Friday was filled with a before-mentioned series of meetings about the State of the Child in Uganda (Plan is co-publishing a report about the matter with the National Council for Children and since the Program Support Manager is on his annual leave in America I have become to liaison between the two offices as well as the printer) and culminated with a traditional farewell party for two office colleagues: Florence and Joseph. Let me talk a little bit about this tradition. After receiving an email earlier in the morning alerting me of a "Happy Hour celebration" at 3:30 I was not surprised to see Annette, the office cleaning lady, setting up chairs and tables in the garden outside my window as I ate my lunch (fresh fish stew, beans, rice and sweet potatoes- my favorite!) at about 2. Two hours later no one in the office had moved (I simply believed we were moving on "Ugandan time") however once a buffet unlike anything I have ever seen had been set up (there were bowls and bowls of chicken, beef tikka sauce, rice and potatoes followed by box upon box and crate upon crate of a variety of juices and sodas), it was as if people had come out of the woodwork, a line was formed, and heaps and heaps of food were taken. Having just eaten lunch the last thing I wanted was more food, however when I skipped the buffet in favor of my seat a plate of food was put in my lap and I was told it was "disrespectful of Florence and Joseph not to eat." An absolutely silent 15 minutes later (I later learned that most people skip lunch, and sometimes even breakfast, in preparation for these parties) during which I obediently munched on a chicken wing, Alphonse, the Operations and System Manager and our emcee for the afternoon, stood up and asked everyone to speak about the two guests of honor. During the speeches I was startled at the differences between American and Ugandan toasts. While the Ugandans certainly have a sense of humor and putting aside the implicit Christian overtones, statements like "it was nice knowing you" and "always go where it is greener" coupled with the obligatory "job well done" gave the informal event a sense of formality that I was not expecting. Even as colleagues applauded Joseph for being the resident "fun expert" in the office, I couldn't help but notice the impersonal nature of the toasts. It was as if they could have been speaking about anyone. While I believe the event was a success on the whole as both Florence and Joseph seemed very pleased and it was great to feel like part of the Plan community, somehow the combination of the food-filled silent first fifteen minutes and soft-spoken toasts made me feel unsettled- must be one of those "cultural differences." (Below is a picture of me with some of my co-workers, one of whom, Eva, is still enjoying the food. Florence is the woman directly to my left. Also below is a picture of Joseph accepting a departing gift from the office: a set of silverware and a ceramic bowl, to which he responded "this would be great if I were getting a new house!")
After a short trip to a friend of Florence's apartment both to properly say goodbye to Florence and to meet her friend's family as I promised that I would, my last night in the Bugolobi Flats was spent concurrently watching Stuart enjoy the large amount of leftovers from my party plate and Top Gun and then finishing the second season of the West Wing (my new show- thanks Remy). How fitting that the power actually stayed on just as I was leaving...Saturday was "the big day" as I officially moved all of my belongings from the flat to my new house in Nakasero. I certainly missed Mom's "move-in" gift as it took me five tries and nearly two hours to come to the perfect furniture arrangement but now am THRILLED with my digs. The house is perfectly sized for me and my two roommates (Sarah and Bethany, two fellow American women also working for NGOs)- three bedrooms, two bathrooms- one complete with a bathtub one with a shower, a lovely "living room" with TV and DVD player, a dining room, a kitchen complete with a microwave, oven and toaster (three unusual suspects in Kampala)- and is within easy distance of all of my usual hangouts. The closest thing Kampala has to a mall (it houses a large supermarket, the only movie theater in the country, a variety of restaurants and stores and even a casino) is right down the hill and the only Korean restaurant in town is literally across the street. No need for either of these things on move in day, though, as Saturday culminated with a bunch of friends coming over to cook "breakfast for dinner"- a delicious fritatta, "French Toast bake" that was actually more reminiscent of bread pudding and fruit salad-, enjoy celebratory Ugandan mimosas- champagne with either orange, mango, or passionfruit juice-, and watch Save the Last Dance 2 (an absolutely awful movie that I mostly slept through) with me and Sarah (Bethany is in America until mid-August). All in all a great day, although I was sad to miss a goodbye party for two friends returning to America due to exhaustion.
I had great plans to finish up the moving in process on Sunday however torrential thunderstorms severely dampened (pun intended) my progress as my lack of car (and reliance on motorcycle taxis) doesn't really allow much mobility in the rain and there were many errands to be run. So instead my walls remained bare, I wished Sarah a safe trip to the field, and I finished reading Gone with the Wind. The rain continued until yesterday (keep in mind this is the "dry season" making me very nervous about the "wet season"...) and so I finally was able to run my final errands, although still could not escape the horrible reddish brown mud that has covered the city. I have gradually accepted the fact that I am going to have a reddish brown glow until I return although still haven't entirely come to terms with it. The filth of the city really does continue to amaze me, although not as much as the fact that once inside buildings it is as though the dirt just vanishes. It is as mystifying to me as my iPod is to my coworkers.
I am having dinner tonight with Stuart, who I haven't seen since I moved out, and we are debating either cooking in my kitchen or going to the next best thing: the New York Kitchen, Kampala's newest establishment which features pizza, bagels, and cheesecake (an odd assortment but definitely worth a shot). In the meantime it is back to reports for me and "before and after" pictures of my living environment are to come...
