My First Grand Trafficating Adventure

When I was in Nigeria, I was introduced to a wonderful new word that has since become one of my favorite verbs. That word was "trafficating." As in, "This car accident was not my fault! I was trafficating properly when he knocked into me!" You may say it is grammatically incorrect, or even not a "real" word, but I think it is a wonderful example of the flexibility of the English language. Maneuvering through an African city center in an automobile is not merely driving. Driving is what I do on the wide open country roads of good old Pratum. Driving is what I do on I-5. Trafficating is a different thing entirely.

Now, to be fair to African city centers, I would say that trying to drive through the downtown streets of LA or San Francisco is an even higher level of stress. In my humble opinion, Kampala driving is easy pie in comparison. Such California city center navigating also merits a new and different verb from merely "driving."  It's a another level of trafficating entirely. Calitrafficating might be an appropriate term. But I digress...

I very recently (last Wednesday) had the privileged of become a car owner! This beauty came to me fresh from the roads of Japan. Although it was new in Japan when I was starting first grade, it is new to Kampala and to me, and I am totally in love with it. And it is so much fun to drive! Going nine months without my own means of transportation made me appreciate it all the more.

Up until Saturday, I had only taken this little beauty on short jaunts through the neighborhood. But then the weekend came and I had an entire day at my disposal, which is a beautiful feeling.

I started with a trip to the shore of Lake Victoria, mostly for school purposes. I was confirming the details of our last, and hopefully memorable, field trip to a lovely lakeside resort. The kids are going to get to have pony rides! Out beyond the fence you can see a bit of the lake there.  It sometimes still blows my mind that I live almost on the shores of Lake Vicki herself. 

You will have to excuse the quality of the photos. I may or may not have taken them while driving. Being the conscientious driver I am, I would never take an eye off the road, so if indeed they were taken while I was driving, they were taken blindly.  

The rest of my afternoon was spent very enjoyably by shopping at various craft markets. I accumulated quite a pile of things to bring home. In this photo I'm headed towards the fancy new mall across town. It's the yellow building with the strange flat tower.

And then it was time to head home. In the picture below you can see a pothole roughly the size of Texas. That, of course, is why I decided to go with a sturdy '96 Rav4, instead of the low-riding new Camaro. It could never handle the potholes and speed bumps. 

And then home sweet home. So there you have it. My first grand trafficating adventure. I survived. The car is great. And best of all, no people or animals where harmed in the making of this adventure. Success!