Uganda: the Pearl of Africa

..."the pearl of Africa"...

Indeed, what a gem, what a breath of sweet warm air. Smiling faces, colorful dress, lively music, lush vegetation and a bright new culture to experience. Kali and I were luminous stepping off the plane into Entebbe, about 40 km away from Kampala, Uganda's capital. There was some miscommunication about our flight arrival, so we hopped in a taxi and managed to scrounge around and find the address to Cornerstone.

We were speechless the whole ride because all of our senses were so busy taking in our new surroundings. The smells of bananas roasting, fresh paint, and the warm, salty, smell of Lake Victoria reminded me of Jamaica.

Compared to Ethiopia, this is the Garden of Eden. Banana trees, blooming flowers, avocado's the size of eggplants, green green grass, parks, and soccer fields that are actually made of grass.

We made it to plot 37, Cornerstone headquarters, to a joyful, warming hugs from the Ugandans, welcoming us to their country as sisters. After our informal introductions to the team, we were presented with our first tast of Ugandan food.... red bean with rice and 'posho'-- mashed plantains. Delicious, but my brothers would have a ball spicing it up with a bit of Tony's or Crystal hot sauce.

Tim , the director of Cornerstone, met with us for a moment, basically saying you'll figure it out in time and here's how to get around.

So after being shown to our cozy little room called faith, we embarked on our first adventure, one that I had no idea would cause me to fear for my life and be one of the most thrilling experiences of my life.... the culprit: the boda boda.

A glorious idea indeed, yet in actuality quite a death sentence. Boda boda's' are essentially motorcycles for hire. Peter showed us how to get on one with a skirt and the correct positioning of our legs so that we would not be burned, a common mistake of foreigners. Seconds later we were flying down the street. I was laughing all the way into town, out of sheer delight and sheer terror. The drivers recklessly weave in and out of traffic around trucks and in between cars so that you are literally centimeters away from grazing a car. But the best part was his non-nonchalant attitude about the whole shindig. Granted he's probably been doing it for years, but not to even flinch impressed me. Needless to say, I know how I'll be getting my rush everyday.

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Ashley S. Zeiger