Tourists…

 

When I'm home in Australia I live in a town called Victor Harbor. It's a fairly small town - although we are officially a city - with a population of around 12 000 people. It's situated on the coast, has good surf beaches nearby, attracts whales in the winter and, whether in the actual town or around the area, has great places to eat. It is relaxed, not too hot, not too cold.

Therefore, because of our proximity to Adelaide, we attract our fair share of tourists. In summer our population can double and that doesn't take into account day trippers. Having grown up in Victor I have seen the way that tourism (or the lack of it) affects our town, for both good and bad.

Locals tend to take offence at the tourists (called terrorists by some) taking their parking spaces at the shopping centre. Also offensive is the amount of traffic on the roads, the number of people in shops, the queue at the checkout etc. It seems that the very industry that keeps our town alive is a burden to them.

I, on the other hand, lament winter and it's coldness chasing away our guests. You can't go out after eight to eat (anywhere other than Macca's), can't get a coffee with friends, there are no festivals, no fun, no atmosphere. Even if you work full time in summer, it can feel like you are on holidays. But winter tends to make me sad (never mind the extreme cold - yes I know it's not that bad but I really am enjoying Uganda's idea of cold).

So I feel I am well acquainted with tourism.

Since my mum and sister arrived last week on Wednesday, we have spent most of our time in Kampala and arrived in Mbarara on Monday of this week. Mum and Nat are terrible tourists. Even if they bring their cameras along, it tends to be me telling them to take a photo. To be fair, in Kampala, I'm not exactly the best tour guide as I don't know my way around that well. But we did manage to get to a craft market, eat fried Tilapia (fished from Lake Victoria) and visit a cultural dance show.

For my part I enjoyed my first coffee in almost six months (or maybe several of them including a very nice affogato) and going to Aristoc bookstore, which until I find something else, remains my favourite place to visit in Kampala.

On our travels to Mbarara we also crossed the equator (where we did get the first photos I've ever stopped there for) and saw a few zebras, unless that is meant to be zebra like sheep, in which case we saw a few zebra.

We visited a couple of our HOPE schools, Ebenezer in Kitookye village and Trust in Kakoba. As kids are on school holidays we didn't really find anyone there, except our P7 class doing holiday revision with their teachers in Kitookye. Unfortunately the boys from the Trust home were not there when we visited. We will however see them on Saturday when we visit the other boys home.

So it's been fun playing the tourist and tour guide. Yesterday when we went into a shop the guy packing our groceries assumed that we were both tourists. After finding out that my sister with her terribly impressive camera was not a journalist. I guess I need to shop there more often.

Can't quite believe they have been here a week and have less than a week to stay. At least we are not trying to get out to see animals. That would take up a significant chunk of time and after all, they have now seen zebra/s. Also can't quite believe that next week when I publish my blog they will be gone.

So I will make the most of their time here and enjoy every minute of it. Life tends to be more fun that way. Give it a try.

Have a blessed week

bron