Muzungu Muzungu Muzungu

So we all went into Jinja at the weekend for a little reunion as everyone has been split into different groups and placed in separate districts for work. Was really great to see everyone, really strange how close we've all become so quickly and really feeling like I've made some friends for life already.

We stayed in a hostel called to explorer backpacker for two nights and it had hot showers and pillows! Its incredible how amazing a hot shower can feel after 3 weeks of 2/3 cold showers a day.

The clubs in Jinja are small and they seem to allow as many as possible in so they are all crammed but the music out here is great and the focus on a night out seems to be more about the music and dancing than in the UK where its more about drinking alcohol. In saying that though the local brew here is actually quite nice, its banana gin called Waraji, its really strong though so can't have too much as this place is pretty scary as it is without adding intoxication to the mix.

So my house is very basic, actually that's a complete understatement......its infact just walls, floors and ceilings! We've been having to tie the windows shut with rope which isn't ideal but as yet we've not had any attempted break ins. The local girls have bought things to make the place a little more homely and yesterday one of the girls came back with a TV! Ive put up some photos and the cards you guys gave me before i left. We still have nothing to sit on and have to cook outside on the porch but we're getting by and this morning i actually felt quite at home getting ready for work and eating my peanut butter on stale bread. The tea here is really nice aswell, a proper treat in the mornings. I'll definitely bring some Ugandan Tea back to the UK for you all to try.

Was my first day at work today, we were sent to look for things around the town to get ourselves better acquainted with the place, it was far too hot though so we just ended up sitting in the shade and getting something to eat. Went back to work and were told to go home as it was too hot for working so went home to bed for a few hours ‘Siesta’. Back in tomorrow @ 9am and reckon we should get properly stuck in.

I’m already tiring of being called 'Muzungo'' and being started at. Also some of the children here are really quite mean and think its funny to shout Muzungo and then when you wave they give you the finger! Was really shocked the first time but thinking im just getting used to it now and hoping that the longer i am here the more used to it the community will become and things should start to calm a bit.

We cooked dinner at the house tonight – was actually quite nice, potato's, cabbage, Posho, peas and some hot chilli sauce.Seem to be putting chilli sauce on everything just to give it some taste – the food is really quite bland here. Will try to upload some photos of the house soon, its funny because it actually looks quite nice on the pictures!

Anybody for some chicken on a stick! This was crazy, pulled into a layby in a bus and got mobbed by people selling meat, drinks and fried bananna. It was a little similar to a scene from 28 days later!

Some of the National girls - the two on the left are my house mates Janet and Grace.

View from going 'strolling' (hiking) around the school.

Our welcometo Uganda

Flying over Africa

All the international volunteers

first day in 'the field'

Moved to my house yesterday....living in Iganga but set back deep within the local community. We were dropped.off yesterday the 8 of us and left with only our luggage and 6 foam matresses between 8 people. There was a alot of stress and tears as we were all pretty concerned that we werent going to be safe. I cant say that im over confident that we will definately be safe as all the other volunteers have been placed within compounds and we dont even have a fence / gate but we ve been reassured that it should be fine so just going with the flow at the minute. Weve spent this morning budgetting and the ugandan volnteers have gone off now to the market to get our houses months supply of rice and beans and posho etc. They didnt want us to go with them as the prices were being hiked up when the shop owners saw 'muzungos' (aka white people).
Its super super hot in this district....good to be in the sunshine though.
So we re off work now till next monday....plan to travel into Jinga tomorrow and meet up with the volunteers there and stay over in a youth hostel.
Bloggin off my mobile so cant upload any pics but i will do soon as i can.

2 weeks in.................

So 2 weeks in and this is the first time i have had an opportunity to get onto the internet! Communication to the uk seems a bit of an impossible means at the moment - if its not that theres no electricity in order to charge my phone i'm just kept sooooo busy every day i don't get chance! Things should calm down by the middle of next week though as i will moving to my work placement where i should hopefully have regular access to electricity and power.

So after a 40 hr journey we arrived at the Forest Hill College in Mokono (google earth it!), this has been our base for the past 2 weeks and we'll be here untill 25th when we all split of into our different communities and work placements.
There approx 70 of us (an even mix of UK and Ugandan volunteers). We've been training everyday 9-5 then have to stay within the school gates at night so cabin fever is now starting to set in! I'm with a great group of people though so managing it well. We're finding all kinds of ways to entertain ourselves (none involving alcohol). Last night we set up a bowling ally using our empty water bottles and had a bowling comp. - was a good laugh.
I've been allocated my work and living placement this week and will be working for an organisation called Ugandan Village Project (again google it), I'll be based in a place called Iganga - I'll be sharing a house with 7 other people - 3 uk girls and 4 Ugandan boys and girls. Theres going to be 6 girls sharing one room and all 8 of us sharing 1 bathroom / toilet - should be fun. TBH I've been staying the past 2 weeks in a room with bats / rats / mice and approx 40 girls though so sharing with 5 will feel like a luxury! Sleeping in a mosquito net is a little tricky as i am used to sleeping in a double bed and every so often in th night i try to 'sprawl' out and end up having a panic attack in my sleep as i think im trapped! Cold showers have been standard since we arrived but its so hot here it really isn't a problem - this is not going to anything like Nepal in the sense of basic living as i;ve been told that our house has 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen and apparently has a tiled bathroom! Winner.......the rest of the group in Iganga are going to be staying in 3 flats within an apartment's block and again its going to be a high standard of accommodation in relation to where we are. I'm getting on well with one of the Uganda lads who i will be working and staying with and we have agreed to have language lessons and cooking time at the house so wait till i get back and i'll be knocking up some delicious traditional recipes for you all.

We've been fully submerged into the local cuisine of Motoke (not sure if thats the correct spelling but is basically mashed up banana) and Posho which is a wheat based type of thing - tasty tho......lots of potato's and rice and the other day we had the luxury of buying chicken on sticks from our bus window. Breakfast consists of bread and jam and there's absolutely no access to any form of snacking or brews etc in between so my 'weight loss plan' is going really well!

Got loads of photos already - will have to wait till next week though when i will hopefully be able to log my note book onto the wifi at my office and upload some of them.

Last weekend we went to the source of he Nile - was a really great day, a group of us decided to try to cross from the island we were on to another (will make more sense when i upload the pics)quite a few fell in and today we had our health talk and learnt that it is highly likely we will have all contracted some kind of bug that lives in the Nile (lovely), its nothing to worry about thought and can be treated very easily.

There's has been some bad news as i lost / had my purse stolen on the way back - have been to 2 Uganda police stations and really hope i don't have to ever go to one again as they are really quite scary places (especially with the machine guns and wooden sticks the officers all carry).

Anyway for now hope this has filled you all in and I'll hopefully get updating on the regular as of next week.

2 more sleeps!

So only two more sleeps till the big day.....not looking forward to dragging my huge suitcase around the London underground! Really holding out that i will be as lucky as last time and a nice man or two will offer to help me!

Pretty much prepared and organised now i think - just need to pack everything into my case tomorrow and I'm pretty much set to go!

Haven't remembered to buy string or 'gaffer tape' or powdered milk but sure i will survive! Cannot stand the thought of going inside another Manchester retail store so if Ive not got it now I'm not getting it!

Skirts are still M.I.A - hoping i will be able to buy some whilst i am over there (or that i will be given special permission to be the first woman in Uganda to wear trousers to work!) Maybe i could start up a petition for females to wear trousers.......it worked at my primary school!! Anyway if not having enough skirts is the most of my worries then I'm doing pretty well i think!

Looking forward to finding out exactly what it is i will be doing whilst on my placement......its been really difficult saying to people ''yeah I'm going to Uganda'' then they say ''wow, what will you be doing'' to which my response has been ''I don't actually know yet!'' - i will keep you posted though and as soon as i get any info i will share.

Really hopeful that i will have access to the net out there though so i can keep this updated and get loads of piccies on here too.

Please follow me and please comment - just to remind me Im gone but not forgotten :) xx