Uganda Day 16: Churros
Sorry, everyone. I had just finished writing a blog, was about to post it, and somehow accidentally hit the "completely discard and don't save even a single word" button. Not impressed. These things take some time to write, and I had literally just typed the last word. I was going to do a Coles' Notes version, but given how many lovely comments I've been receiving about the blog lately, it didn't feel right doing that. So, I've done my best to re-write the original from memory...it's not exact, so forgive me for any disjointedness or otherwise poor style, but at least it's a real post!
No pictures today, sadly. Just some updates for you.
First of all, I am happy to let you know that I caught myself a lizard last night. I saw him running around my bedroom floor while I was watching Game of Thrones. He appeared and disappeared a few more times, but I finally got him. Turns out the trick is to use a tupperware container, not a glass—which is obvious, but I'd forgotten I had tupperware in the cupboard. It was a relief going to bed without a lizard creeping around right next to me! Relief is going to be a common theme, today.
At work this morning, my supervisor met with Aliana and I to figure out when and where each of us would be going for these week-long field trips. We eventually decided that Aliana would go to the west in July, and I would go east in August—my last week here, actually. I was still not thrilled about going, and the timing wasn't exactly ideal, but it was fine. And then, shortly after we'd established the schedule, my supervisor came back downstairs (we were in the library again) and gave us the news: budgetary constraints!
Every time I've talked about having to go on this research trip, I think I've made a joke about hoping budgetary constraints would prevent me from going...but I never thought it would actually happen. Long story short, there isn't as much money available as my supervisor thought, so they had to cut and rearrange some of the trips. The only one I would have been able to go on would be to the Karamoja region in the north, which is the one place where I know for a fact my insurance would cease to care about my well-being. I'm sure it would be fine, but I'd rather not take the risk without insurance. So no week-long research trip for me! I'll still be able to do things around Kampala, like visiting police stations and prisons and interviewing people, which is good. That's what I had initially thought I'd be doing here anyway. It strikes a much better balance between gaining valuable experiences and venturing into the unknown. For me, anyway.
We went out for lunch today to a Mexican restaurant called The Little Donkey. The three of us each got a burrito, and decided to share nachos and churros for dessert. Let's just say that we vastly overestimated the amount of food we could reasonably consume. I think we would have been fine with just the nachos and churros. The burrito was huge and heavy, and we all took home leftovers—I just ate the rest of my burrito for dinner. But the best part was the churros. I love churros. We ordered them with both chocolate sauce and cinnamon sauce. Chocolate is the classic, but honestly, the cinnamon stole the show. So good. I think we'll be going back to The Little Donkey.
When I got home, the caretaker said he was waiting for the locksmith person to show up to fix the lock on my door. That was over three hours ago...I guess it's not happening today. Such is life in Kampala.
I also decided to do laundry today. I've been putting it off, partly because I'm lazy, but mostly because I've been afraid it would fill my kitchen floor with water instead of the machine. When I wrote this post originally, I was still holding my breath, but thankfully, I didn't have to call the plumber. I now have clothes spread out literally everywhere around my house. I would use the clothesline outside to dry them, but it rains just about every day here, so I don't want to leave them while I'm at work. Hopefully they don't take too long to dry with all of this humidity.
When I finished writing this the first time, I was just making myself a cup of tea and waiting to call a friend back home, both of which are now finished. It's been nice to finally talk to some family and friends at home using our actual voices, instead of just text on a screen. I wish we could use video, but I'd go broke buying data. I'll take what I can get! Speaking of which, I need to buy some more data tomorrow...I've already run through most of the bundle I bought when I arrived.
That's about it for now. I am off to shower and sleep soon. Good night!