Internet?

Here's a riddle (this is for you Dani if you're reading): How many days does it take to install an internet connection in Uganda? That's still the question I'm trying to find out. If you know the answer, you might want to let other mzungu know. Moving here has been an adventure. For all of you in the US who get upset when the cable company tells you they'll be there between 8 and 12, here's a good blog for you.

You might be wondering when I first went to sign up for internet. It's been so long that I had to actually pull out the receipt and look: July 9, 2008. I can't say that I didn't have anything right away because I did. Originally I signed up for a mobile 3G service. After about 3 weeks of frustrations of very slow internet and often not being able to log on at all. I went in to see if I could request a change to a fixed line. First of all, the mobile service was much more expensive than the fixed line and secondly, I tried the fixed line at the school and it was a lot faster than what I was experiencing with the mobile internet. So on July 25, 2008, I put in a change to a fixed line. The supervisor who made the changes to my service told me someone would be out in a week. A week passed...no one...I had to go to town to complain. A different supervisor (Naomi), the one who originally told me that I could make the switch, was there and told me she hadn't submitted the request yet. Another week...of silence...again had to go to town to find out what was going on. A third different supervisor was there and had no idea what I was talking about. She talked to Naomi and gave me her number so I could call in the future. They should be coming this week she told me. Another 4 days, nothing. I tried calling...the phone number was missing one number. I had to go to town. Naomi was not there again, but the one that gave me the phone number was there. She gave me the correct number and I called Naomi. She has been a lot of help (not sarcastic by the way) Finally someone came out on Aug 14, 2008 to look at where I needed everything set up. He told me that he need to get all the materials and he would be back tomorrow. Was he back? Saturday he returned and pulled the line, but he didn't have a modem to set up. The modem box on the service request wasn't checked...I noticed that earlier and mentioned to them, but I showed him by calculation that I paid for a modem. He said he would have to come back Monday. Monday, I called Naomi again and told her the situation since they hadn't come by 1pm. She said she would take care of it. Now imagine this...you have things to do and places to go, but you don't know what day they are coming and when during the day they will be there. Cabin fever is the only way I can describe how I have felt this week. Tuesday, he came back with the modem, but the service didn't work. He told me that they were going to fix it and to call him when the "adsl" light came on. It never came on...I called him on Wednesday...no answer. I called Naomi again. They came on Thursday to look at it finally, but the power was down. Can't check much when that happens. Finally, Friday they dedicated their day to get me up and running. They finally did it, but the moden that they brought me wasn't working. However, I found out that the tech guy, David, is a Christian and talked to him more about his faith and his church. He let me keep a loaner modem until they could get me a new one...so really the saga continues. How long will my service continue before it goes down? TIA