Travel Log: First Leg, Addis/Nairobi/Kampala

Here I am on my "required" vacation, as a result of visa problems in Ethiopia. What a hard life!

On Sunday evening I flew from Ethiopia to Kenya, and spent the night with another intern in Nairobi. The next morning I found myself at a bus station, confused and lost with no idea which bus I was supposed to be on. I looked around, trying to find an official looking person, a signboard, or even a line that would indicate some order in the chaos. Finally, I found a man taking tickets! He told me that my bus wasn't there yet, but it would be along soon. I periodically shoved my ticket under his nose until, a few buses later, he took it and ushered me to my seat. I was destined to arrive in Kampala, Uganda fifteen hours later.

I had had some problems changing my money to Kenyan shillings because my American bills were too dishevelled for the tastes of the black market currency vendors. So, there I was on a 15 hour bus ride with no money, no water, no food, and tremendous hopes that I would manage to get a Ugandan visa. I felt a bit like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, booting it across the United States and back with very limited finances, but gaining tremendous beat insight. Finally, at 11pm, I arrived in Kampala with a very empty stomach, and a Ugandan visa in my passport.

Here I am now at the CPAR Uganda office. It's nice to see another branch of CPAR, visiting the ever enthusiastic staff and different programs. I look forward to seeing as much of this country as I can in such a short 6 days. Yet despite this mini-adventure within the larger internship adventure, I find myself missing Ethiopia already!

Christmas Reading Recommendation: My Heart is Africa by Scott Griffin, a Canadian who flew from Toronto to Nairobi where he worked with the Flying Doctors Service for two years.