So I will start off by telling you about my arrival in Uganda. We were greeted off the plane by Ian who is the Project Trust Ugandan representative. He has been living here for 16 years and was so nice and welcoming. We all then piled into a van and were taken to his house where we would be staying for our first night and day in Uganda. The girls however stayed at his neighbour Miriams house who had an immaculate garden! We also met Eugene who works with Ian as another kind of project trust representative he was giving us a briefing of Uganda and little tips to help us throughout the year. That day Eugene had organised 4 of his friends to show us around the capital of Uganda, Kampala. I was pretty tired before hand as I had only had 1 hour sleep but being in Kampala is definitely a good way to waken you up! Its crazy! So many people and traffic, I'm not really sure what the rules are when it comes to traffic here but there didn't seem to be many as boda bodas (motorbikes) would mount the pavement to get through the traffic jams and people just weave their way through the traffic as it does move pretty slowly. There are also vans full of speakers that blast music through the streets (There is also one in Mityana) The pavements are also filled with people selling things like fruit that are lying on cardboard on the floor. I actually really enjoyed the buzz of it all there was so much to look at! The taxi pit was something that blew me away as it was basically just a pit full to the brim of taxis trying to edge there way out of the pit. In between the tiny spaces there were between taxis there were women and children sitting on the muddy ground selling fruit on the bits of cardboard. I don't know how they didn't get squashed! After our exciting day in Kampala we all went back to Ians house to sleep and get ready for our departures to our projects the next day.
The next day Jessica and I were introduced to our amazing host Deo who runs and funds the salvation school we will be teaching at. He has the most contagious laugh and is so chatty and does so much for the school and kids where we are at. We then left the other volunteers and headed to our project with Deo. The more we drove the more rural it got. With shacks scattered at the sides of the road selling bananas, rice, and some hanging meat out in the sun (not quite sure how hygienic that is) and with kids running around outside barefooted and women hand washing their clothes and cooking outside, it was suddenly dawning on me that I was truly in Uganda. It also amazed me just how green and beautiful Uganda really is, There are long orange dusty roads and contrasting green bushes and trees and all sorts of fruit trees around it. Its amazing!
After about a 2 hour drive we had arrived at our project. We got out the car and were greeted by 3 kids and one older girl (about our age) they were all squeeling with excitmenet and insisted on taking some of our bags. We were then shown to our new home! It was pretty basic to begin with, with enough room for 2 beds, a chair and some shelves. We have now made it very homely with all our pictures and decorations. We then sat outside with deo and met some of our neighbours. We met Maria and Joseph who are our neighbours and are so kind. We also met Rosie, Tallemoi and Sseta who live next to us. They are so sweet and have the cheekiest smiles! Rosie is a little bit younger than us but has pretty good english. The others however dont have that much and a lot of the kids here have none at all really. Thankfully Deo has been giving us Lugandan lessons everyday so I am actually picking up quite a few things and it is getting a bit easier! Ive learnt things like "lwaki to wandiika?" - why arent you writing? and "Ogenda wa?" Where are you going? And a lot more! The kids also love it when you make mistakes as I accidently said "mpa amazzi" instead of "mpa amazz" so instead of saying I want some water I said I want some poo.. they found it hilarious! Deo has also taken us to Myanzi and Mityana, he introduced us to a lot of his friends like Alex the carpenter as Deo is wanting to get some wood to make runners for the water that they can collect during rainfall season. We actually have arrived at rainfall season. The rain is crazy! When we were in Kampala there was a sudden outburst of rain. This is not Scottish rain,this is huge rain droplets that get you soaking in a second and comes down in tonnes! Everyone in Kampala stopped and took shelter while the roads literally turned into rivers! However some Ugandans did make the most of it and came out selling umbrellas, they were on the ball!
We dont start teaching untill the 16th so untill then we are just getting to know the place and getting settled in. The school is literally attached to our room and is very basic. Its made out of papyrus and has one black board at the front. There are 6 classrooms, baby classroom, top classroom and p1,2,3 and 4 classrooms. Im hoping to make them look a bit more welcoming with some posters and maybe some welcome signs. During our first week here we have also met a lot of other kids that live close to us. They are all so sweet and appreciative of everything! The other day Jess and I brought out some crayons and paper and they were in heaven! We also have a mini pool table in our room left from previous volunteers and they love that as well, they can honestly play it for hours on end and not get bored! We collect our water from 3 near bore holes the closest one is a 10 minute walk away. There is a wee boy called Brian that accompanies us everytime we go there and makes sure our jerry cans get filled and walks us back. Hes also facanated by my camera. They all are really! However because I have no electricty to charge things I have to walk to Myanzi to get it charged there.
Behind our house there are pigs with one about to give birth, goats, muskavee ducks and chickens. We also have avacados, coffee beans, passion fruit, papya, sweet potatoes, jack fruit and more surrounding our house. the kids are always climbing the trees to get some jackfruit which is so sweet and juicy.
For the first week we didnt have a stove so Maria cooked us our food. It was actually pretty tasty we got casava ( like a really dense potato) beans, posho, sweet potatoes, banana pancakes, bananas (I dont think ive ever eaten so many amazing banans in my life!) and other things. However yesterday we went into myanzi with Edith to get our stove and we cooked our first meal in the dark which was pasta with tomatoes. I shared mine with tallemoi and sseta as they loved it so much. Its also crazy how quickly it gets dark here. At half 7 within 10 minutes it can go from light to dark! it was quite weird at first but were getting used to it. The stars are also amazing here ive never seen so many in my life!
During our week here we also painted some of the buildings , it was desperatly needed and is now a lovely blue colour. We also take the goats down to the grass to eat.
We are pretty busy all the time, there is always something to do here even if it is cleaning as things get dirty so quickly here. Feet especially! I have to dedicate some time aside to clean my feet and inspect them for jiggers! I think i got one yesterday either that or some dirt engraved in my foot.. Our room also gets pretty dusty so sweeping is a must! Hand washing clothes is getting easier. Ive learnt my lesson not to wear white socks. They will be orange for ever! I have been bitten quite a bit on my legs but we seem to be accomdation 3 lizards which im hoping will eat at least some of the hundreds and thousands of ants we have here!
If we have any spare time we also take little walks around the place is so funny as when we walk past homes kids will run out screaming "Bye Mzungu!!!" bye pretty much means hi as well as bye and mzungu meaning white person. We give them a wave and a "bye" and their jumping about with excitment! we also say "jambo sebo/nnyabo" to the adults and "oli otya?" I think they appreciate us trying!
I have a time limit on this computer so im trying to fit in as much as i can! but in a nutshell im loving it here! Were becoming pro's at bucket showers and cooking on a charcoal stove and were getting to know the people here more and more each day. Waking up to music as people cycle past and kids laughing is one of the best ways to wake up!
I will try to get to an internet cafe next month or earlier but I'm not sure how busy I will be when i start teaching. I will try my best though! thanks for reading, Abi
