Morning in Zamunda

Today I woke up to see the view from the hotel, which bills itself as the best view in Kampala. After looking out on the balcony that's probably true.

The room is very nice, complete with a mosquito net around the bed and a shower that I'm convinced is either a time capsule, or the machine they used in Weird Science.

Last night we drove from the airport right to the hotel, which was about a 45 minute drive. Steve and Cathy showed me the suburbs of Kampala, which are slightly different than the ones in the U.S.. Most of the houses are one room, and could be anything from a small wooden building to a shipping container.

There were hundreds of people out and around on the way home, and lots of events going on for a Sunday night. Most of the buildings are identical, and are sometimes no more than a counter with a roof, but they all have different labels. There are some funny combinations that I've seen (Salon/Hardware store, Big Boys Video Rental/Doctors Office, and a table on the side of the road that said "Kampala's Finest Butcher and Bakery").

It's odd because the land looks so different wherever you go. The dirt has a lot of clay in it, so many of the roads and suburb areas are baked in red, and even the paved roads look less developed because of all the red dust. There's also tons of vegetation and green areas though..it's an interesting mix.

Everyone seems very happy, and there were lots of children playing and running around everywhere, especially once we were around during the day today. Lots of dancing too. There may be a correlation between creative fun and lack of an Xbox, but that's still open to debate.

Today I'll be getting a tour of the lab operations, meeting everyone on our team, and then driving around Kampala for awhile.

Corrrections: In an earlier post, Donna Moss was erroneously described as Donna Craig. This was likely a subconscious desire to combine the best looking and the smartest women of The West Wing into one person. I'm Not Home regrets the error.