Of course, after a long day of traveling, I have arrived in Uganda, the pearl of Africa. My dear friend and colleague, Dr. James Kagaari, fetched me from the airport with a university driver and truck. Right away I recognized the familiar red dust, musical sounds, and warm air. This time, unlike for my other visits, there was not much traffic on the road and no real jams. So the drive to NTinda was pleasant and I was delivered to an apartment I have stayed at before. It is familiar and comfortable. James had stocked it with some bottled water, potatoes, tomatoes, and a few things like that. I slept very well and woke up ready to get rolling. I walked to NTinda (about one mile from where I am staying) to recharge my internet stick and purchase a towel and washcloth. Then, after nearly 42 hours, I took a shower. Cold water. Very refreshing.
James picked me up for lunch - I had a nice fare of traditional Ugandan food. It is about all I eat where I am here, so this was the first of many such meals: beans, matooki, ground nuts, "pumpkin", cabbage, greens.
I learned a lot from James about how things have changed or stayed the same since my last visit. We had a good chance to visit about politics and the recent psychology conference that James helped to host. I had missed this conference because my mom had a birthday celebration during the same time.
My first meeting at the department will be 9am on Monday.
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