MTN Marathon

                On December 5^th, 2010, after hardly any training, my friend Tiffany and I decided to run.  The MTN Marathon, which is put on by a local phone company, sponsors a marathon, a half-marathon, and a 10k (due to my lack of training, I opted for the 10k).  In the weeks leading up to the race I saw tons of people running the streets of Kampala to prepare for the big day.  Attire didn’t matter – people’s training attire ranged from tattered sandals and dresses to nice athletic gear that one would commonly find in any of the sports stores in the U.S. 

                To avoid the heat, the race began at 7:00 am.  To accommodate the crowd of over 20,000 runners; however, we were asked to come at 6:00 am.  In a place that is generally unorganized and on “African time”, the race was surprisingly organized and timely.  We were given packets several days before the race which included a bag, visor, informational packet, and tracking device for only 10,000 Ugandan Schillings (~$5)!  Additionally, since so many people were gathered within a small space, security was strictly enforced to prevent any sort of violence or terrorist attack.  We were subjected to metal screenings, pat-downs, and had to check any bags we may have brought.



Our view upon arrival to the race – makes me excited to see DIA in a few days :)



 

Waiting with Tiffany for the race to begin

A sea of yellow

                As the gunshot sounded and the race began, everyone began pushing and forcing themselves toward the front.  I would be surprised if no one was injured or trampled in the first several minutes of the race.  After about a kilometer; however, the crowd thinned out slightly.



Approaching my neighborhood

Some supporters and regulatory officials along the route

Nearing the finish line



Coming is 3889th out of over 20,000 people isn't so bad, is it?



Some of the Come Let's Dance staff coming to support us



I'm Thankful for Safaris

                Since I spent my Thanksgiving in Kampala, I decided to celebrate the holiday weekend a bit untraditionally.  The weekend began semi-traditionally as about twenty people came together for a Thanksgiving feast.  Of the twenty, only five were American; however, each person talked about what they were thankful for and each person brought a Thanksgiving dish.  We had two turkeys (keep in mind that they were still warm as the boda driver dropped them off from the market…), stuffing, cranberries, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and much more.   In typical Ugandan fashion, the power was out, so we ate in the dark.



Thanksgiving 2010

                Friday afternoon, my friends and I left work a little early and got in a minivan and began our 5-6 hour trek to Murchison Falls National Park where we were to go on safari.  Before we got out of Kampala; however, we found ourselves in the middle of a political rally.  Elections are held every four years and the next election will be held in February.  Due to the nature of African elections/politics, it may be good to get out of Kampala in February…

                We arrived at our cottage a little before 7pm.  In Uganda, it’s fairly important to travel during the day when consider that many people drive without lights, walk along the road, or that the potholes are so big, they practically swallow your car whole.   Once we arrived, we had dinner and went to bed early since breakfast was scheduled for 5:30 am.  We began driving to the national park at 6 am and arrived at the Nile at 7 am to catch the ferry taking us across the river and into the park. 

Sunrise over the Nile

                After being transported to the other side of the Nile, we began driving in search of lions, elephants, giraffe, buffalo, and leopards.  Within five minutes; however, we encountered a problem – our minivan was stuck in the mud and we had to wait for the Uganda Wildlife Authorities to come and not only tow us out, but to also jump start our battery that had died as we were attempting to get out of the mud.  This would set the pace for the rest of the game drive where we got stuck 4 more times (one more time which required being towed out of some more mud).  Although it was not ideal being stuck in the mud, it did give us a chance to do a little animal tracking.

Elephant tracks

Good thing we didn’t run into any lions while we were stranded…we would've been sitting ducks

Nevertheless, we were fairly successful at spotting a variety of animals during our game drive.

We saw many giraffe, some of which would gallop across the road were driving on

African Buffalo

I promise there’s a leopard somewhere in this picture

                After several hours, we headed back toward the Nile where we hopped on a small boat that allowed us to tour the wildlife along the Nile River.  While we were waiting; however, we were surrounded by a troop of baboons and a group of warthogs.  Although I am absolutely fascinated by primates, the erratic behavior of the baboons kept me from getting too close.

Notice the baby clinging to its mother on the right

                While on our boat tour, we saw many hippos, several crocodiles, a couple of elephants, and a variety of birds.  Our ending destination was Murchison Falls – an incredible waterfall, which the national park has been named after.

A bloat of hippos

Our captain, Admiral Nelson

Approaching Murchison Falls

Front Row - Me, Lara, and Tihana Back Row - Glen and Melanie -- in front of Murchison Falls

                Once we arrived at Murchison Falls, we were dropped off and began an hour-long hike up to the falls. 

                After a very full day, we were ready to go back to our cottage for dinner and to get some well-needed rest.  The next morning, we drove to the Budongo Forest Reserve to do some chimp trekking.  We came upon three different groups of females and their babies.  The first two groups were feeding.   The third was terrified of us and fled immediately.

If you look directly in the center of the photo, you can spot the chimp high in the trees

Peering high into the canopy trying to spot the female chimps feeding

Along the way, we also ran into colobus monkeys, which the chimps prey on

Our chimp trekking guide, Joshua

A Run-In With the Po Po's

The Ugandan police are corrupt.
Several nights ago my friends and I had our first encounter with the Ugandan police force.  We had just left a nice hotel where many ex-patriots and affluent Ugandans hang out.  After only traveling a block, a giant black van flashed its lights and proceeded to follow us.  The van was full of Ugandans dressed in camouflage who were waving their arms and fists at us threateningly.  Not yet realizing that this was the police, we quickly found a main road and attempted to out-run them (kind of reminded me of when Liz and I tried to out-run a couple of guys one night - the only difference was that Liz and I succeeded and the people we were trying to outrun didn't have guns...). 

When it was apparent that there was no other option but to pull over, we pulled into the driveway for the British consulate.  Our logic was that if we needed to, we could call in the help of the British Embassy since we had a British citizen in the car with us.  Upon our arrival to the embassy, the police van pulled behind us and essentially blocked us in.  Two officers came up and began giving us (unreasonable) reasons why they pulled us over  - I mean, we had only driven one block by the time they started following us, how many valid reasons could they give us?  I think they really only followed us for as long as they did because they saw that the car was full of Mzungus and were hoping to make a profit off of us and prove their authority. 

After unsuccessfully telling us why they pulled us over, they began to tell us we should have apologized profusely when we first began talking them.  Then they began telling my roommate how they were reluctant to begin talking to her because she looked Chinese and Chinese people are stubborn and cannot speak English (not that they are racist or anything).  Then they began asking why we were afraid of the police (as if they should ask after they nearly wrecked our car when we didn't do anything wrong...).  They continued to suggest that we go to the Wandegaya police station where we could sort everything out.  We adamantly refused.  After about 15 minutes of the police threatening us and exercising their authority over us, the tone changed and we saw an opportunity to "compensate them for their gas and time" (aka bribe them).  The police were nervous since we were in an area that was being videotaped, so they backed their van out of the range of the video cameras and the officers returned.  Although they laughed at us for our 20,000 schilling (about $10) bribe, they finally accepted and let us to go home. 

Although the general consensus is that the police will not intentionally harm foreigners, they definitely exploit them and exercise their authority whenever possible.  Corruption within the police force; however, is just the tip of the iceberg in Uganda.  Corruption permeates the entire society and could explain why this country (and perhaps the majority of the continent) is so slow to progress. 

The Nile is a River in Africa

                This past weekend, my University of Minnesota co-workers and I traveled to Jinja to raft the Nile.  Our group consisted of Melanie and Brandon (med students at the University of Minnesota and Harvard), Dave (an Infectious Disease physician at UMN), Tihana (a Croatian physician working in the UK who will be staying with us for the next month), and myself.  I feel a little out the loop, not being a physician and all…once we arrived in Jinja, three other Americans who are living in Rwanda and a local Rwandan joined our rafting team.  Our river guide was named Tutu, a Ugandan.

November 13th, 2010 - Rafting near the source of the Nile, Jinja, Uganda

                We rafted 31 km and went down 9 rapids – 4 of which were class 5 (to give you some perspective, a class 6 is a waterfall).  It is pretty much required that every raft will flip at least once before the day is over.  Given our rafting skills (we had an ex-rafting guide and an avid kayaker in our raft); we only flipped once – but only because of Tutu. 

An easy rapid to begin our day



The rapids became a little more intense...



I'm pretty sure I'm completely submerged at this point.  I should be in the 2nd row - I think you might be able to see my helmet if you look close enough.  Surprisingly, I didn't even fall out!



Where did our raft go?!?  Again, because of incredible rafting skills, we were able to survive the rapid and continue on our way down the Nile.

     Anyway, our day of rafting ended up being a great day.  We survived the rapids with no broken bones - just a few cuts and bruises.  By the way, I have a pretty sweet DVD of our day if anyone is interested in watching it over Christmas...

     To help relieve my sore muscles, the next day Tiffany Russell (a volunteer working just outside of Kampala who is from Steamboat, Colorado) and I went to Emin Pasha where we treated ourselves to a spa day.

Seriously - who would expect to find this oasis in the middle of Uganda?!?

     To top off the weekend, I went to my roommate Ann’s basketball game.  Ann is playing for A-1 Challenge, the national basketball team of Uganda and is the only mzungu in the entire league.  Her team has made it to the semi-finals.

Game 4 of 5 for the Ugandan National League Semi-Finals

Touch a Mzungu

     Generally, on my walk to and from work, the the only things that I walk past are the goats, cows, and chickens; however, today while I was walking home through "Shantytown," I passed a group of kids.  (Kids are everywhere here - probably because Uganda most likely has one of the highest fertility rates in the world.)  Because white people are such a novelty in this part of town, the kids usually stare at me...might wave...might yell MZUNGU (which means foreigner) in disbelief, but today as I was walking, 4 or 5 kids began yelling "MZUNGU" with a little more enthusiasm than I have seen before.  They then charged me and began grabbing my legs, my clothes, and whatever else they could get a hold of.  I think it is kind of like a game of chicken - who is brave enough to touch the mzungu?  Apparently all of these kids...haha

Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore

                Similar to Dorothy and her journey to Oz, in the past week, I have been transported to a world very different than my own.  Although moving across the world will inevitably introduce me to a completely different culture and a whole new set of experiences, I feel like I am adequately prepared.  Not only was I mentally ready for a big change in my life, my family and I have numerous friends who have traveled/worked/lived here.  Additionally, the large expatriate (foreign) community has necessitated the need to provide all modern amenities and conveniences.  Pretty much anything that I want, I can find here – it just might cost an arm and a leg.

                Anyways, to give you a quick rundown of what has been happening my first week in Kampala, I have moved into a house with two girls (Ann and Melanie) in their last year of med school at the University of Minnesota.  We live in Kamwokya, a neighborhood that would be equivalent to Cherry Creek by Colorado standards.  It is a fairly safe neighborhood, although we do have a giant metal gate with barbed wire on top as well as armed guards that are at our house 24 hours a day.  Kampala seems to have a thriving night life, which means that every night about 11:30 pm, the music begins.  Then every morning, the roosters wake me up when they begin crowing at about 6 am.  And don’t forget – mosquito nets are definitely a must to prevent malaria.

The view of Kampala from my window

We live within walking distance to Makerere University Walter Reed Project (MUWRP), where I work.  MUWRP is a government (I think militarily-associated) institution mainly focused on developing an HIV vaccine, although they are also looking at avian influenza and ebola vaccines.  My lab is very international – I have a British supervisor, a German post-doc, a Ugandan, and another American.  

                During my first week, I have definitely hit a few bumps – everything from losing some of my luggage (which has now been returned), to getting lost on my way home from the airport, to (by far the most tragic) my roommates’ friend who was in a bad boda (motorcycle taxi) accident the night arrived, which he did not survive.  From what it sounds like, he was an incredible person – brilliant, compassionate, and full of life.  Both of my roommates are devastated by this loss and will be travelling the next two weeks to try and grasp what has happened.  Despite this tragedy, I have a good perception of the city and am hopeful that I will enjoy my time here.  Within the first week, I have already met many interesting people from all over the world and have numerous thought-provoking conversations.  And can’t even imagine who else I will meet and what else I will experience throughout the next 10 months.