Girls are the same no matter where they are from

By Wednesday afternoon three other scientists had descended upon the house. One was a Case professor, one a professor in Oregon, and then the chief of Infectious Disease at University Hospitals arrived. We had a really nice dinner together, sharing our various experiences working in Kampala. The house is getting crowded, but fortunately, John put me in the one bedroom that has its own bathroom in it.

After dinner, Robert and I decided to meet up for a drink at Bubbles O’Learys. I arrived first and was hesitant to go down the stairs to the bar, so I was fiddling with my purse. Guys, if you ever see a woman fiddling with her purse, 50% of the time she is stalling; the other half the time we are digging around the purse for an object that will invariably be found at the very bottom. There was another girl fiddling with her purse, and she and I made eye contact and started speaking. We were both meeting people there, so we decided to go in together and sit with each other until our parties arrived. Her name was Gloria and we found her friend Ann at the bar waiting and hiding in corner. They were very pleasant company for the evening. There is live music every Wednesday, and it was a blast. The band started by playing Latin music (there was even an accordion player), and then switched to American music. It was kind of a bizarre experience sitting in an Irish bar watching an African cover band singing Radiohead.

Today is my last day at work and I am not taking it well. I already had to say goodbye to Joy and Pierre, as they were heading to Entebbe for a HIV conference. George is coming for me in about a half hour and my stomach is feeling sick and nervous. Who knew I would love this place as much as I did. I’ll really miss they lab crew here—they are so good natured, always laughing.

This paragraph has been written hours after the previous one. I have since said goodbye to my friends and that lab. I have also been out with my French friends and some Ugandan friends and said goodbye to them too. I know I will see them again someday soon. I will post pictures from the lab and from my night out tomorrow. For now, just a couple of photos of Robert, Gloria, Ann, and I at O’Leary’s Pub.

xo...G.