My First Blog!

Hello All, (or just hi mom and dad)
       I am sitting in my brand new house in Kampala, Uganda feeling very nervous. Not only do I start my first day tomorrow at my NGO in Kampala, but this is also my very first blog post ever and I don't even know where to begin. It reminds me of trying to start a paper in high school and waiting for my mom to help. I don't know if that strategy will work this time.
        I got to Uganda last Friday morning, the 9th, at 8am and I know this is wrong, but I really got a Lion King feel right away. There was a huge field right outside my window with the sun coming up over a one giant tree and all that was missing was Max singing "Naaah Sipuena"
       I spent the past week at a hotel in Seeta, a neighborhood around 30 minutes from the city center at an orientation with American Jewish World Service. We spent time talking about international development (I have never had any training in this before), history of Uganda and even how to blog correctly. (I am sure I am not doing this right.) It was quite interesting to hear about all the differences between the two cultures. Even more surprising was that there are many, many similarities. Yes, they only point with the whole hand, not one finger. Also, you can cross your legs, but you shouldn't let the person next to you see the bottom of your foot. And the concept of personal space is one that is not common in Uganda. However, we had all our NGO counterparts with us for two days and found many similarities as well. Both cultures put a high importance on education, we went exploring and found supermarkets, technology shops and malls all around Kampala. Of course, getting around Uganda, it is going to be much more important to keep track of the differences as to not offend. I also found that skirts need not be all the way to my ankle- darn packing list!! Wish I had known that sooner.

     And now we are in our new place! It is gorgeous- and I mean, gorgeous! I honeslty don't think I have stayed in a house this nice ever- nothing against 277 Homer Street, but it is no Plot 22 off Semabawata Road in Ntinda. The house is new and I am living with 3 other lovely ladies with 4 other Americans right next door. If you ever are on skype, let me know and I would love to give you a tour.

    Our first weekend has mostly consisted of getting our bearings and the essentials: Phones, internet, and food! Our real adventure was on Friday night we went to see, wait for it, Sean Kingston in concert in Kampala. In case you don't know who that is (but who doesn't know?? Ohhh, all of you, fine) he is pop singer who has hits like "beautiful girls" and "fire burning" -my dad's personal favorite. It was $30 for VIP seats, which, by the way, is 75,000 Ugandan shillings. In return we got great seats/ places to stand, four beers, 2 sodas, 2 waters, and a plate of food. Not too shabby for $30 bucks. Sean was fine, as was his opening act Flavour from Nigeria. The really interesting part was we were with a few other Muzungos (non-Africans/ white people) and then more and more kept coming. It seems Sean was something of a Muzungo magnet and they all knew each other! It was hysterical and we got out before the crowd so definetely a fun night.

Last but not least I want to end on an important note- especially for me: FOOD. What the heck have I been eating? My first week consisted of Matoke, G-nut sauce, beans, and rice. Keeping kosher has not been too difficult, but to be honest, I have not asked too many questions. I have kept very full and now that we are close to a super market and a outdoor market, I will be even better. Tonight I had a rolex for dinner which consists of an omlette made with tomato and onion rolled into a fried bread concoction called chipati and then we added some fresh avacado and cheese- AMAZING! The veggies are super fresh, but we need to wash them or peel them first. I have not gotten sick yet and hope to not any time soon.

That was a lot and if you got through it- Mazel. Otherwise, I'll try to write shorter ones from now on. Now off to get ready. I feel like its the first day of school and I have to pack my bag and get my clothes ready for it.
Wish me Luck!!!