Uganda- first glimpses

Hello from Uganda
Well after spending a very tiring day In Thailand I have finally made it to Uganda. Funnily enough on the plane from Thailand to Nairobi I was on the same flight as Beck for Latrobe CU- small world..

So stepping of the plane in Uganda I was welcomed by some out of season rain. I bought a visa for $30 US and walked out to be met by John Duffield and Levert- a Kenyan man that is a nurse for Bushikori and desperately wants to find a wife. So When John introduced us he said “don’t worry Ive already told Lervert that you have a bofriend”. phew

So we drove to Kampala and I saw my first glimpse of crazy Ugandan driving. In Uganda you make your own rules and just push your way through traffic. Whoever is bigger gets right of way...it means it can get a bit hairy sometimes when both drivers are just as stubborn as each other and neither wants to give way.
We saw lots of poverty on the side of the roads. People living in shacks with one room or just a shelter over their head. Most people in Uganda live in extreme poverty like this.
Actually it has amazed me how much things in this country clash. Ie. Most people own a mobile phone even though they may be dressed in rags and have no running water in their home. Other times you see flash looking cars drive up to a mud and straw shack, or a hut with a tv and DVD player…..this is actually something that explains a lot of why so many people in Uganda will never get out of the poverty cycle. They always buy something as soon as they have any money and they really don’t understand the concept of saving.
Ok so anyway in the streets of Kampala: red dusty roads that carried a range of vehicles such as mini vans known as Mutatu, that carry about 24 passengers when its meant to hold 12. These Mutatu often have crashes as they are driven by men who buy their license then learn how to drive. I also saw many little children begging and woman with limbs cut off.
We went to Nandos to meet someone and had a juice. My first nandos experience. Then we jumped in the car and headed to Mbale with is about 4 hours drive.
By this stage I was extremely tired. But I stayed awake the whole trip my eyes almost popping out at the amazing sights. On the way we stopped to get road side chicken on a stick which was quite an experience having 100 chickens stuffed in your face so you would buy one.
So I made it to John and Lynns and settled in. I made sure my mosquito net was securely in place and fell asleep.
Next day I went to Bushikori and met everyone.
I have spent many hours playing with this gorgeous little girl named violet. She fell into a cooking pot and got massive burns on her hip and leg. Her little sister Jenny also spends lots of time playing with us. They speak Lugisu so they are teaching me words like Duma= throw Amba=catch wanali=thankyou
I went for a walk yesterday and met some girls playing with a long string of elastic and they taught me how to play boda…one girl spent the whole time laughing histerically at my attempts to play. I soon leant how to jump and skip over the elastic the way they do…but I still cant master the turn on one foot between jumps.
I took some photos of them so I will have to learn how to upload my photos onto this blog so I can show you all.
Yesterday I caught a BodaBoda home, which is a bicycle with a padded seat on the back and you pay about 30cents for a man to ride you places. it was a pretty fun experience.
So far the food here has been pretty normal. At the Duufields house they eat western food so no difference, however at the school we get fed Ugandan style food. Im at eating a pancake type thing which I have forgotten the name. There are also HEAPS of bananas here so Ive been eating lots of them. So far Ive just been meeting people at the school and typing some admin letters or minutes from meetings so it hasn’t been too stressful. Today I will be heading down to a school for a special event for world Aids day.
I have also been told that they are wanting to have a summer camp for the children in the villages so ive been brainstorming ideas on how I can help out.
Ok well I will leave this update here and fill you in on more later.
God Bless

Testing My Blog spot

Just testing the wonderful idea of setting up a blog for the time that im Uganda.
Maz