I HAVE ARRIVED

I arrived in Entebbe yesterday. Spent the night in the Boma. Today, I met up with Alice Bator, the daughter of a woman my mom works with (and who came to Uganda last summer with me), and her two roommates. We went to the Botanical Gardens, which was very nice. Unfortunately, it cost extra to use our cameras and I did not have enough money, as my debit card does not seem to work in most ATM machines. I solved that problem later in the day by exchanging some US dollars for Ugandan shillings. We traveled on boda-bodas to and from the gardens. This is a little bicycle (motorized scooter) taxi. Definitely not my cup of tea, although definitely an experience (and probably better than a regular taxi which are typically jammed packed with people and drive erratically).

We then spent the afternoon at the Boma, eating lunch and hanging out. There was a group of 10 people eating lunch, while we were there. We found out later after we befriended the head of UN security in Uganda (originally from Kosovo) and a security officer (from New Jersey, whose business card says firearms instructor) that it was a group of very important UN people who had just come in from New York. But, yeah, we are now friends with the Head of Security and another security officer. We even have their cell phone numbers. At around three we got a private taxi to Kampala. He was a very good driver :) We checked into my fancy hotel and now we are hanging out at Alice's apartment eating pasta and watching a movie.

Tomorrow morning at 7, I head with Elizabeth Ross, the executive director of the Kasiisi Project, out to the Kibale National Forest where I will be spending the rest of my time here. Coincidently, the guy behind me on the plane, who happened to be staying at the Boma and rode with me from the airport, was here visiting his girlfriend who is staying on the field station also.

That's all for today. Till next time.