Arrived in Mbarara

I arrived in Entebbe yesterday without problems- started Friday night and arrived Sunday morning with a long layover in London (enough time to see the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum- a massive museum that I spent about 2 hours at but one could go for days). There's a heavy presence of armed security people in Entebbe and Kampala for the African Union summit starting today (and not, apparently, because of the recent bombings). The drive from Kampala to Mbarara took 5-6 hours, much of which I missed because of naps. The area around Kampala was lush and hilly. Just as hilly here (altitude about 5000 feet) but a little less lush as this is nearing the end of a dry season. The word around town is that the short rainy season will start in about 2 weeks. The roads are dusty and lots of people pay for a ride on a motorbike (no taxis and I'm told I can stop any passing motorbike to get a ride) for even short distances to avoid the dust and the heat. Everyone who has told me about this says it's very dangerous and not to do it and they all do it. Although it's hot, I think it is cooler than in Boston and last night was so cool that I used a quilt- lovely! The local staple is matoke- mashed boiled bananas (I think). There are bananas growing everywhere. It is very filling and I finished about 1/4 of the matoke I was served. I was told, however, that contrary to what my mother taught me it's okay to leave food on your plate which was a great relief. I have met lots of people at the Millenium Villages office, mostly Ugandan and some interns, and remember a few of them. I've also learned that it would be helpful to learn some runyankole (the local language) so I've bought an "easy reading book" of english to runyankole phrases and hope to learn some. I'm hoping to start visiting the villages where I'll be working on Wednesday so perhaps another post then.