Our top 10+ lists

So to say that Jeff and I were pretty bored on the plane trip is an understatement.  Between watching movies and eating airplane food, we had a lot of time on our hands.  We decided to entertain ourselves by making lists of anything we could think of.

Here are a few of our favorite lists:

20 Extra Things to Bring

1. Ziplock bags for storing your shoes over night, for your toothbrush, and bags for garbage, dirty laundry, clean laundry, and wet items.
2.  Swedish Fish for Father Michael
3.  Candies – kids call them sweeties, chewy ones for toddlers, lollipops for babies, and harder ones for school kids.  Adults want candies too.
4. Collapsible cup for washing your toothbrush off in mouthwash
5. SD cards & jump drives (Father always asks for extras of these)
6. Converters for all outlets (Africa and Europe for layovers and in Uganda, power strips (for charging all your gear every night), car charger (you spend most of your day traveling with Father in the car)
7.  DEET spray (for everywhere), Dramamine (flight across the ocean) and sleeping pills for plane flights.
8. Razors, tooth paste and shaving cream for Father.
9. Hot pot – boiling water to brush your teeth with, rinse with, make tea and coffee with.
10. Bring the Ugandan cell phone.  When you get to Kampala, buy a UTL 100,000 UGX phone card to charge it with.  One week, for two people to use, you will burn through 100,000 pretty easily.  Kampala is the best place to buy the phone cards, plan for this when calculating your shilling need.
11. Sun Screen because if you are on malaria medication, you will burn.  Dioxcycline will help you kill any bacteria along the way, so chose that as your malaria medication of choice.  Stay hydrated or you will need UTI pills too.
12.  When getting your visa once off of the plane in Entebbe, make sure that they do not keep your yellow fever card, they will keep it and sell it later.
13. Poncho and umbrella, just in case it rains – it comes hard and heavy so be prepared.
14. Lots of pens and note pads, scissors and tape.
15. For schools – pencils (140 for Arthur's school, 130 for Buterbrere), erasers, sharpeners, paper, school supplies
16.  Any type of trinkets for kids on the road side
17.  Lots and lots and lots of hand sanitizer; liquid, spray, and wipes
18. Metal water bottles, boil the water for awhile in your hot pot at night, transfer to the metal water bottle when it cools, and you will have water for the next AM, but bring flavored packets because boiling it does not remove the awful taste.
19. Camera with at least 20 gb of space to take pictures, plus all of your battery chargers, and always charge from a power strip - so when the power goes out and the generator kicks on, your stuff will not fry.
20. Bring a picture of your kids, and your car, and your favorite soccer team.  Kids there seemed to love Manchester United, always asked to see my car, and to see my kids.  They love to hear the Christian names for your children and the saint you named them after.
21. To say that people are loud, and that the city never sleeps is an understatement.  If you sleep lightly, bring ear plugs.

10. Cultural things to do

1.       You always have to sign in – everywhere you go.  Some people have brag books of who came and how far they traveled to see you (like churches and friends).  Some places make you check in with a passport number and signature (businesses, state parks, etc.)

2.       When a man shakes a man’s hand, you introduce yourself, then ask them their name or they will not tell you. When shaking, shake normally down once, then link thumbs, then shake normally again.  See  "Úgandan hand shake" on youtube.com.

3.       If you hug someone, you hug both sides - cheek to cheek.

4.       When you wave, you should use an open palmed fingers spread wave to say hello.  If you have by opening and closing your hand, that means “Come Here” and if you do that to kids, you better have sweeties.

5.       Women bow their thanks, almost like a curtsy, but knees down.  Men, do not bow your heads or bow at all – it is a sign of weakness.

6.       Men should not wear ties, this intimidates other men.

7.       There are two smells in Uganda; garbage and BO.  Be prepared for both – nobody wears deodorant.

8.       You shake hands EVERY time you see someone.

9.    Do not try to take your own luggage through the hotel - this is an insult to the male bell hops.

10.  Do not tip, unless you want to at a restaurant.  Tipping people is very confusing for them.  And you should always haggle - you get no respect if you do not - even if it makes you feel awful, they enjoy it.

25 things you should know:

1.  Use credit cards to pay for your first and last hotel stays.  Basically use credit cards when you can because you do not want to run dry of shillings in Masaka.  Nobody outside Kampala (and very few in Kampala) take credit cards, and nobody exchanges anything less than $100 and they must be made after 2006 without a crease in it.

2.  If you have a chance to buy water bottles, do it.  If you buy a coke, you must drink it all before you leave, and you may not keep the bottle.  I had a coke bottle that said 1992 on the side - they reuse them, so drink out of a straw.

3    3. Picture the worst smell ever – that is how it is all of the time, and it can get worse, body odor, diesel, sugar cane factories, burning garbage, etc.

4    4. Father drives with the windows down – you will wash your face ten times before the dirt comes all of the way off.

5    5. Your toilet will not flush all of the way – hold the button down a loooong time

6    6. Never wash your face or brush your teeth with sink water.  Ever.  Always use hand sanitizer after you wash your hands.  Close your mouth in the shower.

7    7.. Father is one of the safest drivers in Masaka, but you would never know by how he drives

8    8. No matter what you do with Father Michael, you pay for everything; gas for his car, restaurants, snacks, entrance fees to things, etc.  If you are dining with any priest, you are paying. Priests do not make an income, and are doing you a favor by dining with you.

9    9. If someone comes to meet you, either at a hotel, restaurant or at the Delta, you are paying for their gas and their meal.

1    10.   Stay in Entebbe your first night, not Kampala.  Hotel Protea is on the beach of Lake Victoria and is an average of $200 a night, but worth it. Metropole is nice, but for a nice few, and to get in bed sooner, the Protea is worth it.

1     11.   Uganda time means if you show up an hour late, you will be about on time.  The more important you are, the later you are.  Appointment times are are relevant to your status.

1     12.   The pizza at ___ is good.  We ate there all of the time.  We loved to sit out on the patio overlooking Masaka

1     13.   Most places have wifi if you ask, but can be very very slow.  However, all wifi seems to pick up after midnight.

1     14.   Tuskar Malt Lagar and Nile Special are good beers, and Waragy is a good local gin. (It is strong so get a chaser/mixer)

1     15.   Father’s favorite foods/drinks – fried plantain, Chapati (thick Indian style tortilla), coke.

1     16.   Dress code – Men who get things done only wear nice long pants, nicer shoes, and nicer shirts.  If you want to be taken seriously, you will do the same.  Use the laundry service but expect it to take 2 days.  Bring all of your undergarments, plus some and never get these laundered.  Women wear long skirts (at least knee length and nothing shorter.  No tank tops, nothing shorter than a tee shirt.  Most Africans we met wear jackets all of the time.  Scarves for extra coverage from sun or places of business are excellent.

1     17.   If you are driving around with Father, you are paying for all of the gas.  We got gas 6 times at an average of $250 a time, in 1 week, and you must pay in UGX, plan ahead in Kampala and with exchanging money.

1    18.   Ugandans say love all of the time.

1    19.   Men hold hands a lot but they are not homosexuals, just best friends

2    20.   As soon as possible, children are made independent, roam all over the streets, eat and drink anything they find.

2    21.   Never put your stuff on the ground.  It will be covered in bugs, and people will pull over extra chairs for you to put purses, camera bags, backpacks, etc, on.

2    22.   Do not worry – every person of importance carries an AK-47 assault rifle, and when you go to important places, they check under your car for bombs.  Do not take pictures of these people, or of the dam on the Nile or of the embassy buildings or banks, or of government officials cars or homes, or anything with a gate.

2    23.   Never leave money in the safe, or anything in your room that has ANY value.  

2    24.   You must bring everything out of the car, every time you stop.  That means pack lightly because you are carrying it around at every stop - a 17"laptop, tablet, notebook, camera, umbrella, bug spray, sun screen, water bottle, protein bars, etc, through coffee orchards, farms, schools, through acres of land, uphill to the chapel, into gas stations, etc.  I will say that my back got a work out.

2    25. Bring your own pillow, towel, extra shoes - leave them all there.

Phrases & Their Meanings

Way-ber-lay-nyo – Hey, how are you

Callee – OK

Boda, Boda – motorcycle type taxi

Jam-bo – A casual hello to say out the window to people

Muz-oon-go – Busy white person, friendly slang for white person

Chip – French fries

Crisps – are potatoe chips

Callee Sobo – Yes sir

Nway-bo – Yes Maám

Papa – call any male older than you this – especially if you do not know them – gas station attendants, guards, older waiters, store clerks, etc.