Fang Fang Hotel Kampala

... guy I used to work with, Kevin, he used to say ‘how are you’ in this way and for over a year I thought he said ‘hello’; so it is possible!) But at second thought I realised they spoke Uganlish, because in Luganda the greeting is not simply ‘hello’, but it is always a question demanding you to respond affirmatively (even though you are really feeling like ****!). So, given the ugandanisation of the English language, ‘fine ...

... days. (Adholla’s explanation for this was that it was the punishment for getting the visa from Denmark and not spending the money directly in Uganda!) Okay, fair enough, but why didn’t they tell me that? Her answer, and that one amused me: 'Yeah well, our visas are not very detailed.’ How detailed did she want the visa to be? Name, country of destination, nationality, dates when the visa was issued and will expire…all that is there - what more is ...

... from the nursery beds and planted in the big holes we dug last week and filled with manure. I turned my hand to a spot of teaching this week as Stella, one of the teachers thought that it was high time I did some proper work, so chalk in hand in front of a blackboard i gave it a go....lets just say I shall in future be sticking to law.

Being on my own in the house this week I thought I would treat ...

... very good use of me to the great amusement of the rest of the guests.

The ceremony went on for quite some time. And Maggie, the bride-to-be, was nowhere to be seen. The thing is that Mayega had talked to Maggie’s Ssenga, which is a very special auntie, and we needed to find her as she was the only one who knew us. So, a number of women were brought out and none of them knew us, which meant the spokesperson of Maggie wanted to send us packing. However ...

... The driver promises that he will retrieve it before the end of the day, without fail.

I meet with our lead guide for a thorough dissection of our itinerary, then we commence the welcome cocktail party. Everyone is here except for the two who arrived several days early and went on a side trip to Murchison Falls. They have been stuck in traffic for hours.

We do introductions all around, and our two guides, Farouk and Francis, go ...

We arrived last night in Uganda where we are working with Africa Renewal Ministries. This morning, we had orientation in Ggaba which is near Kampala and then quickly left for a village called Bugono in Iganga. We are partnering with a team from Ggaba Community Church, and there are 25 of us in all. We will be sleeping on the floor of Bugono Community Church which is just ...

... Our last feeding observation on Sunday afternoon, was not as pleasant. There was a dominance struggle between the 2nd and 3rd tiered males. This caused both Pasa and Billy to hide out in a tree. The other chimps would eat, but Pasa seemed to cry from the tree. A few times, she came down and sat next to another chimp who was eating an avocado. When they finished, she picked up their peel and ate the leftovers. But the second anything happened to indicate hierarchy struggles she would go ...

... and flag waving and all sorts as well as an electrified band and the craziest pastors imaginable. After the first bout of songs they welcomed all the new people and asked non-believers to stand up (so I did) and we all got applauded and people from the congregation came up and hugged us! The whole service was dual-language but I almost understood more of the Lugandan as the pastor leading the service in English screamed in ...

... pineapple, passionfruit, sweet bananas, guava, mangoes and the biggest strangest fruit I've ever seen called a jackfruit. It is the shape of a rugby ball but about twice the size of a water melon and grows directly from the main trunk of the tree. It tastes pretty good! I've heard some pretty depressing things about the UVDA who sent us to this project - it seems the money we pay doesn't reach where it's meant to and Ugandan camp leaders are even left ...

... finalement rejoindre nos chiches pénates à 500 mètres du centre ville par un petit chemin isolé. Et là, que ne vois-je pas au milieu du passage à la lumière de ma lampe torche ? Deux bons vieux hippopotames à la recherche de leur dîner. Passablement éméché, Damien essaie de me convaincre que l'on ne risque rien et que c'est même excitant de traverser un parc peuplé de bêtes sauvages en plein milieu de la nuit ( ???!!!!???, Huguette, faut qu'on parle). Par chance, un miraculeux 4X4 ...