FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Ronnie surrounded by our bags before departure.

I am writing this sat in my study (yes, I actually have a study in my new apartment!) in Luzira, on the Port Bell road out of Kampala with the sounds of the crickets having just begun to die away outside the window.  We have arrived in Africa.  After all of our concerns over the size and weight of our luggage, in fact it proved to be no problem at all and the whole journey went very smoothly indeed.  We were collected at Entebbe by Mateus, a driver employed part-time by the school, and were then driven up from Entebbe, through a bustling Kampala city, to my apartment in Luzira.  Despite it being one in the morning there were still people everywhere and the roads were quite busy, making for an exciting journey.  However, Mateus (who was an excellent driver) assured us that this was nothing compared to Kampala during the day when the streets resemble something like a scene from Mad Max.

The apartment - right hand, ground floor.

Since arriving we have managed to get a great deal sorted out and are finally beginning to feel at home.  The afternoon after our arrival the Rev Charles Okongo, who has been sorting out the purchase of a Land Cruiser for me, had arranged to come over and deliver it to us.  In the morning we unpacked a little and met Andy and Kathy and their two children Joe and Leo who live upstairs.  Andy is starting as a PE teacher at GEMS with me next week. We waited in all afternoon for Charles but he didn't show up.  Finally we had an email from him saying that despite spending 2 hours looking for us at the address we had given him, he couldn't find us.  Might we perhaps be living somewhere else?  It turns out that GEMS HR staff had changed the apartment at the last minute to a larger one nearby - but had omitted to tell me!  Which probably explains why it didn't look like the photos he had sent me. Despite the plus side of being a 3 bedroom apartment instead of 2, it does have some downs as well - not ;the least of which is that there is no wi-fi provided as promised.  In the end we caught with Charles down town the next day, having caught a lift in with Kathy, and we now have our own wheels - which is a great relief.

The kitchen, sitting room/dining area and master bedroom.

We have been out shopping for a few essentials, including an Orange dongle and local SIM for the phone so we are now up and running on the internet again.  This afternoon we took the Land Cruiser out to try our hand at Kamapala traffic and also to go off the beaten track a little.  We did quite well with both, but tomorrow will be the real test when we venture into the city centre as Ronnie has an appointment at the British High Commission there after I have had a quick call into school.

You don't have to go far from Luzira to find the real, rural side of Uganda!

The only cloud on the horizon at the moment is the fact that my unaccompanied baggage appears to have gone missing somewhere between Istanbul and Entebbe.  However, it is only a day late at the moment so there is no great panic - yet!  Prayers for its safe arrival, however, would be welcome. Please also pray that we both begin to develop really positive relationships with our colleagues at our separate places of work.

Ronnie relaxing outside the apartment, by the pool.

I will try to blog again at the weekend just to fill in a little more detail on what has gone on since we arrived. I suspect that we have a few more adventures awaiting us over the next few days before we both start work in earnest next week.