Uganda Chose Me

4 June 2015

This morning I woke up in Africa…let that one settle in for a second.  The past few days have been nothing but changes.  It’s been kind of a whirlwind here.  There are about 48 volunteers in my group; half are health, like me, the other half are agricultural business.  Put us all in a room, have an icebreaker, and immediately become best friends, support systems, and fellow world changers.  At least that’s what the idea is.  These things take time.

Mom drove me across the state to drop me off in Philly for my 3 days of staging events.  Alex drove down from Connecticut, too, to see me off.  A lot of hugs and crying later, I was alone.  Well, kind of.  There were 47 other people who were in the same situation with me.  And like many people who are faced with this situation, we began to get to know each other over some drinks.  TJIFridays was right next to our hotel.  The staging events were really helpful.  Our directors had us do a lot of activities that showed we were all feeling the same kinds of things in regards to similar anxieties and aspirations for the next 2 years.  Tuesday morning we boarded the buses and were carted off to JFK to start this whole new adventure.  2 plane rides, 20+ hours, and 1 less iPod later (yeah. Forgot it on the plane), we had finally arrived in Entebbe, Uganda.   Not much to see; it was 10 o’clock at night.  So we hopped in a few vans and were greeted by fellow Ugandan PCVs. 

“Hey guys!  Congrats on making the awesome choice to join Peace Corps Uganda!!”

-lots of cheers-

“Just remember, these are the best two years of your lives!  Have a great PST (pre-service training), oh and don’t have valuables like cameras hanging out the van windows, people like to drive up and snatch them.  Ok bye!”

And that was it.  That was also the time I realized that I had missed my chance to go to the bathroom before this 1.5 hour bumpy van ride.  Woops.  The ride to our training site was full of energy, until everyone realized what time it was back home and for how long they had been awake.  But we made it.  I’m pretty sure all we wanted to do was crash, but dinner was waiting for us in the dining hall.   We eat a lot of matoke here! (bananas) After that were a few short intros, key distribution, health packet distribution, luggage collection, and finally we could settle in.  Let’s see, in total, it was about…24…30...hours of traveling?  That time difference thing really throws me.

Rue was my roommate at the hotel and she’s paired with me again here at the training center.  We’re outside Kampala in a town called Mukono right now.   Here are some pictures!

We’ll be here for the next 3 weeks before we move to our homestays.  There, we’ll be working on language training that will match our future 2 year sites (I’m hoping to study Luganda!) and after that, we’ll be back at the center for our swearing-in ceremony.  So don’t be confused, I’m still technically not a volunteer yet.  Once I (hopefully) pass all the training, I’ll be official and will wear the pin, badge, t-shirt, bumper sticker, with pride.  If I don’t pass….I’m not sure.  Maybe they’ll make me wear the cone of shame.  I do not like the cone of shame.

Has the change settled in yet?  I hope it has for you, because I’m still working on it.  The first day of sessions, our country director spoke so beautifully about the country, different hardships she’s faced, and how much she loves the peoples and the land.  Listening to her made me feel a little more at ease, so I made a list.  I love lists.  I called it,

Things I love about Uganda since being here for 16 hours:

• Mosquito Nets – safety
• Tea time – comfort
• Cool breezes – relief  
• Encouragement – support

Tea time is actually twice a day.  Once in the morning and again in the afternoon.  Tea time is best time.  But this list is growing really quickly.  The landscape and environment is lush and welcoming.  I truly am in the Pearl of Africa.  It’s kind of ironic moving from Menton, the Pearl of France, to here, but I’d like to think Uganda chose me.

I got the call to be on the waitlist for Uganda right before Christmas last year.  At this time, though, most of the volunteers here had gotten the call to serve in Uganda, no waitlist involved.  My only other option, if I didn’t accept the waitlist position, was to reapply.  I was not about to start this whole process over.  It was weird getting the call for Uganda since I have a French degree; Uganda’s national language is English.  But I took the chance.  During the first few months, I had to do all the necessary requirements that actual invitees had to do:  get my medical work done, physicals, shots, boosters, dental exams and x-rays, eye exams, visa and passport applications, etc. etc.  And still I didn’t know if I would be chosen to go.  But when I got the call to serve, I knew Uganda picked me.  Hopefully sometime soon I’ll figure out why.  Until then, I’m learning, and trying to grow.  I’m working on getting into a rhythm, but it’s only been a day. 

I only have internet in the main hall, so I’ll post this when I can. 
Thank you all for the love and support I’ve felt while traveling and arriving in this wonderful place.  One of my favorite phrases comes from my brother (ok he didn’t coin it, I think Carousel did, but Liverpool has it and it hits home.  But I learned if from Dan so he gets the credit): 
Walk on with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone.
 And though I’m far away, I don’t feel alone at all.

Gros bisous tout le monde,

All is well,
Kelly