They’re in no particular order – just the order of my hangover infested brain…
* It is beautiful here. Some scenery is almost ethereal - overwhelmingly so.
Particularly the mountainous regions which are dominated by lush greenery (Like a tropical version of y Bannau - stupid spell check, no I did not mean banana).
Without wanting to sound like some kind of croc-wearing hippy dippy, I feel so privileged that I’ve seen and experienced such unique and untapped lands.
* The money. At roughly 4,000 shillings to the £1, it’s the only way I’ll ever be a millionaire!
(Well, that conversion isn't totally right, but it’s how I work it out as there are far too many 000's on the end for my liking. Not sure if I’ve ever mentioned it Finance people, but I like words, not numbers – as my forecasts may imply!)
* Versatility and value. Almost everything here has worth – everything can be polished, mended, handed down, used, reused (but I've never seen any recycling), turned into something else, cooked or burned as fuel.
* The Welsh people I keep finding. I certainly didn’t expect to hear, “Wyt ti’n siarad Cymraeg?” at the side of a Ugandan mountain.
Ond doedd hi ddim yn siarad Cymraeg teidi fel i fi yn ddô… Blydi gogs ;-)
* The overwhelming Ugandan happiness and generosity that defies description, even in the most poverty-stricken environments and arduous of circumstances.
Despite this and in the face of such extreme adversity, people here are relentlessly spirited and positive beyond belief. Amazing and inspiring people.
* Vibrancy of natural colours – bright orange dust roads, lush green vegetation, blood red soil, bright blue skies and gleaming white teeth ("Moona moona" – gets ‘em every time, even the moany ones!)
* The markets. Basically, anything that you can grow or slaughter (in fact, they haven’t even got to slaughter it – they sell live chickens with their legs tied together to DIY at home) is sold in the market or at the roadside.
For everything else, there’s the supermarket.
Once you’ve figured out what’s what, there is a fantastic variety of fruit and veg available – mangos and avocados (yeah yeah, old news!), matoke, watermelon, pineapples, passion fruit, peppers, pawpaw, carrots, cabbage, ginger, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes (me neither), a huge variety of bananas that come in all different shapes, sizes and names and a load of other stuff I still haven’t figured out.
* They sell alcohol in sachets, like saws coch! Can you imagine the money we could save on nights out if we had these back home? They would pass any bag search on the way into Revs!
* Big, bold, loud African belly laughter - bloody brilliant and instantly infectious
* Animals randomly wandering about.
A chicken waddled into our office the other day – it would have to show its ID card, sign in and complete a H&S risk assessment before it was allowed to enter TC or Rivers (Only kidding – no chicken would dare enter TC / Rivers on Kath / Sian’s watch!).
During the most frustrating of phone calls to CIS (which would normally result in me wanting to launch my computer over Office Junior's head and lob it through the window), I was in fits of uncontrollable giggles trying to hear a broad Brummie accent telling me my issues were 'unresolveable' that was competing with a rooster crowing in complete disharmony with a demented mooing cow.
(On the subject of cows, they look like one humped camels)
* The wonderful friends I’ve made, the experiences and laughter we’ve shared and conversations that have flowed as easily as with some of my closest friends
Awwww, I’m getting all misty eyed and nostalgic writing this and I haven’t even left yet!
I need to do a Stuff That Bugs Me About Uganda* list to balance it out.
That’ll be a blog for later in the week then…
* Some stuff on this list may very well also make its way onto the other list!
Here's a mixture of random photos from the last time I downloaded them.
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