The ABC's of Life in Uganda

A is for... airplane, it took four of them to make it back to Mbarara.

B is for... boda boda, public transportation via motorcycle.

C is for... central market, where I purchase the majority of my produce.

I buy a lot of my produce from Shakira

D is for... doxycycline, a malaria prophylaxis I take daily.

E is for... equator, we cross into the southern hemisphere travelling from the capital city to Mbarara. Living on the equator means 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness year-round.

team mates

F is for... fan, I can't sleep without the white noise to drown out the many other night sounds.

G is for... gecko, something I have NOT missed about Uganda. I will spare you from a photo.

H is for... hand washing, it's how my laundry gets done.

I is for... ironing, which kills any mango fly eggs that might be on your clothes after they dry outside (Do not Google "mango fly" unless you like disgusting things).

J is for... jackfruit, a funny looking fruit with a flavor that reminds me of banana laffy-taffy.

K is for... Kampala, the hot and crowded capital city of Uganda.

L is for... lantern, my main source of light when power is out.

M is for... mosquito net, sometimes I sleep under one to keep the geckos away!

N is for...Nakumatt, the first and only "big-box" store that recently opened in town.

O is for... Orange, my internet provider and key for keeping in touch with y'all.

P is for... potholes, which are sometimes more common than road.

Q is for... Queen Elizabeth, the safari park less than two hours from Mbarara.

R is for... Runyankole, the local Bantu language I'm learning.

S is for... shilling, the Ugandan form of currency. 2,500 shillings (ugx) = about $1.

T is for... team, we currently have 23 team mates. This breaks down to 16 adults and 7 kiddos, whose ages range from 8 weeks to 13 years. I won't tell you the age range of the adults for discretion's sake, but we have everyone from fresh college graduates to recently retired folks to someone who is about to celebrate his 50th anniversary of moving to Uganda!

U is for... Umeme, the electric company, which let us know we'll be without power from 6am-6pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for nine months... plus all the other times it randomly goes out.

V is for... the view, I look out at the mountains each day, and it never gets old.

view from my bedroom 

view from our road

W is for... water, it must be filtered or boiled to make it safe for drinking.

X is for... xenophobia, which I really hope you don't have if you come to Uganda.

Y is for... yellows, the nickname aptly given to this larger type of banana (called bagoya in Runyankole).

Z is for... zap! The satisfying sound and spark that come from this device when mosquitoes, fruit flies, flying termites, etc. collide with its electric shock. Praise Jesus.