Over Half Way

Well things here are going well. I can’t believe I have been here for over 3 weeks and only have 2 and a bit to go. Time has gone so fast!

 

Last week we spent Monday to Friday out in the village finishing off the guttering, building a base for the water tank, installing the water tank, and starting work on the classrooms. It was really nice to spend 4 nights away from civilization and we got a lot of work done which was a bonus. At night we had a few cooking lessons from Mamma Lillian (the wonderful lady who cooks all our meals for us) which was fun but also made me realize why everything tastes so amazing here…. the staple ingredients of EVERYTHING is oil and salt, lol. We spent Monday and Tuesday night of this week in the village too, doing more coats of paint on the school and finishing a few odd jobs. Its going to be so sad to say goodbye to this place!

 

We have just come back into Jinja this morning and this afternoon James, Jack and I are heading to Kampala (the capital of Uganda, about 2 hours from Jinja) because we are starting our Safari from there tomorrow. It’s a 3 day trip up North to Murchison falls for a boat trip and game park safari so should be amazing, I’m very excited! All four of us did a road trip to Kampala on the weekend just been to check out the sights. It’s such a crazy city compared to quite little Jinja! We did some shopping at the craft markets and then headed out for a nice western dinner at a Mexican restaurant. We sussed out with the locals where the best place to go in town was and headed out to a funky club. When we walked in it was like walking into a music video, with black gangster dudes in their ‘get up’, everywhere! We were the only white people in the entire room J It was such a crazy feeling.

 

Well I am happy to report I am still 100% healthy and safe and enjoying every moment of African life. I am going to try post some pictures on face book next week but I don’t like my chances of it working as like I am sure I have winged about before, internet SUCKS here, and so does phone connection!

 

Well thats all for now, will write again soon!

 

Love Kyla

JAMBO

JAMBO (Swahili for hello)

 

 

Wow where to start… I have no idea!

 

Well first of all I am pleased to report I arrived all safe and sound on Monday with all my luggage and without any delays J Getting off the plane in Entebbe was one of the most surreal moments of my life, walking along the tarmac (lol) it hit me that I was actually in Africa! this surreal feeling has been with me for most of the week, I keep pinching myself to see if this reality is just a dream, but its not.

 

So I have been here for 5 days and it feels like home already, I have officially fallen in love with the African way of life and everything about this place (even the really frustrating things). Fellow volunteer Ali met me at the airport with volunteer coordinator Eunice and they have been showing me around for most of the week. The city of Jinja is really beautiful. Its right on the river Nile so has amazing views and just the feel of the whole place is really cool, its has an amazing vibe. It nothing like the city’s back home, no sky scrapers, etc, just crazy dirt roads and little houses and shops scattered everywhere!

 

On Wednesday we went out to the village for the first time and I was so overwhelmed. The poverty was devastating. It’s the hardest thing to try and explain so I won’t go into detail too much,. The village we are working in there is a small two classroom school, a children’s home for the orphaned children of the district, a few mud houses, our volunteer house and a few other random structures. No electricity or running water. But it’s the best thing ever being out there, its so peaceful and truly beautiful! And the kids are just magic J On our first night they all came over to the house to sing and dance and play the drums for us. For kids who have so little they are so happy, its really inspirational to see!

 

Well there is so much to say and I feel like I have been gone for weeks but I am struggling to put it all into words at the moment so will try again later. The good news is I am feeling fairly safe as I have 3 other fantastic Aussie volunteers that I have been spending most of my time with and I haven’t gotten sick yet which is also a bonus J

 

 

Sorry that its brief but internet connection here is really slow too! I will try again another day.

 

By for now!

Welcome to my blog

26th September 2008

Hi everyone and welcome to my Africa blog! I am currently two sleeps away from heading off on my big adventure to Uganda where I will be working for 6 weeks!

I am feeling about 100 different emotions at the moment but mainly excitement and nervousness! I am really looking forward to getting over there and getting my hands dirty (both literally and metaphorically!). I will be updating this blog about once a week (or when i can get internet access) so hopefully it will keep you all updated on whats happening.

Thats all for now but I will post again once I arrive.

Love Kyla