So we have been hard pressed to get consistent internet do anything, let alone write an email, so finding a way to put in our first blog post has been tricky. Today, however, I find myself tagging along with others from our Training group walking into an internet cafe in Kampala.
So, WE ARE HERE! Training has been flying by and our limited time with technology has prevented communications with the masses. We have been busy since arriving in Entebee. We flew in and stayed for 4 nights at the Lweza Training and Conference Center not too far from the airport. There we received some initial training and adjusted to life in a hot, dusty, yet lush green and humid environment. We started to bond as a group and anxiously awaited getting to our host families.
Stacey and I have been placed together for our homestay. The bulk of our training takes place in the town of Wakiso which is the capital of the district of the same name just west of Kampala. Stacey and I live in a section called Kisimbiri near many other PCTs. Our host family is named Lutaaya and are amazing. Our father is Henry, mother is Imelda, and there are four children; Ruth, 10, Joel, 7, Grace, 5, and Jesse, 3. We have a room to ourselves but share the rest of the house. We are usually busy from the time we leave the house at 7 in the morning until late in the evening. Training ends around 5 pm, but we will have other work or want to practice language with our group members. Our training center is on the other side of town which is a minimum of 20 minutes on bike or an hour walking as well.
About two weeks ago we found out we will be speaking Ateso. Uganda has three major language groups and over 50 regional languages. We are going to be in the East in a region called Teso which includes the districts of Kumi, Soroti, Pallisa, Tororo and a few others. Right now we are learning in a group of 5. Joe, David Chi, and Brennan are the others in our group in case we reference them later in our posts.
I don't want to speak for both of us, but there are some challenges that we have come to face in our first month here. First and foremost: PIT LATRINES. I have gone camping, I have used outhouses, I have simply taken a crap in the woods, but all are more preferential to using a squating pit latrine. First off you have a small target with a steep level of punishment for inaccuracy. I have been fortunate with perfect aim to date, but I know others who haven't been as lucky. Stacey and I have both had colds since we have been here, but others have already gone through bouts of stomache bugs and I do not look forward to a latrine session with one. Second, since we are not used to the position I find my legs becoming numb and sometimes falling asleep which then affects your balance. Between the biking and the squat pots I plan to come back with some killer quads.
Keepping time is another challenge here. Life moves slow, but training sessions move ssssllloooowwwwweeerrr. Couple that with fourty people sweating together in a hall and you are just chipper at the end of the day. Also our only challenge at the homestay is the children. They are awesome and great to play with and can speak English well, but they always want to be on our hip. We try to study or take notes at the dining room table and they always want to be there. It is nice and cute sometimes, but when they are always asking you to help them with there 'homework' which is really code for drawing pictures or playing games we really can't be productive unless we move to our rooms.
I do not want to lingure on the bad because there is so much good. Our training group is awesome and there are a lot of people here from so many backgrounds it will take two years just to get everyone's stories. I think many of us have bonded well and we are ready to get down to the dirty work.
In the middle of March we will be doing immersion training where we will spend two weeks living with a current volunteer in the region in which we will be placed and shadowing them at their job. For me I will be staying with a volunteer who is teaching classes at a secondary school and Stace will be following a primary teacher trainer or center school cooridnator. That will be an awesome training experience and we are very much looking forward to it. I wish I had more time to talk, and I already know this is a rediculously long post and I know I didn't even begin to talk about the country, but I will have to leave it for another time. Stacey will upload pictures soon, I think we will try to get back here on Monday.
Peace.
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