It's the Final Countdown

Well, I’ve gone and done it.  I’ve used up almost all of my savings, and am now stuck in Hoima until I get a job with an actual salary.  Of course, I knew this day was coming, but that didn’t really help my ‘Oh Shit!’ moment over Easter weekend, when I realized that would have to be my last weekend in Kampala.  

On a little side note, Easter weekend was really lovely.  I went to Jinja with a good buddy.  We previously had been out to the Ssesse Islands together (small island group in Lake Victoria), so this time we went to Jinja, a cute town where the Nile River begins from Lake Victoria.  Jinja is world-renowned for it’s top-grade white water rafting.  I went rafting once; most people love doing it, but these are grade 6 rapids, so you spend quite a bit of time flipping over and falling out of the raft.  It’s supposed to be part of the adventure.  I would have had a much better time if I didn’t fall out of my raft and go over a waterfall before we even hit any of the actual rapids!  I ended up injuring myself – waterfalls are rocky!! – and was terrified for the rest of the trip.  So this trip, I decided a nice, low-key trip to the Nile would be best.  I stayed on an island in the Nile and relaxed for two days.  A friend cooked up an awesome Easter dinner, so I returned to Kampala for that, and spent one final day relaxing. 

See the leg stick out of the water.  Yup.  That's me.

No, I'm not brave enough to be in the front.  I'm holding on for dear life in the rear of the raft.

So now I’m back in Hoima.  I’ve spent three weeks here without leaving (unprecedented for me), and I’m doing okay.  Granted, I’ve been too busy with work to notice, but that’s probably for the best.  As the end of my contract nears, there is suddenly a million things to accomplish, and with the constant power outages, never enough time to do them. 

I’m still battling food expenses.  No matter what I do, I’m still borrowing money from my other allotments.  It’s a good thing I don’t actually use all of my phone allowance.  Or my transport, but that’s mostly because this month I haven’t traveled anywhere.  I’m trying to branch out and cook more variety, but it’s all ramen or spaghetti based.  My big exciting purchase recently was cumin, although I’m not really sure what to use it in, other than beans (which I really loathe to make at home, since I eat it for lunch!).  

And while I've always been good at doing the solitary thing, I am looking for a new opportunity come July.  Something in a city would be great.  Something more than a few dollars a day would be even better.