Dad’s Coming to Town
For the next week I will be entertaining my first visitor from home, my father. I’m excited. Though I have been having an absolute blast living in Kampala, spats of home sickness are inevitable. Sometimes you just want a cheeseburger. Sharing my new home with my dad will help him understand and I’ll take comfort in knowing that at least one person back home has seen my life in Africa.
Initially, we talked about meeting in Tanzania. We thought it would be fun to see the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. After some reflection, I suggested that he come to see Uganda. There is a tremendous amount to do here. In fact, Lonely Planet recently gave Uganda its stamp of approval. Here is our itinerary for the week:
Sunday: Visit Ggaba Port to buy fish from local fisherman for lunch.
Monday-Tuesday: Lake Bunyonyi, one of the deepest lakes in Africa.
Wednesday: Trekking with mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Friday: Game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
My brother is a rock star.
Brian Warren of Weatherbox - “Anchors Away” - A Trolley Show (by trolleyshow)
Hiking to Sipi Falls, Uganda
2012
The first half of my Princeton in Africa Fellowship simply flew by. I’d like to think I have made the most of my time here in Kampala, Uganda thus far. I made brilliant new friends, traveled throughout the country and worked on inspiring infrastructure projects. For the holidays, I spent around three weeks back in the States. This gave me the opportunity to reflect on the first half of my fellowship and set new goals for myself in 2012. I’d like to share three of these with you:
Drake + Dubstep
Does it get any better?
My younger brother played this in the car on the way to Big Bear for a family ski trip. It was my anthem on the slopes today. I crushed a few double black diamonds that I wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
You might know the Crookers from their Day ‘N’ Nite remix.
Gay and Vilified in Uganda
Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda. That is very difficult for many of my American friends to comprehend. This op-ed shines light on the human rights issue and highlights the role that American evangelical Christians have played in institutionalizing homophobia. Furthermore, it addresses many of the misconceptions held by many Ugandans.
American foreign policy has forced some Ugandans to reconsider the issue, but much more can be done to raise awareness, both in the United States and Uganda. Please feel free to share this article.
Ice Prince feat Brymo - Oleku
Another Igbo/English monster.
Watch this.
This really puts The Daily Show in a different light for me. I always knew this was the case, but it feels different reading about what goes on behind the scenes. Jon Stewart often skewers Fox News for blurring the lines between their opinion and news segments. While it’s true his show is on Comedy Central, I think many viewers, myself included, often blur the line between entertainment and news while watching The Daily Show.
This can be a great thing. As much as Stewart & Co. hide behind the veil of Comedy Central to make their content palatable, they do raise awareness about very important, but dry/overlooked, issues (only they can make make campaign finance interesting). However it can be difficult to know when they are prioritizing entertainment over public awareness.
I needed this reality check.
"Today, the White House announced administrative and private sector actions that will help entrepreneurs grow their businesses and create jobs by increasing their access to capital and resources."
