Safe House [Uganda]

When our friends/family find out that we are in Uganda, we are usually cautioned "stay safe!" While a merited caution, I just want to assure you that we are, in fact, safe.

This is where we live:

Note the double padlock held tightly by the largest, heaviest lock mine eyes have beheld. 

Moreover, we also have to enter/exit through this mini door which has a double padlock. Also note the barbed wire which lines the nice tall wall which encompasses our abode. 

The road our house is on. See the goats in the background? 

And if the barbed wire and padlocks weren't enough to keep us safe, this guy is always packing heat. He's friendlier than he looks. 

And if nothing else keeps us safe, we have ferocious german shepherds that our landlord lets out into the yard at night. If we die in Uganda, it will be from being eaten by them. 

PS- Ugandans are some of the nicest people on earth. They really help us mzungus (white skinned folks) find our way around. For example, this weekend we visited another city, a few hours away, to raft the Nile (post to come) and ended up leaving early because my Professor we are here with had an emergency and was headed back to the US-- instead of taking the free shuttle which would drop us off at our door step, we had to shuffle around several matatus (like a mini-bus) and figure out how to get home. Without knowing our address. And somehow, in talking to several Ugandans today, they figured it out. Gems I tell you! 

Rest assured, we are safe.