So, it’s over for this time

I am back in Norway after almost half a year spent in East Africa. It has been interesting, challenging, a lot of fun and summed up in one word, I think great says it. Of course, some days were not great at all, but all the good days makes up for it, but you have already read about the good and the bad and not least the ugly!

I am not quite sure if I have realized that I am home yet. I don’t think it has sunk in! Even after spending almost a week in Vågå hanging out with frinds and family, moving to Bergen and being back to work has not made me fully realize it.. Maybe after another few weeks I will. Everything is very organized, the coffe is good, the weather is not very hot (it is actually quite cold) and I love the hot showers!!

I will never go back to Makerere, but I do want to go back to Africa!

This is the last blog in this fairytale! BUT I do like blogging, so don’t be surprised if I suddenly start a new one.. We’ll see if I find my life interesting enough to write about!

Have a great summer/winter wherever you are!

In no specific order

Things I wont miss about Uganda:

-The shower is cold when it’s cold outside and you want a warm shower and warm when it’s warm outside and you want a cold shower.
-Crossing the road
-Matoke, posho, rice…
-Makerere Bulliversity and many of the lecturers there
-The creepy guy missing a tooth in Wandegeya (that eventually understood he can’t just randomy grab white girls’ asses and boobs, but still tries sometimes…)
-Shooting behind my back at campus and riots/violent strikes
-The ants and cockroatches in my room (and the other weird bugs i don’t know what is called)
-The music from Katanga
-The cat that keep peeing on my things
-«You are lost» and «You are scarce»
-The poor internet connection
-«You’re fat!»
-The pollution, the traffic jams and the traffic in general
-Storks
-My matress at Akamwesi
-The mosquito net over my bed
-Doing my laundry by hand
-The Constitition of the State of Uganda, CEDAW, DEVAW, ICCPR, ICESCR, UDHR etc etc
-Beeping

-etc etc etc

Things I will miss about Uganda:

-Crispy, greasy chapatti with banana and nutella on a Saturday morning
-Having about five guys telling me they love me, every day
-Beer at 6 NOK
-All the beautiful people
-Second hand dress shopping
-30 degrees – every day!
-All the kids in Katanga (can I bring them home??)
-The monkeys, giraffes, elefants hippoes, crocs – you get the picture.. and the goats and cows at campus.
-Things come to you, like bed sheets in a bar or food in the bus window or matatus wherever you want to go
-Sweet potato at Vet Canteen
-Laughing with Ingrid, for various reasons from joy to hopelessness
-Pizza at Mamba Point, expencive but worth it…
-Having the whole cinema for ourself when watching movies
-John, Freeman, Ricky and the other guards at Akamwesi – you always make me smile
- etc etc etc

Things I look forward to in Norway:

-Kroneis med sjokolade
-Having a fridge, with food in it!
-Good coffee
-Studying, with books…
-UiB and Bergen in general
-My family
-Mum’s whole cooked salmon/trout with sourcream, cucumber salad and potato
-Trulte She is really included in my family doh!
-Working at the gym and generally working out again…
-Walking up Fløien an early, crisp morning
-Cold, good water from the tap
-Seeing all my beautiful friends again
-Long summer nights
-Hansa in the park with Marte
-Spinning with Linn
-Travelling to Melbourne to see George (hmm, does this count for Norway?)

-etc etc etc

And the lists could go on and on and on…. You feel like I have forgotten something? Please feel free to add more…

Cruising home, not on a BodaBoda this time...

Ants in your pants…

There is a lot of ants in Uganda. All sorts and all sizes, from a couple of centimetres to just a millimeter or two. The big ones you really dont want to get inside your pants, because they bite! It hurts!! You usually find them in the forests when hiking and it is a very good idea to tuck your pants in your socks! The smaller ones you often find in you chapatti or in your matooke, then usually dead, or alive on your apple crumble with ice cream at one of the nicer restaurants… As I got last night.

After living here for quite a while, you get used to the ants. So Ingrid and I were just inspecting my cake close up and trying to get the ants off when two of the waitresses came over and wondered what was so funny about my dessert. So I told them about the ants, three of them on my cake. They also laughed, told me they are healthy (they eat bugs for protein…) and all of us are poking at my dessert to get them off I think we got them all and one of the waitresses tell me to not think about them because then I will not finish my cake.. And I didn’t dissapoint her and finished it off! Protein and all!

Life is pretty ‘rancho realxo’ in Entebbe, we stay at Elephant Village Resort just in the fringe of the little town. Nelson, the owner, is really nice and so are his staff. We are being spoiled with extra fruit for breakfast and he even want’s to have a BBQ for us on Saturday night because we are leaving on Sunday. Nice time! There is also a lot of monkeys playing in the garden at the hotel They are (needless to say) very cute and funny!

Went to the Wildlife Education Centre yesterday, it was ok, but nothing major. I guess after seeing all the animals close up in the wild, it is not the same to see them locked up. BUT we did see some Chimpanzees having a good time, from a distance it did look like they were 69ing… «Look at the cute monkeys kids!! They are playing.. Oh, hold on, they are.. Hey, kids, why dont we look at the lonely lion instead?!?!».

Today we have just been chilling by the pool to ensure our tan is nice and dark before going home to Norway! The pool at Victoria Lake View Hotel is highly recommendable, we even jumped from the tower (three metres, maybe do the five metre tomorrow..)

Only two more sleeps in Africa!!

Sights from Ssese…

Juuuuust chilling on the beach... My view for an entire day in the sun Only thing missing was a piña colada..

One glass of Amarulla thanks!

Why bother to make two signs when one is more than enough?!

This man is possibly the worst guide in Africa... Or at least in Uganda! Or in Ssese...

No words necessary...

Ssese Islands

We managed a short visit to Ssese Islands before rushing back to Entebbe to organize new flights. British Airways is striking (no strikes like we have come to known them with lots of violence), so our flight on Monday is cancelled. It is a bit hard to do anything on an island that is missing both internet connection and Zain credit for our ugandan phones… So we’re back in Entebbe, AND we got a new flight and even get o Norway a few hours earlier than planned! Yay!

We stayed at Kalangala Island at Ssese Island Beach Resort – it looks like a resort on the outside. But even with very low expectations after half a year in Africa, the service was nonexisting to crappy! And the whole place had a very This Is Africa feeling about it.. Had some highlights though:

- No, there is no fish here, they all swim to Entebbe!
- The girls that came and had preyers for hours before baptising one of the girls in Bilharzia water and leaving early the next morning…
- The beach was beautiful and the sun was hot!!
- Ordering lunch at 11.30 am for 1 pm, and getting it at 2.30 pm…
- Lady standing outside our door at 7am saying Hello, hello, hello, hello. Ingrid saying Hello, lady saying, Hello, Ingrid: Hello? Me (to Ingrid): HALLO???!! (Still not quite awake). Ingrid getting out of bed, asking whats up, lady says Time is going! (oh really, you just realised??!). Ingrid: For what? Lady: The boat…. Ohhhhh, we ar enot leaving with the boat, not checking out today – thanks alot!
- On glass of Amarulla means a glass – a full wine glass!
- And so on…

Also have to mention the worst guide ever taking us on a Boda ride around on the island.. Took us to the forest, so we could build memories from Africa, showing us the sun coming through the trees and a thousand leg on the ground! And to the other side of the island to prove for us that it was indeed an island with water on all sides of it………. I got his phonenumber if you are desperatly looking for a guide on Kalangala!

Now as I said we are back in Entebbe, not going anywhere from here I think, before going to Norway on Sunday.. It is pretty weird to think about! Actually my head is not quite functioning at the moment, must be due to too much sleep at Kalangala.. Ill upload some pics before we leave