This day I woke up bright and early to catch the sunrise. This was a day of many firsts and more to come. We went on our first ride on the local form of public transport known as a āmatatu.ā We walked down the street to the bus stop known here as a āstageā and took the matatu to the nearest mall called Acacia. Here we had a brief math lesson as we calculated crazy conversion rates from Canadian Dollars into Ugandan shillings and we took out money at the ATM, then we went straight for lunch. I would like to explain the conversions but it requires a phD in calculus so letās not and say I did. We dined at Caffesserie which was a refreshing and beautiful cafĆ©, I canāt even find the words to describe it. I ate the most incredible mashed potatoes and chicken burger, better than anything I have eaten in Canada or USA.Ā
I also ordered a glass of fresh mango and passion fruit juice that soothed my soul. Fresh fruit juice brings me to a comfortable state that reminds me of my home town in Mexico.
After lunch, we loaded our cell phones loaded with data plans. Here is where we were shown how to use our new portable wifi router! I thought it was really neat, itās literally a tiny little pod, sort of the size of an old flip phone but super sleek and thin. We carry this around town and it wires wifi internet to any device we connect to it. So far Iāve got a nice comfortable 35gb load per month which is quite convenient for laptop use and super speedy too. We then took a tour to the grocery store. Honestly, they have pretty much everything you can think of from home, here. All the chocolates and candies I like and can think of, they have Nutella and almost every brand name stuff too (ie. Crest toothpaste, Listerine mouthwash, Always pads, etc.). Prices vary, honestly, and selection can be scarce from place to place and Iām not gonna sit here and tell you itās as good as Vancouver, but itās getting there!
We took an Uber home and unloaded our newly purchased edible goods. Yes, Uber! Itās incredible! First of all, driving in Uganda is probably one of the most abstract concepts I have yet experienced. And I have seen Mexico City traffic and driving. Things to know about driving in Uganda: UK style right hand drives on the left side of the street, ZERO driving rules or regulations what so ever. Itās literally a free for all. There are no marked roads, lanes or street name or signs. Occasionally, as rare as the sighting of a local Pikachu, a wild traffic light appears! But as of yet, I think Iāve only seen about a handful of those and Iām almost forgetting what they look like and their true purpose is because surprisingly enough, the system (or lack thereof) in Uganda works! By some miracle, people have been managing to get around quite okay! BEST part about this day was coming home to a camel casually crossing our front gate. Good night, Uganda.