First day of school

June 30^th 9:10pm

 

Today was my first whole day at St. Mary’s, and the morning definitely got off to an interesting start. Last night I fell asleep to one of the movies I downloaded onto my ipod for the trip, the Tin Man. I was expecting it to be pretty bad, especially because the evil witch is Clair from 90210, but I really enjoyed it. Sometime during the night, however, I tried turning my watch light on and I changed the time zone instead. Ashleigh woke me up this morning at 7am when I anted to wake up at 6:15, but at least I didn’t sleep through the start of school. I bolted out of bed and got ready really quick, and Matt and I walked out of the compound to the road to wait for Alice. Just like I thought would happen Alice went to a different entrance than I was at, so I had to make an executive decision to boda over to Saint Mary’s at 8:15 because by that time I was worried about being late. I arrived at Saint Mary’s just as the head mistress/head sister was giving the morning announcement to the school. It was funny because as I pulled up I didn’t see anyone, and I started to worry that something had happened, when I turned around the corner and came face to face with the entire school. I gave a little impromptu speech after Sister asked me to, and kind of smiled when I heard the kids giggling at my accent. It’s pretty weird for me as an elementary teacher, because some of my seniors are as old as 23 because for whatever reason, being a child soldier or what have you, they had to come to school late.

 

It took me about 5 minutes to get comfortable once I was in the classroom, and I realized that showing no fear is the best way to handle high school. I would have fallen asleep if I just sat there and observed so I walked around and checked out the textbooks and what the students were writing. St. Mary’s is fairly small for Gulu, so my biggest class only has about 60 kids, unlike some classes at Gulu SS that have close to 250.  I think the kids were freaked out at first that I was there, and I was a bit of a distraction, but they got used to me. I felt like it was a really long day, even though the periods went by very quickly. On our off time Alice and I marked a lot of papers and planned for Wednesday, and tomorrow on my day off I’m going to go to the internet café to type everything up and get prepared. I don’t have too much to say about the day because I spent most of it watching, but I can say that the Latrine was super scary. Mosquito’s carry malaria here, so when I entered the latrine and saw a whole village of them I was a little scared. It’s a surreal experience to squat down over a hole to pee while swatting violently at bugs, thank god I pee quick! Another cultural difference that I have come across is that teachers don’t go to the bathroom at all during class. At the Craig School, if I had to use the bathroom it was about 20 feet away so a quick trip did no harm. Here, if teachers leave to use the latrine the kids think it is hysterical and laugh at you. Good thing I was informed of that before I tried, or else I would have had a pretty uncomfortable first day.

 

I was very exhausted after school, and a little cranky from being in the heat for so long. When I got back to the compound and heard that Bri and Kyle were heading into town I was all about it. Cold fanta was calling me from the gas station, so Bri and I doubled up on a boda and followed Kyle over to Caltex. We also went to Ma Computers and I was able to send out an e mail or two and update this blog. Tuesdays are my free day, and I’m thinking about making them personal days to unwind and spend some time alone. Tomorrow for example, I’m going to go into town early with Matt, but he has class at 12 so I’ll be able to have some company in the morning and then spend some much-needed time alone.  There are 11 of us staying at Christ the King, with two girls rooms and a guys room and a living area in the middle, so we’re pretty much on top of each other at night. I’m starting to get a little antsy about it, especially because I’m so used to just me and Kristen that some “me” time would be great. It’s hard to go from one roommate to 11, especially when all of us are so different. Don’t get me wrong though, I have met some incredible people that I know I will have lasting friendships with.

 

I had an awesome conversation with Jo yesterday about religion and God, and day-by-day I think I’m learning more about my spirituality. I love helping other people, and trying to see things from the point of view of the person concerned. I think I like to live my life according to some Christian values; I just don’t have any room in my life for the belief in a higher power. I would love to believe in God, but I don’t, and I would love to go to church, but I don’t believe in God, so where does that put me? I feel like since high school, after I realized Catholicism wasn’t for me, I have been looking for my spiritual place in the world, or maybe just a group of people that I could relate to on a level like that. As ironic as it may be, the only outlet I feel like I can relate to in that way is this man I’ve seen on television, Joel Osteen. It’s ironic because he’s an evangelical minister, and I’m pretty much an atheist, but I really respect and take comfort in some of the things he has to say. He obviously believes in God, so it’s not a perfect fit, but I don’t feel like his sermons are God centered, I feel like they are compassion centered. Maybe I can connect to the world spiritually through humanitarian work, and fill the void that way.. but on the other hand that would make my work selfish. I’ve been thinking about that a lot since I’ve been here, humanitarianism at what cost. The Christian organizations that come here do wonderful work, but their primary goal is to be saved, so doesn’t that make them selfish? I’m going through a whole lot of soul searching here as I’m sure you can read, hopefully by the time I’m about to bungee jump into the Nile I’ll have some answers for myself..

 

 

hi god, it's me, mulu

June 29^th 2008

 

This morning I woke up to the girls from the convent outside on the compound singing as they walked to church. I have never felt so content in one place before, or more confident working my way through the day without any caffeine. I still have to pinch myself all of the time to remind me that I am here, and that I get to ride around Gulu on a motorcycle all day. I’ve actually been taking better care of myself here than I do at home. I take a multi vitain everyday, and aside from my guilty pleasure (cold fanta) I’ve pretty much been drinking lot of water.

 

This morning Bri, Matt, Jo and I walked through the compound to catch a Boda into town. We were walking to the road as  church was getting out, and I as able to practice saying good morning (ichoo mabey). I like being around the nuns as much as we have. It’s funny because I used to run away from nuns, now I spend most of my time with them. Sister Appelonia calls us her children, and she is always there with a huge bear hug when we need her. Last night she had the nuns boil water for us, and I was able to have a hot shower, a super luxury here.

 

We traveled to Alice so Matt could get measured for the shorts her sister is making him. We got to meet her two sisters and her mother, which was very nice. Afterwards we headed over to the IC house to have a few meetings, one to reflect on some of the speakers we have seen, and another to discuss Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Discussing Confessions was the first tie I felt comfortable speaking up and really putting my opinion into a group conversation here as far as academics is concerned. Some of the people who have been here last year can be, for lack of a better or nicer term, territorial, and I have been shy about what I say or being too outspoken. Confessions, however, is a book that I enjoyed and really gobbled up, so because I’ve been here for a little while now I was able to articulate what I wanted to intelligently and with confidence.

 

John, Jen, Josh, Jo and I went to Mac Café for lunch and I had the avocado vinaigrette, this awesome salad with huge slices of avocados. Again, we ordered food on Ugandan time so we waited about an hour and a half for the food, so we didn’t have time to do much else, as we had to be back at the IC house at 3 to leave for St. Jude’s orphanage.

 

The orphanage is run by a group of Italian NGO’s, who are very active in Uganda. I wasn’t expecting to be as floored as I was, big istake on my part. Five minutes after I got there I met a little girl named Clemontina, and she attached herself to me until I left. She is 7 years old but has the body and development of a three year old. We played a game that she loved where I would hold her in my arms and shake my butt and move up and down while tickling her, and if I stopped she would move her little butt in my arms so I would do it again. I would also put her down and run away about 40 feet and turn around towards her and kneel on the ground and she would run towards me. When she got to me I would grab her an throw her into the air and catch her, and her laughter was the best sound I have ever heard in my life. Little Clemontina was very vehement about sticking with me, and would get pretty angry if I would put her down and play with other children. Leaving was very hard because it was heartbreaking. Adoption in Uganda is almost impossible due to the three-year residence rule, but if it was a little easier I would definitely try. Sarah and I, the two special ed teachers of the group, were talking with some Spanish aid workers that were visiting the site, and they told us they desperately needed help with their students with disabilities. Sarah and I are going to go there on a Tuesday before we leave and see what we can do.

 

Tonight we ate dinner at the IC house and then went over to the Kope Café for movie night. We watched Charlie Wilson’s War with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and I enjoyed it a lot.

africans know how to party

Today was one of the most incredible days of my life, from start to finish. I feel so blessed to be in Africa and to be in Gulu, the people here are so sweet and welcoming and appreciative.

 

I traveled with Amy, Matt and Casey to Saint Mary’s in Lacor today to meet our teachers and it was about a 10 minute Boda ride from the compound. We met up in the teacher’s lounge and went over our schedules and walked around the school for a little bit. Alice is so nice and open, she seems like one of the most laid back people that I have ever met. The school only has eight classrooms, and in one day Alice teaches every grade of secondary school. The largest class is S1 (freshmen) and there are about 179 students. Next week I will be observing her all week, so we both decided that it would be better to figure out how we would plan then. The school was fairly empty because it’s Saturday, but I was able to meet a couple of the students. There is one girl in the school in a wheelchair, their only “special ed” student, and I got a chance to speak with her a little bit. Coming from a special ed teacher’s perspective, it still blows my mind that special education is limited to physical disabilities, and not cognitive.

 

The three teachers from Lacor, Alice, Dennis, and William went out to lunch with Matt, Casey and I. Alice and Dennis drove Casey and I on their Boda’s, and Matt caught a ride with a local Boda driver from town because William, his teacher, thinks the Boda’s aren’t safe, which I kind of agree with. Unfortunately I can’t get over how fun they are, and I find myself smiling like an idiot when I’m on them, which only gives me a mouth full of brown teeth because the roads are so dusty. It hasn’t rained here in weeks, and every night I come home with a darker layer of dirt on my skin. I’ll try and take a picture of my feet tonight, because Lord of the Rings is the only way I can describe how nasty my feet are. Alice took me a back way through town, and we passed Lacor hospital, which is run by Italian doctors and nurses. It also has locl NGO’s working there, and the work they do for the local people is so helpful. They provide everything from immunizations to gynecological care, and give the people a general snse of well being. I originally thought that the women delivered their babies at home here, but to my surprise they have maternitey wards in both local hospitals. When I was riding on Alice’s boda I had to sit side saddle because I was wearing a skirt (imagie sitting side saddle on a motorcycle), and I had to hold one hand over my knees because they were exposed, and exposing your knees is equivalent to flashing someone your breasts here, no joke. Another difference in language here that I find very interesting is the word they use for turning, they say branching.

 

Alice’s Boda got a flat on the way into town, and conveniently there were a few mechanics (?) sitting near the road and they patched it up in just a few minutes. While we were standing there however, a white pickup truck with Acholi music blasting from speakers on the truck bed drove past with a lot of men running after it in Manchester United tee shirts. Football is huge here, and the Eurocup is occupying most of the men’s conversations.

 

We got back on our way, and met up with casey and the other St. Mary’s teachers at a restaurant called the Franklin. It was very inexpensive and the service was fast, which is very rare for Gulu. Kyle told me later on today that he waited 3 hours for his food today. After we ate the teachers treated us to some beers on the patio of the restaurant, and I was able to have another Nile special, an amazing beer that is brewed in Jinja, at the source of the Nile. The bottles are about 16 ounces, and I felt a little tired after I drank it, but the male teachers wanted to keep going! We politely declined however.

 

Alice doesn’t drink as her ex husband (of 2 weeks), is an alcoholic, and would abuse her.  She told me this the night we met. She has three beautiful little girls and she lives with her parents now. When I asked her if she was happy she said yes, and that her girls never asked for their father because they used to witness the abuse. Unfortunately in Gulu, many men and women are alcoholics as a result of the insurgency. Just today, on the way from St. Mary’s to downtown, Alice and I saw a man literally laying spread eagle on the side of the road, hands in the bush and legs on the dustry street. I thought he may have been dead, but Alice said that he was kidnapped by Kony when he was just six years old, so when he was rescued at 16, reassimilating was almost impossible for him. Alice said he spends most of his days drunk.

 

Alice took us to the market after lunch, and I was able to sneak some video because I held my camera down next to my knees. There is a term they use here called “conflict tourism”, where foreigners come to take pictures of human suffering, but don’t have an intention to help the situation. Even with shopping in the market, you have to “walk with purpose” as Amy says, and refrain from window-shopping. The people know that Americans have the money to shop, and just perusing is regarded as a large insult.

 

We went to a graduate party with Sister Appelonia tonight and I danced my butt off! Best night ever, and I took a lot of video!

 

 

avocados

Friday Night June 27, 2008

 

This morning we went to the IC house for conferences before lunch, and we heard from Houston, the assistant director of invisible children first. He gave us a talk about the local NGO organizations and what they were doing in Gulu district. There are so many people here trying to help, and ironically, the only organization that he said had a fairly bad reputation was the Salvation Army. Apparently the SA came into Gulu and built buildings that fell down pretty soon after they were erected. Since then they have pretty much left Northern Uganda, something I find kind of strange since in the states the Salvation Army is so prevalent. Kristen bought me a recorder for the trip and I’ve been using it almost daily for these conferences.

 

Houston finished speaking around 11, and after that we headed out in a group to town to have lunch and see the market place. The women here wear beautiful scarves and I really want one to take home with me. 

 

John, Kyle, Sarah Jen and I went over to Mac Café because we heard it was quick, and then we planned to head to the market to do some shopping. We were able to get a copy of the Monitor when we sat down, and there was a story about members from the LRA leaving the peace talks in protest of Joseph Kony. A lot of the information we are receiving about the failed peace talks is confusing, and I’m starting to get the feeling that even the members involved are getting shady information. Kyle and I were talking about it today, and we realized that since Kony is in the bush, maybe the members of his brigade are telling the international politicians different information that even he is giving them. Kony’s education is only up to Primary 7, so I’m starting to see the problem in negotiating peace talks with a man who left school at the age of 12. How can a president who’s family tribe runs most of the country negotiate with a man who doesn’t know anything but the bush? I’m trying to stay as informed as possible and I’m going to keep reading the monitor everyday to stay informed.

 

On the way to the café we walked past a primary school that must have been out at recess. As soon as we were spotted a little boy pointed at us from about 100 yards away and screamed MULUS! (white people) and about 60 kids ran up to the fence and were yelling out Hi and How are you? And sticking their hands through the fence to touch us and see how we felt. Their little faces were so adorable, and the pure innocence and curiosity in their faces was overwhelming.

 

Lunch was very good, but we went to the Mac café because we heard it was fast, but that wasn’t the case. Ordering food in Uganda is kind of hit or miss in terms of when it is actually going to show up at your table. I have been trying to play it as safe as possible and try foods sparingly, and the best option I have found so far is rice. I’m looking forward to trying more and more Ugandan food, but I’m taking baby steps. Thanks to my training at Rutt’s Hutt though my stomach is now made of steel. I ended up eating the vegetable stir fry, which came with beef (weird), and I found myself instantly jealous of Jen’s meal of avocados.

 

We didn’t have time after lunch to see the market, and we had to be back at the IC house at 2 so we just headed back. I wanted to take a boda boda (motorcycle taxi), but Phil and I met up and ended up taking the walk.

 

David, the Chief education officer for IC spoke to us after lunch about the effect of the war on education in Northern Uganda, and Norman, the father of Jolie (the directeor of IC’s dad), spoke to us about Acholi culture and dance. Norman was a little controversial because of his remarks about homosexuality and rape. Homosexuality is completely taboo in Uganda, and he made it a point to tell the group that as teachers we need tobe role models, and behavior such as homosexuality is completely unacceptable. He also made a reference to women being raped because of the clothing they were wearing, and that also didn’t sit well with the women in thr group. As a whole, however, I found his talk to be amazingly enlightening, and I look forward to going to Heals where he works to watch the students practice their traditional dances after school.

 

Dinner was planned at the Kope Café tonight where we met our new teachers that we would be working with. Kope café was actually put into action by an intern at IC named Jamie who stayed here in Uganda for a year to set it up. Donations can be made through Kope to Heals.

 

After I met Alice I felt immediately better about the entire trip as a whole. Aside from meeting my students it was the last roadblock I felt that I had to get through before really feeling comfortable here. Alice is 29 and has three children that are 7, 5, and 4. She was so welcoming and sweet, and I immediately felt like we got along. Our head mistress walked past us and cracked a joke that we look the same because we are both skinny. We spoke all evening about eduction and picked each other’s brains about cultural differences and how we could learn from each other. For example, I have to stop using the word “silly” because in Uganda its connotation means “stupid”, where as here the word “stubborn” means silly while in the States “stubbon” has almost a negative connotation. The schools also spell everything according the the British system, so I had to remind Alice that I may need some help remembering the words, although I think I know most of the differences. I was also worried about how I would get to school in the mornings, as it is about 20 minutes away from the compound that I’m staying at. A boda ride would be pretty rough on my butt because these roads are bumpy and unpaved, and buying a bike is an option but then I’m not sure what I would do when it was raining. Alice told me that she rides her motorcycle past the compound everyday though, and that she would pick me up in the mornings at 7:30.

 

After the teachers went home we had an impromptu dance party in the café. Ashley set up her Ipod and we danced our white asses off to Flo-rida and Dr. Dre with some of the locals and just let loose. It was so much fun, just one more memory that is making this the best trip of my life.

 

I’m going to go upload some of Matt’s pictures and then I’m going to shower all of the red dust off of me. I’ve never been so fake tan in my entire life. I spend all day looking tanned and as soon as I wash off I’m back to my white pasty French self.

 

I’ll write more tomorrow!

 

 

"hip hop saved my life"

June 27, 2008 Friday

 

It’s about 7:45 am and I was the first person up this morning to take a shower, pretty out of the ordinary for me. I think I found the cure to a life without red bull, and that’s taking a shower standing up in a tub. There isn’t a shower faucet, just the faucet for the tub, but no plug, so I stand up in the shower, take cold water from a nearby Tupperware, and pour it all over myself. Then I soap up, and take another cup of cold water and rinse myself off. Washing my hair is a whole other process all together. The girls have paired up in teams to wash each other’s hair because it takes a lot of cups of water and some serious scrubbing. The roads here aren’t paved and very, very dusty, so when I come home at night I’m always covered in what we call the Gulu spray tan. On our way up here form Kampala in the bus I put on sunscreen thinking that my arms would get really sun burnt if I hung them out the window. When we finally got up to Gulu, like an idiot, I told Josh who was sitting next to me that I was stoked because I actually tanned and didn’t burn. It wasn’t until I took a shower that night and watched my new “tan” run down the drain that I realized I was just dirty. I thank my lucky stars now that I was a dirt ball at times in the dorms because it has made my adjustment to every day Africa life a lot easier.

 

 

This morning we are traveling to the IC house to have another language lesson this morning, and also another lesson with Dennis, the man who spoke to us about colonialism yesterday. Tonight at dinner we are going to meet our teachers from Gulu that we will be working with, and I’m really excited to see what my teacher has to say, and to discover what the kids are learning in class now.

 

Hopefully I can make it to the market today. I’ve seen women with beautiful scarves wrapped around their necks and around their soldiers and I definitely would like to tak home a few.

 

Since I have been here my mind has been racing with possibilities of what I can do to help in the future. So much work needs to be done here that it is almost impossible to regard this trip as my last. I feel like these 6 weeks will just be orientation and after that I might have an idea of what I can REALLY do to help.

 

I spoke to Sara, an ESL teacher from IC last night about special education in Uganda, and she told me that it doesn’t exist. The teachers look at deaf students, blind students and other physical handicaps as “special education”, but a student with dyslexia for example doesn’t stand a chance, and will not make it to high school, as every student’s chance to move forward is based upon an end of the year test. Gulu town has one special education office and there is one person working there to serve all of Northern Uganda, it’s unbelievable.

 

I also got a chance to meet an amazingly dynamic group of people in Kampala, the Bavubuka crew. They are a group of hip hop artists including the best rapper of Uganda, Silas B, (I guess their Jay-Z) who have a house in Kampala that they open up to youths on the holidays and weekends. There was even a girl living with them from Philadelphia who came over to help teach African dance, hip hop and theater to the kids. I can honestly say that they were the first group of people on this trip that inspired me to do something, and to go further with teaching to help whomever I can. They told me that I was always welcome, and that they would love for me to come and help whenever I have a break from school. If you get a chance, try and You Tube the Bavubuka crew, they’re amazing. They told me that their influences are socially conscious hip hop, like Talib Quali, Common, Mos Def and Lupe Fiasco. I can’t wait to spend more time with them in the future, we’ll be seeing them again when we return to Kampala.

who knows...

June 26^th 11:13pm

 

Today was my first full day in Gulu and we finally went out into the town and experienced what it was like to interact with the locals and experience Northern Uganda in it’s purest form. Today we woke up to breakfast that Sister Appelonia and the nuns put out for us. I can’t express how amazing it is to wake up to fresh pineapple and Mandazi, fresh bread and butter.

 

After breakfast around 8:30 we got into the back of our truck and were driven the very bumpy 10 minute ride to the invisible children house in the middle of town. When we got there we were given a very good intro into what invisible children does in Gulu by the PR chair Kelly. I was definitely shocked by the extent of their work and how deep this program goes into trying to help Nrthern Uganda reach a sustainable way of life. The organization does everything from partnering teachers from the states with schools in Northern Uganda, to creating microeconomic projects for the people in IDP camps to help them create their own incomes and to help them move home eventually.

 

After the PR talk we were given a language lesson by Dennis, a Acholi man who works with invisible children. I was so overwhelmed by the accents and all of the new words that I need to learn, but just like French I think I have to just go into town and give it a try. So far the words that I’ve used in town are Apoyo and Ko Pen Go, which mean hello and what’s up.

 

All of us went over to a buffet in town for lunch, and the fact that I can drink cold Fanta is pretty amazing. I definitely still have to get used to the food because there are a lot of beans and potatoes over here and the food sits really heavy in my stomach. The restaurant was very open and airy and we all got to sit at a table together. After lunch we went back to the IC house and had a discussion about the affects of colonization on Uganda. The speaker Dennis was so dynamic it was hard to take my eyes off of him. I think the most important concept that I took away from the discussion was that colonization is dependent on perspective.  Dennis, the speaker, said that he personally is torn on the topic because he sees the benefits that colonization has had on education, but at the same time some of the Acholi people are in fact losing their identities by thinking that the western way of thinking is the “right” way. Some of the Acholi people in town go by “Christian” names that they picked, and some of them are names like Bill Clinton, Abraham Lincoln, and even 50 cent. What I love about IC is that they are intent on keeping the Acholi people’s traditions intact, while improving education as much as they can.

First things first

From this point on my posts will probably be full of typos and kind of rambly...sorry! Thanks for the comments it's so nice to know you are thinking about me!!

God I miss bagels!


Blog #1 6/23

I can hear the screeching of monkeys in the trees above me. Those little maniacs woke me up this morning at 5am. I’m sitting in the hostel with the invisible children crew, and in about an hour we will go to visit the American embassy.



So far I feel like my trip has been a whirlwind of travel and early mornings. The flight from JFK to Dubai was long but never boring, I’m still impressed by everything they had on that plane. I watched two movies, The Other Bolyn Girl and 27 Dresses, and I watched a few episodes of friends. The food on the plane was pretty good, and they kept it coming about every 3 hours to keep us entertained I guess. There were stars on the cabin ceiling and the flight attendants came around every once and a while with these hot washcloths that smelled like mint and lavender. I can definitely say that Emirates air was the best airline that I have ever flown.



The heat in Dubai hits you like a ton of bricks. As soon as we stepped outside of the air conditioned, freezing airport, 100-degree weather greeted us like a wall of heat. Stepping outside onto the Dubai streets, the first thing I noticed was that almost every car was expensive. There were BMW’s and Lexus’ everywhere, and get this: their gas is only one dollar a gallon! It’s funny, because my experience in other countries has shown me that the materials that are produced there are not always distributed to the national first. It’s funny, but when I was 15 in Ireland I remember my tour guide showing me a Viagra factory, and told me that even though it was made in Ireland, the Irish men couldn’t get it in the stores for months after America did. I guess the citizens of Dubai are laughing all the way to the gas station. One dollar a gallon, unbelievable.



We took a shuttle bus from the airport to our hotel, we were getting on a flight to Adis Abbaba, Ethiopia the next morning. My wishes came true when everyone else in the group was up for an adventure, and after a half hour at the hotel, we were on our way to the Dubai mall, where they have the indoor ski slope. The taxi ride to the mall was amazing, we passed palm island (even though I couldn’t really see it), and we passed the largest building in Dubai. When the taxi drivers would go over the speed limit, their cars would tell them to slow down. A voice would come out of the stereo and would say, “over speed limit” or something like that. Our cab driver turned it off after about 5 minutes in the car, or at least muted it.



The mall was definitely amazing, and I got one of the best smoothies that I have ever had there. It was called strawberry delicious, and it definitely was. Some people from the group went on the indoor ski slope, and I walked around with some people to check out the stores. We only spent about an hour there, and after we went back to our hotel to eat dinner.



My roommate in Dubai was Breawna, a 26-year-old teacher from San Diego. We’re actually both going to be staying in the monastery together in Gulu, and it’s been really nice getting to know her. Everyone in the group has been great so far, and are from all over the country. My Jersey accent has already been noticed, and I think I have to work on the way I say “all” because apparently I saw “awl”.



Sleeping in Dubai was hard for me, partly because of the time difference and travel time, and also because I was so nervous for Uganda. I slept the whole plane ride the next day though, so I guess it worked out for the best.



Landing in Entebbe, Uganda was so moving. Everything is so green, and the trees are beautiful. We took a Matatu (kind of like a bus) to the hostel, and my eyes would have been bugging out of my head if I weren’t so tired. Everything is different, from the red dirt roads to the maniac Boda Boda drivers (motorcycles) to the different smells that I couldn’t identify.

The hostel is very cool, very colorful, and full of people from all over the world. All of us girls are staying in a dorm together, last night and tonight, and thankfully no one snores! This hostel is very nice, and was a great introduction to my first of many cold showers. There’s a pool table here and the internet, and the food is pretty good. I haven’t had any awful reactions yet which is great.



Today we’re going to visit the American Embassy in Kampala, and after lunch we are going to visit a secondary school as well. I’m super excited about visiting the schools; I can’t wait to see what the dynamic is like. We’re going shopping as well, and hopefully I can get an internet adaptor for this computer, because as of right now I have to put everything on a flash drive.



I’ll definitely write more when we get back tonight, and if I can figure out how to upload pictures I’ll do that too. As of right now I miss the states so much, but I’m looking forward to immersing myself once we get to Gulu and just throwing myself into it.

Leaving Kampala..

Hello from Kampala, Uganda everyone! This is actually my second blog, but because the macbook air was NOT made for Uganda, I'll have to post that later.

I've been staying at the backpacker's hostel in Uganda for 2 days now, and after lunch we are finally going to take the long, bumpy, 6 hour car ride to Gulu, where I will be staying for the next 5 weeks.

Our first night at backpacker's was great, and a really good opportunity for everyone to meet and get to know each other. Last night was great because we visited a secondary school that is supposed to be the best school in Uganda, I suppose to give us an idea of what the kids are missing up in Gulu. It was amazing to walk around and see the campus, we even got to go into the teachers office and meet with them. There were signs everywhere around campus about the danger of AIDS and promiscuous sex, it as very apparent that the disease is a huge problem within the school.

I don't have much time, it's very early and all of us are packing up our stuff for the long drive. This morning we are going to visit a Ugandan rapper that created a community house for local kids to express themselves musically, and then we'll be back here for lunch.

I'm a little homesick but excited for Gulu!

I'll write more from the north :)