A day in the Garden.

We visited the Botanical Gardens today. They have many different habitats there.  It was originally started as a research center a long time ago. They brought in different plant species from all over the world to study them. Which is interesting because – one of the only times I have thought about Biology outside of the class – usually bringing a species into an area is a bad idea. Non-native species are usually rather invasive. For those who are familiar – Kudzu is a large problem experienced in Tennessee. It was brought in to help with an erosion problem and it became a problem itself.  I suppose they didn’t know of the possible consequences back in the early years …. I believe they started the botanical garden back in the late 1800s.  They also had about three different monkey species, a LOT of birds, weird bugs (yellow spider thing that is HUGE), and gorgeous trees/flowers.

Our guide, Kim, told us: “The only people who respect nature are those without money. Once they get money, their hearts change.”  That’s a tragic thing to hear. Uganda, as well as many countries around the world, has some beautiful things in nature. And so much can be gained from learning about it, living off of it, and sustaining it. But people don’t care…. Hurts my heart.

(For those who are LDS – I passed a sign for the church. I didn’t see the building and wasn’t able to snap a picture in time. But it’s fun to see that they really are nationwide.)

We also had a pizza lunch by Lake Victoria. The pizza was good. The weather was gorgeous. So nice out without being too warm. The Lake was nice and green…. I think it just had an interesting algae build-up. But it was still a pretty view….

After lunch we headed to Kampala.  It took a good portion of the afternoon. Got checked in and then headed to an Indian restaurant at the ‘mall.’ This time I was sharing a room with 3 other girls, one outlet (we all have lots of electronics to keep charged), and a lot of luggage. Kampala is actually a pretty big city with lots of people and traffic. I was so glad I wasn’t driving!! It’s backwards, hectic, and dangerous. But entertaining. Especially watching those with me that freaked out at the almost accidents that we continually felt like we were getting into. The drivers are experienced so I knew there would be no accidents, but still strange to watch.

For some reason it was a day of missing family, friends, not having regular computer/internet access. And I really dislike living out of a suitcase. But it’ll get better.