Sparadic Thoughts and not much time for reflection.
9-27-06
So I think I am the oldest one in my group…. Don’t know for sure. The group’s eagerness and excitement is contagious. Good feelings here.
Meeting them for the first time was like deer in the head lights look….. you could really tell we did know anything or what to expect… searching for some kind of light.
We all feel more confident now. But, I can not believe how many of them have boy friends waiting for them at home… 9 out of our 12 have serious relationships ongoing! Thank goodness I am one of the three who is completely unattached.. feels so good to be so free. Nothing holding me back.
THE TRAINING
Flew from Flint to Philadelphia. Got about an hour tour of Philly while driving from the airport to the Hotel.
9-30-06
Holy frick’n bejezzes! I’m in AFRICA!!!!!!!! Uganda to be specific ~
Man I can’t believe it! Driving to the Hotel from the airport – a lot of the sights, sounds and smells reminded me of Thailand…mostly because it was 11 o’clock at night. But when I woke up this morning, under the mosquito net, and listened to the chorus of frogs, bugs, birds and other animals in the morning mist….. I defiantly knew I was in AfricaJ
The flight:
Well, all I can say is that is was the longest for me yet. Seven hours in the air from New York to Brussels then eight hours from Brussels to Nairobi, then another hour to Entebbe, Uganda. At total of 27 hours in transit since we left Philly! Boy am I exhausted.
Jet lag is not a friend of mine. My patience level drops and many things start to annoy me. So, for the first time in my experience in traveling – my luggage got lost. My big suitcase got left behind in Brussels. It was here that I got a glimpse of the customer service skills Ugandans have – or rather lack there of. Everyone is soft spoken and I had a hard time hearing the attendant who filled out my form for baggage claim. Now, I was not overly excited or anything – but a basic explanation of their lost luggage process would have helped me to understand what to expect. So, I’m hopeful it will be on the next flight from Brussels – which should be on Monday. Patience and Flexibility will be my saving grace.
How am I coping… take advantage of any opportunity to be alone, vitamins and lots of sleep.
Shots:
Got two today. Typhoid and Hep. We will get a series of about ten in all – over the next several weeks.
Good ol’ US Government
Have I already mentioned how amazing this opportunity is…..If you ever wanted to be a back seat passenger while traveling to a foreign land, Peace Corps is the place to be. They take care of everything. I am so thankful. I would never had the means to do an adventure like this. I had to do such little preparation before coming, compared to if I had arranged this trip my self. It’s kind of nice knowing everything is taken care of. I and you, have really very little to worry about. I know it’s a trade off really. The next 8 weeks of training in a group format will be the trade off. I can deal with it. The training has been very informative thus far. They really go above and beyond to prepare you for life as a volunteer. Again, they give you everything from notebooks, pens, handouts and tape recorder with batteries and tape for language lessons, all your shots, a complete first aid kit, pillow, blankets, water filter, lantern and a bucket for all that bucket business.
10-7-06
List of things to send from US and/or Care packages:
- Lonely Planet Travel Guide to East Africa or other guides to Uganda.
Have yet to find one here in Uganda.
- Mint Tea – Caffeine Free, peppermint or Spearmint, Individually wrapped tea bags.
- Altoids, mint or other fun flavors
- Equate (Wal-Mart brand) face wash clothes. They have the face cleanser already on the dried cloth. All I do is add water. They are great and light weight.
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Here’s my mailing address for the time being:
CARRIE MAY
PEACE CORPS TRAINIE
PO Box 29348
Kampala, Uganda
It is much more cost effective to spend money on internet here, (200 shillings per minuet) than write individual letters (2,000 shillings for international stamp) The only thing is that internet and electricity of not too reliable. It goes off and on about every other day. And, there is only one place in Luwero, where we are training, that has Internet.
It is pretty hot and humid here. Boy do I stink at the end of the day. I bath twice a day. Once shortly after I get back from training, after 5:00pm. Then, again when I get up in the morning. Luwero is in the central area of Uganda. Gets to about 86 degrees in the shade during the day- then, about 75 degrees at night. I sleep with just a sheet under the mosquito net.
I am in a group of one other person to learn the language of Runyoro/Rutooro – the language of the Ugandan people from the west…. Over by Lake Albert and the Ruwenzori Mountains. They say it may be cooler in the west because of the altitude. I sure hope so! They also say that nothing is definite in the Peace Corps. It is not unheard of to be switch to a different language zone half way through training or even during your service – due to the needs of the partner organization. Patience and flexibility…
9-15-06
There is just so much to write about and yet, I have written so little. Now that we have settled into the training schedule, I hope to gain more time for reflection and access to Internet maybe once a week.
I have just returned from a two-day visit with current Peace Corps Volunteers in the field. A fellow trainee and I traveled by bus to the southwest area of Uganda to Ntungamo. It was a six-hour experience on a rocket ship, Africa style. Bus drivers drive very fast, pass every slower moving vehicle and honk loudly at the boda boda (motorcycle) drivers and poor bicycle riders. The speed bumps are insanely huge here. On the ride back, I had the very back seat on the bus… Very bad idea. When we went over one of these speed bumps – I literally flew two feet above my seat and got rocked from side to side as we then hit some potholes. Not fun. For the rest of the ride, my motion sickness was in full throttle. I found some comfort in my iPod, closed my eyes and just focused on not loosing my cookies. I was successful – but it took everything I had to focus and just breathe for the total 8 hours in transit. Thank you to my fellow riders and trainees who offered their comfort and assistance n my time of need.
I would also like to send out an overwhelming THANK YOU to Jacob and Brian for their hospitality and kindness during our stay for the PCV host visit. They have mad PCV skills and are doing amazing work. Any trainee or volunteer would be lucky to visit their site. I felt especially fortunate to see the beautiful southwest area and privileged to make such solid connections. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! The PCV visit has been my most favorite experience in Peace Corps.
The most difficult thing….
It has got to be language learning. You could dump me in a totally foreign place with nothing but the overwhelming of the senses to find my way to accomplish a task. But, place me in training to learn a different language – now that is hard. Because of being out off school for so many years, my mind has lost the discipline to study and pay attention. Or maybe I never had it……! Language training accesses the far reaches of my brain that have not or probaly ever been used. This is what is hard. Some volunteers are like sponges. It comes much easier to some. And, some are in the same boat as me. I in fact should be working on my language homework instead of writing to you all now. There are some encouraging aspects to scenario… My home stay family speaks the language I am learning and they are eager to share their time and patience with me.
posted by Carrie May @ 11:44 PM
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