Making memories with my family

The writer with her brother in Kampala during last year’s Easter season. COURTESY photo

What you need to know:

Fun. Every child loves to enjoy good moments with their parents like Aidah Namukosa shares.

During the Easter school break of 2009, my parents surprised my brother Johnson and I with a trip to Nairobi. It was unexpected, as my parents are very busy people and we hardly ever get time together.

one day, dad came home and asked us to pack about a week’s worth of “our best clothes”. We were only nine and 11 years old. All excited we started guessing the destination.

The night before the trip, they told us that we were heading to Nairobi for a few days. It was our second time to ever leave Uganda. I got restless and could hardly sleep.

The next morning, we woke up very early to get ready for the bus. My family keeps “Ugandan time”. Despite waking up so early, we were a few minutes late. On the way to the bus stop, we saw a bus drive by and my parents were afraid that it was the bus we were meant to take because it was about 6.35am and it was scheduled to leave five minutes before. We drove on to the bus stop to confirm. I played it cool but panicked deep down. I did not want to miss the trip.

While at the bus stop
Luckily, my dad had got the time wrong and our departure was 8.30am. So, we settled in at the bus stop and I fell asleep on my mother’s lap as dad went to get us some snacks.

Though it was late, the bus finally arrived. I felt elated as we boarded. My excitement slowly faded as the journey started to seem long and I fell asleep. We got to Busia border of Uganda and Kenya. That is the closest I had ever been to Kenya. about a year before, mother had once driven my brother and I to the border, and we had talked about how nice it would be to cross over one day. That day was finally here!

Crossed the border
At about 12am, we had our passports stamped and got back on the bus. I remember asking my mum as we were queuing, “So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?” According to my nine-year-old mind ,once you crossed the border, Nairobi would be right there. Mother and the woman in the backseat broke down in wild laughter and said that we still had a long way to go.

From the border, I sat next to daddy. He had lived in Kenya for a few years before we were born.And he volunteered to teach me all he knew about the country. He kept pointing and explaining things like the stories behind some of the big farms (like Del Monte), why there are many donkeys. He also knew almost every town we drove to and he attempted to teach me some basic Swahili. I’m very bad at languages but I learnt a word or two.

Finally, we got to Eldoret and had our lunch. My dad insisted that we eat the Kenyan version of posho and beans which is ugali na mulima. I did not enjoy it and would have preferred junk food. Dad insisted that it is good to try the local foods of places you visit. We got back on the bus and I fell asleep for the next few hours.

finally in Nairobi
After what felt like forever, we finally got to Nairobi. About 12 hours of travelling. I never expected it to be that long. We alighted at Westlands and took a cab to our hotel. It was a very fancy hotel. Johnson and I got a room to ourselves. I was excited, but tired too, so I fell asleep soon.
The next morning, my mother went to meet some people. We ate breakfast with dad and planned our day’s activities.

Fun time
We strolled around Westlands a bit, shopped— my brother and I visited an arcade for the first time and had lunch in the food court of a mall, then headed back to the hotel. Later, we also went out with mother for dinner.

Changing hotels
The next day, we set out to find a cheaper hotel to stay at. We settled for YMCA hostel and I liked it because it had a swimming pool. We walked around that night too, and ate at a local restaurant. My brother and I noted that the soda was in plastic bottles as opposed to that in Uganda— either glass or cans.
After one night at the YMCA, we moved downtown and found a hotel that was closer to the bus stop. It was called Hotel Kipepeo which is Swahili for butterfly, but also the name of Chameleone’s hit song.

Sad because it was our last night but also excited to go back home and brag to all my friends I went shopping with mother. I got what was probably my first pedicure as my brother and dad watched football. We then headed back to the hotel, had dinner, and slept.

Return
I woke up the next morning with a heavy heart, knowing that the holiday was over. We packed our bags and checked out. I dreaded the trip ahead. Johnson and I went back to school and my parents returned to work. Since then, we have had one family holiday in Fort Portal.