Hi Elizabeth and Emily, I heard you were looking for my
house on Google. The last time I checked it wasn’t there. But I’ll try to show
you on a map where you can find me when you come visit J
Google Entebbe Uganda as a Google map and then follow the
road North or up. That road is called Entebbe Road and it’s one of about three
main roads in Uganda. You’ll see Rosebud plantation as one of the key markers
on the map a few inches up and to the right from Entebbe Road. As you zoom in to
Rosebud, the above map shows the smaller roads. The corner or “stage” at which
you’ll turn to the right is my road. Non-main roads here don’t have any names
instead they have markers. For example, there are two signs at my road corner –
Kennedy Primary School and Little Bears Kindergarten. So my corner or my
“stage” is known as Kennedy stage. Until you become familiar with the markers
sometimes it’s hard to find the right one…especially at night.
When I take a taxi, the main form of public transportation
is a 14 passenger Toyota minivan or a “taxi,” and get close to my corner I say
“Kennedy stage” or I say “massau” and the driver knows where to stop. Once I
get off at the stage I can either walk about 1 kilometer (about .67 miles) to
my house or take a boda-boda (a small motorcycle driver will drive me home).
Usually I have heavy bags of food from the market or it’s dark and less safe so
I take a boda-boda to my house. All the boda-boda drivers – usually men in
their 20s – know me and where I live so they’re like little brothers to me.
They watch out for me and help me when I need it.
Walk down the hill in the slippery-when-wet dusty road
toward Rosebud and turn right at the end, then turn left immediately after
that. The road you see on this map is not my road, it’s more of a big road so
it’s on the map. My road is too small to show up and it’s before that road as
you proceed to my house. But you can see the arrow where my house is. You’ll
see my house really easily when you turn the corner because there’s lots of
open green space in front of me. I live next door to a Hajj, a Muslim man with
multiple wives, and he has a very big house for one of his families. Also, my
house is painted the color of the red clay earth. Most people paint their
houses bright colors – lime green, neon orange. So mine looks funny to everyone
around here.
I have a big veranda or porch on the front and side of the
house where the neighborhood kids come to “shade” or color in the coloring
books you all sent me. We blow bubbles, play games, and read the Bible you sent
too. Most of these children come from Muslim families so I’m always happy when
they’re learning about how much Jesus loves them. A few days ago we all shared
a watermelon but I made the kids go in the grass to eat that because I knew
they’d make a huge sticky mess and I didn’t want all the ants to come for a
visit.
Now you know how to find my house. When will you come visit
me?