Mzungu and Mashed Potatoes!!!

Hello all my dear friends...

I am in Uganda!!!!!

First let me catch you up on my journey to get here. Last we left off I was not sleeping in the airport. Thanks to some crafty thinking by Will, I met up with some other guys headed to Entebbe in the airport and they were great. 12 hour layovers are much better when you have people to hang out it. We hit the Irish Pub...mmm...of course and then some dunkin donuts and headed out to our flight.

The flight goes to Entebbe via a stop in Addis Ababa....oh wesley...I couldn't help but sing the Circle of Life intro that I don't know the real words to because it looks JUST LIKE IT!!! Especially when you use the cool TV option that Emirates has to watch through the camera at the front of the plane. Also, remind me never to fly Ethiopian Airlines because when you enter the aiport they have an airplane graveyard for the planes that have retired for one reason of another. And there are goats, yes goats, eating the grass that has grown up around them. Not very comforting when you are landing.

So anyway...UGANDA! The view from above is beautiful and green. And from the ground too. I made friends with the guy who gave my my visa. Picked up my luggage and met the director of my program, Leslie and another volunteer, Shawnell, who is from Santa Cruz, CA. Leslie is from Canada too, Mere...scatcha-something. Or however you spell it.

From the airport we drove through Entebbe to Kampala and then to Mukono town. I cannot describe the buildings here adequately. The buildings on the road are concrete with no doors and open air. The tops are painted with advertisements for local cell phone companies and other big companies like that. So you don't know exactly what the store is selling unless you are up close. There are people EVERYWHERE, bodabodas (motocyclists-cheap transport) and taxis (small buses FILLED with people), special hires (cars for transport), and others driving their own car..which is pretty rare. Leslie has her own car. It's some kind of crazy driving too. Really scary. There is not much attention paid to lanes and pedestrians do NOT have the right away. But it's fun...kind of like a fast and furious adventure.

We got to our guest house in Mukono town and got a short tour. The guest house does not have running water or a western toilet. Instead there is a washroom with hole in the corner and small buckets to sponge bath out of and a pitcher to help wash longer hair like mine. The hole in the corner is used to dispose of the bathwater. There is an upright faucet that we add water too to wash hands and brush teeth. And then outside...are the latrines (sp?). Oh boy...was this fun. This was my first latrine experience. They are interesting. Flies during the day and cockroaches at night. 3 of us girls ventured out as a group last night with our headlamps (thank you thank you thank you David!). And there were roaches everywhere. And as most of you know...that's like my greatest fear next throwing up! But I survived. I'm not going to lie, I cried. And then I sucked it up. Now I'm used to it. Although...I think I'll steer clear as much as I can at night.

Our housekeeper, Esther made us dinner and it was FANTABULOUS! mashed potatoes, green beans, and stewed english peas and tomatoes. Really really good. Then Shawnell and I went to bed at about 10 because we hadn't slept in 48 hours. Got up pretty late this morning and tried out the washing my hair in a bucket..and it actually was not that bad. I hadn't showered in three days so i think anything would be great. But really...it wasn't bad. Breakfast: toast, boiled eggs, and pineapple, and African tea. all local. YUM!

Now we're out touring Mukono town and we've stopped at the internet cafe and the best meals hotel for lunch. I stopped at the pharmacy to get some re-hydration salts because I'm feeling a little dehydrated. It doesn't matter how much you drink...for westerners...you still feel like you can't get enough.

I love it here. The people are so friendly. life is slow. i like slow. And all the kids and people yell Mzungu (white person) at us. So we greet and smile and wave. It's wonderful. And very safe Dad and Gams...safer than the states. I can promise you that. I need to head up for a spot of lunch but I will post later.

p.s. our volunteer crew is 4 americans (MS/TX, Montana, CA, Connecticut), an Irish girl, a Korean lady names sun-young who is my partner, and Robbie from the UK. They're all great. LOVE IT!

love you too!
e