The Real Deal:February 17, 2009

Welcome Uganda! This is a beautiful country just from the Ugandans alone. They are warm and gracious and try to meet all of our needs. We finished staging in Philadelphia and now we are really here for our 9 weeks of training. These first few days are adjustment day, time to get our shots started and learn a littler Luganda survival language before we move to a new place and begin the next 8 weeks with our new homestay families. Steve and I will be together but maybe learning different languages. Our group members will learn survival Luganda plus one of six other languages. The learning curve is steep and scary but so far we are surviving. We are still not sure of our jobs but they are working on placement. We get our bikes and phones on Saturday. It works like this; we stay with a family and bike everyday for 8 weeks to the training site where we learn language, culture and job skills. The training is essential and important simply to be safe and healthy. There are 32 in our group and we will all be placed in different places for jobs but the three married couples will live together.
The biggest thing to learn is imbola imbola: slowly, slowly. The pace is different and the ability to learn is different for each of us. The food is interesting: vegetables, matoke/plantains/fruit/beans/rice/chipta and other foodstuffs. One could easily be on a totally starch diet as for me...I am watching every morsel since like one of the other PCVs said...I plan on a major lifelook, not just life style.The weather is warm and hot but not like SEA.
I am loving watching my husband take to PC Camp, become a dorm member, hangout with kids, wash and hang out his own clothing and generally take to his new life with grace and dignity. One can only imagine when next i will blog, but keep those emails coming and letters, too. Hasse