Haven't Left Yet

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I have had quite a nice long break before I head to Uganda. I finished my classes for Fall semester almost 3 weeks ago and still have another 5 days or so before I begin my travels. Thus far, Valerie (my classmate who will be participating in the internship with me) and I have been scrambling trying to find housing since we received news that we would be based in Kampala (where it is much more expensive) as opposed to Mbale.

For those of you who do not know, I will be traveling to Uganda from early January until mid May working with an organization called TASO (The AIDS Support Organization). It is an NGO indigenous to Uganda which began with a handful of volunteers who sought to increase care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS and has grown to now have over 1,000 staff members throughout 16 offices in the country, and is also a major recipient of USG funding among others. We are not quite sure just yet on what we will have the opportunity to work. We do know that we will be instrumental in creating some kind of leadership forum, but I think it is still a one- or two-page concept to our department. I'll also have the opportunity to work with an HIV prevention and sports program, and I am really excited about it.

What have I been doing in my spare time up until now? I have tried to read a bit, study up on HIV, learn a language, and I went to the beach for New Year's (check out the pictures). The first three items in the list have not gone so well, but thankfully I still have another week.

I might write more later, but for now that's it.

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