A crafty weekend.

So, I haven't updated in a while -- almost a week, I think? I really don't do very much interesting during the week, just go to work. We had a long weekend this week, with Friday off for Martyrs' Day. This week (tomorrow), I'm theoretically starting to work on a humanitarian parole case for someone my organization and others have been working to protect. The case is pretty sensitive, so I won't go into too many details here. But humanitarian parole is a temporary grant of asylum, basically -- usually less than a year, and it's for providing a safe, secure environment to people who are in constant danger for some reason. It could be a medical emergency, it would be a continuing risk of rape (I worked on a case like that with a few Haitian clients during the school year), or it could be a political danger. I hope the case isn't too far along, because it could theoretically involve a fair amount of interesting research and writing for the application. I'll find out tomorrow.

This weekend, one of Emily's interns arrived. Ben is an American who goes to school in Scotland, and has been teaching English in Germany for a year. He seems really cool, and we spent most of the weekend with him, helping show him the ropes. On Friday, we had to go rescue his taxi driver, who got lost trying to find the motel (the same one I stayed at for the first two weeks), and then we took him out to lunch nearby and to get a phone at Nakumatt Oasis. Nakumatt is a giant department store kind of thing, with a grocery section and all sorts of modern appliances. He was pretty tired from but my two flatmates and I went out on Friday night, along with some other of their friends who all seemed really nice. We went to a bar/dance club called Iguana, and Bruno (the guy who owns the motel) brought some friends to meet me. I ended up splitting my time between the Ugandans and the mzungus, which made for a sort of interesting night. And I got a ride home from Bruno and one of his friends, which meant I didn't have to take a boda really late at night -- victory!

On Saturday, I woke up before Emily and Ula (I had come home a little bit before they did), and Ben was bored, so he came over the flat and we chatted just the two of us for a while before everyone else woke up. Then Emily, Ben and I went to an art fair put on by the Alliance (sp?) Francais and German Cultural Centre. It was all local African artists, and a lot of organizations using art to further social causes. They weren't that interested in bargaining, I think because a) there were TONS of mzungus there, and b) the stuff was real art, and much higher quality that what you find at markets. I still ended up buying a fair amount of stuff -- a bracelet, an African love knot, a little figurine made out of Fanta bottle caps, and a poster of a gorgeous piece of art that I wanted but was much too expensive. There was a lot of live dance going on, including traditional Buganda dance that was seriously impressive (see below). We met up with some of Emily's friends from her French class, who have all been so nice so far.

I also got a pair of blue splatter-painted canvas flats that only sort of fit, but I liked them.

After we finished shopping/browsing, we went behind the Alliance Francais and found a spot on the ground to wait for the concomitant live concert of African music. There was a huge variety of music, from jazz to soul to hip-hop, but it was all really amazing -- there are some seriously talented musicians in Kampala. The concert lasted about 3 hours, and then Emily's classmate Sharifa gave us all a ride back to our place. Ben, Emily and I hung out for a bit longer, and then Emily escorted Ben back to the motel on a boda and then came back to the flat.

Today, we all got a bit of a late start -- like 1 or 2pm late. Ula (my second flatmate) suggested that we go to a craft market, and we invited Ben and Emily along as well. We all met at Nakumatt first because Emily had to exchange money, and we ended up getting lunch at a place there called Pizza Connection. I got a burger, which was actually really good... I find myself somewhat pining for American food on the weekends, since I mostly eat really heavy Ugandan food for lunch all week. The Ugandan food is really good -- the woman who cooks for us at the office is amazing in the kitchen, but it is really different. Sometimes you just want a hamburger and fries.

We made it to the craft market by around 5pm, and I was... a bit disappointed, to be honest. It's all in open stores, rather than stalls like in South Africa. Nobody is really that interested in bargaining, which I've always thought was part of the fun in markets. I also don't love the stuff they have for sale; I think partially the novelty of it has worn off after three trips to Africa, and partially I've gotten more responsible. Do I really need another pair of earrings that I'll never wear? No, so I stop myself from buying them. It saves me money and is probably a sign that I'm growing up (the horrors), but it's not as fun.

I did get another nice piece of art (sorry for the flash, it kind of ruins the effect) and a beaded basket/bowl for all the jewelry I brought with me. I thought a little basket would be nicer than the plastic bag I had them in before, and make it easier to look through and find things.

As the craft market started to close up, we all got on bodas and went our separate ways. Shortly after I got home, though, Ben called me to tell me that Bruno and Diane were at the motel until 11pm tonight, and they wanted me to come over. The power actually went out while I was on the phone with him, which I took as a sign from God that I should go. I took a taxi down to the motel and spent a few hours there with all of them. Emily came a little bit later, and actually there's another mzungu staying there who I had met at the art fair on Saturday. It's a small mzungu world. Bruno and Diane were wonderful as always, and made us dinner (matoke) and gave us Diane's amazing ginger tea, and later they broke out the wine. And they wouldn't let Emily and me pay for any of it. The power went out at the motel too, and one of Bruno's friends theorized that it's because the government was moving weapons and soldiers in the area. That didn't make a lot of sense to me, but it was interesting that that's where his mind went.

We played cards for a while... there's a Ugandan game that they taught me while I was staying there that's a bit like Uno, where you have to match either the suit or the number of the card, etc. Bruno and I have a bit of a competition going, because I beat him during our last "tournament," two days after learning how to play. Diane played with me and Ben tonight, and she's good. I lost a lot.


Emily and I came back home when Ula informed us that the power was back on, and now the weekend is over. I really don't want to go back to work tomorrow -- even with the new humanitarian parole case, Kampala is so much more fun when I can just spend time riding around and exploring the city.

There are more big protests against the government planned for tomorrow, but not near where I work. There's an outside chance things will spread/spiral out of control, but for now, the plan is to go to work as usual. At least Thursday is another public holiday!