Joseph took me along the long, winding dirt roads of Masindi to get to my house and dropped me off. I stepped out of the car with great trepidation and just took it all in for a few minutes.
The place is huge. It has a large sitting room, large kitchen, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and many closets. However, the furnishing is very sparse. There is only one bed with a mattress and a mosquito net. A few tables of various sizes. Curtains. And two plastic chairs.
No pots, pans, plates, or kitchen utensils. No usable linens, few buckets or bins for laundry. No toilet seats. The hot water isn’t working, even if it were we only get electricity about 60% of the time, according to Michael. The kitchen sink also isn’t functional. There is no gas for cooking. The fridge looks brand new, but the motor was stolen so it does not work.
To add to this, everything is grimy and covered in dust from months of nobody living here. Cleaners were supposed to have come, but they obviously did not.
My supervisors were furious to hear of all this, by the way. I think they've made several angry phone calls to the landlords already.
Fortunately, there is one very friendly and helpful guy named Wilson, whose sole job for the next two days is to help me make this house livable. Last night we went into town on a motorbike to pick up a few items and dinner. There was no electricity so many of the shops were lit with candlelight. The air was a bit cool and it was fantastic riding under the moonlight like that.
My first night going to bed, with no electricity, alone in this strange, dark place was surreal. Outside there was a vicious thunderstorm, which seemed only fitting.
I know I will adapt, as I always have. But these are definitely the roughest conditions I’ve had to contend with in Africa so far.
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