A Day out to Entebbe

I've now moved into the flat and have been busy cleaning, tidying and finding homes for everything. Everyone else is doing much the same, starting our placements and getting settled into our accommodation so a group of the VSO volunteers decided that we needed a day out on Saturday. We decided to go and see Lake Victoria and headed to Entebbe.

We decided to travel by Matatu. These are the 14 seater minibuses that travel all over Kampala and to nearby places such as Entebbe. They are cheap and effective if you know the route you want to take. However there are no timetables, bus stops, numbers or route maps so you need some local knowledge to be able to use them. The trip to Entebbe took about an hour and cost us 3000 UGX each or around 75p!

Once there we looked for the botanical gardens. It was amazing to see mahogany, ebony, frankincense and nutmeg trees growing in the gardens. There are also the most beautiful large flowers on several of the trees.

However, I think the highlight of the trip was our meeting with the group of velvet monkeys living in the gardens. Especially as there were 2 new babies in the group which were only a day old.

After all that excitement it was time for lunch. This was a shared feast of fish and chips in a little cafe on the shores of Lake Victoria. As much as the 5 of us could eat for 60,000 UGX = £15!

Patience

That has been the word of the week - Patience!

Moving into the flat has been moving along, but oh so slowly. We were going to get the keys for both flats on Monday but the work was still being finished. Then on Wednesday, then on Thursday, then on Friday and then today, Saturday. The two of us who are moving into the two flats have been down there today and everything is nearly finished. We've also got details of the water and electricity meters for each flat so that we can read the meters when we are ready.

The flats are looking lovely, all freshly painted with curtains up and light bulbs in. We tested everything today and apart from a couple of small things to finish everything is working fine. The balconies were still in the shade today at 1pm so breakfast and lunch will be on the balcony and then an evening drink with a view of the sunset over Kampala.

The current plan is to get the furniture on Monday and move in early next week! We'll see!

I've also been struggling with the wifi connection at the guest house. I think there are more people trying to use it than there is availability. So it can be very slow or just suddenly disappear completely. It's taken me half an hour of trying to get the blank page to write this blog post - Patience!

Settling In

Kampala is starting to feel a bit more like home. I've got a flat organised, just waiting for the landlord to do some redecoration and cleaning. Two of us 'new' volunteers have flats in the same block so we are able to work together to get everything sorted, which is great. Tomorrow is Saturday and we are going to visit and measure for curtains etc.

Yesterday we went to the furniture market with another volunteer who was ready to buy the furniture for her flat. It was a totally new experience for me! There is a big field by the side of the road with row after row of furniture laid out for sale. This is the best place in Kampala for buying wooden furniture but you need to be able to haggle, preferably in Lugandan. One of the VSO staff came along with us and did a fabulous job of getting good prices for the items needed. We plan to go again next week once we have the keys so that we can get what we need. I think we both now have a good idea of what we are looking for. The flats are completely empty so we need everything, bed, dining table and chairs and 3 piece suite.

As well as the wooden furniture we also need soft furnishings like curtains and bed linen. And then there's the gas hob and kitchen equipment. We plan to visit various shops recommended by other volunteers over the next few days to start to pick up what we want.

I've been having a few quiet days as I've not been feeling too well. I think it's the total change of everything combined with a bacterial infection. So I've been on antibiotics, no wonder I feel tired.

The VSO office and garden and the garden at the guest house have been a haven of tranquillity. It's lovely to sit outside in the shade with summertime temperatures as the UK heads towards Autumn and Winter.

The First Week

What a lot has happened in a week!

We've now completed our In Country Orientation training, which was excellent. As well as sessions on the Country Strategy, Phones and Wifi, Accommodation, Finance, Corruption and politics we also went on a tour of Kampala on Saturday and a visit to a cultural centre on Sunday evening.

The centre of Kampala. Yes it really is this chaotic. There is traffic everywhere with 14 seater minibus taxis going all over the town and the Boda Boda motorbike taxis weaving in and out of the traffic. I'm not sure whether I am ever going to have the courage to use the Boda Bodas but the other volunteers do say they are one of the best ways of getting around.

I think all of the volunteers would agree that the visit to the Ndere cultural centre on Sunday evening has to be the highlight of our time here so far. A real opportunity to see the dances and songs from the different areas of East Africa with an excellent compere who kept us all entertained and explained the different dances. The evening ended with the whole audience on our feet joining in.

Hello Uganda!

So here I am!

Yes it was a very hectic weekend and the packing took longer than I thought possible! So I didn't manage to do another blog post before I left the UK. We flew out of Heathrow at 21.00 on Tuesday evening (1st Oct) and landed at Entebbe at 7.30 on Wednesday morning after a very comfortable flight, but feeling somewhat jaded after a night with little sleep!

There are 5 of us 'new volunteers' joining an established and growing team of staff and volunteers in Uganda. We met for a nice lunch at a cafe near our guest house in Kampala yesterday but otherwise had a quiet day to unwind, unpack and catch up with sleep.

Feeling refreshed we started our In Country training today. I now have wifi again and can send another blog post. We also had a fabulous Ugandan lunch, with lots of different dishes to try. If the food is going to be this good I'm in the right place! There is a lovely covered area in the garden where we do our training sessions - I'll add a picture to the next blog.

The weather here is perfect, warm enough to wear a T shirt with a wrap in the evenings but not so hot that you can't move or think. It's the start of the rainy season so we've had some heavy spells of rain but after an hour or two the rain stops. We've also had some sunshine but generally cloudy. It's very green here and both the guest house and VSO office have lovely gardens.

I'm looking forward to the next week finding out more about my new home.