Adventure? Or perhaps just life...

So, in my most recent message from my friend Renee, she asked about my newest adventures. Well, I couldn't really think of anything so just replied by telling her all the "normal" stuff going on. I reflected on my response and realized it was something worth sharing!

Now, my nearest town is Jinja so I head there for all the essentials. Essentials meaning food, toilet paper, yogurt (yes, it has it's own category), candles, internet, friends, etc. It's just a 27km trip via public transport. You might be thinking that's a breeze, but those 27km take about an hour. Yes, an hour. 27km = 16miles. Ridiculous, right? Let me paint the picture for you...

So, I hop into a taxi (a minibus, which seats 14 people). I'm one of the first on board, so I need to wait for it fill. No big deal, I'm a patient person. Within ten minutes, we're on our way. Let me start off by saying, why Ugandans add speed bumps to roads here will forever remain a mystery to me. The roads in and of themselves are speed bumps. That partially explains why traveling 27km takes an hour. But to add to that, the taxi obviously stops to let people off and take more people on. They honestly shouldn't be taking more on though...

Today for instance was decent. We only had about 20 people on board. Sometimes there are up to 24. Yup, outrageous. So yes, today was manageable. Oh yeah, also, often there are hens all tied together hanging out by my feet. I always forget they are there until someone disturbs them accidentally and they start squawking and wiggling around...like today. And there are always always always babies on board. So many babies in this country. Either they are mesmerized by my white skin or terrified. I prefer the former. Otherwise, they are likely to start howling. Yikes.

It's amazing what people can fit into/onto a taxi here. A huge basket of fish on back, for example. Today, some dude had a massive, outdated satellite dish INSIDE the taxi. Ugandans are great at packing things in.

Now, for the kicker. It's really not that big of a deal, I'm used to it. But not everyone in the world considers deodorant a daily necessity. Or a necessity at all. Again, I'm used to it, but I'm just painting the picture. Before I put it all together, let me tell you that Ugandans love playing music on their cell phones. No matter where they are or who else is around ALSO playing music on their phone. So all together now, imagine Ugandan heat, 24 people in a small minibus, babies crying, hens scratching at your feet, at least one large random item on board, three cell phones all blaring different songs, annnnnd a road that is literally a giant speed bump.

So, does that mean I have a weekly adventure ooooorrr can I just consider that life?