Kampala

I've been in and around Kampala for the past couple days. This city is intense and interesting and a little overwhelming at times. The streets are filled with unfamiliar but melodic languages that remind me where exactly I am on the globe. Traffic is chaotic- the streets are jam-packed with matatu, boda-boda, cars, and people everywhere. I haven't figured out the traffic rules yet, since people seem to switch sides of the road quite often while driving to either go faster or avoid the enormous potholes (a feet deep and five feet wide at times) that appear quite often on the less well maintained roads.

Ugandans smile more than any other group of people I've ever encountered. Everyone has been incredibly friendly and helpful; I stopped a man to ask for directions and 2 others came over to help and then bargained with my taxi driver for me. Each conversation starts with a full set of polite greetings.

I met up with Jo Read and we've been going around together. Yesterday, her friend Sandra drove us to the official equator crossing. So touristy but enjoyable and worth it none-the-less.

Tomorrow I leave for Murchison Falls- a national park where the Nile forces its way through a narrow gorge to cascade in what I am told is a fantastically beautiful way.