First Impressions

It’s been two short nights and one extremely long day, but we are finally in Kampala, Uganda! There are many things to be thankful for, like making our connecting flight in Amsterdam, getting all of our luggage, and traveling with friends (all of which didn’t happen on my way to Australia last year)! I’m glad half of the Global Social Benefit Fellows got to fly together, and this is us in Schipol Airport:

GSBF Takes Amsterdam

That was about halfway on our 26.5 hour journey (airport to airport). We got two meals per flight, which meant four sets of plane food, which was a bit excessive in my opinion. But who can say no to “free” food (and wine and beer haha)? But KLM  flight attendants were very kind and professional, and the flights were relatively glitch-free :) We also met a lady working in impact investing in DC who knew about Miller Center. What a small world.

I haven’t had the chance to look around the city (we’re not allowed to travel alone and my partner is still asleep), but from our hour-long drive to the hostel last night, here are my first impressions of Uganda. The street stalls, boda bodas (motorcycles), and humidity remind me of Taiwan. We slept with the window open, and the early morning traffic outside Bushpig, our hostel, reminded me of dawn at my grandfather’s house in Taipei. It smells really similar too, especially after the rain. Uganda also reminds me of Australia. Both countries have colourful plastic money, roundabouts, English signs, and traffic on the left. First floor again means the first floor off the ground. I guess these are remnants of colonization?

Balcony View of Kampala

The hostel we’re staying in is quite nice. Kristi and I share a room with our own bathroom with hot water, and we have WiFi (not the best, but it’s fine). Our beds also have mosquito nets to keep us safe while sleeping. And this is where I learned my first lesson. Warning: analogy is not theologically sound.

Protection

The mosquito net reminded me of God’s protection (love? Grace? Or maybe rules). He covers us with Jesus’ blood and makes us His own, and as long as we stay under His covering, we are safe from God knows what awful things are out there (mosquitoes with malaria, etc.). But sometimes we get bored and want to venture out to have fun and experiment. It’s not fun, and bad things can happen! Moral of the story: Stay inside the mosquito net. It was an encouragement to know that even though I’m in a foreign place with unknown, possibly dangerous things around me, God is always protecting me, and if He is for me, who (and what) can be against me? But this was also a good reminder that I need to stay within His boundaries, which He set up out of His love for me. He’s not trying to control me or keep me from having fun; He knows the risks and dangers better than anyone and wants me to have a great time, wherever I am. So I will stay within God’s mosquito net, here in Uganda as well as back home.

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It's been 12 hours since I wrote the above, and what an incredible first day! We got SIM cards, met up with John Henry (our "manager" from Tugende), discussed our project at the bougie Cafesserie, I lost on my first boda ride haha, and we fellows had many great conversations. More details to come, but I need to go to bed. We're going to the office and "onboarding" (orientation) tomorrow. Will keep you all updated.  

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