Back from Mbarara

We had a great tip to southwestern Uganda - the countryside is so green! There are a ton of banana plantations, and the banana plants have these huge green leaves that wave slowly in the wind. In fact,they remind me of elephant ears; did the designer of the elephant take inspiration from the banana plant, or vice versa?

We trained in upcountry style: a small cement room with a cement post in the middle, mosquitoes flitting in and out, and people strewn throughout. As the day went on, plastic water bottles and their wrappers and tops littering the floor, the smell of very ripe bodies. Hole-in-the-floor toilets. But it worked: the young journalists are so excited to have "international" training, and they are bright, energetic people. After our session on election coverage - featuring "voter's voice" coverage rather than candidate's agendas, one reporter came up and positively gushed about how he wrote in one way "without thinking," but now "I am going to really do it!" Who could ask for more?

In our "compelling writing" session, a young woman freelancer (really a stringer) said she would write a feature about a dying river a different way after she saw the lead we had come up with for her story - and she was so excited to know she had the freedom to be creative with it and include actual people affected. Be still my heart.

At dinner at our rather sad hotel (but with admirable pretensions), we had a choice of three side dishes to add to our bony chicken:  rice, chips (french fries), matoke (steamed bananas), fried potatoes, Irish (boiled potatoes), chapattis,or spaghetti. I was tempted to order, "Starch, please," but instead ordered rice and chapattis, the latter of which did not actually arrive. Oh, well, that's Uganda! Double rice is okay ... and I could nibble off Bill's chips.

We are happy to be back "home" at Salama after the 5-hour drive over bumpy roads, crammed into the back seat of a truck (a relatively comfy one, however) with computer bags, projectors, and flip charts keeping us company.

Salama promises the connection will be better tomorrow. Hope so, you will get photos then.