*CRASH* Goes the Bodaboda

So I was in a bodaboda accident today....truthfully I was in TWO bodaboda accidents today. However only one required dismounting of the boda.

The first one.

I had JUST left my housemate & kid with our first round of groceries to place at our friends house close to the dock where we board our boat to go back to our village.

We were about half way to my destination when a bodaboda in front of us decided he needed to demonstrate what great brakes he had...and well...ours weren’t as good.

Luckily I was watching so I relaxed as I noticed we were about to hit...hoping for no more damage to my spine from a car accident years prior.

My spine didn't break, but our baguette did. Right in half. 😔

Luckily for us a baguette still tastes like a baguette after its broke. Lol

Jason (co founder of @developsustainability) told us on our first visit...”It’s not a matter of IF you will be in an accident but rather WHEN.

So apparently my when was Saturday February 6th 2021, lol that first accident the bike completely shut down and locked up. He hit the other boda so hard his tires locked, and he had to DRAG the boda off the road. Lol

I didn’t help.

I was too distracted by the large crowd gathering to see if the Mzungu was ok and how will she get home and oh my did you see, the Mzungu...in an accident! Lol ugh Im over the whole Mzungu thing. It’s kinda cute at first. But honestly having people categorize you by your race, skin tone, sex, orientation...sucks.

I would rather just be me. We legit live identity politics everyday. It’s gross and I hate it.

Anyway the boda started up again. And no I didn’t take the same boda back to meet up as planned. I was just in an accident so OF COURSE I choose a different driver. And this time since I was super hyped from the whole experience decided to barter for my own boda.

Now to clarify, I have never negotiated for a Boda in town. I’m always with one of my friends, and they barter. Usually while I’m not in sight at ALL. Because if you are a Mzungu you obviously have money...no matter how inaccurate of a statement that is.

So usually the boys do the bartering and then After they get enough Boda’s (we used to ride two on the Boda’s but with Corona now you can only do one...ya know. Socially distancing on a motorcycle taxi....🤪) Ashleigh, Robinson and Myself appear from no where and sit on the Boda’s haha. Drivers are always disappointed cause they up charge in skin color. And once a price is negotiated, it’s set.

So this time, I went to the corner where they all sit. By myself. One acknowledged me immediately so I raised my eyebrows, which means ‘yes’, and got on his boda. Told him where I was going and he said “ok 10,000”...I did my best “aye!” That they do here in a crazy high pitched voice that means “what?!” And got off right away lol

Walked to the next guy. He drove our friend group around last weekend so I trusted him. I told him where and he said ok “yeah 10k” and I said. “Aye! No. 5k. I just paid the 5 and I’m not paying double to go back”. He said “oh they are returning to base so it’s less. To go far it’s 10k”. I said “no, I’ll give you 8k, no more.” He said “I have two boys to feed” I said “I have one too, you drove him all last Saturday!” In his own Biden way he said “come on man!” And I said “10 is all I have I’m not giving you all I have!” He paused...and walked to his boda and said “lets go!” Lol

Here’s a little bit of info for you....10k wasn’t all I had. But it was all I showed him when we got to the Shoprite lol

He then proceeded to tell me he has 4 kids. 2 boys and 2 girls. And he asked me to take, no, not adopt, simply take, his youngest daughter and just have her. 🤨🧐

Yeah I said no to that offer. He showed me photos to try and convince me lol but all I could think of was the interaction at the boss base when he only mentioned 2 kids...of 4.

I caught up with my peeps and Robinson just CLUNG to me. Checking me over to make sure I was ok from the accident. I already explained to them in a text “I was just in an accident I will be slightly delayed”. I mean. If I was hurt one would think I wouldn’t word a text like that. Lol

But I got a call back from Ashleigh immediately. To which I simply answered “I’m fine I’m alright I’ll just be a little delayed” and she said ok ok I’ll see you soon.

But Robinson simply heard “she was in an accident” and freaked lol this poor kid has already seen a fireball consume my whole head and most of my upper body why wouldn’t he worry about a boda accident. Especially since most boda accidents mean you laid the bike down and lose a lot of skin.

So anyway we finish shopping. Get new bodabodas to go back, and on the way....again....and this time definitely NOT my drivers fault... bang bang bang three (3) Boda’s in a row. We were the third.

One of my latest Instagram post bragged about how well they drive without lanes, sidewalks, street signs, street lights....

And I get in two accidents in a day. Lol

Due to internet issues this post has been delayed from being posted, but this happened 6 weeks ago, and then 2 weeks ago on March 4th....

I was in a motorcycle accident. This time I was not on a Bodaboda I was on an actual motorcycle, and this time we actually crash crashed, like laid out the bike 🏍 on the road, dirt road, after a Bodaboda that was approaching flashed their lights too many times and we didnt see the ditch in the road and boom, down we went.

The bike fell to the left and we went down with it. My left leg was pinned under the bike, thankfully we felt to the left and not the right or I am sure that I would have severely burned my leg on the exhaust pipe. So blessings there. My driver and I were both pinned on the left side. I had our chicken dinner still in hand and safe from dirt or the ground. Because any good housemate makes sure to save dinner when going down on a bodaboda haha

The bodaboda that flashed us with their lights immediately stopped to check on us and apologize. Then when they realized I was a Mzungu (white person) they got extra nervous and we’re trying to check with my driver if they needed to do anything and if I was ok, if I was mad etc etc.

He of course didn't pay any attention to them and just checked on me and made sure I was ok and could stand. Once I was up he got the bike up and checked on it. I was thankfully pumping full of adrenaline at this point and was completely unable to process that actual pain that I was in. What I was focusing on was “good job you saved dinner” and “did you seriously just get a hole in the knee of your favorite jeans?! Ugh...” haha good job adrenaline on keeping me distracted from the realities.

We get back on the bike and head on our way. I am shockingly quiet, the entire time. At this point every boda and bump made me a little nervous and when we were about 10 minutes from my house he says “you’re quiet, you’re never quiet, are you ok? You got to talk to me...we just crashed” to which I reply “I’m fine I’m fine.” And shut up again. He knows me well enough to push harder and I finally cave and say “no, I’m not fine, my jeans are ripped I can feel the blood sticking to the jeans, my ankle feels like I rolled it bad enough that it is probably sprained, and my quads are killing me.” And he says “Me too! I’m hurting so bad!” Haha both of us had adrenaline take over right after the fall that we didnt process how much we had actually hurt ourselves.

I braced the fall with my left arm. Ooooh hunny child when I realized I did that and my hand was killing me I thanked God I didnt brace with my right hand haha if you’ve known me from my youth you know that my right hand is a disaster child and breaks WAY too easily. So I was pleased that all I did was scrape up my hand and hurt the wrist but not break anything. Truly blessed in that regard.

When I get home I have to admit to my housemate what happened. This particular time I when I texted her to let her know what happened she didnt tell Robinson so he wasn’t at home freaking out thankfully, but when he saw me he was immediately concerned for my well being...SHE however was much more excited about the opportunity to pour hydro peroxide on my wounds haha

She literally giggled and galloped to the pantry to grab my medical gear haha jerk haha

I took my pants off to see that I had a pretty messed up knee with some deep gashes in it, a three different scrapes along the right side of the quad, and a swollen ankle. All in all not too bad. Typically I am able to handle pain really well...but NOPE not this time. I was laughing and screaming all at the same time. I knew that it was funny for her and Robinson but man it still hurt me! I was a weird mixture of emotions that’s for sure. She got me all cleaned up though, that red dirt got real deep in there it took washing it was soap and water and hydrogen peroxide about 5 times before it stopped bubbling like a crazy person.

BUT I am fine. I was able to work the next day, and the scrapes became some pretty gnarly lookin bruises and everything was fine.

So feel free to enjoy some of the videos and photos I have taken while on the back of a Boda or Bike...the scenery is beautiful the driving is crazy and I love every minute of it all. Unfortunately for you if you dont follow me on Snapchat you wont see what the wounds looked like lol BUT you will still get a beautiful idea of what Uganda looks like.

I took that same bike to dinner the next night in case you were curious. I just happened to squeeze a little tighter to the bike that time haha And yes, the bike was fine.