Upon arrival in Uganda,
this is what was told to us and is is not to be confused with the phrase “You
Are Almost Welcome”. Well, it has been 52
days since I left everything behind and began the beginning to what I would
call the best experience of my life.
After a 16 hour flight to
South Africa and an 8 hour time difference, AKA a days worth of travel, my
fellow PCT’s and I were able to indulge in our first taste of Africa. Literally.
We drank smoothies that we out of this world. As we waited for our 5-hour connection flight
to Uganda, we played charades, slept, bought some duty-free items, and explored
the airport for our last warm shower.
That was a fail. We got into
Entebbe at about 6:00p, went through customs, and began the daunting task of gathering
the 135 or so bags. The airline managed
to only lose 1 bag, which was found soon thereafter. I would call that a success. We headed to Luezo Training Center for the
night since traveling after dark in Uganda is not preferred. After rolling in at about 9p, we were served
our first traditional Ugandan meal... Matooke. Mashed plantains. No, they are not sweet. They taste plain and are much better when
served immediately after cooking with a little chili sauce.
The following day started
our malaria prophylaxis medication, which was prefaced by saying that we may
experience vivid dreams. To this day I
have yet to have one. Some people have
experience night terrors and have had to be switched to a different medication
so I am not completely jealous. I’d like
to just have 1 fun dream to live in slash remember for the night. Is that too much to ask for?
We then headed off on
about a two hour or so trip to Wakiso District to an organic farm called
Kulika. This is where we spent
approximately 2 weeks getting acquainted with Peace Corps policies, receiving
vaccinations galore, learning about diarrhea and bowel movements, Uganglish, and
beginning language training. I have been
studying Ruyankore/Rukiga (R/R), which is spoken in the Southwest Region of
Uganda. Home to mountain gorillas, the
Southern Hemisphere, national parks, and me!
While at Kulika, I became
super close with 4 other girls. We may or
may not be called the fab 5.
Unfortunately for me, no one else is in the Southwest but this gives us
reasons to travel the country and collaborate on projects. Sophie, my Philly roomie and Bestie here in
Uganda, and Kat, my crazy cool, Facebook stalker friend, will be in the East,
source of the Nile; Caitlin, my go to gal, will be in the Central Region; and
Julia, my baby sister, will be in the Eastern Region.
Soon we left Kulika and
traveled to our satellite region for Language Immersion (LI) training. My Southwest Group of 12, plus out two
amazing trainers, headed past the Equator to a small town called Kabwohe, where
for a month we trained in R/R, lived with a host family, learned how to cook,
how to use a pit latrine, and how to live simply. Mission accomplished. I thoroughly enjoyed my family’s hospitality
and I am confident that they will serve as an excellent resource for me over
the next two years. While at LI, we
attended a wedding, shook hands with President Museveni thanks to Robyn’s (a
fellow PCT) uncle’s father turning 110, we bone shook (AKA danced the night
away), cooked a ridiculously amazing lunch (garlic bread, spaghetti, macaroni
and cheese, pineapple fritters), somehow comprehended enough R/R to hold a
brief conversation, and taught our families at the homestay thank-you how to
dance the Macarena and YMCA.
After LI we returned to
Kulika for a week to do specific technical training, so in my case health. We learned all about the health systems,
malaria, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, proper condom use, with
demonstration, RUMPS (Re-Usable Menstrual PadS), and much more. Essentially we acquired the necessary tactics
to be successful volunteers once at site.
It was a long week but luckily to Sophie and Kat coming back from their
satellite with Cadbury chocolate and Nutella, training was quite pleasant!
We spent the 4th
of July together in red, white, and blue, playing volleyball, drinking, and
eating traditional American BBQ at the Peace Corps Office in Kampala.
We also got our site
announcements! Ask any PCV or Returned
PCV (RPCV) and they will probably say this is one of the most exciting times
during Pre-Service Training (PST). Why you
ask?! Well this is when we find out who we
will work for over the next two years and what will be expected of us. Tune in to my net post to find out more
details!
Webare munonga
kushoma! (Thanks a lot for
reading!)
The letter “r” is
pronounced as “l”.
Since my language group
and I are obvious trendsetters here in Uganda we have coined the term, “Webs
munon.” It is catching on. Bring it back to the USA!
