The Best Laid Plans
So just dragged my Dad for a field visit b/c the team in Gulu would have killed me if they didn’t get to meet him. How did it go you ask well lets see:
The Plan:
Leave around 7 or 730 in order to arrive in Gulu by lunch time ready for my 230 meeting with members of the youth coalition for peace. Get some work done to help Mercie write the quarterly report. Make dinner for the team and then go to hotel which Raymond will book for us. Next morning hang out in Gulu maybe see some projects in the municipality then go to lira to have lunch with the boys (Lira office is 95% male) before getting the bus back to Kampala with Fred. Setting up plans to meet Jess, Nathan, Jane and David for dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant while driving back.
The Reality:
Leave the office at 745, get stuck in traffic arrive at the bus park well after 8am get on the bus to Gulu and wait til 930 when the bus starts. Bus then gets gas but not at the gas station anywhere near the bus park but drive a distance in the wrong direction to reach the gas station. We finally get out of town at about 10 or 1015…..
Get to Gulu at 240… literally run into office. Ask if the youth coalition is here yet hoping against hope that they are on African time. Not a chance and they are in the board room waiting for me.
Meeting was fine and all that. Henry and Anthony from Pader randomly show up – apparently they were expected but no one told me. Got dinner made for everyone, pasta with a vegetable and cheese cream sauce….Raymond decided to eat the spaghetti with his hands in true African style (see below - but to tell you the truth lived up there for two weeks and have never seen him use utensils...)and the power went out but it still was a successful dinner
Next morning, Mercie and Susan have to go to Anaka and they say they’ll drop us at Kamdini so we can get a ride to Lira in time for a late lunch after taking care of one little issue in the camp.
Spent four and a half hours in Anaka. Good portion of that time was spent entertaining children. Dad shows some kids their photos.
Got to Kamdini at 2pm which was still fine as the bus to kampala doesn’t usually leave til 330 and it takes about an hour and 20 to get to Lira so it’ll be tight but ok. It took over two hours to get to Lira we arrived at 410 after seeing the last bus drive past us on the road…
So now have to take two matatus to get back to Kampala. Ran over to the Lira office to meet the guys and drop off some good Canadian chocolate (Purdy’s). Get in the taxi and staff out slowly. Kinda taxi ride from hell as Dad counts 22 ppl in it at one point (limit is 14 plus conductor and driver). Arrive at the transfer point to other taxi to find that it has already left – we missed it b/c our driver kept stopping to pick ppl up (hence the 22 ppl in the taxi). Quite the discussion ensued on the side of the road in middle of no where Uganda at about 830 at night that ended with us not paying that taxi and hiring another one for the rest of the way for us and two other guys so were also stranded there. It’s amazing what a young, tired, hungry mzungu girl with an attitude can get done. I think I may have set a personal record for bitchiness which I felt kinda bad about but you know what if he hadn’t been so greedy to pick up all the people we would have made the connecting taxi….
Got home at 1am. Worked out ok b/c another taxi broke down and we were able to pick up all the stranded passengers so I felt ok about the karma.
I will NOT take public transport upcountry ever again…..
The Plan:
Leave around 7 or 730 in order to arrive in Gulu by lunch time ready for my 230 meeting with members of the youth coalition for peace. Get some work done to help Mercie write the quarterly report. Make dinner for the team and then go to hotel which Raymond will book for us. Next morning hang out in Gulu maybe see some projects in the municipality then go to lira to have lunch with the boys (Lira office is 95% male) before getting the bus back to Kampala with Fred. Setting up plans to meet Jess, Nathan, Jane and David for dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant while driving back.
The Reality:
Leave the office at 745, get stuck in traffic arrive at the bus park well after 8am get on the bus to Gulu and wait til 930 when the bus starts. Bus then gets gas but not at the gas station anywhere near the bus park but drive a distance in the wrong direction to reach the gas station. We finally get out of town at about 10 or 1015…..
Get to Gulu at 240… literally run into office. Ask if the youth coalition is here yet hoping against hope that they are on African time. Not a chance and they are in the board room waiting for me.
Meeting was fine and all that. Henry and Anthony from Pader randomly show up – apparently they were expected but no one told me. Got dinner made for everyone, pasta with a vegetable and cheese cream sauce….Raymond decided to eat the spaghetti with his hands in true African style (see below - but to tell you the truth lived up there for two weeks and have never seen him use utensils...)and the power went out but it still was a successful dinner
Next morning, Mercie and Susan have to go to Anaka and they say they’ll drop us at Kamdini so we can get a ride to Lira in time for a late lunch after taking care of one little issue in the camp.
Spent four and a half hours in Anaka. Good portion of that time was spent entertaining children. Dad shows some kids their photos.
Got to Kamdini at 2pm which was still fine as the bus to kampala doesn’t usually leave til 330 and it takes about an hour and 20 to get to Lira so it’ll be tight but ok. It took over two hours to get to Lira we arrived at 410 after seeing the last bus drive past us on the road…So now have to take two matatus to get back to Kampala. Ran over to the Lira office to meet the guys and drop off some good Canadian chocolate (Purdy’s). Get in the taxi and staff out slowly. Kinda taxi ride from hell as Dad counts 22 ppl in it at one point (limit is 14 plus conductor and driver). Arrive at the transfer point to other taxi to find that it has already left – we missed it b/c our driver kept stopping to pick ppl up (hence the 22 ppl in the taxi). Quite the discussion ensued on the side of the road in middle of no where Uganda at about 830 at night that ended with us not paying that taxi and hiring another one for the rest of the way for us and two other guys so were also stranded there. It’s amazing what a young, tired, hungry mzungu girl with an attitude can get done. I think I may have set a personal record for bitchiness which I felt kinda bad about but you know what if he hadn’t been so greedy to pick up all the people we would have made the connecting taxi….
Got home at 1am. Worked out ok b/c another taxi broke down and we were able to pick up all the stranded passengers so I felt ok about the karma.
I will NOT take public transport upcountry ever again…..
posted by Erin at 11:22 PM
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