Holidays, internet, frustration!

School holidays

Schools and colleges are on the long holiday now and classes will begin again in mid-February. At our college there are workshops this week and next for PTC teachers (called tutors here) from many neighbouring districts.

For our Christmas holiday we will spend 10 days at Lake Bunyoni. I expect to feel quite sad not being with all of my family this time of year.

We are planning a trip to the US in May. We are quite frustrated just now as we have discovered that Emirates will not let us purchase our tickets online from Uganda. Credit cards can't be used on their website if you live in any African country unless in South Africa. To fly with Emirates we have to go on the long, rough journey to Kampala and pay in cash!! Apparently we can use the Expedia site with other airlines, but we prefer Emirates. Still deciding what to do.....

Home internet connection

During our stay in Kampala the internet connection via our mobile modem was much faster than we expected. We were amazed that I could upload some 1.2-1.3 mg photos in 3-5 minutes each. Not the same at home, unfortunately. It is slower than dial-up and I’ve been unable to upload any large photos. The speed we experienced in Kampala made me optimistic that I could upload small videos to YouTube. However, I’ll have to resort to my previous plan to make videos, burn them to a DVD and mail them to friends and family.

Electricity

We are expecting normal electricity service to resume early next week. I won’t be surprised if this doesn’t happen. Weekday electricity seems like a luxury now.

Public displays of affection

In Uganda it is taboo to show affection to the opposite sex in public. However, it is common to see the same sex holding hands, draping an arm around each other, etc. This is common among both women and men.