I think there are two worlds that I live in, one of those world's being comprised of Kampala, and Uganda, and all of the ideas that get funneled into what people think of when they think of a person living in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially given the protests happening in Kampala and other parts of Uganda, and also especially given the media coverage of the protests happening in Kampala and other parts of Uganda.
But the other world is comprised of my daily life, and living in Kamwokya, and working at the IDI Learning Hub, and shopping at the market for fresh fruit and veggies, and on Fridays when the Kamwokya market becomes overflowing with clothes, shoes, jewelry, toys, electric kettles, ceramic stoves, plastic cups, bowls, and plates, and becomes this miniature neighborhood version of Owino Market, and playing frisbee twice a week at the Lugogo cricket fields and on weekends at the Makerere University Business School (MUBS) fields, and nerding it up at monthly MoMoKla events and Uganda Linux User Group (LUG) events and Kampala Google Tech User Group (GTUG) events, and meeting Francis on Wednesdays and Saturdays for Luganda lessons at Makerere University's Guild Canteen cafe, and watching the MTN Heathens beat every team they play at Kyadondo Rugby Club or Lugogo Rugby Ground over beers and pork, and spending public holidays at Aero beach all day and eating fresh, whole Tilapia with chips for dinner overlooking Lake Victoria at night, and stopping for Rolex in Wandegeya after a night at Iguana's or Steak Out, and watching bootleg movies for 2000/= (< USD $1) and listening to 100+ popular Ugandan songs on burned CDs for 5000/= (< USD $2.50), and spending Sunday mornings at the Baha'i Temple, and spending Sunday afternoons learning how to cook Ugandan food...
Actually, Nicholas was telling me Makerere University is notorious for its student riots, that there's riots almost as often as graduation. Once or twice over the past month I've actually had my Luganda tutor Francis cancel our lesson as a precaution against getting caught in any political activity on campus incited by the protests, but so far, there's only been a day or two of student rioting, and a 1-man hunger strike. In general, there's only been a day or two of rioting in Kampala (the same two days) where it became necessary to avoid downtown, but because I live and work slightly north of downtown, and because you really have to be within a certain range of the protesting (and I don't participate in the protests), I've luckily been outside of that range, and I've been relatively safe and out of harm's way.
Makerere University LC5 councillor Bernard Luyiga camping with his mosquito net outside the Main gate on hunger strike:
Unfortunately, Luyiga was hospitalized on day 2 of striking after he collapsed outside the Main gate and was rushed to the Makerere University hospital.
But inspired by Luyiga (I swear I had nothing to do with this :), students are proposing to streak in protest!!!
"We’re ready to move about naked and protest against this government’s brutality," said Joseph Kakooza, the IPC chairman at Makerere. -The Observer
