It looks like my two years in Uganda will be spent overcoming my fear of snakes. I’m not sure why no one mentioned the prevalence of snakes in the Eastern region the past two times I was here, but I guess they knew there was a possibility I wouldn’t return. I officially moved to my site on Friday, and as soon as we arrived to my place Bethany says, “Hey Aubrey, I don’t mean to freak you out or anything, but take a look at that.” I look to where she is pointing and there is snakeskin lying in my garden area. The look on my face was sheer horror as I said, “Um, there aren’t supposed to be snakes in Africa.” The Ugandans could not stop laughing and making fun of how scared I was. Francis (one of my neighbors and a teacher at Namengo Girls) said I shouldn’t be scared because it was obviously a small snake that left the skin. I said I didn’t care because a black mamba could kill me big or small. He said not to worry because there are no black mambas in this region, only cobras and puff adders. Oh right, like that makes me feel better! I was then warned that I should watch out for “night cobras” because they can spit. Looks like I will be utilizing the night bucket after all. The times I have braved the pit latrine at night, I usually come back sweating because I am so nervous.
I’m sorry that I have been incommunicado for the past week, but I was busy after we moved out of homestay and my Internet does not work at site. This post might be kind of long, so I hope you don’t get bored with me! Last Monday we all moved out of our home stays; and I was so sad to say bye to my family. They were really great to me and I felt like a part of the family. Monday morning was hectic because we had to load the luggage of 44 people onto a truck, and we have all accumulated more things during these two months. We were put up in a hotel about an hour outside of Kampala and it was so nice. There was a pool, hot showers and good food. I guess Peace Corps likes to give you a little luxury before you move out into the bush. After we checked in, we were supposed to go shopping and take a tour of the Peace Corps office in Kampala. Unfortunately, the “Walk-Out” protests that have been happening across Uganda broke out in violence. There were riots, tear gas and rubber bullets – so roads were blocked and Kampala was pretty crazy. As a result, we were not allowed to leave our hotel. (Side note: For the past two weeks there have been “walk-outs” as a protest to the rising food and gas prices. People walk to work every Monday and Thursday. There have been a few instances of violence, so we have to take extra caution.) Anyway, we were all kind of happy we did not have to drive all the way back to Kampala in the first place. We spent the day laying by the pool and eating the good food. We were a little ashamed of ourselves that we were enjoying ourselves at a nice hotel, while only an hour all hell was breaking loose. It’s like something from Hotel Rwanda. Thankfully, everything settled down and we were allowed to leave the hotel the next day. We went to the American Embassy for a presentation by the Ambassador, Deputy Ambassador, Security Representative and two people from USAID. It was really interesting and now I think I might want to pursue a career in the Foreign Service after Peace Corps.
Wednesday we had an all day workshop with our supervisors, which was really boring for the most part. It mostly covered everything we have learned the past nine weeks and most of us were just anxious to be done. Also, my counterpart didn't even show up. Thursday we were officially sworn in, and the ceremony was at the house of the Deputy Ambassador. This officially sealed the deal of why I (and the rest of my group) want to be in the Foreign Service – the house was amazing. Clearly I'm in the wrong line of work. The swearing in wasn’t long, and there were delicious hors d'oeuvres afterwards. There was a basketball hoop in the driveway and a few of us got a game of knock-out going. I am sure I looked ridiculous playing in my dress, but I won three times. I guess I still have my high school basketball skills.
I moved in to my site on Friday, which went smoothly. Thankfully, Bethany and my supervisor had a car, so he was able to drive our luggage and us to our sites. It was great to not be squished into a taxi, and our travel time was cut down. We ran into some terrible traffic along the way, but our driver followed behind the Ministry of Defense car that had its sirens on, and we got to bypass a 2-hour traffic line. Our supervisor said that we only got away with it because Bethany and I are white and people automatically think we’re important. I guess being an mzungu really has its perks sometimes.
Since being at site, I have spent my time getting settled and introducing myself to people in the community. I spent Easter Sunday scrubbing my house and latrine from head to toe. I think my grandma would be proud by the amount of bleach I used! Sister Goretti stopped to tell me “well done,” and then invited me over to the convent for Easter dinner. Sunday night was probably one of my favorite experiences thus far in Uganda. When I get to the convent, Sister Goretti said, “So we will eat dinner, have some cake, maybe some dancing and then if you feel like it, we’ll set up a bed for you and you can sleep here.” Dinner was amazing and the cake was even better (it was pumpkin, so it tasted like pumpkin bread with icing!). There was no dancing, but there was some really good wine. We had a huge storm that night, and they all kept telling me it was a sign of good luck and a good visitor. They didn’t want me to walk back to my house in the rain (it’s about 50 ft away), so they set up a bed for me. I got my own bedroom and bathroom! It was a pretty great sleepover.
I am really enjoying my site so far and I think it is going to be a great two years. I have been riding my bike a lot to meet up with Ryan and Caroline. Ryan also informed me today that I have a fan club with the boda boda drivers in town. He said that when he went to Budaka they hounded him about the “other mzungu” and asked him how they could get me. Awesome. I always love walking by them and they shout, “Mzungu mzungu, just my size!” It’s a great pick up line if you ask me, but I’m not sure of its success rate. Anyway, that is all I have for now – and I will try my best to update as often as I can. It’s difficult with the limited Internet access and the nearest cyber café is 30 minutes away. Hopefully I will be able to find an Internet provider that works way out here!
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