Leapt out of bed bright and early this morning at 6am. One of the girls (Jvon)had arranged for us to catch the village van in to Kampala which we were told would leave at "7 sharp". My food supply had almost run out, so I needed to stock up for the coming week, being my last day off until next Friday. We made sure we were out the front of the Baby's Home, ready to go before 7am... At 7.10 Jvon gave the driver a call and was told that he wouldn't be coming until 9am, because there had been an emergency call out during the night.
So we trudged back inside and loitered until 10 minutes to 9, at which point we made our way back out the front to wait again. At 9.30, Jvo gave the driver another call and was informed that he was on his way. He arrived after a while, the van filled with people and we had one more pick up to make before setting off for Kampala. We stopped outside the medical clinic and waited for a poor young man to have his drip removed and stagger to the van with the assistance of two others. Once he was loaded in, we set off, about 10.45am, with him moaning in agony at every little bump, of which there were many, all the way into town, through thick traffic, where we dropped him off at the hospital.
Once all the other passengers were dropped off, we were dropped at Oasis mall. By that stage it was lunch time so we went to Ban Cafe, had lunch and made use of the free wifi. Jvon went off to meet up with friends so Annemieke and I decided to head to the main Baby's Home so she could have a look around. I should mention at this point that it was a stinking hot day and we had hours to kill as Jvon had decided that we should avoid a taxi fare of about 30 bucks NZ, split 3 ways, and just head back with the village van, which was leaving the Central Watoto church at...you guessed it... "7pm sharp"!
So we looked around the Home and sat under a nice shady tree to kill a few hours, then headed back to the mall around 4, to stock up on call time, Internet credit and food. We then got a taxi back to the church, arriving about half past 5...me with my carry bag and 5 bags of groceries. We hung round for the service, which finished about half 6, gathered up our goods and waited out the front for the van...which arrived about 8. At this point it was dark and there was a large group of people waiting to get in...19 people to be exact. So there were 4 rows of 4 people stacked in the back (and 3 in the front sitting pretty, one of whom was Jvon) me sitting on one half of my buttocks, on the edge of a seat squeezed between Anemeike with all her groceries, a sleeping boy who claimed more and more of the seat as the journey progressed and a boy with a freshly plaster-casted broken leg, with my 6 bags piled on top of me.
Traffic was very heavy so our driver decided a shortcut or two was in order...over a packed mud, roller coaster of a road, at snail speed (so as not to get stuck in a pot hole) through the slums! We rode alongside some sort of drainage ditch, past massive bonfires, which had some very colorful characters camped around them - including half dressed children. The heat was really intense as we went past, with very little room either side to get through. I was also aware of how easily the van door could have been breached and quietly locked the door. Saturday night slums negotiated, it was back onto the packed highway to play dodgems in the dark for an hour or so, with cars, bikes and trucks going in all directions. By this stage I couldn't feel anything below the neck, with my precarious setting arrangement and dwindling circulation from my shopping bag landslide...
I decided a trip to my happy place was in order, so did my best to send my mind elsewhere for the remainder of the drive home. We rolled into the village at Suubi, with me having to get in and out with all my bags to let villagers off, finally pulling up outside the Baby's Home and managing to walk through the door at the stroke of 10pm...what a wonderfully relaxing day off. I now feel entirely ready for another hectic week :) Earlier this week, I learnt a valuable lesson: never walk up from the market carrying a pineapple and a bunch of bananas in one bag (unless you're a fan of pineapple flavored mashed bananas). Today I have learnt another valuable lesson: never go along with someone else's plan! Next week I will be making the journey by private taxi and willingly coughing up what I consider to be a meager fare in exchange for a half a day of free time.
I am grateful to be home in one piece, after a very long day. Happy that I am not one of the unfortunate souls suffering in an overcrowded hospital somewhere, or battling for the basics in a dodgy slum. And now for the sweet sanctuary of a mosquito free, comfortable bed...
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