Contrary to what you might be thinking, I have not fallen off the planet nor had all my teeth pulled out with pliers. Although, a bus ride to Kampala is close to being in another dimension, this one was pretty good as 5 hour bus rides go. It was a it overcast and coolish and I did it with friends. Upon arrival, we hiked the 45 minutes to out hotel, none of us knowing how to get there, just getting redirected every half mile or so.
And I have survived dental so far. I arrived and booked into the Annex – a hostel type hotel with single, double and triple rooms that share a bathrooms and a shower. The good news is the bathrooms are cleanish, the showers are pretty good and there is HOT water. The down side is noise and that derives from the fact that the house keeping staff works all night, getting especially active around busy around 3:30 AM, banging trash cans, mop buckets, etc. I have finished with trying to determine the logic of this. Or more correctly: “Logic is finished.” They are making an effort to be quiet, but it’s a big concrete building with no carpet or sound deadening niceties. You pee – everyone down the hall knows it. Wanna shower? they’ll hear in the next hall. Conversations? Forget privacy – I have a room that is sandwiched between hallways – no windows to the outside, but windows into each hall and bright lights left on at night, so it’s high-noon bright 24/7. I finally convinced them to put a piece card-board over the big window so I can get some sleep. Still, staying at the Annex is not for the weak or anyone accustomed to the vast creature comforts of a Motel Six. The Four Seasons is a distant memory.
The nice thing about The Annex is the price ($10 American) and the fact that it is across the street from the amazing African Arts and Crafts Market behind the National Theater.– and not too far from the main shopping area that has a real mall and a movie theater. I never thought I would miss a mall… Back to the Annex. A few nights ago I was treated to a cloud of second hand smoke-of-the-herb. Would have gone to find it, but it was like the fog – unknown origin. So unlike one of our former presidents, I inhaled. Precious little benefit from that though…
Tuesday morning was spent in the dental chair enduring three hours of drilling, gagging, neck arched, body tensed – it seems to be good work. She keep saying “open wide” and “relax your tongue.” Now how the hell do you do that. I tried to remember the Lamaze Method (of childbirth) where you relax one body part while the others are tense or in exquisite pain. My tongue wasn’t having anything to do with that.
It wasn’t sooooo different from dental work in the States 10 years ago, but my lady dentist, Dr. Julie, was extremely competent and professional. One friend went to a dentist who has the modern capability of creating the crown on site, but mine is being sent to Hong Kong and will be ready in three weeks. I have a temporary which seems fine, but I spent the afternoon in a post dental-work stupor and drool, which seemed like a fine justification for going to a movie. Yes – at a real theater.
We went to see This Is War and were three of the 5 people in the theater. About 2/3 of the way through, the film stopped, lights came on and speakers began to crackle. 10 minutes later is started again… I hear this is normal. We got a coupon for a free drink – no fountain drinks – but a good assortment of candy and chips. Since popcorn was what broke my tooth, I opted for Pringles. At least if my crown falls off I have a can to put it in. Besides, popcorn is ubiquitous in Uganda: it can be found in even the tiniest dukas.
While in Kampala, I’ve had really good Chinese food (three times), a very nice glass of South African wine – chilled, good coffee (but I have that at home thanks to care packages) and some fairly hysterical catch-ups with friends. That’s the real perc of PC – the friends you make. A bit like bonding over the shared misery of boot-camp.
The Budget Training workshop that was the original purpose of my coming (before the tooth debacle) has been pretty good. Good presenter from Nairobi. Some of it is very basic overview, but most of it I have found useful. I’m not a finance person (understatement of the decade), so it was a relief to know I had much of this in place, but the detail filled in some blanks and will be helpful now and later.
ast night – Friday – we wandered across the street again to the African Craft Market. After showing an amazing amount of restraint (having already succumbed to the purchase of a very-African trade bead necklace, some re-cycled aluminum elephant earrings and an original welded, ugly-as-sin warthog sculpture) we discovered the performances going on at the National Theater. Get those images of the Kennedy Center out of your mind. No inside performance tonight – but a gathering of amazingly talented break dancers, African drumming and ballet group and a big audience all out in front of the theater. It’s clearly the creative heartbeat of Kampala and an interesting, different crowd. I am beginning to see how a trip to Kampala can be a good thing. And that, in itself is a good ting, because I’ll be back in a week.
So this morning, I’m waiting to leave. Thank god the LABE vehicle (The Daughter of Japan-right) is driving us back to Gulu and it’s not another long bus trip. Going back to what has become a contentiousness and ill-planned move-out of my former housemate, but looking forward to my new housemate 😉 Ultimately, this is a blessing. Just need to get through the next day or two. Somehow, I hadn’t thought I would encounter issues like these half a world away, but we never quite jettison the mundane world. As is said, there is a gift in every challenge and there have been gifts to this one.