We arrived safely in Kumi and now we are staying in ghetto paradise

Yesterday we arrived safely in Kumi! Our travel consisted of about 8 hours of travel interspersed with many delays. One of the delays took 2 hours and was essentially our bus driver getting arrested and making a statement because he had hit and damaged a small car earlier in the day. This did much to increase our confidence in the individual who was driving our bus at approximately 95 miles per hour on an unsafe road and crazily passing other vehicles that were only going about 80 miles an hour.

We got off the bus at Kumi and no one was there to meet us (which was expected). We were immediately surrounded by boda-boda drivers (a boda-boda is a motorcycle taxi). We got boda-boda’s to take us to the Kumi Hospital Guest House who we called in advance and who we thought knew we were coming. The boda-boda ride through the Kumi country-side was amazing. All shades of lush green surrounded us. We passed mud huts and people going about their daily lives. Occasionally a cow or goat would meander across the road. However, no beauty surpassed the Kumi Hospital Guest Houses themselves. They really weren’t houses, but adorable quaint cottages that were perfect in every respect. They looked well-made and comfortable. They were surrounded by beautiful old trees and the ground was covered in vibrant wildflowers. It was like a piece of paradise. This is where people come to volunteer – it is where you should come merely to enjoy the beauty. Sigh, it was almost too good to be true. Hahaha – I bet you know that is coming, don’t you?

Wait for it…


wait for it…


Yup! You guessed! It was too good to be true. A scheming Ugandan woman appeared who told us that the guest houses are for staff and not students and that the houses were also full. She then took us to a very run down looking building. It looked old and un-welcoming, very unlike the cottages we had just bonded with. This old building was definitely not surrounded by wildflowers. The woman took us inside and told us all the rooms were full, but that Annie and I were welcome to stay in the storage closet. We looked in the storage closet and sure enough there was a bed off to the side underneath all the various items. She told us she would put another bed inside the closet and that Annie and I were welcome to stay for “only” 31,000 Ugandan Shillings PER NIGHT (That is $20 each)! With out another alternative presently available, Annie and I decided to stay there last night and pay $40 to share the storage closet. Oh, and I forgot to mention that this run-down guest house doesn’t have electricity (but the cute cottages do).

Today Annie and I went to the hospital and this afternoon we are going to Kumi town to try to find a more affordable place to live and use the SSSLLLLOOOOOWWWW internet for a few minutes.