I have been in Uganda for a week now and I think I am just starting to realize I am here. It has been a fantastic week, and I am excited to see and do more. The weather is generally perfect, and my living situation is absolutely comfortable.
On the surface, Uganda looks very similar to Rwanda. It is green, it is tropical, it is striking in its functional calamity. However, there are some subtle differences as well.
The roads and infrastructure in Uganda are in worse disrepair. The blackouts are fairly consistent, and given that Uganda is so much larger, it feels more sparsely populated.
Kampala of course is an exception to that. Kampala is chaotic and lively, a vibrant shock of people and cars and matatus (collective taxis) and boda bodas (motorcycle taxis). It's hard to tell sometimes if people are parking or driving, because both situations involve tons of traffic and people mixed together in the roads, and really neither move quickly.
Kigali in Rwanda, on the other hand, is clean, quiet, orderly and almost eerie in its pristine state. It's cleaner and quieter than many large cities in the US. As such it is harder to get a sense of the character there, whereas my initial observations indicate that Kampala sort of shoves it in your face.
Many of the foods are similar between the two countries, though Ugandan food seems less flavorful. There are lots of carbs (rice, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, yams, casava, ad nauseum...) and then generally some sauce or stew. Here in hoima there is a lot of fish, given our proximity to Lake Albert. Also they make a sauce out of peanuts that is savory and then they stew meat (goat or beef) in it. It is pretty good. It is rich, and not sweet-peanuty like Thai peanut sauce. Both Rwanda and Uganda feature the buffet, which consists of about 97 types of carbs, various types of the aforementioned stewed meats, beans, and then you just pile your plate high for about $3.
There the similarities begin to diverge, and I am less able to comment. I will hopefully have some more insight in coming posts.
So far Village Enterprise (click on the hyperlinked name for the website) has been incredible. The work that we are doing in Hoima is so cool. I have been sitting in on induction trainings for our business mentors and it is amazing the training, interviewing and high levels of performance required just to be hired. On the one hand it puts a lot of pressure on candidates, on the other hand it demonstrates that we choose smart, capable people and respect their abilities enough to push them to perform. It is a unique way to demonstrate the culture of the organization and indicates the level of commitment that will be necessary for success. It's very cool.
I have more to say, but instead I'll add a few photos and save the rest for another post.
Cheers!
On the surface, Uganda looks very similar to Rwanda. It is green, it is tropical, it is striking in its functional calamity. However, there are some subtle differences as well.
The roads and infrastructure in Uganda are in worse disrepair. The blackouts are fairly consistent, and given that Uganda is so much larger, it feels more sparsely populated.
Kampala of course is an exception to that. Kampala is chaotic and lively, a vibrant shock of people and cars and matatus (collective taxis) and boda bodas (motorcycle taxis). It's hard to tell sometimes if people are parking or driving, because both situations involve tons of traffic and people mixed together in the roads, and really neither move quickly.
Kigali in Rwanda, on the other hand, is clean, quiet, orderly and almost eerie in its pristine state. It's cleaner and quieter than many large cities in the US. As such it is harder to get a sense of the character there, whereas my initial observations indicate that Kampala sort of shoves it in your face.
Many of the foods are similar between the two countries, though Ugandan food seems less flavorful. There are lots of carbs (rice, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, yams, casava, ad nauseum...) and then generally some sauce or stew. Here in hoima there is a lot of fish, given our proximity to Lake Albert. Also they make a sauce out of peanuts that is savory and then they stew meat (goat or beef) in it. It is pretty good. It is rich, and not sweet-peanuty like Thai peanut sauce. Both Rwanda and Uganda feature the buffet, which consists of about 97 types of carbs, various types of the aforementioned stewed meats, beans, and then you just pile your plate high for about $3.
There the similarities begin to diverge, and I am less able to comment. I will hopefully have some more insight in coming posts.
So far Village Enterprise (click on the hyperlinked name for the website) has been incredible. The work that we are doing in Hoima is so cool. I have been sitting in on induction trainings for our business mentors and it is amazing the training, interviewing and high levels of performance required just to be hired. On the one hand it puts a lot of pressure on candidates, on the other hand it demonstrates that we choose smart, capable people and respect their abilities enough to push them to perform. It is a unique way to demonstrate the culture of the organization and indicates the level of commitment that will be necessary for success. It's very cool.
I have more to say, but instead I'll add a few photos and save the rest for another post.
Cheers!
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