11.8.07

My time with Jennie is growing very short. Only one more day in Kampala and I will be heading to Gulu to begin my research. Yesterday we spent some time in the city. Jennie got a hair cut and I did some homework. We caught a ride back to the base with one of the guys at Medair and got stuck in the WORST traffic I have ever seen in my entire life!!!!! I've never seen anything like it! Traffic is usually bad in Kampala, but this was beyond my wildest dreams. It took us almost 2 hours to get from the center of the city to our base when it normally takes 10 minutes!!! At one point we were trying to go down a street, but got stuck because we were nose to nose with another car who was leading the way for a whole slew of cars behind it that were going the WRONG WAY. they were driving on the wrong side of the street and we had nowhere to go! We had to drive partway on the stinkin' sidewalk to get around them, but then we were stopped by a pile of dirt on the sidewalk that we couldn't get over. The street was a parking lot. One of the taxi drivers finally starting showing people where to scoot their cars together and back up, etc. so that they could open up the lane for our side. Good grief! It was absolutely ridiculous!! We were glad to be home and enjoyed a nice dinner in the cool of the evening outside. What a relief!

Today was pretty laid back. Jennie and I walked down to the market and had brunch. then we went to a hostel down the street to see about booking rooms for us at the end of the month when we return from Gulu, but they were full. On the way back, I stepped into one of the holes in the road and rolled my ankle. My ankle is fine, but my foot was at a funny angle in the hole and we think that when my ankle rolled one way, my foot rolled the other causing some kind of stress fracture or something. It's only a little swollen and turning slightly black and blue and hurts like crazy to walk on it right now. We're going to see how it feels in the morning and I might make a run in to the doctor tomorrow to see about getting some kind of brace or something to stablize it. I guess I won't be doing much walkig in Gulu. Sigh.

Thankful:
-- for safety in my trip so far
-- for a fantastic time with Jennie...I feel so refreshed and full after spending time with her and the people here

Prayer:
-- for the rest of our team travelling for the next couple of days
-- that my foot heals and/or we are able to find a way to make it work with our schedule (i.e. is not a hindrance)
-- that my work in Gulu is as smooth as possible
-- productivity tomorrow as it is my last day in Kampala and have much preparations to do

Hope you all are well and I would love to hear from you when you have the chance....