I spent a week in Kampala trying to deal with a hole in my
tooth as well as a potential cavity in another tooth. Little did I know this
adventure would provide me with yet another ridiculous story to tell.
*Disclaimer: I am going to go ahead and say “that’s what she
said” in anticipation of all the dirty minds out in cyberspace.*
So I came into Kampala on Monday, as instructed, in hopes of
seeing a dentist on Tuesday or Wednesday. Little did I know May 1st
is a national holiday here in Uganda. When I was told this, I was rather
confused and asked “what holiday is it, May Day?” I got some good laughs for
this, but in all honesty I was serious. I soon found out it is the Ugandan
Labor Day. I guess you really do learn something every day…
I get an appointment for Thursday and everything goes fairly
smoothly. Big props to the Ugandan dentist fixing my cavity, he decided it was
not too deep so he wouldn’t give me any novacane. Initially I was a little
nervous, but he assessed the situation correctly and all went well. In regards
to my potential cavity, it ended up being a sensitive and possible exposed
root. He didn’t really seem to know what to do besides give me desensitizing
cream, which makes me nervous that I’d have to return after a few weeks to
reapply the cream, which was completely topical. I was glad I didn’t have to
suffer through any mouth injections during this time though.
The hilarious part was when they were filling my tooth and
cleaning my teeth. Apparently the assistant to the dentist is used as a utensil
tray because he stood next to me for over an hour just holding things for the
dentist, whether it be the sucker in between uses, the scraper, or any other
dental tool. Also, at one point both men had tools in my mouth, three different
instruments in my mouth all at the same time (see disclaimer). Please keep in
mind I have a small mouth, which was already tired from the other procedures
and probably wasn’t open to its full capacity. On top of that, you add three
instruments which are being pushed and prodded in my mouth? Talk about
discomfort…I kind of wish I had a picture because from my point of view it
looked absolutely ridiculous, two men coming at me with three different
instruments trying to shove them all in my mouth and do something to benefit my
dental health…yeah.
In other news, my site had a party to celebrate the
graduation of the candidate class, also known as Set 5 (each semester a new set
of students enters into the program and they go through the program together,
as a “set”, taking all their classes together, so they are numbered by their
set). One thing I love about my site is that the school throws party for
everything and anything. Another thing I don’t love as much is the delay in the
start of programs. The party was supposed to start at noon and only last about
an hour but it didn’t actually start until 6 pm and went on until 8 pm (which
in the grand scheme of life isn’t much, it’s only two hours, but the fact that
it started so late bothered me…I had started supper before the party and was
interrupted…it was just annoying). Anyhow, the party went fairly smoothly
(besides the power going out in the middle and everything turning into chaos
for about 20 minutes). I have to say, my favorite part wasn’t the awkward side
conversations between the director and principal tutor who were sitting in the
front of the room. It wasn’t the entrance of Mr. and Mrs. Set 5 (Mrs. Set 5 is
actually an amazing girl who I absolutely LOVE and will miss). It wasn’t when
one of the staff members shook a bottle of soda and sprayed it on Mr. and Mrs.
Set 5, acting as if it was champagne. It wasn’t even the ridiculous massive
game of musical chairs, which ended up being a mix between musical chairs and a
conga line. It had to be when the MC (another student who I will miss) decided
to attribute all the success of the students and their passing of exams and
inevitably the program not to their hard work and dedication, but to the will
of Jesus Christ. Now, I’m not knocking religion or Jesus or attributing
anything to God’s divine power, but sometimes it just rubs me the wrong way
when someone takes absolutely no personal responsibility, whether it’s for the
successes or failures in life. It just seems that the students really have been
working hard and studying a great deal and deserve a little credit too.
After the last of the students left, the school became quite
lonely. Lucky for me, my life got a little more interesting thanks to the work
of CHIPS and Worldwide Logistics (both are courier companies similar to DHL). I
received a call one morning informing me that I had a 21 kg (about 46 lbs.)
package waiting for me in Kampala. I was ecstatic until the woman on the line
went on to say I was being charged 507,000 USH (equivalent to $202.80). I was
completely taken aback, not really sure what to do. The woman on the phone
informed me that I had to come to the Worldwide Logistics office in Kampala to
pay the fine and retrieve my package. I told her I lived in Rakai and wouldn’t
be able to get into Kampala for a few days (pending permission given by Peace
Corps, arranging travel and accommodation, etc.). The woman on the phone told
me this was fine (pause for breath of relief) but they would have to charge me
a holding fee for every day the package was in the possession of the office
until I would pick it up. I didn’t even get a chance to find out how much this
“holding fee” was, I instantly demanded the fee be nullified because of my
circumstances. The woman on the phone was very defensive and kept saying it was
procedure and she couldn’t do anything about it. I finally calmed down and just
said okay I’d be there within the next couple of days. After I hung up, the
woman e-mailed me with the breakdown of the fees I was being charged (which
wasn’t on any official receipt or bill but just typed out in an e-mail). I
immediately called the Peace Corps office to request permission to go to
Kampala to deal with the matter and to my surprise I was approved and told I
would receive help. I was told that Peace Corps had an agreement with the
Ugandan Government which exempted PCVs from getting taxed. AWESOME!
Or so I thought.
Well, I went in the next day only to find out nothing could
be done that day, the paperwork and the processing of the package would take
three business days. I went back to my site only to get a call a few days later
telling me I needed to bring my Peace Corps Passport to Kampala to give to the
office that way we would be able to get the package from the airport
(apparently it was stuck at the airport at customs). So, I hop on another bus
to Kampala hoping to return with a 21 kg package (I didn’t really think about
how I would get it back, I just wanted to get it…first things first, right?). So
I get to Kampala and wait for my ride to the Peace Corps office. Apparently
they forgot about me because I waited for 3 hours before someone came, and even
then I think it was by accident. I later found out it was a complete
miscommunication so I let it go fairly swiftly. I was just happy to be making
progress towards getting my package.
Or so I thought (do you see a trend yet?).
So I go to the Peace Corps office, get whatever agreement
and letter Worldwide Logistics needed (which took a while because the person
who initially had it was out sick so new people in the office had to find the
paperwork). I then went to the Worldwide Logistics office, met the woman I had
been speaking with on the phone and gave her my Peace Corps Passport, thinking
we’d be going to Entebbe Airport that day to get my package. I guess the joke
is on me because when I gave it to her she told me she had to take it along
with the paperwork to Entebbe and then they would release the package which
would take two days at least (even though a taxi ride to Entebbe Airport takes
an hour, maybe). So I sit there,
riding the fine line between starting to scream or starting to cry, when the
woman tells me to “calm down, in Uganda things go slowly”. That made me laugh a
little. I gave her my passport with her word that the package would be in the
Worldwide Logistics office by Friday when Peace Corps administration could come
and pick it up allowing me to pick it up from the PC office at a later date.
Again, I went back to site that evening with nothing physical to show for my
trip but still mildly happy that some progress was made.
Or so I thought.
On Monday, having not heard anything since the last
Wednesday (when I was in Kampala) about the package, I called the Peace Corps
office to get an update. I find out that Worldwide Logistics needs MORE
paperwork, including something that needs to go through higher security levels
in order to get the package from Entebbe. Yeah, the package is STILL IN ENTEBBE
AIRPORT AT CUSTOMS. At this point even the Peace Corps staff helping me are
frustrated because every time they call to make progress, there seems to be
something else needed. Why all this wasn’t explained THE FIRST TIME is beyond
me and anyone that has been helping me.
Seriously, all this for a bunch of my old clothes from home
and some Indian snacks…I wish the people at the airport would realize what was
in the box, then they’d know not to waste any more time trying to get money or
whatever else out of me for something that isn’t really that big of a deal.
So now it’s just a waiting game…when in the world is Aditi
going to get her package?
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