11 January 2020

This afternoon I had the pleasure of going out of Kampala to Entebbe to visit with Winnie and her family at her parent’s home. It is located right on the road to the airport but once you enter through a very tall gate, it feels like you are far away from the city. It was so lovely sitting on their porch. The flowers and greenery are beautiful!

We had a delicious meal of matoke, which is the mashed green banana, rice, macaroni noodles, Tilapia fish right from Lake Victoria, fried chicken, and red beans.  It was all delicious and even now I am still full! One thing about the local Ugandan food customs is first, they give you lots and lots of food, and second, it really sticks with you. I had a really great time talking with Winnie’s father, Edward, who is a retired physician. While we sipped wine, we spoke about all kinds of things. He was interested in what a usual meal would be in the USA as compared to the Uganda local foods. He asked if we purchased all of our food at the grocery store, which for me and my husband, is true for most foods. I mentioned we do like to go to the farmer’s market on Saturdays for vegetables and sometimes for free-range, organic chicken. He then said, “like the chickens we have running around here?” Yes- exactly. In the US, we pay a premium for organic, free-range chicken but in Uganda this is less expensive. He said they have a garden which he really enjoys and it provides a large amount of their daily food. Our garden provides us mostly herbs, but we did have success with our cherry tomatoes and peppers this year. He said that the little tomatoes grow wild here. We also spoke about the President Trump and all that is going on in the states. I’m always amazed at how the Ugandans follow our politics—much more than a lot of Americans. He knew all about the Impeachment proceedings and had watched it all on TV. He wanted to know what I thought would happen next and if Trump would win another term. Edward also wanted to know about how the flora and fauna in the USA differed from that in Uganda. I was able to show him pictures from my son’s wedding in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming in 2018 so he could see how different the mountains are. We spoke about how climate change is affecting Uganda and the rest of the world. Currently, it should be dry season and very hot with only a little rain. Although it didn’t rain today, there has been a rain shower on many of the days since I’ve been here and the temperature is quite pleasant. I will have a rude awakening when I get back to the cold of New York, I’m sure.

It was a wonderful day and I sincerely thank Winnie’s parents, Edward and Rose for their hospitality. When my son Christian was here back in March, they met him and were so happy he is now a physician and in his Neurosurgery Residency. They want all of my family to come visit!

Left to right: Rose, Christian (now Dr. Bohan, MD), Dr. Edward Ssebatya, Winnie