing, I went out jogging this morning for the first time) to run a marathon (or part of one) at the beginning of December, which will be a challenge.  [Aside: Brougham, I am looking to you for some inspiration, any suggestions are welcome ;) ] I don’t have to register until a couple days before it’s held, so depending on how well the training goes, I will decide if I run the 10K or half marathon.  I can’t even think about a full marathon at this point.

Still no pictures. I apologize.

 Feel free to drop a line, would love to know how things are going with you.