Sunday evening, I think?
It seems like the days and nights have some how blended together to the point that it is now hard to tell what day it is. I can tell that it is night, well evening, because it is dark out. If I look at my computer clock it still shows the time back home in Ontario. It’s 1:22 pm there. Sunday afternoon. We wanted to send an email just to say hi to the kids but discovered we don’t have as easy access to internet as we had hoped. I think we are discovering many things rather quickly. But let me back up a bit.
We had a restful night of sleep in Amsterdam before heading out to the airport. There was some stress involved there but that is to be expected between two people moving into a very different chapter. Our flight to Nairobi was fine although I think it felt much longer that the flight across the Atlantic earlier in the week. Was that still less than a week ago? Nairobi airport was a surprise even though I had received some hints as to its antiquated state. Still it was functional and we survived even though our flight was delayed by about 45 minutes and the whole process was somewhat confusing.
We left Nairobi somewhere around 10:50 pm for a short flight to Entebbe. Entebbe is the location of the airport in Uganda. We were met at the airport by a nice man whose name I don’t remember but it was evident he didn’t like meeting late flights. The drive to Kampala was an eye opener. Well, opening the door on what I thought was the passenger side of the car was the eye opener. Can you say right hand drive? When it is late at night and you are tired and lights are coming at you down the road but they seem to be on the wrong side as far as you are concerned, it can be a little unnerving.
Anyway, we were deposited at a very nice guest house after waking the armed guard (another eye opener) and the front desk staff.
To say the least we crashed.
This morning we woke around 9. Had a nice breakfast although the taste and texture of what were described as sausages prevented us from finishing them.
About 11 am Patrick, the Principal of the Theological College met us along with a hired driver. The trip to Mbale was to take about 4-5 hours. Always leave room for traffic and what ever else might happen. Our might happen was one flat tire and the discovery of a flat spare but in a reasonable location. We got to smile and say hello, good-bye, yes and no to what seemed like 20 or more children, way more didn’t come near us. The exhausted their English on us very quickly. We were very thankful for a big shade tree and some convenient bushes while we waited.
We also engaged in some road side dinning, well sort of. We braved trying the fried bananas. We have some left, enough said. The bottled water is good! We wondered what the quality of the chicken will be that Patrick bought for his wife and placed in a plastic bag on the warm floor of the warm car from 1 pm till perhaps 7:30 by the time he got home.
What else shall I tell you. The sights, the sounds, the smells were a little overwhelming.
Smells, not nearly as bad as I thought they might be but diesel fumes are definitely not on my list of favorites. Sights, very diverse. Still processing those. I brought the camera into the car thinking of taking pictures while we drove and then deciding that Africa is not intended to be one big photo opportunity. I will drink in the people and the scenery with my eyes and then chose how to portray life here. Sounds, car horns have a very useful function here. Other than that it is quieter than I had expected.
That brings us to Mbale. We arrived around 5 so our trip was about 6 hrs. Not bad.
We then went for dinner which was also not bad. Finally Patrick brought us to the College just after 7. It was already very dark so we don’t have our real first impression on the campus.
Our room is on the third floor of the dorm building. we do have our own little bathroom for which we give thanks. Other than that we will learn to live with little. Can honestly say that when you arrive after a very long and somewhat tireing journey you do get hit with a “what have we gotten ourselves into” feeling.
There are more surprises ahead, of that I am sure.
I know of a few more but I will let you absorb all of this first.
Thank you for your love, prayers and support.
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