My Long Weekend

This weekend I am enjoying 4 days off in a row. This doesn't happen often with work and the way Uganda celebrates holidays. Uganda has not embraced the "3 day weekend" the way Western cultures have because most people here are still subsistence farmers. So when an Ugandan holiday (like Independence Day, Martyr's Day, etc.) falls on a weekend or middle of the week it is just celebrated that day. No President's Day (Observed) like Americans have so it can always fall on a Monday, thus not many official long weekends. This weekend however, a holiday (NRM Day or Liberation day depending on your political affiliation) was on a Thursday and I was able to take Friday off. Long weekend!

Sometimes people ask me, what do you do for fun in Uganda? I thought telling you a little bit about my weekend would help answer that question and sharing a few pictures. On Thursday I got to visit with a few friends on campus, participate in a breakfast with students (hosted by someone else so not work for me!) then head to the pool with Rachel. You can see us lounging poolside in the pictures below:

We were at a place called Vision for Africa, a NGO in Mukono that does a wide variety of work including running a guest house as part of a hospitality training school. We read, swam and enjoyed the sun, although I kept moving my chair to try to stay in the shade and ended up being enveloped by a friendly tree. The first picture in the post is looking up at the papaya tree that was shading us.

I also enjoyed a cold poolside Coke . Soda is almost always served in glass bottles here so they can be reused, and it is such a nice treat on a hot day. I probably drink more soda in Uganda than I ever did in the States.

The day ended with a delicious dinner made by Rachel, a visit from my friend Adeline (who is back in Uganda!) and a fun movie.

Friday I headed back to Jinja with Abby for a night at The Haven. This was something Abby and I had planned as a "last semester" time together. The place was situated right on the Nile, and we saw some of the rafting boats starting out soon after arriving. Here was the view from our little cottage:

We had a great time of relaxing, eating, reminiscing and talking about the future...makes me excited to see what the next year will hold. We also ran in to this new little friend:

If anyone has ever read or seen the movie Flame Trees of Thika (highly recommended), it was just like Elspeth's pet Twinkle! We also enjoyed good Western-style meals, a special treat in Uganda:

So far the weekend has been full of good times with friends and visiting different places. Tomorrow I am hoping to go to a baptism for a friend's child then an art gallery in Kampala.

Hopefully that gives you some idea of free time in Uganda. Living in Mukono there are less entertainment options close by than a typical American town but between people and a little bit of driving, there is plenty that is interesting and fun .