Monkeys, Monkeys and More Monkeys...

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that I got to Uganda safely - and to give you a few snippets from the first few days that I've been here.

My trip went extremely well, considering that I traveled apart from the rest of the group and it took me at least 48 hours to get here and another 8 hours or so to actually get to the university. I didn't sleep much during the trip and am definitely still trying to make up for that. Thankfully I think that getting little sleep has really eliminated all jet lag for the most part.

I flew out of Cleveland on Sunday afternoon and then took an overnight flight from JFK to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is a ridiculously rich nation and their airport reflected that...there are shops lined all the way down the terminal, which seems like it goes on for miles. I landed there on Monday night and had an overnight layover there until Tuesday morning, when I got on a plane which took me from Dubai to Entebbe, Uganda with a stop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The flights themselves were very nice - Emirates is a great airline - and they pretty much stuffed my face with so much food that I couldn't possibly eat it all. I probably watched 5 movies on my own little personal tv on the way from JFK to Dubai. When I landed in Entebbe I had to wait about 6 hours in the airport for the rest of the group to get there, but the Ugandans practice hospitality like nobody's business and many Ugandans talked to me and welcomed me to their country. After the rest of the group came, we hopped on a bus and drove through Kampala to the town of Mokono where the school is located. I was too tired to really notice anything and it was pitch black anyway...

I'm staying in a dorm on campus with a few other students from my program and most of the last couple days has been composed of orientation sessions. We are traveling to Rwanda tomorrow for nine days and so we have been preparing for that and also just talking about general rules, safety and health. Yesterday we took a bus to Kampala to visit this gigantic mall and the tombs of the most recent Bugandan kings...all in all it has been a wonderful experience so far.

Here are some small snapshots that I think you may enjoy:
-waking up every morning to the sound of monkeys playing in the trees outside my window...
-hiking up hills in a skirt - and seeing more monkeys in the trees...
-walking through the town of Mokono and having literally EVERYONE stare at you and yell "Mizungu!" (white person in Luganda)
-taking VERY cold showers...sometimes even in the dark...I guess it's better that they really have no mirrors to see what I look like...
-washing my clothes by hand for the first time in a bucket...
-driving on the wrong side of the road!
-pedestrians = last leg on the totem pole when it comes to road etiquette...
-squatty toilets...
-lots and lots of bugs...but really that terrible...
-beautiful weather every day! low 80's and sunny...

I'll be sure to update more when I come back from Rwanda, but that's all until then!