Arrived and Adjusting!!

It is officially the 4^th full day in Uganda, and already I feel like I have learned a ton! The unknowns are becoming a bit more “known” (which is a great relief!) and some of the aspects I was nervous about have become less unnerving. There is still A LOT to learn, though.

After 27 hours of traveling, I arrived in Entebbe, Uganda at 11pm on Thursday night with another 5 Uganda Studies Program (USP) students. All of our bags came (praise the Lord), and before we knew it, we were being driven to a nunnery/convent for our first night. They were good accommodations and the way the mosquito net was hung above my bed made me feel a little like a princess!

We spent the next day in Entebbe, wandering around the town, going to the shore of Lake Victoria, and getting to know one another. The other half of our 39 person team arrived late that night.

By Saturday morning the whole team was in the nunnery for breakfast and a (very brief) orientation. That afternoon we loaded up a bus and drove 2 hours to Mukono (the city that Uganda Christian University is in). The girls were put in temporary dorms for 3 days and wow… that may possibly have been the most shocking of the whole trip thus far. I was anticipating sparse and smaller dorms, but this took both of these descriptions to the next level. A single (and very small room was divided down the middle – a set of bunk beds, desk, and closet on each side. Basically, us 4 girls could hardly fit in luggage… so I was happy to hear that it was only a temporary room! Although I’m sure our actual rooms will also be very small, we will only be sharing with one other person. Hopefully we will be moving into these rooms tomorrow and will be able to unpack a bit.

Sunday, we went to the church service on campus – attendance was a bit sparse because the UCU students do not begin classes until next Monday, but it was fun to see their service and listen to the pastor speak about important Ugandan disciplines. We continued orientation that day and at night went to a “concert” on campus. It was a group of about 8 adults singing and dancing - so fun to see their worship!

Today (Monday) was the first day of classes and the syllabus was a bit overwhelming, but I think the class will be very beneficial for the semester. A couple of us ended the school day by going on a “mango hunt” after class. We were hoping the monkeys would be in the mango trees and knock the fruit down when they swung between limbs, but we had no such luck. Instead, one of the guys had to climb up there and jump on the branches to make the fall to the ground.  It took a bit of work, but was well worth it (especially because I didn’t have to do the climbing)! They were sooooooo good!!

Here is a bit of general information to help you understand/visualize a bit more:

The campus is amazing – situated a half mile from downtown, the university is on many acres of very lush green grass and huge trees which are contrasted beautifully by the orange dirt roads. UCU is on the top of a hill which provides a beautiful lookout to the surrounding hills and valleys.

The weather here is beautiful. I can’t say for sure, but my guess is that it reaches around 80ish in midday and cools a little bit at night. I would say the humidity is not quite as dry as CA but definitely not as humid as a MA summer. It’s a good in between, but can get a little hot in the middle of the day. I’m writing this at my favorite time of day – 6:30pm, when it cools down, the sun begins to set over the hills and the sunset starts to appear.

The food is good – it lacks in diversity or any sort of healthiness, but taste-wise it is more than manageable. Breakfast normally consists of bread, bananas, hard boiled eggs, and sometimes papaya or pineapple. Lunch and dinner consistently have rice and beans (which taste good) and sometimes has a nutty sauce that I like. Potatoes are another staple. This combination is supplemented with things like a coleslaw-ish salad, other foods that I cannot pronounce, and occasionally, some meat – normally beef. Needless to say, the diet is muuuuccchhh different than what I am accustomed to, but I think I can handle it for a semester.

There is street food available – “chipaties” (I have no idea on the spelling) are my favorite right  now. I would describe it as a thick, fresh tortilla that is grilled. They also make “rollexes” out of these chipaties – it’s scrambled eggs with peppers, cheese, and tomatoes, rolled in this “tortilla.” That’s all I’ve tried thus far, but I am happy with them.

The locals seem to be very welcoming, but we have not gotten a ton of time to meet them (especially because the students do not arrive until next week). The men are more friendly and will strike up conversation, while the women tend to be more reserved in the beginning. They are very nice and open up once you begin a conversation, though, and are always willing to help. I am looking forward to making friends with other students!

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! I don’t know what capacity I will be able to blog this semester, but I hope to post fairly regularly (although they generally won’t be this long). I’m off to dinner!

I hope you are all doing well! Please keep me updated on you lives!