First Impression by a Naive Mzungu

Food
Imagine eating sweet, juicy chunks of pineapple on a warm summer day. Remember how good it tastes? The pineapple here is twice that good, every single one of them. In fact, all of the fruit is amazing - bananas, watermelon, mangos, passion fruit...mmm. And no need to go to the grocery store, just find a big shade tree and you will find someone selling it. Fruit is my favorite part of breakfast at the guest house and typical Ugandan food is served at the hospital everyday for lunch. It usually consists of matooke - mashed plantains that are steamed in banana leaves, sweet potatoes, rice and beans or peas, some kind of meat or animal product - Phil prefers the liver and fish head, and some g-nut sauce. Good stuff. Many times I end up eating dinner at one of the many restaurants just a boda boda ride away. Phil, Bethany, and Lance took me out to Pavement Tandoori for Indian my first night here and last night we went to Arirang for Korean - served with a side of drunken karaoke.
Mzungu
For those who know me well, you are probably not surprised I speak of food first. Although it is very important, there is so much more to Kampala! I stay at the hospital guest house, where some Ugandans stay when visiting from other parts of the country, but it is mostly a bunch of mzungus. Mzungu is the word used to describe white people. The first day a young boy waved to me and yelled "bye mzungu." I was touched and thought it was the cutest thing, but my friends here assured me the novelty would soon wear off. I have now been here a week and have heard it dozens of times, some in a positive manner and other times not so much.
Although English is the official language, everyone speaks Luganda. I know common greetings and am learning enough to perform a simple physical exam in the hospital. At times I hear people talking in Luganda about the mzungu and I turn and say "oli otia." They are stunned, but then smile and nod in approval. If I am lucky it ends there, because if they keep going I am clueless, so I smile and nod in embarassment and keep walking.
Friends
There are many amazing people here, both Ugandans and mzungus, and I was fortunate enough to have an immediate cadre of friends thanks to some Minnesotans who came before me. At the hospital, I work with very talented individuals, physicians, nurses and counselors who work very hard to make it go. There are many mzungus at the Mulago National Hospital and the Infectious Disease Institute doing many things - on rotation, doing, research, taking sabattical, teaching, learning, and most of all - experiencing! Experiencing life away from the comforts of home, away from the touch of loved ones. Here we are, taking it all in - in Uganda, "The Pearl of Africa."