24 hours in Uganda

Well I have been in Uganda for about 24 hours. I am staying in Kampala (the capital) for a few days to meet everyone at TASO headquarters. The plane rides weren't bad. However, the 4 hour delay in Addis Ababa was not fun. Though I did meet a nice cockroach that wanted to craw up my leg and beautiful orange cat that was walking across the runway. I didn't think such a small international airport existed, but then we landed in Entebbe (Uganda) and it was even smaller. Entebbe airport was right on the water of Lake Victoria and had an amazing view. Norma, thanks for the neck pillow for the plane....it was a lifesaver and I even used it to sleep with last night because my pillow at the hotel was so thick I would have had to sleep sitting upright. It is warm and muggy here but not hot. Last night I slept under a bednet for the first time. I felt like i was in a tent. our room is nice. Small, with three twin beds inside, but it has an attached bathroom and shower which is nice. I am also lucky in that it has hot water....something i won't have when we move to our house in Mbale. Today we went exploring a bit in town. First we went into Garden City Mall which is apparently in the "posh" area of Kampala. It has a connected golf course. We went there to buy a phone and get some large bottles of water. We have to use bottled water to drink and brush our teeth. We drink so much because of the heat that we cant seem to keep enough bottles around. After that we walked around the streets a bit. I encountered my first beggar. He was an adorable little boy probably around 3 years old. He kept following us saying hello and putting his hand out like he was asking us for something (my guess was money). We were on an extremely busy street and the drivers are CRAZY!!!! so I thought his mom was probably nearby watching. I felt bad but we didn't give him anything. So about those drivers.....people are constantly passing people on all sides of the road and sidewalks. They constantly beep their horns and all but hit each other every few seconds. Tonight we were walking down the road from our hotel to check out the local bar and backpackers hostel and a minibus started honking his horn and pulled off the road to pick someone up. Apparently we were in the way because he came literally about 3 centimeters from hitting Stephanie (my roommate) and I before we jumped out of the way to avoid being hit. Then on the way back it was dark and we were walking on a trail beside the road. I was leading and all of a sudden i took and step and just fell. I walked right into a waist deep hole. Stephanie said she looked away and when she looked back i was just gone. After climbing my way out i assessed the damage. Luckily it was just grass stained jeans and a bruised knee. I guess I should consider myself lucky...I didn't think i had to worry about large deep holes in the middle of walkways but now i have learned my lesson! After that we took it easy....sat outside eating fried plantains, fish, and rice (don't worry Matt it is not as good as your fish) for dinner. We are waiting for another GW student Christina to arrive tonight. Tomorrow we are meeting at TASO headquarters with her. Not much else to report.