No mailboxes here

I'm feeling a lot less transient these days now that I have my own apartment. It's about a 10 minute drive from work (up to 20 or so depending on the jam). My neighborhood is Bukoto, which is adjacent to Ntinda, where I was living in CHAI housing last month. 

I have no idea what my address is, but here in Kampala, everyone uses landmarks to describe where they live. Gas stations are commonly used because they're big and well-lit at night, so they stay noticeable. When I tell people where my apartment is, I will first say it's in Bukoto near Froebel School. It's hit or miss if people will know that because it's not on the main street. If they at least know Froebel Street, that's a start.

If I'm getting blank stares, then I will direct people by saying..."coming from Kololo, take Kira Road past Kabira club. You'll pass a sign that says Kadic Medical Center and soon after it will be on the left. You'll see a small blue sign that says "Link Inn." Slope down there. Then continue down the street until you pass Froebel School and see another "Link Inn" sign. Turn right and then my gate is on the right."

The easiest thing is to just send a pin via Whatsapp. 

I'm sure I do actually have an address, because I get a printed water bill each month that somehow has a unique identifier...nonetheless, I don't think anyone gets mail to their houses / apartments. Instead, you'd use a PO Box which is what most organizations use as well. I've successfully gotten one Christmas card in the mail (thanks Japh!) so my confidence in the postal service is increasing. 

There are definitely some safety concerns about me writing about and posting photos of my apartment, but I'm fairly confident that anyone nobody reading my blog is actually in Kampala. And that anyone in Kampala that doesn't already know where I live (friends / CHAI drivers) would never be able to load my blog given the cost / speed of internet / data connections.

I have one roommate, or flatmate, as they would say here. She works for One Acre Fund and is actually based in Western Kenya (Kampala is closer than Nairobi), so travels very frequently. I'm excited for her to come back in a week or so, but in the meantime have befriended the couple across the hall. They both work in development (UN / some German foundation?) and seem great! They also have a tv... :) 

There are also some lizards / geckos keeping me company. I'm pretty sure they live above my closet (either in the top cabinets or between those and the ceiling). I can hear them scratching around / making some sort of lizard noises...not ideal but harmless and much more desirable than cockroaches. Sometimes they leave me some droppings but so far, nothing major. 

Another perk of living here is that I now don't have to clean my apartment. I did do a pretty intense mopping / de-molding of the fridge when I got in last weekend. But now, Christine will come twice a week. She works at a few other CHAI apartments too - we all trust her enough to leave her a key to our place which means we don't need to be home when she comes to clean. Christine has three kids: a daughter and two sons. Isiah, her youngest, is just two months old, but he's big! She brings him with her and he's a happy camper except when he wants to eat (which is often). When he's on his stomach, he can lift his head to look around which seems advanced for a 2 month old. I feel like he'll be able to roll over soon. I met Isiah last week when we were working from Ina's apartment. Glad I had a napping buddy :)

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