Observations on Life in Fort Portal

Written Saturday, September 27, 2008

A few observations on life in Fort…

Last weekend Janis and I tried to find goat cheese. Later Janis described to a friend how it was pretty funny because in Canada there is goat cheese everywhere and never any goats around. Here in Fort Portal goats are everywhere and no one’s even heard of goat cheese.

Often when Janis and I are walking around often boda boda (motocycle) drivers will stop right in front of us asking if we want a ride. It’s a little irritating because then we have to walk around them as we say “no”. I’ve been wondering why they are called “boda boda” and not just one “boda.” And why the name boda? The little three-wheeled cars in Kenya are called tuks tuks because they make a sound that sounds like “tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk”. I don’t really think that boda bodas make a sound that could be described as “boda-boda-boda-boda”. Something that I think is ironic is that when you really need a boda boda they are so hard to find, but when you don’t want one, they’re all over the place!

When the Fort Portal electricity is off, the sound of rumbling whirling generators came be heard across the town. We don’t have a generator, so when the power’s off we go without.

Last week we tried quite unsuccessfully to find a shortcut home from work. Our routed definitely ended up being a long cut. We needed to turn left at some point and after walking for 30 minutes we still had not come to a place where we could turn left. It normally would have taken 25 minutes to walk home. That day on that route it took us an hour and twenty minutes to get home. I was glad that we had our cell phones along and not so glad that I had been hauling my not terribly lightweight computer with me.

When it’s raining I feel less likely to get hit by a moving vehicle. When it rains all the boda boda drivers flee for cover to avoid getting wet, leaving only the few cars on the street. Suddenly the streets are almost empty and it feels safe to cross a road.