Blogs from Uganda, Africa - page 132

Friday March 30, 2007 * Apologies if I am repeating some of what Celeste wrote in the previous blog Village life We have been living in the village for 4 ½ weeks know, yes time does fly. In this short period of time we have both grown to feel more and more comfortable and familiar with our surroundings. Our hut has acquired a handy bookshelf a few wall hangings and a mirror. We have worked out were to get the best meals from, and familiarized ourselves with the numerous modes of transport available and how much one should pay for each. Hello Muzungo, How are you? Hello Muzungo how are you, is a question we both get with great regularity, mainly from children but not exclusively. Muzungo basically means white person and there aren’t that ... read more

Hello! Think I left off where we were being escorted to the taxi by the police in Gesengyi! From here we just wanted to get the hell out of Rwanda so crossed the border to Kabale back in Uganda. Here we stayed at lake Bunyoni - a massive lake in the mountains with 27 islands. We stayed on a little island called Byoona Amargara (a secrect hideway not in the travel guides!). Its a community development type place - absolute paradise! We had to paddle for 50mins in a dug out canoe to get there but it was well worth it! Fantastic views of the lake with towering volcanoes, sun, beer amd great food. Its also one of the few lakes you can swim in without getting Bilharzia!- so Ian did laps of the island before ... read more

Its Saturday morning, and I have finally found time to fill you all in! 2 weeks ago now, I was asked to do a lesson for the health science class….on condoms! Having not taught a lesson before in the class room, and being a nervous public speaker, I made sure that I prepared myself for this one! So I walk into the room with over 100 students between the ages of 16-21 starring back at me…Mzungu Nurse! (white nurse!) So I talk to them about family planning (very important considering the average birth rate per Ugandan woman is 7.1 children!), common myths about condoms, how to store them and check the expiry date, their 98% effectiveness in preventing pregnancy, STD’s and HIV. And then the fun began….Juliet (the nurse) was armed with a banana in ... read more

So I'm extremely busy this week writing several papers and finalizing plans for the practicum. I don't have time to write up a long blog about my experience in eastern Uganda. But I can post pictures! So I will. I hope they will suffice. I'm leaving on Friday for Bushenyi for four weeks. I'll try to write from there, but otherwise expect to hear from me in a month. In the east we visited Sipi Falls, the city of Mbale, and lived with a rural family for three days. The falls were amazing, we were able to hike up/down to all three. We hiked down to the largest fall in the evening, with the trail lit only by lantern -very cool. My particular host family was very sweet. They consisted of three wives, a father, ... read more

Olyotya? Ahh yes, I have arrived. I am safe, healthy and for sure traveling on my own. Those words feel good coming out of my fingers. I came into the Entebbe airport a week and a half ago. Struggling to stay awake, I went to see a movie with the other volunteers. I saw blood diamond. If you have seen it, then you might realize that seeing it was a strange way to enter an African country, especially when you have jet lag so badly that you are half asleep during the movie. Those first few days/hours/I have no idea how much time passed were a blur. Glad that’s over. I think it was last Sunday that I first met with the director of the organization I work for. His name Travis, but everyone calls him ... read more