Taking Public: Vol. 2

11:00 and we’re on the move. As the driver maneuvers the huge bus through the streets of Kampala, I am thankful the vehicle I have been entrusted with is a fraction of that size! We rock and roll towards Fort Portal, speedy for sure, but I am not yet uncomfortable with the speed with which the bus is moving. About an hour and a half in, the bus rolls to a stop along the side of the road with nothing in close proximity. Men and women begin moving off the bus and in the grass along the side of the road they begin assuming the gender appropriate positions for using the bathroom, all in plain sight of each other and those of us still on the bus…women hiking up their dresses/skirts and kneeling on the ground – in all of the times I’ve used the bathroom when hiking/camping I’ve never thought to try kneeling…note to self…men thankfully facing away from the bus to do their business…people finish and mosey back onto the bus. Cultural norms with issues of modesty are so interesting…

A while beyond the potty stop is the “in your face chicken place” – Ugandan “fast food” is my favorite variety of Ugandan food I think…roasted chicken and roasted sweet bananas….yummy yum yum. Around 16:00 we reach Fort Portal, leaving people off in one place and moving to another place across town to pick more people up. As we waited for people to board before leaving, I noticed a woman sitting by her seguili (sp?) breastfeeding her baby…I quickly realized it had been a month since I had seen a woman breastfeeding in public…more notes on cultural modesty norms…

16:30 the bus resumes movement and we leave the pavement behind. The dusty roads lead us to believe there hasn’t been rain for some time, but the green of the surroundings indicates otherwise. I quickly realize that my comfort with our traveling speed has in fact ended…the driver no longer seems to care that the size/nature of the road had changed, but rumbles through village after village honking to let people know he’s coming and I hope they respond accordingly! Our fellow passengers seem to think that Kalita offers door to door service as they shout and request drop offs every 3 minutes it seems. One stop in a trading center results in drive-by grocery shopping. We conveniently receive a text message from teammates Travis and Amy who are in Kampala, telling us they just finished their grocery shopping at Capital Shoppers’ Delight, meanwhile we’re sitting with a “Kalita Shoppers’ Delight” of sorts happening practically in our laps, people leaning out the bus door (which, you’ll remember, is just in front of our seats) to buy onions and tomatoes, vendors climbing/reaching in to ensure they get their money.

As the shopping drew to a close, the conductor closes the door and off we go towards the mountains…ahhhh, the mountains. As my eyes are drawn to their green peaks and slopes, I am comforted that I am almost home. I hear Lubwisi being spoken as a few stragglers climb on the bus, and I am further reassured that home is in sight. Slightly leary of repeating the Kalita Shoppers’ Delight experience at every drop off I wondered in Karagutu how long we would be stopped, but then I saw the mangoes…I love mangoes. Anna had been hoping we would find some along the road to buy as the season was likely to be over or at least almost over to our dismay. We bought 20 mangoes for less than 50 cents, almost totally emptying the old woman’s basin that had seemed rather full when she rested it on the bus stairs…ahhh, mangoes…