i must pause to reflect on the good old U S of A.
here in kampala and the surrounding area, we are back to the no gas situation. i mean, they now have diesel at the stations, but no propane tanks for the kitchen stove. so i have spent 3 weeks driving around with an empty propane tank in my car, and have become friendly with the guys at pretty much all the shell and total stations with in 20 miles of where i live- as in we're friends on facebook. no. kidding, but i have their cell numbers and they have mine.
meanwhile, there have been a few things i've had to deal with back at home in america and i'm amazed at how generally well oiled that machine is. okay. today, technically a holiday week, i got an email from an actual person at the atlanta water company, in response to my email (sent on Christmas day) about a bill that we received for water a month after we'd sold the house. this lady sends a timely and kind note apologizing for the mistake and confirming that it has been taken care of. i sent a quick note of thanks and acknowledgement and received an immediate lovely reply with well wishings for the new year.
last week, i had forgotten the password for an online typing program i'd purchased for zoe 2 years ago. i emailed some address on the box and with in a day, had a thoughtful response with an attached copy of my original purchase paperwork with the username and password, and a thanks for choosing 'type 2 learn'.
i don't know. there is just something that feels so different about how things run when i compare these places. in kampala, not only is there no gas, but no one, not even my 'friends' at the gas station, have any clue when the gas is coming, and they don't put up a sign when it comes - so the only way to know, is to drive in, and ask. i'm not railing on uganda- i love it here, i do. but i am amazed that i EVER took for granted that i didn't have to run around looking for cooking gas, and that i complained OFTEN about the prohibitive bureaucracy of large companies. because in general, and compared to many other parts of the world, it's a well oiled machine. and it doesn't usually run out of oil.
here in kampala and the surrounding area, we are back to the no gas situation. i mean, they now have diesel at the stations, but no propane tanks for the kitchen stove. so i have spent 3 weeks driving around with an empty propane tank in my car, and have become friendly with the guys at pretty much all the shell and total stations with in 20 miles of where i live- as in we're friends on facebook. no. kidding, but i have their cell numbers and they have mine.
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| our empty propane tank |
meanwhile, there have been a few things i've had to deal with back at home in america and i'm amazed at how generally well oiled that machine is. okay. today, technically a holiday week, i got an email from an actual person at the atlanta water company, in response to my email (sent on Christmas day) about a bill that we received for water a month after we'd sold the house. this lady sends a timely and kind note apologizing for the mistake and confirming that it has been taken care of. i sent a quick note of thanks and acknowledgement and received an immediate lovely reply with well wishings for the new year.
last week, i had forgotten the password for an online typing program i'd purchased for zoe 2 years ago. i emailed some address on the box and with in a day, had a thoughtful response with an attached copy of my original purchase paperwork with the username and password, and a thanks for choosing 'type 2 learn'.
i don't know. there is just something that feels so different about how things run when i compare these places. in kampala, not only is there no gas, but no one, not even my 'friends' at the gas station, have any clue when the gas is coming, and they don't put up a sign when it comes - so the only way to know, is to drive in, and ask. i'm not railing on uganda- i love it here, i do. but i am amazed that i EVER took for granted that i didn't have to run around looking for cooking gas, and that i complained OFTEN about the prohibitive bureaucracy of large companies. because in general, and compared to many other parts of the world, it's a well oiled machine. and it doesn't usually run out of oil.
1 comment:
Such a good reminder. I need to keep this in mind when I'm dealing with the daily politics of the VA haha
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