Uganda Day 9: The Great Indian Dhaba
It's already fairly late so I'm going to (try to) keep this one relatively short.
At work today we made some more progress on the report. I spent most of the day starting the draft of the introduction, which is more than a little intimidating. Less than a week ago I knew next to nothing about Ugandan law and certainly nothing at all about pre-trial detention, yet today I began writing what will eventually become a significant report on the issue. These reports end up being quite long and detailed, even the "short" ones. I'm talking page numbers with three digits. Even with school papers, I find it difficult to get the first words on the page. It's somewhat more daunting trying to figure out how to start a report of this length, especially when I have so little experience and we've barely scratched the surface with our research. I think it's going alright, though, at least for a very rough first draft.
We went out again for lunch with my supervisor, this time for pizza. The first place we went was closed, so we ended up at a more expensive sit-down place, which took forever. The pizza was delicious, though. Well worth it.
After work, Aliana and I stopped off at my place for a minute, then got a cab to meet a friend-of-a-friend for dinner. He is also in Kampala right now, working for another organization. We met at a restaurant called The Great Indian Dhaba. It was a bit of a strange place—you walk through a gate into what is essentially a big backyard with mismatched tables and chairs everywhere, flanked by covered areas with even more tables. It was very nice, but strange. There were other odd things, but it's hard to describe, and I can't find a decent photo online. I should probably start taking my own photos...I always intend to, but I've been getting uncharacteristically sidetracked. I'll try and remember from now on, so I have something else besides words to share with you on this blog. Kind of been failing at that part of blogging, haven't I? Words are great and all, but even I'm getting tired of staring at text on a screen, and I'm the one writing it. I'll do my best!
Anyway, the service was relatively slow to get started, but I didn't mind. It was nice just to be out of the house and doing something sociable. Which is not to say I wasn't starving. The toast-pasta-eggs diet will do that to you. We ordered some food to share, and it was delicious. I generally love Indian food, and this place did not disappoint. I did, however, eat too much—took advantage of it while I could.
We were there for over two hours, eating and chatting. It was a very nice time! When it was time to go, I ordered a SafeBoda and, to my surprise, it actually worked. I got a call, and the driver's photo showed up on my phone, and I had to confirm when he got there—none of which, by the way, has ever happened any of the other times I've taken a SafeBoda. It's a whole new world, when it works.
It's just occurred to me that in yesterday's post, I mentioned I'd received a helmet. Turns out there is more damage than I thought. The liner on the back is coming off and the glue on the sides is no longer adhering anything to anything else. I would have taken my chances with the cracked visor, but there are a few too many injuries for me to trust it. Which I suppose means it's back to SafeBoda for the time being. Hopefully I won't be posting about lice in the near future.
But for now, it's late and I still need to shower, so I am out of here. Hope you're all doing wonderfully!