March 13, 2013 - Waking up in Kampala

I woke up (well before) the sun this morning.

Yesterday was a eventful day. I guess the past 48 hours have been quite eventful/busy. About 54 hours ago I was in my house in California, finishing last minute packing for my trip. Now I sit underneath a mosquito net half way around the world, in Entebbe, Uganda. The past 2 days have been a bit of a whirlwind, but it is nice to finally be here and to be (ever so slightly) settled.

Step 1: Maneuver through Entebbe International Airport. I arrived in Entebbe yesterday afternoon around 1:00pm. We were supposed to arrive at noon; however, our plane was a bit delayed leaving from Dubai as we were waiting for last-minute passengers and luggage. Overall, the flight was uneventful. I had no idea what to expect when I arrived in Entebbe; however, I was pleasantly surprised upon arrival. In my mind, I was comparing Entebbe to my experience in Kathmandu last year. I was surprised to note that the airport was in very good shape - we even had an arrivals gate instead of having to walk down stairs and out on to the pavement. The visa process was incredibly easy. Despite the fact that I had insisted that I purchase my visa ahead of time (which turned out to be a headache, involving lots of time, money, frustration, and fret that my passport would not be mailed back in time...), the process of purchasing a visa in the Entebbe airport seemed quite simple. (Here you go, Mike: "Yes, you were right, you told me so..."). There was actually an organized, relatively straight-forward process to proceed through customs and immigration. And by the time I arrived at baggage claim, both of my bags were already peacefully circling around the carousel, waiting for me to claim them. Then it was off it to the waiting crowd outside the airport. Step one: Check!

Step 2: Find driver. Like most airports I have arrived at in developing counties (and most countries, for that matter), the outside of Entebbe International Airport was a zoo. There were tons of people standing behind these roped-off sections holding signs with names on them. I knew what I was looking for (my name, obviously...) but, unfortunately, I was not wearing my glasses; therefore, I literally had to get within feet of each sign to see if it was bearing my name or not. Pretty ridiculous. I finally found my name (in bold letters, not requiring glasses to see) and met up with my driver, a very pleasant young man named Patrick. We walked to his car, loaded my bags, and off we headed towards Kampala (about 40km from Entebbe). Step 2: Success!

Step 3: Drive to Kampala. Prior to arrival, I had an idea that Kampala might be similar to Kathmandu/Patan; however, I was pleasantly surprised. The roads are well maintained and, despite some crazy drivers, they have nothing here compared to the road mayhem in Kathmandu. The city itself is quite modern, with many well constructed, larger buildings. The streets, however, do not seem to be organized in any specific way and thee are round-abouts everywhere, so it will take quite a while to try to get oriented. But overall not bad. Step 3: Surprised.

Step 4: Buy fresh mangos on the side of the road. This was not part of the original plan; however, as I was talking with Patrick, I asked him about the large fruit stands on the side of the road. Could the huge, greenish, football shaped fruits actually be mangos?? Yes, in fact they were. How could you turn this down?!?! So, despite the fact that I had no Ugandan shillings, we stopped on the side of the road to pick up four enormous, delicious-looking mangos. Patrick covered the cost until we completed our next step. Then back in the car and back on our way to Kampala. Step 4: Yummmmmmm!!

Step 5: Exchange money. Despite instructions to take out Ugandan shillings from the ATM in the airport, I completely forgot and ended up in the car with only US dollars. Ooops. Luckily Patrick was more than willing to stop by an exchange location where I could trade my US dollars for Ugandan shillings. We pulled in to the driveway of a very impressive-looking hotel (where, funny enough, I saw my next-seat-neighbor from the flight to Entebbe getting out of a car). Right before you enter the hotel is an exchange location, where they will exchange almost any foreign currency for Ush (Ugandan shillings). I got out some money and walked up to the booth. Exchange was overall vey easy, though I ended up with almost an inch-thick stack of Ush in exchange for $500, which was quite difficult to carry discretely, despite placing it in the provided envelope. When I turned around to get back in the car, Patrick was nowhere to be seen. Shit. Panic started settling in a bit, until a nice man told me that Patrick went to park in the back of the hotel. Thank goodness. I walked to the back of the hotel. There were lots of cars, but no Patrick. Double shit. Now I really started to worry. I was in the middle of an East African capital, had no clue where I was, and all of my possessions (including my passport) where in the car with Patrick. Awesome. I sucked it up, told myself that I would not publicly freak out in Kampala, and walked back to where I was dropped off. Sure enough, on my way back, trusty Patrick shows up in his car. Apparently the hotel told him there was no parking (though there appeared to be plenty of open spaces); therefore, he had to circle around in traffic to come pick me back up. My relief was probably palpable. Patrick was officially my dark night in a shining white SUV... Step 5: Crisis averted. Ca-ching!

Step 6: Grocery shopping. Prior to arrival in Entebbe, I was told to ask the driver to take me to get a few groceries before heading to the guest house. I didn't know what type of market to expect. I was taken to a supermarket. Literally. It was enormous and had pretty much anything you could possibly need. I even overheard one (Ugandan, not tourist) customer asking where to find coconut milk. Who knew? So, with trusty Patrick by my side, insistent that he push the cart for me, I purchased a few groceries (with my new Ush!!) and headed back to the car. Step 6: Uneventful.

Step 7: Arrive at guest house. Despite traffic, we only had about a 5-minute drive before arriving on the campus of Makerere University, where the guest house is located. I met Rosette, who runs the place, and Nelson, who owns the place. They were both very friendly. They showed me to my room in the guest house, which is very spacious and has its own attached bath (with a very interesting shower, which will be discussed in a later post). There is (intermittent) hot water, 24-hour electricity, two windows, and a fan. What more could you ask for. Oh yes, and a large bed with a mosquito net (a must...). Step 7: At last!

Step 8: Meet the team. I will not go in to too much detail right now, but I was taken to a house just across the complex where the other HVO volunteers are staying. (HVO stands for Health Volunteers Overseas, which is the volunteer organization with which I am traveling). I met Yvonne (a neonatologist from UCSD who I will be working with in the nursery). I also met Jenna, a pharmacist who is working with the pharmacy students at the University. They both seem very nice. And it's a relief to know there are other people around who can hopefully show me the ropes. After chatting with Yvonne for a while, I decided to move on to the next step. We parted ways, to meet up again later for dinner, and I headed back to my house. Step 8: Relief.

Step 9: Get settled. Easier said than done, but I was able to unpack my bags and make the place feel a bit homier. Step 9: Decluttered (sort-of...).

Step 10: Dinner. I went back to the HVO apartment to have dinner with Yvonne and Jenna. I was too tired to try to cook, so just had good old PB&J. But it was nice to not have to eat alone. I was also able to get on the internet for a brief period of time (no internet hooked up at my place as of yet) and send a few emails and let everyone know that I arrived safe and sound. Seeing as I was super jet-lagged and nearly falling asleep while writing emails, I decided to call it a night. Step 10: Comforting.

Step 11: Shower. While this might seem very basic and straight-forward, I found it quite difficult. More on this later. Step 11: Complicated.

Step 12: Sleep. After nearly 40 hours of traveling, with only sporadic naps (in addition to no sleep post-call before leaving), I was exhausted. I crawled in to my mosquito net cave, turned off the lights, and was out. Step 12: Refreshing.

And now I'm awake. No wonder I was so exhausted. Long day yesterday (and long post - I promise they won't all be this long!!). The sun may start creeping up some time soon, but at least writing this has kept my mind busy from wandering. Today brings a new day and my first day in the hospital. I have no idea what to expect, but we'll see. Step 13: Bring it on!