First Day!

So, my plan to sleep on my first flight, a red-eye from Chicago to Brussels, and stay awake from Brussels to Entebbe so I would be thrown into the new time zone was an epic fail. I napped for an hour or two on the first leg, but was so tired on the second leg that I slept for the first 5 hours! By the way, anybody who plans on flying through Brussels--leave a generous amount of time for your layover, as you have to go through full security again, multiple lines, and take a bus to get to the transfer terminal!

When I arrived in Entebbe, I bought my visa (very easy process), grabbed my luggage, and the IPA driver William was waiting for me with a sign. The Entebbe airport was very interesting--a huge room covered in Barclays logos where we got our visas, a large luggage area, and then a tiny waiting room area where there must have been 50 Ugandans waiting with signs to pick people up. We drove to Kampala on one highway, but I couldn't see much because the highways aren't lit. We did see a lot of people out--walking, biking, driving to bars and clubs, which were all along the highway.

I arrived at Red Chilli, a hiker's/camper's type hotel around 10:30. There were a lot of people hanging out in the bar area, but I was sorely disappointed to find the kitchen closed. I went to my room and ate Clif bar #2 (#1 was on the plane when I slept through lunch). Extremely tired, I wasn't much in the mood for socializing, but I couldn't sleep very well either. I stayed up reading my Kindle, fell asleep for a few hours, and woke up surprisingly alert around 4:30. Without much outdoor lighting, the grounds were pitch black, so I decided to break in my new Manduka Mat, eat Clif bar #3 and read a little more. The sun rose quickly between 6:30 and 6:40, and I headed down to the concierge/main area. They didn't open until 7, so I hung around outside and enjoyed the beautiful view...I also discovered that a massive amount of dogs and goats like to chill around the hotel. I even spotted a few roosters...totally random.

At 7, I went inside, finally got on the Internet, and made connection with the outside world! After some mysterious fruit (black egg-sized fruit with yellow inside and lots of seeds, very delicious) and some black tea, I headed into town on my very first boda-boda ride! I set up my Blackberry and phone (I can only do data on the BB here), exchanged some money, and went to check out a room in a house that I am now living in! The house is on Naguru Hill and it is absolutely stunning. The doors are wooden and carved, there is a roof on the top that looks perfect for morning yoga, and I even have my own bathroom! (Pictures to come later)

I moved into the house in the afternoon and hung out with my new housemate Becca. We sat on the porch and watched a quick, but mighty rainstorm that Becca told me was common. Kampala has a set of "micro-climates," so while it is pouring rain in one part of the city, it can be bright and shining in another. After the rain settled down, we walked to the nearby Kabira Club to sit by the pool with some friends and stopped by a grocery store on the way home so I could pick up a few things.

As of now, it is 6:20pm and I am absolutely exhausted but determined to stay up long enough to forcibly adjust myself to the new time zone. We are headed off to get drinks before a BBQ dinner, where I will meet Pia and Kareem, the 2 main people I will be working with at IPA.