The journey & arrival in Africa

Greetings from Uganda, the Pearl of Africa (as stated on the giant welcome sign at Entebbe Airport)!! I have been here all of three hours and it has already been a whirlwind adventure.

Getting here was a real "whoopin" as George W. would say ... American Airlines was beyond crowded and I sat crunched up for 10 hours (we left an hour late) next to a rather large not-very-pleasant gentleman .. Luckily, the movie choices were varied and the crew was very kind to me thanks to a "shout out" from our good friend and former UA parent, Rebecca M. , who alerted the crew to my presence (thank you!!). We'll be blogging more about the multi-talented Rebecca M. next month when she flies us over to Tokyo on our way to Beijing - but that's next month...

Stopping at London Heathrow was no festival but I did manage to "drive by" the lovely British air lounge long enough to get some fruit and a mini chocolate croissant before boarding my next 10 hour flight. Something about the UK has a hilarious and profound linguistic effect on me - the minute we landed I found myself saying "thanks very much indeed" as if this UK accented phrase just naturally flies out of my mouth every day.

I did have a very hard time understanding my Scottish companions on the flight over and I am not too fond of them since the minute we landed they sprayed mosquito repellent everywhere which caused me to choke and sneeze all at the same time (thanks everso). I had to laugh at the looks they were getting from the very smartly dressed Ugandans on the flight who certainly did not feel the need to spray themselves...

Well, after I escaped from the mosquito sprayed airplane, my very first impression of Uganda was the tropical humidity which reminded me of Brazil. The temperature is in the high 70's and there is a lovely cool, clean breeze. As promised, Alexis and Agnes were at the airport to meet me with open arms. They quickly shuttled me into the official "Empower African Children" van and we took off into the late night in search of a snack for me. The snack did not come easily as several places were either out of food or not acceptable to my hosts but then we did come across a vendor of "Rolex", the Ugandan equivalent of the Mexican breakfast taco - basically an omelet rolled into a piece of round bread - YUM!! Agnes also insisted that I try some delicious roasted pork which seems to me to be the cousin of Mexican carnitas so you know I feel at home.

We did have an uncomfortable moment when we walked by a man hitting a woman on the street - Alexis calmly told me to keep walking which we did and when we turned around a minute later, we realized that Agnes was gone. Agnes, true to her upbringing and true to her nature of being a voice for the voiceless, had gone to ask a policeman for help. We aren't sure where it went from there but as always, I am impressed with Agnes.

Now I am installed in the very lovely "petit village" hotel which is not only beautiful but also has great wireless internet so this is grand. I will post pictures soon but again, I was reminded of the Eco Lodge in Bahia, Brazil because of the use of Hibiscus flowers in decorating the room and the rather attractive mosquito net covering my bed (the Scottish would be envious). Everyone has been most kind and welcoming and my only challenge (not even a real challenge) is that lighting is very minimal - on the streets, in the restaurants, in my hotel room, etc. People here must have better vision than I do because I am squinting quite a bit - but I will adjust of course!

ok - it's so, so late - tomorrow will be a full day so I will report on all of the happenings..

Love from Uganda!!
Cecilia