it’s great to be back

My flight got in to Entebbe at 8:10pm.  Apparently another flight had just arrived, because the immigration hall was packed.  I learned that within the last week, a case of swine flu was identified in East Africa, so there was a Health Control station set up before you pass to get your visa.  It involved waiting in a long line just to tell some mask-wearing health officials that you had no signs of fever, sore throat, or cough.

I passed through getting my visa with no problem, although I will have to extend mine from a 3-month single entry to a 12-month multiple entry, with the help of the American Embassy.  I got all of my checked bags, made it through customs after a brief, perfunctory search of two of my three bags, and walked out to meet my friends at last.

I immediately spotted Paul from API, and Irene from AIESEC was soon to follow after she got back from a “short call” (Ugandan for bathroom break).  Meeting each of them in quick succession was such an exhilaration!  Everything felt natural, at peace, like I had really reached another home.

We took my huge bags to the parking lot, where me met Baker, a driver from API.  By now it was around 9:30pm, and we loaded everything into the trunk.  The car was having problems starting, so Paul, Irene, and I got behind it and started pushing.  It got going after about a block, and we jumped in … but the lights still weren’t working.  So we pulled into a gas station just outside the airport to sort out the situation.

A mechanic was around that night, but I think we were disturbing him from his rest.  They couldn’t sort out the car problems on the spot, so we called for another car.  It had to come all the way from Kampala, which is about a 45 minute drive.  It didn’t feel that long, through, as Paul, Irene, and I sat on the curb of the gas station chatting like mad with 9-months of catch-up.

During drive back to Kampala, we had SANU FM, the Top 40 popular music station, blasting in the back.  They spin a good mix of American hip-hop as well as current Ugandan dance-hall hits.  I almost never listen to hip-hop in the U.S., but somehow my musical tastes do an about-face once I step abroad.  Strangely enough, recognizing radio commercials that debuted last summer gave me a strong sense of coming back to familiar ground.  In particular, the coca-cola “Brrrrrrrrrrr!!” commercial was stuck in my head … the coke distribution logistics are quite amazing in East Africa, where you’re sure to find several sodas in a cooler, no matter how far out into the rural villages you get.  So much that the Health Ministry was thinking of partnering with distributing coca-cola to distribute medications to rural communities.  As much as I have problems with how foreign corporations exploit local markets, I must admit some guarded awe for the efficiency of their operations.

Somehow it got to be after 12:15am before we reached the hostel … I have no idea where the time went.  I met Frankie, my roommate and president of AIESEC Uganda for 2009-10, as well as Haruna, another AIESECer, and we carried my bags up to the room.  The dorm room is clean and comfortable, even if it is modest space.  But I didn’t stay long before they took me down the hall to another AIESECer’s dorm room.

      
(look, Mom, there’s a mosquito net!)

There I found the entire national staff of AIESEC Uganda (minus Bella) as well as several other local AIESECers chilling out, having waited hours for me to finally arrive from the airport.  Kish promptly started cooking on the balcony with ingredients that they had all brought, and soon we were midnight-feasting on delicious local food.  They had chapati (flat bread) and katogo (a mix of vegetables, sauce, and staple foods like green banana), and rice spiced with ginger.

The conversation was loud and lively … I hate to think what other students in the hostel must have thought last night.  Between morsels that were shoveled into the mouth using the right hand (they did offer me a fork, but I didn’t want to use it), we shared stories of AIESEC conferences and other gossip.  It was irrelevant that I had been traveling for 32 hours since I left home in Iowa – it was simply amazing to be thrown into the company of such good friends.  The number of students truly dedicated to AIESEC has increased dramatically since I left last summer – in large part due to AIESEC Uganda hosting AfroXLDS back in March, the largest conference in the region.  Most of the conference organizing committee was there, and it was great to hear from the creators how much a success it was.

Things finally were winding down around 2:30am, and people started walking back to their hostels – we’re all within a few minutes walk of each other.  Frankie and I chatted a bit before we passed out.  It will be a busy weekend.  I snagged a few hours sleep before waking up at sunrise this morning … jetlag with a vengeance.  I’m writing this post as the first rays are streaming through the window.  Once Frankie is awake, I’ll do a bit of unpacking before we’re off to the ASK Project Launch at one of the local AIESEC committees.  This is my first introduction as MC-VP-Projects, so I’m looking forward to asking a lot of questions and teaching/participating in a slew of AIESEC roll calls.  Lunch and dinner are provided by sponsors, which is sweet (hopefully it’s traditional food). 

Later tonight, there’s a AIESEC Uganda Global Village, where the ticket for entrance is drinks from your home country.  It’s sponsored by an alum who wanted to congratulate AIESEC Uganda on doing so many incoming exchanges this year.  I’ll finally get to see the Yale trainees there, and I’ll also meet a bunch of other AIESECers and international trainees.  We’re wasting no time with full social & cultural integration :-)

 

Sidenote- I still need to sort out my internet situation here.  I’m hoping to post this using the free wi-fi at the faculty later.  But within the week, I want to get my laptop hooked up with a 3G internet card to have more consistent access.  Keep in touch!