From Campus Tours to Corruption...

This morning it was up at 7:00 am to shower and get ready for the day. We were expected to meet the Inspector General of Government today, so it meant dressing up and looking nice. We loaded the bus at 7:45 to head to MUBS for breakfast.

Breakfast was toast again, I know, I'm super exciting. Then it was a morning discussion with all of the students and professors about the trip so far. It was really interesting to get more into depth about what everyone else was experiencing on the trip and not just me and the people I'm living with. We had some really good discussion.

We were suppose to go visit a pharmacy today too, but I guess it's been rescheduled for Tuesday. This seems to be a common theme on this trip. Oh well, I'm learning to adapt.

After discussion, we got to be taken on a tour of the campus by the MUBS students. It was really big compared to Drake. Everything is really spread out, and it doesn't seem to be very well organized. It also doesn't help that a majority of the buildings are only one level, so the campus requires a lot more buildings than Drake does. They also have about 15,000 students that attend there, so it's also about 3 times bigger than Drake.

Lunch came next, which consisted of noodles, rice, potatoes, and some type of bread like substance made from maize. It's kind of like cornbread except not as fluffy or good. We got to take our time with lunch today and enjoy some good conversation. I'm amazed at how quickly we've all gotten to know each other. I'm also extremely grateful for the amazing friendships I've already made with the MUBS students. I can already tell that I will be keeping in touch with a lot (if not all) of them when I'm back in the states. There is no way I want to give up all that I've gained from these wonderful people.

(The delicious lunch for today)

Once we were done with lunch and some social time, it was off to visit the Inspector General of Government. This person is in charge of keeping corruption out of Uganda and the government. He actually was out of the country, so the next person down stepped in to give the presentation. It was really dry since he read the powerpoint slides word for word, but it was also somewhat interesting. It sounds like the program is extremely underfunded, so actually being able to catch someone and having enough evidence to convict them of corruption is extremely difficult. Plus the constitution says the person must be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which makes it even tougher. This often means that a confession needs to be heard on tape or the person needs to be caught in the process and somehow videotaped.

They also told us that a lot of citizens look up to the wealthy, no matter how they earned their money. So it's harder to catch them if there are somehow involved in corruption. Another fun fact, the President of Uganda cannot be investigated as long as he is in office, so the president could commit corruption while in office and no one would be able to do anything until he was out of office. Finally, they talked about how cooperation is extremely important among other countries to help the fight against corruption. Overall, it was interesting. Sadly, it was hard to pay attention to today though. Also, we weren't allowed to take pictures here (for security reasons), so I don't have any pictures to share of this :(

Next it was off to see the National Theater quickly and then to some local craft shops for some shopping. Once again it was nice having the MUBS students around to help us barter. It was really fun, and I enjoyed looking in all of the shops at everything they had to offer. A lot of shops sell very similar stuff though, so it makes me wonder how they are able to make a profit at the end of the day when people next to them are selling almost the exact same thing.

(This is the National Theater in Kampala)

(Some of the shops at the craft market we visited.)

Finally, we ended the day with supper at a Mexican restaurant. It was pretty good. I had a cheese quesadilla. It was funny watching the MUBS students look through the menu since none of them had eaten Mexican food before, so they had no idea what anything was. It was nice to be needed by them for a change :)

Now it's completing my journal for the course, and my personal journal. Then bed. We have a very early day tomorrow, as we have been invited to attend the MUBS graduation ceremony. It starts at 9:00 am and goes until 12:00 pm. We are visiting a company in the afternoon as well, but I can't recall which one since the schedule changes so much.

Now it's off to bed, so until next time, I leave you with this...actually, just kidding. Pictures are taking forever to upload tonight, so they'll be added tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience.

(The hill in this picture was created by termites! I was absolutely amazed by the size of the mound they had made. Don't want these guys in your house!)