Well it has been a while since the ‘gap year’ came to a premature end and we started a new life in Kampala, Uganda, so I thought I’d let you know how it has gone so far. We are really enjoying it and have settled into African life pretty well. Having been to Uganda a couple of times before made it easier and we thought we’d like it here, but it is always different living someone rather than just being on holiday.
Arriving in Uganda was a lot calmer and more pleasant than leaving England. We were quite a bit over weight at the check-in in Manchester, I’m actually talking about the bags but yeah good job they didn’t weigh us as well! Mind you, I’m sure the scales are rigged and we weren’t surprisingly ready to pay the excess of 650 quid! So, we had to ditch quite a few things before we could set off. Therefore, we weren’t in the best of moods by then and as we went through security I got pulled by immigration. We were leaving the country why was he bothered, but no loads of questions about where I was going, what my job was (silly question) and how long I’d been in the UK for. Only after all this did he ask if I was UK citizen and he let me go!
So after all that, arriving in Uganda was a breeze and we were swiftly issued with a visa from the friendly immigration chap and Neil (Principal of Emma’s new school) was there to greet us. The sun was shining and the sky blue as we travelled the hour or so from Entebbe to Kampala. Emma fancied having a look at her new school, so Neil gave us a quick tour and it is a really nice school set in very green surroundings. Emma was happy on first inspection.
Next stop was the flat that the school provide for us. Now this was more important for me, we hoped to have a balcony. The school rent a block of 12 flats near to the school and we are pretty happy with the one they gave us. We are on the top floor (3rd) on the end so we have great views of Kampala and all the hills that make up the suburbs. And yes we have a balcony to enjoy the views and sunset from. The flat is surrounded by trees and greenery which attracts many birds. We have seen lots of kites, glossy ibis, turacos, glossy starlings and best of all, a pair of hornbills!
The flat is huge (for us) with 2 big bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room and a massive kitchen, which is good as that is where I will mainly be based no doubt! I’ve but some photos of the flat on the blog, not cos I’m a sad git but because the mums like to see where we are. So plenty of space (for visitors) but cos it is only basically furnished it looked a bit like a student flat when we first saw it, but once we get our own stuff in there it will feel like home. The school had thoughtfully provided some pots, pans and kitchen utensils and some basic provisions so at least we could have a brew and a sarnie.
Obviously we spent the first week or so buying more things for the flat which is a bit frustrating as we have most household gear in storage in Malaysia, but the cost to send it to Uganda is ridiculous. The balcony was priority and one of the teachers took us to a place where you can buy furniture. It turns out that Ggaba Rd is lined with people making and selling furniture by the roadside. Most of it is crap quality and very expensive for what it is but we got a couple of decent chairs for the balcony, so we are set. Will have to upgrade the lounge next.
Emma was straight into work on the Monday which was tough as we only arrived on the Friday afternoon. All the staff and kids at the school seem really nice but of course it was difficult for her to be thrown in at the deep end and so close to the end of term. Being the stalwart she is she seems to be coping and as in any new job, after a few weeks and you find out who people are, how things are done etc, it gets easier (so I’ve been told).
You may well be asking yourself what I have been doing with my time. It’s been quite frantic actually, within minutes of arriving in the flat we had 3 people come round to offer their services as a maid. However, Emma told them that she already had one, so you can imagine the amount of cooking, cleaning and washing I’ve got each day. Other than that I have been tramping the streets of Kampala to get the lie of the land and to find supermarkets, bars, shops restaurants etc. We live in the area of Bukoto which is a fair way north of the city centre but it has all that you need and Kololo and Ntinda are close by. At the top of our lane there is a great local’s beer garden and 2 Thai restaurants along with many small Africa joints. Cayenne is a lovely bar and restaurant only 10 mins away and is a great spot for a Sunday afternoon. We have also enjoyed Mish Mash and Iguana bar and of course we have been back to our old local, Just Kicking in Kisementi where we bumped into some of the crowd we met when Jason and Jeanie were here. I say bumped into, but Ox, Bobby, Chicken Mike and the others were still in the same seats from 3 years ago! It was nice to see some familiar, friendly faces.
So, overall the settling in process has been really good and everyone we have met, locals and expats have been really friendly. We are really looking forward to exploring more of Uganda and the rest of Africa.
