Soy Milk in Uganda!

Last night, I went out with my housemate Becca to her friend's house for a delicious mojito and burger night and met a number of her friends/extended friends. Largely ex-pats, the group was all involved in very interesting work here, ranging from solar energy to political action to private equity! After dinner, we headed to meet Pia, the IPA country director and one of Becca's good friends, at a party at the "mazunga house." Mazunga means white person in Luganda, the local language. It's referred to as the mazunga house because there is a constant influx of new white people living there, organized by a group of Harvard grad students (I believe). I met Pia and Kareem, the guy I will be working with, there. It was a large crowd, mostly "mazungas" but some native Ugandans as well.

It seems to be a very ex-pat culture here, heavily divided, with a number of upper-class Ugandans merging into the ex-pat social clique. I'm hoping to make some native friends while here, but we will have to see!

I woke up this morning at 8:30, excited to be setting my clock to local time. After a peanut butter on "brown bread" slice (there are two kinds of bread at the grocery store, "salt bread" and 'brown bread," which seem to correspond to white and wheat), I took my yoga mat and headed up to our rooftop to get my day started right! Our dog followed me up there and promptly fell asleep. After 30 minutes, the sun was beaming down, and I became worried for my pale Chicago skin, so I moved inside.

Then, I took a boda boda (motorcycle) to Garden City, a mall one of my roommates recommended, to buy some hand soap, towels, and some other things. Grocery Store #3 was my savior--after a soymilk hunt yesterday, I happily purchased two large cartons of Vitamilk "Lait de Soja" and I could not be happier right now! I was amazed to see the premium sunscreen commanded--the least expensive bottle I found was 90,000 UGX (about $45!). Seriously?! There were a few bottles that were slightly less expensive, but they were all SPF 15 or below, and we all know how I love my Neutrogena 85. After asking some fellow shoppers, I went to a pharmacy down the street, and purchased a bottle of "Lady Diana" sunblock cream, with SPF 40, for 20,000 UGX ($10). I was slightly wary, and told the pharmacist that if I turn red, I'm coming back to find him! He assured me that I would be fine, but I can't help but be a little skeptical.

I went to a nearby Middle Eastern restaurant as soon as I saw chicken schwarma roasting...yum! The pita and hummus were mediocre, but the schwarma did not disappoint. I retreated home in a taxi with a deliciously full belly. It's cloudy now, but I'm hoping to hit the nearby Kabira Club pool in a few hours to test out my Lady Diana sunblock.