And, My Trip Begins...

Monday, January 12, 2009

*Olliotia (this means “hello” in Luganda…but not sure if I spelled it right)

Uganda is a beautiful country that is filled with gorgeous, fresh green nature…our backyard is awesome…so big and the sunsets with colors of blazing orange. We are hot, all the time…it is probably about 90 degrees or higher. For me this year, winter = summer. By the end of the day, I feel sooo gross and need to take a shower.

The house is very nice. We have guards that stand by the gate and let us in. The house is very big…I live on the bottom floor with 5 other girls. Our room is of bunk beds and we have a bathroom with 3 showers, 3 sinks, and 1 toilet. The kitchen, dining area, and patio are on the bottom floor. Upstairs is where the other 6 girls and guys live as well as a comfy lounge and balcony. Our place is gorgeous, very clean, and good living. We have 1 cook, Grace, and 1 maid, Howa. They are native to the land and are very nice. I look forward to getting to know them. We also have a leader who lives at the house with us and is very fun.

Yesterday and today was a lot of orientation stuff. Today was exciting…we went to “the surgery” which is the doctors office to meet our doctor. He was a British man with an accent and an upfront honest person…definitely held nothing back. He made us laugh…and sometimes made us feel awkward, never knew what he was going to say. We also went into Kampala today. Our group was broken up into 4 smaller groups…we were all assigned Ugandan students who led us around and taught us how to use transportation…we call them “hired friends.” I was assigned to the group of Paul. He is very nice…Kampala is a crazy city. Boda bodas-motorcycles that are very dangerous, mutatus-buses, and cars go in all directions…plus, lots of crowded people walking around. We walked and used the mutatus to visit our school. I had to keep my hand over my bag so that nothing would be taken. Our school is very plain, but has a great view of the city. I took pictures J Then, we went to a next door ice cream place for a quick break…I got passion fruit juice, very good! We stayed there for a while because it began to pour down rain…we had to take cover. Anyway, after the rain stopped we caught a bus and drove home to a delicious meal.

Tomorrow we start our first day of classes beginning at 8:30 to 3:30 with a 2 hour break in between. I think during lunch and after school we will go exploring, I’m excited. Then, tomorrow night, we have a class where we can learn Luganda if we want, but it is not required. Also, every Wednesday night we will have worship/devotions together as a group. I like my group and am enjoying getting to know people. Life here is different but good. People are so different…this country is very poor and it is sometimes hard to see, but that is the reality here…as it is in much of the world.