"If I was a Mzungu..."

Me, I am a Mzungu. Mzungu is a white man. It feels almost a little bit racist everytime somebody shouts this after you, and it happens at least 20 times a day... It does not bother me anyway, I am used to a similar shouting from my time in Ghana. But then it sounded much more like my name. Today, when I took a boda-boda from downtown to the hostel, my driver told me: "If I was a Mzungu, I wouldn't go to Africa..." I couldn't possibly agree with that. I am in love with the continent, despite it being a little bit hard to travel around in.

I have to explain a couple of things now. Many of you know that I applied for a job in Kampala. And now I can tell you that I don't regret it. It is actually one of the few cities I have visited that I would have considered living in. I like the city. It is beautiful and ugly at the same time. However, if they had considered me for this position I applied for, I would never have taken my job at Soltun, and I would never have met all the beautiful and good people that I now can call my friends. Kampala is spread out over many hills, like Seattle and Rome, and I already explained before that I like cities that are a little bit hilly. Like Genoa, like Mérida, like Trondheim, like Edinburgh, like Istanbul, like Marburg... The point is that I could live in Kampala. People are nice, but not as positive as in Ghana or Malawi, but then again, this is the first country that I visit that actually has a terrible and sad history.

I have been walking to downtown Kampala the two last days. This is one of the things I really miss from the last time I was in Africa. This time I have walked less, not because I am lazier, but because there are not too many places to walk. I am usually living in the city centers, while in Ghana I lived at the university campus that was quite some distance outside of downtown Cape Coast. I guess I haven't lost as much weight as I expected. I may have gained weight as the coke is very inexpensive here. In Ghana I did probably walk around 20 km's a day. Anyway, the walk down to town is taking around one hour, and that's not too bad. I get to see the beautiful mosque every time. It is actually the second largest mosque in Africa, despite Uganda not being a Moslem country. It was of course Idi Amin that started building it, but it was Ghadaffi that finished it. It is impressive, and I find it interesting that Ghadaffi helped build a mosque in Uganda that is the second largest in Africa. Why did he not build it in Libya? Isn't he a dictator? Aren't they supposed to do stupid things like that? Like the guy in Cote d'Ivoire that build a replica of the largest church in the world...

Walking to Kampala, means taking a boda-boda back. What is a boda-boda? It is basically a motor bike that is functioning as a taxi. This is the most common means of transportation in Uganda, and fairly cheap and takes far less time than taking a regular taxi. Today the driver could tell me that I am a very strong man since I could walk all the way to Kampala. He would never do it. Well, I guess I need the exercise and I kind of like walking. You get to see a lot more being out there where the people are. But taking boda-bodas back is fine, though a little bit scary. The two drivers I had so far were fortunately quite careful.

Tomorrow I will go for the safari, and my only hope is to be able to touch a giraffe and swim with the hippos... Just kidding, but it would be cool though.

So until Monday you have to read something else. Big hug!