May 17th

First full day in Kampala. Tavia and I got up this morning around 6:30 and spent the next couple of hours chatting with a couple people who help facilitate the GLI in Kampala and chugging as many cups as coffee as humanly possible. Once everyone was up and about, around 10 or so, we had some breakfast and gathered for our first meeting. We briefly introduced ourselves, although it seems that the main expectation is that people will get to know each other as the trip goes along. We then got in the van and went to exchange money in Kampala. The first thing that struck me last night and all day today is how people drive here in Kampala. It is insane. The best way I can think to describe it is to imagine yourself on the Knight Bus from Harry Potter: weaving in and out of cars, rarely slamming on your brakes unless you ABSOLUTELY, and I mean absolutely, have to. Meanwhile, little motorbikes called Bota Botas are weaving in and out and in every direction. Along those same lines, we went to the big city hospital today (for about ten seconds), Mulago, and saw the disarray that is the health system. The cots are practically on top of one another and patients are expected to bring their own linens, food, and anything else they might need. There were clothes drying out on the lawn. I saw one man carrying a bucket of what I assume was his son's urine, which he had to empty himself. The most common injury/ailment that I saw looked to be the result of road and traffic accidents. Lots of broken legs in splints, wrapped in blood covered gauze. Lots of people clearly in pain. It was hard to see. But it was also hard to be there in a different way. In a way that felt exploitative on my end. These people are in the hospital, worried about and caring for their loved ones, with limited resources and limited staff, and in walks about 15 of us, walking in a line, taking up the already limited space and spectating. Not that I think we should have been acting. But I want to acknowledge how uncomfortable it made me. It was a similar feeling that I felt as we walked through the slum as well. These are people who are living the realities of their daily lives, and in we walk with our crew and our cameras. I don't know how to tease it all out. I know we're here to learn. I know we're here to listen, think, and act. And I know that Tavia and I deliberately asked how our presence is interpreted within the slums, and we received a positive reaction. But it's just a feeling I'm trying to sort out. I think the image that struck me the most today was right after we left the hospital. We went around the corner and in a little square was a small marketplace selling coffins. Right on the street, right across from the hospital. And many were very clearly designed for infants and small children. I mean, can you imagine? Having the need for coffin purchasing right across the street for the hospital? It's just an image that is standing out in my mind as one that has particular significance. 

We finally made it back to the GLI, and we are sitting here waiting for our dinner guest to arrive (whose name I have misplaced currently). I can barely keep my eyes open. I am so exhausted and so ready to just crawl in my bed and read. I know that can't happen for at least a few more hours. Additionally, our wifi is currently not working, and I haven't even connected with my mother since I got here. So hopefully that situation figures itself out. 

Anyway, my brain is reaching a critical level of exhaustion. But I just wanted to get those thoughts out while they were fresh in my mind.