Update from Peter

Kampala is a beautiful city. It is built on seven hills and the roads don't go straight up and down like they do in San Francisco. They have switchbacks easing the way up and down. Modsern tall buildings are everywhere. This city was in ruins twenty years ago after Idi Amin was chased out, but is is rebuilt and more. There is still new construction. Uganda has the fastest growning economy in Africa. The city is filled with young people. That's because no one grows old here. Nobody compares their Roth and Traditional IRAs. Only two percent of the people reach 62 years old, and they're virtually all women. So there is no great wealth of ancient wisdom, no sages to advise. Everything is very entreprenureal -- hustle for the moment. English is the official language in the country, but it is really the official language in Kampala, although most people still can speak their tribal languages.

So we bought a refrigerator as a rent payment for Mathew where we will stay. But since it took up a lot of room in the back of the Land Rover, three of us, Ken Goyer, Christine and I took the bus while Chuck and Jimmy the drive went on ahead.
We arrived in Uganda before 6 a.m. on Wednesday and started our first African day -- Doughnuts and a cappuccino for breakfast, stop by the bank to exchange money, buy cell phones, go to the hardware store, stop by the embassy and the go to the mall and have Chinese food in the food court. Only the embassy sounds out of place from a typical day at home.

But there are differences. I'll center on vending machines. There are none. When I wanted to make a phone call at the public pay phone, I gave my pre-paid card to the "minder," a young man, to make the call for me. Instead of putting money in the meter, there was a young man for the block to take our pre-paid parking chit. A young man took our food order and delivered it to our table, and instead of putting our tray full of garbage in the bine, a young man did it for us. Later in the day, we boarded a bus for Lira and had to wait an hour and a half before we actually left. No vending machines. Didn't need 'em! Vendors brought us water, soft drinks, news papers, candy and nuts, hair roducts, toys, and more. When we get frustrated with a vending machine at home it's often because it is so impersonal, but here, if your unhappy, your personal vendor will help you work it out.

God is everywhere. Uganda is about 80 percent Christian and that's visible everywhere. A delivery truck may say "The Lord is great" and a motorcycle seat had "God si [sic] great." At the mall, "O Holy Night" was playing in the background.

A poster I saw: We don't look left. We don't look right. We look forward to our own future. Africa! I'll let you draw your own conclusions about political pressure exerted here from all over the world.

Gotta go. I'll tell you more soon.

Peter