First Post from Uganda

First day of official wifi (I had enough in the airport to text mom and dad that I had made it)!  

I  arrived on January 2, after 30 some hours without sleep I arrived with 14 other girls to Entebbe. From there, it was a 3 hour trip to my new home, Mukono. An interesting fact that I wasn't aware of was that they drive on the opposite side of the road as we do it the States. This lead to what I  felt was a giant game of chicken. The roads are paved, but have many different pot holes. John, our driver, tried to miss the bumps, which put us in the different lane. I  was completely safe and we weren't anywhere close to having an accident...it just felt super weird. 

My new home away from home is beautiful. It has 7,000 undergrad students which is much larger than I   thought. I haven't gotten lost yet, but it will come sooner than later probably. Palm trees, mountain hills, monkeys and colorful dresses are everywhere. I even have an avocado tree outside my door, still unsure on whether or not I  can eat it from the tree. I  live with a fellow American student, Gracie, and we should have two Uganda students move in sometime.  Our PA, program assistant, explained that housing is treated more like a suggestion here and so they may move in soon but they also may not.  I  live in Sabiti, which has a similar feel to West Hall (Dordt reference) but Sabiti has communal bathrooms and less square footage. We have two bunkbeds (I  sleep on the bottom bunk because the malaria net is really easy to hang then), two wardrobes and two dressers. I’m doubtful any other furniture will fit. I  live right across from the bathroom which is super nice. 

In Uganda, it is quite frequent to have whats called a pit latrine. So basically it’s a hole in the floor with piping. We have two of those and two toilets without the seat. A local explained that it was really gross to sit on what other people pee on. Makes sense, but major cultural shock walking into the bathroom Thursday morning. They also don’t provide toilet paper. Luckily, a new friend had a spare roll I can use until we go into Mukono and buy some. 

They also don’t have hot water, so cold water is now rebranded as “refreshing” because that’s all I have to shower. My PA said she could show us how to heat it, but it sounds like way too much work. I  would have to get an electric kettle and then take a bucket bath one pitcher full at a time.

Thursday we walked up “monkey hill.” It’s a beautiful over look on the town. 

They don't have fences to stop cattle. I    prefer a fence, but he didn't hurt me so we're okay.

It rained quite a bit, which cools it down a lot but also makes the roads sticky. 

Today (Friday) 

I  had orientation start today. One of my favorite facts was that I am the 812 student in the Ugandan Studies Program and I  am the 19th from Dordt college. It's just comforting to know that this program has had so many people come before me. At orientation for breakfast, I  had chipata (I have no idea how to spell it) it’s basically a tortilla. There’s a stand outside my campus that sells it, I’m super excited. We also had Ugandan tea, which is made with milk and is very sweet like a Smokey Row chai almost. I think I’m going to drink it everyday, It’s super yummy. Totally out of order but I’ve had rice and some sort of sauce for every meal since I  got here. I’m happy to report that I  actually enjoy it. I  will be able to supplement my diet with the local fruit & veggies. 

I got an old school Nokia phone, which is super exciting to be able to communicate! It will cost me 7500 Ugandan Shillings to have an hour on the phone to the United States. I  believe that is around $2 but it’s not exact. It’s basically a prepaid plan, I’ve yet to put any minutes on it yet but it will happen eventually. If you get a call from a Ugandan phone, it will only charge me like $2 and it won’t charge you. It’s pretty neat actually. The money is very colorful and I absolutely love it, but I still am unsure how to use it and what is “fair” or not.

I  went to the library today, interestingly enough you cannot take your bag into the library. You have to do a bag check of sorts. I    was told that I  look smart, in Uganda you dress “Ugandan smart”  which is basically you look professional. Literally an answer to prayers, the dress code was making me nervous. 

I'll just leave you with this: