Tororo, Uganda

I am in Tororo, Uganda.
I moved here for the year to do my UCSF RID fellowship research on Malaria and HIV in pregnancy.
On my way to Tororo, I went from San Francisco to Amsterdam to Kampala and finally to Tororo. I left on Saturday and arrived on Tuesday night.
Amsterdam was pretty. I'd go back.
In Kampala, I was surprised to find all kinds of shopping, including raspberries, camping gear, inflatable mattresses, South African wine, and all kinds of things I didn't expect.

I was also surprised that I was easily able to set up my iPhone for use here thought Uganda Telecom, and even using the internet on it isn't too expensive (it's all prepaid).
Kampala was very trafficky, and leaving in the car was slow going. We hit another traffic jam near Jinja, trying to cross a bridge over the mouth of the Nile.

Our house here is really beautiful, with a large porch, a yard with big trees (good for hammock placement) and plenty of space for gardening. The only thing it needs is more bathrooms.
We walked to the hospital today to get the lay of the land, and found that it was about 40 minutes down a fairly sleepy but very pretty road. We saw mostly bicycles, a few motos, and very few cars. I'm looking forward to buying a bicycle.


I've noticed that although we get a lot of stares here, we don't get a lot of people shouting "Mzungu!" When we stepped into the clinic, some of the mothers with crying toddlers did try to quiet them by pointing at as and whispering "Mzungu!" (it worked, except for one).
We toured the hospital grounds, and I was surprised to discover how nice it was, especially the labor ward. Much bigger and less crowded than in Mbarara, although apparently very few doctors here. The CDC and the Japanese government have donated a lot toward renovations, and did a very nice job. (Pictures to come).
We need to buy some things for the house, so Beth and I are headed to town this afternoon for shopping and exploring.