April 10, 2013 - The Uganda National Museum

Guest blogger, Michael Scott (a.k.a. Hubby) reporting. Libby and I are kind of off in terms of schedules since I’ve been here. I’ve been starting work after dinner and working through 3 am so that I am aligned with the afternoon Pacfic Daylight savings Time. Libby goes to work promptly following breakfast and calls it a day sometime in the afternoon. On par with the last 2.5 years of her residency, the most time I get to spend with her is usually while she’s sleeping – which seems often to me, but never enough for her. I say this not to be a pain, and not to complain, because she is especially angelic when she is sleeping.

All kidding aside, I have cherished being able to be here with her, adding another country to the list of “visited,” having a shared afternoon nap most days, and having all of our meals together. We even went on a run together today! (Kampala is very hilly, and at an elevation of 4000 ft., makes for challenging exercise)

Anyway, I have the hours of around 8 am to 2 pm to myself, and I have usually only needed to catch up on sleep for a couple of those. Monday I went for a run since it had been a few days since I last exercised. Tuesday I walked over the hill to the other side of Mulago Hospital and met a football friend named Robert who I’m hoping to play with in the coming days. Today, I scoped out the Uganda National Museum.

What a treat…! Though I realize now that I did not take nearly enough pictures to capture the essence of the place, and I realize how challenging Libby’s awesome blogging really is, here goes nothing!

"Death" - some Ugandan artist

There were exhibits on musical instruments, headdresses, various functional pieces of pottery, beer, weapons, and boats; all historically made, used, and played in Uganda and East Africa.

And this particular gem about being a (witch) doctor in East Africa:

There was also a very interesting series of photographs on the architecture that has allowed Kampala to become the thriving metropolis that it is. Most of the notable structures were designed by a German architecture firm in the 1950s and 60s, but I am hoping to see some of the buildings in person for photographs instead of taking pictures of the pictures in the museum.

The funniest, and probably most unique, aspects of my museum experience were the logistics and curating themselves. When I first arrived around 8:30 am, there were a lot of people outside that appeared to be waiting not to get in, but to catch transport leaving the museum. Now, the museum opened at 8, so they were not as thorough as my Aunt Sharon in exploring museums; more on par with my Aunt Terry! Or they had rendezvoused for a purpose entirely unrelated. The first entrance to the museum, by which I saw a sign that read museum t-shirts and badges for sale, was in fact the cultural library, and nothing but rows of bookshelves and desks. Since there is plenty of reading to be had on the internet, I asked the guy at the desk where the exhibits were. He said that they were everywhere else.

So I tried the next door, which in fact opened up to a good size exhibit hall. Before entering the hall, there was a metal detector that was perfectly positioned so as to make certain that a patron did not know whether to go through it or around it. I chose around it, and faced no consequences. Embarrassment averted. My next quandary came when I noticed there were two guys standing in front of a desk and a third guy behind it. I handed my payment to the person behind the desk, as they usually hold the authoritative power; however, it took all three gentlemen reaching into their wallets to produce the change. Admission fee was slightly under $2 US. So, I proceeded to wander through the museum, somewhere between the paces of my two aunts.

Finally, there were large benches clearly blocking off two of the three main hallways, but I just walked around them. They were being moved out of the way as I was preparing to leave, but I’ll never know why they were blocking the areas in the first place. Pretty strange.

I exited a more cultural, knowledgeable human being having spent only 45 minutes or so and looking at every exhibit the museum had to offer. Though I can now brag that I have more historical/cultural knowledge of Uganda than Libby, I wouldn’t highly recommend a visit to the museum unless you have extra time in Kampala.

Until Libby lets me blog again, this is Mike, signing off.