Hangin in Hoima

I’ve been settling into life in Hoima since we arrived Friday afternoon. It’s located in western Uganda near Lake Albert, national parks, game preserves and forests. The area is nice, and there are things so far that I really like about being here, and then also things that I prefer from the other locations (Soroti & Kakamega) where I've stayed so far.

Map to show locations I've been in Kenya and Uganda

Hoima Pros:

Nice diggs. The house and compound where we live and work is really nice.  It’s bigger and newer than the other houses/offices where I’ve stayed to date; although like many new homes, it has its fair share of bugs--both literally and figuratively--to be worked out (see the below Cons section for more info on that...). 

Office/Dining area

My room, at least for while I'm here

Kitchen

At the dinner table with roommates. It was taco night, if you can believe it! 

Lovely setting. Hoima is beautiful. The town is nestled into rolling green hills. The weather is similar to Kakamega, where it’s cooler and more like San Francisco weather. In addition, the mosquitoes aren’t nearly as bad here as they were in Soroti.

View of hills from our backyard

Peace & quiet: There is no pet rooster waking me up at 6 a.m. like in Soroti and no pack of carousing barking dogs keeping me up at night like in Kakamega.  I’ve actually slept better here than either of the other two locations. Though, there is a small kiosk on the street nearby that I think turns into a bar/dance party at night, so I’m regularly lulled to sleep by some exotic bumping beats, but the ear plugs usually help to take care of that.

Hoima Cons:

Distance from town: The house/office is about a 20 minute walk to town (going at a very brisk pace) or 5-10 minutes by boda (the Ugandan word for motorcycle).  This is a change from our other locations where the house/office is actually in town. The roads here are pretty hilly too which can feel a little dicey when on the back of a motorbike, so I try to walk when I can. Plus, I need the exercise anyway.

Road to Hoima town

Unfinished business: Since we are keeping a tight watch on funds, many of the house improvements, or final touches, are currently on hold.  So that means things like unfinished closets, make-shift curtains and things like that. In addition, it usually takes a while (and a lot of persistence) to get someone out here to fix things, so a leaky sink may take some time to be addressed.

Unfinished closets

No shower curtains means a messy shower experience.

House “wildlife” – I’ve found a fair number of Jurassic sized cockroaches in my room so far since I’ve arrived, as well as spiders and ants, and I’ve found evidence that seems to indicate rats, though I’ve been told it may be bats (which have occasionally made their way into the house in the past).  On the plus side though, I like my gecko friend that lives in my room (especially since I know they eat bugs!).

My other roommate

I’m sure I’ll learn more about the area as I continue to get settled.  I’ve been on a couple of walks/jogs to town with the roommates, and we have our first field visit tomorrow, so I’ll be seeing more of the area.  Surely there will be more to report soon!