First Night On the Town

So by the time i returned from the airport it was going on 5pm. I showered, FINALLY changed my clothes, and went with Grace to a local community center called National Theatre because Sunday is salsa dancing night. (Grace remembered this from her last visit and I said I'd go back with her)
Because Uganda is a former British colony, (British) English is the official language. Therefore you read signs that say things like "National Theatre" and "Colour Your World" (the slogan for a paint label which has advertisements EVERYWHERE. If I remember I'll take a picture of one and post it here) and you hear the Mamas (what they call the permanent staff- for example Mama Tina, Mama Stella) say "He needs a new nappy (diaper)" and "are you here on Christmas Holiday?"

I mentioned before that motorbikes, called "bodas" by the locals, are very popular here. This was how Grace and I got ourselves to the dance- by hitch-hiking a ride off the back of a random boda. I've never hitch-hiked and I've never rode on a motorbike, so those are two more new things I've accomplished so far in Uganda! I had little hesitation about the bumming a ride part; everyone here is so friendly and the streets are so crowded. I was however very afraid of riding on the back of a boda under Ugandan traffic laws, but it turned out to be insanely fun and I've done it a few times since.

This is a horrendously blurry picture of Grace and I on the boda on our way back from National Theatre. It was night but the flash makes it look bright out. That's Grace's arm, and I was sitting behind her.

The venue was much like the patio at Sanyu- a large circular cement-floored gazebo with a thatched straw roof, only this one had a bar attached to it. I'm not sure what the technical drinking age is here but all ages were allowed at this place and I didn't see anyone being ID'd, so whatever it is apparently it's not strictly enforced.
I have never salsa danced before- but it was a casual and crowded enough place for that not to matter too much, and my partner was really kind and patient.  It was a fun night! I got to meet a lot of locals- Grace and I were the only two white people there, and we're both girls, so obviously we attracted a lot of attention. Salsa dancing is surprisingly tiring, by the way. I was wiped out by the time we caught our boda back to Sanyu, and that was the end of my second full day.

Fun Fact of the Day: the slang word for "white person" in Lugandan, the second official language, is "Mzungu"!