Uganda Arrival

So I'm finally here in Uganda! To be honest I am having a harder time then I thought I would. Leslie says that usually the older volunteers have a bit harder time then the young ones. That's because most of the volunteers here are between 18-24 and are young and careless, and just glad to be away from home. I arrived yesterday and was a bit more surprised than I thought I would be with the living conditions. It is much smaller than I thought. I am sharing a room with 2 other girls both of who are very nice. The good news it that I got my own single bed. No bunk bed for me! Yeah. Since I only got 2 hours of sleep the night before in Dubai I thought I would just sleep when I got here. Surprisingly I wasn't that tired. I finally fell asleep at around 10pm. I woke up in the night for a few hours but then slept until 8 am.

Today is the first day where I wasn't sick from the malaria pills. My body must be getting used to them. Thank God for that because I don't know what I would have done if I was sick every morning.

I also got my tour of Mukono today. It is basically 1 strip of road. The road is a major road that runs all the way through Uganda and into Kenya. It is very loud and of course our bedroom window is right off it and there is no glass or screen. Good thing I wear ear plugs at night.

Ok, back to the house.... So we have to bucket shower every day. Which basically consists of pouring cold water into a basin and then splashing it up onto your body. Soap up and then dump some more on you. It sucks! The worst part is the toilets. I know we all laughed about them when I was at home and we were looking at pictures, but trust me there is nothing to laugh about! First of all there is waste everywhere and they sink. Then you have the spiders and other random bugs that live in there. But that's not the worst part. I can handle them in the day, but at night it is a whole other story. Apparently cockroaches live in the hole. At night they come out and sit on the floor. So not only do I have to walk down 3 flights of stairs in the dark with a head lamp but then once I reach the toilet I have to open the door and see these 2 inch cockroaches on the floor. And I am expected to squat with them around me. Not good! You know me and the bugs.

I haven't been able to stop sweating since I got here. You would be surprised at how hot it is under a mosquito net. I look a mess because I am sweating like a crazy person and my skin has completely broke out. Good times!

As far as the food goes. There isn't much to tell. Last night I had a scoop of rice some peas and green beans and a piece of avocado. This morning it was 2 mini banana's and an end piece of bread. Leslie says that most volunteers gain weight when they are here, but I don't see how that is possible.

Ok, now that I have ranted on about all the bad stuff, lets move onto the good stuff. From what I've seen, the Ugandan people are lovely. They are all very nice. Yes you get looked at a ton because you are white but it is cute. People wave at you and want to talk to you. The other volunteers are very nice as well.

Tomorrow I get to go to my school in the afternoon to meet my students and head mistress. I start the following day. I am very nervous about it but excited. Everyone keeps talking about how great the kids are and how much they enjoy what they are doing, so I am looking forward to that part.

OH! I forgot the most important part. I will have a cell phone tonight. One of the volunteers who is leaving today gave me hers. For you to call me you need to dial 001-256-773-711142. I will have it tonight at around 5pm this time. You can also text me with the same number. You might want to check to see your rates for texting but it is relatively cheap for me to do.

Well that's it in a nutshell. I guess I just needed to vent. It's hard here, but I think I just need to get used to it. We'll see in a couple of days.


Jenn