So, I love my birthday. I would have to say that it is the best day of the year. In fact, on any given day I can probably tell you exactly how old I am and how long it is until my next birthday. This year was a big one…hitting the big 3-0. I’ve been preparing myself for this for the past few years, so I was just about ready to leave my twenties behind…well, kind of.
Before I could officially say goodbye to my twenties, my roommate, Sarah, and two other friends, Lonnah and Dorothy, thought that I needed to experience a few more things. They planned a “last hurrah” kind of evening. The theme? Kate’s Amazing Race.
I had several tasks to accomplish in a certain amount of time, maneuvering my way through different parts of the city. Luckily, I was free to ask my Ugandan friends for help and use them as translators when necessary.
We began with a taxi ride downtown to the Old Taxi Park. This was only my second time riding in a Ugandan taxi, definitely an experience in and of itself. Taxis are large minivans. Each taxi has a driver and a conductor. They have certain places where they stop to pick up passengers, and in order to make their trips worthwhile, the taxis wait until their vans are mostly full before proceeding (this can take some time if you are one of the first to board). The conductor uses hand gestures to indicate where the taxi is heading (those are the most confusing things to decipher, I think.) With Lonnah and Dorothy’s help, we found a taxi headed in our direction and got on board. To my surprise and chagrin, my seat was wet—I don’t want to even know why, so I scooted as close as possible to the absolute stranger beside me ☺. We got on about 4:30pm, which meant we were heading through crazy traffic into crazier traffic downtown (yay!).
Me, Lonnah, and Dorothy in the taxi.
After arriving in the taxi park, in which taxis were packed in like sardines (along with many people and vendors somehow squeezing in the open spaces), we headed to an outdoor market. My next task? Spend 5,000/= (about $2.50) as quickly as possible. I walked into a jewelry shop and bought a ring for 500/= and a bracelet for1,000/=. In the middle of this shopping spree, my roommate and I took a few minutes and to get pedicures ($.75 each). The guy did an amazing job. Afterwards I bought a small purse for 2,000/=. But even with all my purchases I had 1,500/= leftover!
Buying my ring
Getting my nails done :)
The finished product!
Next thing? I ate some sugarcane. I don’t know why I hadn’t eaten it before, especially since it is so delicious!
Task #4? Find my way to Owino Market and go inside. This time my friends wouldn’t help me with directions, so I had to ask a random person on the street.
Owino is the largest outdoor market in Uganda. It is insanely huge and crowded—narrow walkways in the midst of hundreds of stalls piled one on top of another, filled with anything you could possible ever want or need (shoes, clothes, belts, purses, etc.). It is easy to get lost inside. The people selling things are constantly calling out to you to get you to stop and look at their merchandise. Many even will grab your arm and pull you aside. Since this was my expedition, I was leading the way, which meant that I was able to take the people by surprise and get through quicker. My roommate Sarah wasn’t as lucky. She was grabbed and pulled this way and that ☺. We both got a few marriage proposals in the midst of this—some guy called me his wife and Sarah had someone say she was his size—but we emerged unscathed.
In front of Owino...getting ready to go inside
Task #5? Find my way from Owino to Café Pap, the restaurant we were eating dinner at. Once again I got no help from my Ugandan friends, who totally knew the way. Well, I can’t say no help. Every once in awhile, they’d remind me to ask someone for directions, which really meant I was nearing a place I needed to turn or something. One guy I asked for directions wanted to tell my friends, but I had to say with chagrin, “They know where they’re going. They want me to find it on my own.” And I did!
Dorothy, Me, Sarah, Lonnah
We had an awesome dinner at Café Pap, talking and laughing with one another.
My final task? Take a boda boda ride (motorcycle taxi) back to the church. Lonnah and Dorothy found us a couple of bodas and off we went. The ride was fun, even though it was dark outside. The way bodas weave their way through traffic is amazing. Along the way, our boda drivers asked Dorothy to get them some mzungu (white) friends. My driver said that he wanted me—lovely.
Anyway, it was a great evening—tons of fun. A great way to finish off my twenties.
