Welcome to Uganda!

Hello everyone!
Today marks officially one week since my arrival in Kampala, Uganda where I will be spending the next 4 months. Since I just decided to make this blog, I guess I'll fill you in on the past week. Uganda is very hot. It is the end of their summer right now and we are located right on the equator so the temperature is about 80-90 degrees everyday. When we arrived at our hotel we were welcomed with bed nets and a fan that was broken, still wearing my clothes from the 40 degrees in Atlanta. The heat has been an adjustment, especially because the dress code is much more conservative here (bottoms must be below the knee, and everything must be covered). There are 4 other students here with me for the program and we all get along very well. We learned very quickly that when 5 Americans are walking down the street together we will be stared at and called Muzungu which means white people. Our program directors are all Ugandan and have been working with American students for years so they have been extremely helpful thus far. They focus on experiential learning, which means most of what we learn come from outside of a classroom setting. On the first day we toured Kampala by van and stopped at various locations to get a feel for the massive city (over 1 million, but really 2 million). We went through the basics: mind your bags, don't carry a lot of money, take your malaria meds, don't drink the water, how to avoid parasites etc. This was honestly terrifying and frustrating. After these classes, we felt very uneasy about how we were going to survive the next 4 months, with all the African stereotypes reinforced. However, the next day we began our discussion drinking tea outside in the garden and discussing the opportunities we would have during our research time and all the beautiful things we have to look forward to in Uganda. Knowing that my peers shared the same hopes and fears helped me to feel much more comfortable. Our program directors told us the best way for us to learn was to make mistakes, be surprised (or even a little culture shocked) and most of all process our experiences. Once we began discussing the challenges and the positive experiences we had, we were able to embrace the different way of life here and better understand how life in Uganda works. It was immediately after this discussion that I used my first pit latrine, and I'm happy to say it was not a disgusting experience.

Exploring the city has been very exciting and has allowed me the opportunity to make mistakes and learn valuable lessons. During our first day without a guide in the city, we met a man who offered to show us his favorite restaurant in the city (we found out it was probably his cousins business). We followed him for 20 minutes until we arrived at a hole in the wall upstairs room in the middle of the market (look up pictures of a Kampala market to see). The 5 of us were given enough food for 20 people and had a delicious meal experiencing what we considered to be "authentic culture" (the other Ugandans took our leftover plates and began finishing them). When we were ready to leave we asked the owner for our bill and he told us 100,000 shillings (the equivalent of $8 a plate). We were shocked, but thought this may be normal so we paid and went on our way. When we got back to our classroom discussion we told our Director about our wonderful lunch. She started hysterically laughing and told us that the meal should have cost us 25,000 shillings max. At first we were humiliated, but we realized that this meal allowed us to learn a lot from the people around us, we had great food and we now knew how much lunch should cost and when to tell if we are being overcharged. We learned how easy it can be to be taken advantage of, but we also learned that this is human nature; to use someone else's available resources to benefit your self.

Although I have spent much of my time studying Africa because of my interest in public health, I am now fascinated by the way Ugandans act and care for one another. Everyone is family, tied through the kinship that is humanity, and everyone who shows kindness receives kindness. The people here understand what it means to be apart of a community and the essence of hardwork. I can say with great reverence that compared to most of the people here, I have not truly learned what hardwork is because they have to put in way more work to ensure success than I do. I hope that this program will help me to better understand a culture different than my own, take a break from the craziness of school and dispel some of the preconceptions people have about Africa. Some of the previous research conducted by students has been used to change public health policies, start government initiatives in Uganda, gained sponsorship from the Clinton Foundation, and provided careers for students at big name NGOs. Needless to say, I'm excited to know that the research I will be doing will serve a purpose greater than my own. My time so far here has only solidified my reasons for wanting to study abroad and go to Africa. Uganda is truly a beautiful place!


Random things I've learned so far in the past week:
1. There is always a Muzungu price when you are buying something in a market. If you don't bargain, you will pay way more than it is worth
2. Ugandans say hi to everyone they see, they will stop and ask "how are you?" in the middle of the road to a random stranger. They are never to busy to greet others before carrying on with their day.
3. "Africa time" is real. (see number 2)
4. There are massive pelican/vulture-like birds called Maribou Storks that live in the city (we call them pterodactyls). Their poop is toxic and you should avoid the falling white stuff at all times
5. There is really no poor areas or rich areas here. You may have a modern skyscraper in one place and a plot full of shacks directly across the street
6. If you tell someone you like their chicken, it may end up being the chicken you eat during your next meal. Basically, don't compliment anything that may be edible.
7. The "small plate" is usually enough food to feed 3 people
8. Uganda is a dirty place. I say that meaning, there is a lot of dirt (it kind of looks like clay) and the environment is very dusty in the city. However, Africans are not dirty, they are in fact very clean. They are  always washing their hands, and we could learn a lot from their sanitation skills.
9. Ugandans dress very well. You will see almost everyone dressed in their business attire despite the disgusting heat and dirt roads. You can never tell if someone is very rich or poor based on their dress. (I have seen men walk out of their shack home in fancy suits)
10. Every person has 30 cousins. (only some of them are real cousins) but regardless every woman is auntie and man is uncle.
11. There is always music playing somewhere
12. Don't expect to find air conditioning anywhere. The breeze is your best friend. And so is sunscreen
13. I have already found 3 restaurants with Obama in the name and a mural. They like Obama.
14. Almost everyone in the city has a mobile phone, some have multiple phones and numbers because they are prepaid phone lines.
15. Every Ugandan loves matoke. If you don't like it, then you don't like food.
16. Beware of the Jam. You think you have seen traffic before. You were wrong.
17. Boda Boda fellows (motorcycle taxi drivers) are everywhere. They will hit you if you are in their path.
18. Pedestrian Crossings are Zebra Crossings
19. Ugandan wine is Passion fruit wine. It's very strong.
20.  We're not all that different. Despite all the stereotypes we hear about Africa, it is very dynamic and diverse. Even in Uganda their are over 50 different ethnicities with many different ways of life. Much of Ugandan life is similar to a typical American life.