And so it begins...

Three months of prep, innumerable good-byes and roughly 9,000 miles later, we finally arrived in Uganda's capital city of Kampala late last night. I'd be lying if I said that landing at midnight after almost 24 hours of travel and speeding through the cities of a foreign country in close to total darkness didn't muddle my first impressions of this place, but taking in the Ugandan life and culture throughout the day today entirely restored my excitement for the journey ahead.

Home in Kampala--Makerere Guest House

While we're only in Kampala for a few nights, our guide Enoch and driver Samson have already made sure to show us some of the major highlights of the city. We began the day traversing the streets of Makerere University where we met, professor of educational studies, Dr. Gillian. Communicating about the Ugandan education system refocused my attention to the role I’ll be playing while I’m here and illuminated the serious differences in our practices between countries. (More on this in the weeks to come.)

Makerere University School of Education

After saying goodbye to Dr. Gillian, our day continued with a few errands, our first local meal, and a tour at the cleverly named “Uganda Museum”. Driving to and from each of these stops reminded me of the insanity that ensues in similar cities on the Amazing Race. Every road in Kampala is an accident waiting to happen. Not only are speed limits unobserved and any right-of-way system completely abandoned, but they’re also littered with boda-bodas (motorcycle taxis driven by anyone and everyone, regardless of age or license).

Anytime you do happen to stop in traffic, your car is quickly surrounded by young people selling anything from limes and sunglasses to toilet paper and gardening sheers.

Exhibit A.

We finished our night at the open-air theatre of the Ndere Cultural Center, where the Troupe performed a series of national dances representing the different regions of the country. The two highlights of the show were...

this wild balancing act

...and (obviously) the dance party finale.

With more adventures ahead tomorrow and a bit of jetlag still hanging around, it’s time to retire to the safety of my mosquito netting.

Until next time!