A Whole New World

The journey from Los Angeles, California to Entebbe, Uganda was a long one. I left LA at 1:50 pm on Monday, February 17th, and then arrived to Amsterdam 10 hours later the following day. From there I ran through the airport past life-sized blue and white teacups and a kettle formed into tables and sitting spaces to arrive at the departure gate for my next flight. I left Amsterdam at 1:00 am PST on February 18th and arrived to the airport in Entebbe 10 hours later that day. From the time I took the shuttle to LAX on the 17th to the time I arrived in Uganda on the 18th, I had been traveling for 26 hours straight.

A view of the Netherlands during landing in Amsterdam.

I must make a brief note about my travels on the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. First, I realized that there is this whole culture of Dutch people that I have only seen glimpses of in the U.S. in the form of tourist traps (e.g. Helen, GA) with little shops selling mini tea sets and tiny wooden clogs. But, I came to see that these are actually real people with life-sized cups and shoes who speak multiple languages and take great pride in treating you with courtesy and good customer service. When I entered the airplane in LA, I was greeted by attractive flight attendants in matching royal blue suits. Some wore pant suits and others wore skirt suits with panty hose and pumps. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw a flight attendant wearing panty hose in the U.S. Then, as I proceeded to my seat past these nice-looking flight attendants, I passed a staircase to a second level. Wait—a staircase? Yes, that’s what I said.

 

The airplane was humongous. Surprisingly, however, those 10 hours passed rather quickly. Between dozing off for several minutes at a time and waking to watch Captain Phillips on my personal TV and read my Immunization Essentials booklet, the time seemed to fly right on by (no pun intended). In addition, we were served not one but two meals by these blue suit-clad women, along with several snacks and multiple beverage offerings. My flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe was similar, except for there was only one rather than two levels on the airplane. And on this flight I had the misfortune of being seated in the center row of seats next to some oafy-looking European guy who was all but sleeping on me by the end of the 10 hour flight. Not to mention his snoring and constant coughing all over the place.

 

Anyhow, my arrival to Uganda was very smooth. It was an amazing feeling when I realized that I had planted my feet on a whole new continent for the very first time. I began to feel nostalgic of a similar sensation I experienced when, after so much yearning and planning, I finally had the joy of stepping onto Mexican soil in my new home where I lived at the time in Ensenada. In my jet-lagged, sleep-deprived, and disoriented stupor, I rejoiced silently within. I made it! Finally, I am out of North America!
 

 

Fortunately my fellow STOP colleague and the hotel driver had arrived punctually to the airport and were already waiting for me when I landed. I went through customs quickly with my Ugandan visa already in hand, pulled my two bags off the conveyor belt, and then purchased a new cell phone for local use—a Nokia phone no less. Talk about nostalgic. When I arrived to Entebbe it was late at night, and outside it was already dark and cooled off. My colleague invited me to sit in the front seat of the car, and so I made my way to the right-hand side of the vehicle, only to realize that there was a steering wheel there! Ah, yes, in Uganda they drive on the left side of the road and the driver sits on the right. I felt certain that this was just the first of many more cultural snafus to come.

 

The drive from Entebbe to the capital city of Kampala was about one hour. After zooming along the two lane highway that connects the two cities and dodging dozens of pedestrians, motorcycle riders, and boda bodas (moto taxis), we finally arrived to the Golf Course Hotel where I was to stay for the night. I was so relieved to finally be in the same room with a bed. But I was only going to have a few hours to rest, because my colleague informed me of a busy day ahead, starting at 9:00 am the next morning. After showering and unpacking some of my things, I collapsed onto my firm hotel bed, with the A/C running that seemed to produce no cold air, and rested for the first time on African soil.