June 24, 2008

So the deal is that you might only get posts on the weekend, because my teaching placement is away from the city of Gulu, about two hours. It is only me and my boy Dave. They drop us off out there on Monday and pick us up on Friday. It is pretty crazy, because everyone else is located at the IC compound together in Gulu. I figure might as well go big or go home so we will see. But will write during the week because we have a generator for a couple of hours out there and when I get to Gulu I will send it out. I will talk more about the school when I get more of a chance later.

So last night we spent the night in a hostel in the capital city Kampala called backpackers. It was pretty nice as far as a hostel goes with quality food and a bar which is always nice. It was interesting to see how many westerners were in the hostel. We met up at Entebbe airport with our leader, Amy. We drove through Entebbe to Kampala with mutatu’s, basically big old vans. First seeing Uganda you see the beauty of it as we drove around Lake Victoria. The lake was absolutely amazing. To see the beauty of Africa is ridiculous. As we drove, there were numerous roadside setups of shops. Mostly shacks with no front to them, you immediately see the state of Uganda. It is really raw, not poor, but raw. The lifestyle is different here. People are used to this lifestyle and many seem to flourish in it. That immediately makes me question at times why we are here, meaning what purpose do westerners have in the country. Things like electricity are something that is a luxury here but does everybody need it? Within Uganda they do a 26 hour electricity on, 22 hours off in order to conserve the limited energy they have here.

I was able to shower this morning, which was nice. I was getting super funky, but that will only get worse as the time goes on, but everyone is that way so it is cool. I continue to talk to people and learn more and more about all the wonderful people that I am with. There seems to be a drive in each one of these individuals to learn and do some good in this world and that is a wonderful thing. I just hope to meet their expectations. I feel a little out of place with the group, but also have been fairly quiet as I try to get a grasp on the fact that I am in Uganda. Today we are still in Kampala. We are going to visit the U.S. embassy here and exchange some money and get prepared for the trip to Gulu. I know I am rambling, but I am just trying to get all my thoughts down, it is such a crazy experience and as I am taking it all in, it is a little hard to process that I AM IN AFRICA!!! Anyways I love you all and will talk again soon.

Oh yeah, we were sitting on the picnic tables outside the hostel and a monkey was throwing poo and nuts down on us, pretty hilarious. I figured some of you all would like that.