Day 4:
Our 2nd day together:
In the morning, you were even more comfortable with us,
and started to pull a few tricks out of your bag. You told us that you have 2
arms and 2 legs.... In English! We all just started laughing because it was
random and totally unexpected. When you found that we were happy about your
English tid bits, you pulled out a few more stops. You sung us a song about
having 5 senses: " Senses senses senses- I have 5 senses :I have eyes to
see, ears to hear, nose to smell, and a tong to tastie" We all laughed. It was one of the cutest
things ever! Of course we never did figure out what the 5th one was..... You
sung the song for days but never let the cat out of the bag.
Mr Ronald (our driver/ guide who we were very luck to have) picked us up and took us to
the US Embassy so we could check in on making sure the Visa process had been
started. You sat close to me while I held you close in the car, since there was
no seat belt. Mommy carried you, and when you walked, you held my hand on 1
side and Gabes on the other. Luckily I brought your book bag full of toys
because you were a busy busy bee. (I have heard that it is pretty common for
Ugandan boys to be pretty energetic.... But you, my dear are special and funny,
and sharp, and more energetic than any others I have seen. (We have also gotten
comments from people - Ugandans- almost every where we go. They laugh and say
how stubborn you are. I think you will fit right in!
The Hot Wheels kept you pretty busy. This was one of the
1st places we saw other Mazoongos, other than our hotel. There were other Mazoongos
there with there beautiful Ugandan children, waiting for the same reason. When
we left, we went to get passport photos for you and a family photo of all of us
together, which we were told we would need since Mommy would be traveling to
bring you home without Daddy with us.
The sites:
I didn't take a lot of pictures this 1st visit because I
was taking mental pictures and trying to take in what I was seeing..... 1st of
all, the traffic and road conditions was pretty darn scary.... They drive on
the left side of the street, well.... Sort of. They really just drive wherever
they want! The roads are mostly paved, but huge holes all over the place, so
people are weaving in and out from left lane to right lane. And I had to close
my eyes and clench my body many times while I was preparing for impact- holding
tight to you and Gabe. Ronald kept us safe, although someone did bump us from
behind at one point.... No one stops because no one cares. All of the cars are
bumped and scraped. There are boda bodas everywhere! These are basically
something like a dirt bike and a small motorcycle combined. This is a popular
mode of transportation because you can more easily weave in and out of traffic
and they take less gas. We were warned and read warnings to not ride on any of
these (they use them for taxis also). They are very dangerous due to the crazy
driving and lack of helmets. We saw people riding 5 deep on them sometimes.....
A driver up on the gas tank, a momma, and 3 little ones! If a woman was to ride
by herself, she would sit "side saddle" to ride like a lady..... Even
more scary! I'm pretty sure we side bumped one at one point in the car as
well.... Its just madness! Also, we were told that some of the boda boda
drivers are bad guys and will drive you to areas where other bad guys would be
waiting to snatch you off the back or rob you. (But again, this is what we read
before going. After talking to Ronald, I'm sure some of this may be a bit
exaggerated.) Other than the paved streets, there was no grass to line the
roadsides or anything else. It was just dry dusty red clay everywhere, so
although the weather was beautiful, breezy, and much cooler than Charleston,
and we would drive with the windows down to avoid using the A/C (if he even had
it), dust was thick in the air, and when we showered at night, you could see it
all draining down in the water.
The roadside shops were , to the best I can describe,
like a small metal shed that one might have in their back yard.... 35 years
old, falling apart with holes and rust, but without doors.
People would be sitting inside on dirt or standing. You
could find dresses, jewelry, fruits,cell phones, or even meat, plus just about
anything you could think of. And yes- I did say meat..... Raw meat hanging in
the windows of an open, un air-conditioned metal shack, with flies buzzing and
dirt flying all around!
Driving around, you would also see little old ladies
sitting on piles of rocks, holding hammers or mallets. Close bye I saw piles of
grey dirt. I assume the ladies were manually crushing the rocks for cement?
Also you would see men hand making beautiful hand carved
beds, doors, and all types of furniture. You would see gorgeous hand made iron
or raw steel doors. You would see men with shovels and pick axes to break up
concrete on the side of the road- digging 5ft deep trenches to lay power lines,
women using brooms without handles to sweep the streets, guys with brillo pads
scrubbing the sidewalks. You would also see packs of children wandering the
streets begging for food. This was by far the saddest thing of all..... While
we were at the 1 stoplight in the whole city, a pack came up to the car. The
oldest was maybe 10, and was offering to wash the windows with a dry dirty
clothe. Then he went to Mike's window ,and Mike gave him some change. The other
4 were at my window, maybe between the ages of 3 and 7 yrs old, reaching their
arms inside. I held their hands and gave them all of the snacks I had in my
bag. Ronald told us that they probably had come from up north and their parents
had probably been killed by one of the rebel groups. He said they sneak into
the backs of trucks and make their way to the city to beg for food and change
to eat. Eventually the when the food is scarce, the older ones will steal the
food and the younger ones will die. There is no organization that picks the
children up and puts them into homes. They just survive if they can.
At the end of the day, we went back to the hotel and took
you and Gabe out to the pool. Later we were told that this is the 1st time you
ever saw a pool, which may explain why you were scared to death of it. And when
I told you it was a "pool", you kept calling it a "boat".
Daddy finally got you to put your legs in, after 15-20
minutes of coaching. Then a lady that works at the hotel spoke Runyankole and
tried to trick you into the pool by offering you sweets. Then she grabbed you
and threw you into the baby pool, which was a foot and a half deep. You cried
and told her she was a bad person and that she lied because you could see she
had no sweets in her hand. (I was on the other side of the pool, but was
tickled when Daddy told me what happened.) You wouldn't even come near Daddy
the rest of the time at the pool that day.
That night and for the rest of the nights, you slept between
me and Gabe. I would gently rub your face as we went to sleep and I would wake
up to you looking at me, rubbing my face and rubbing your feet against my legs.
Sweet Boy.
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