Since I didn't have internet access or very very slow internet access here our some journal entries from the beginning of the trip!
Today we travelled to Kampala, the largest city in Uganda. It was so packed and completely chaotic. There were taxis, boda bodas (motorcycles), and people everywhere. The amount of traffic was insane and I felt like I hoping for the best every time I crossed the road! The idea about stopping for pedestrians was definitely a foreign concept. Many people were selling fruit, vegetables, chapati (my favorite new food), popcorn, and fried grasshoppers...yum! The amount of poverty is insane which seems to be a common theme running through my mind.
I was talking to a Ugandan man and I mentioned that in the United States people who don't have electricity and running water are considered very poor. If you have those things in Uganda you're wealthy. It's really something to think about that the poor in our country could be the wealthy in another country...I'm also realizing how much I have and how it seems so excessive while I'm here. I have my own bedroom, bathroom, and have water available by just turning a tap. I never liked to think of myself as privileged, but I can't deny how lucky I am.
It seems like sad story after sad story about all the injustice, poverty, and disease here. An aspect of this trip that has been bothering me, I feel like the fact that I am foreign, means that people automatically have very high expectations. These expectations are that I will be able to provide food and money. I hate that because for the most part, I can't. For example, I was at the hospital yesterday and the doctor showed me where they planned to build much better healthcare system and treating me like I was someone who was very important. He kept mentioning that they were very poor unlike America and just needed the funds. The cycle of poverty is so complex and absolutely overwhelming....it's been a lot to think about.
On a lighter note, the landscape here is absolutely beautiful. We walked by a stream and up a hill. It is as green as my home Ireland!
Trying grasshopper
Kampala
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