Watch the Walk

Cutting up a little jackfruit Do you ever wish for alone time? In the African cultures I've encountered, being alone seems not to be a value in the slightest. I've been in Uganda to renew my passport at the American embassy there. Due to my passport not arriving before my return flight date, I ended up rearranging schedules and being in Uganda longer than I'd told my islander friends here. So we'd already said goodbyes, but I was still in country. I got a message from one of them who'd heard from someone back in the islands that I was still in Uganda. He wanted to know-- why didn't you tell me you're still around??? Well, we'd already said goodbye, but he  wanted to meet up again. So we agreed to meet up on my last day, when I would be in his city before my midnight flight. We arranged for him to come find me around noon. Since he and his roommate had cooked last time, I figured I should buy them a meal this time. Taking pictures everywhere Eight AM roll...

A picture I shared before my phone was stolen There's something embarrassing about being robbed. Especially when you're not aware until a couple minutes later. And after being warned by others about the frequency of pick-pocketing and purse snatching. Seriously, shouldn't I be impervious to the common thief? Aren't my protocols and hyper-awareness sufficient to protect me? Obviously not. Yesterday I was catching a bus from one city in Uganda to another with some friends. We started discussing the price of our transport and, at the end of the conversation I realized that my phone and headphones had been lifted from my purse. Within a couple of minutes the phone had been turned off (no longer ringing) and it was obviously not just misplaced somewhere. A police report and some time later I continued on my journey, frustrated and sad about the lost pictures from my phone, the difficulty of finding the same quality phone for a reasonable price, and... being a victim of theft...