Welcome to Uganda!

It has been quite a first week and I have tons of thoughts and impressions. Maybe too many to get together into one post. 

My first impression is just how helpful and kind the Peace Corps staff is. I was a little surprised, at first, that all but three of the staff members are Ugandans. I guess I thought they would be Americans since the Peace Corps is an American organization. Now that I think about it though, it makes much more sense that our support staff is comprised of both Americans and Ugandans. I was also surprised at how much the climate and the vegetation reminds me of St Petersburg. Many of the plants look familiar which is comforting. However, the birds are very  different, and I can’t wait until I am able to do some birding.

The entry road to our training center. We have beautiful palms and other tropical vegetation.

The food is a bit different. We seem to be served lots of carbs. And multiple variations of carbs. It is typical to have four or five different starches with a small amount of meat or chicken, then pineapple or watermelon for dessert. You are not expected to select which carb either (rice, potatoes, pasta, chapata, matooke, posho), you pile them all on your plate together, then cover the whole things with sauce and beans. (I’ll get more into the local foods, what they are, how they’re made, and how they are actually spelt when I have time to do some research) The food is good, but it never changes. What you had for lunch will be there again for dinner and what you had yesterday will be there again today. 

A custom I love is the tea time! Twice a day, once around 10am and again around 4pm, we stop class for tea and a snack. Sometimes the snack is just popcorn, or it could be bananas or samosas (veggie filled, fried dough). I will definitely be gaining weight! 

I also love the fact that the weather here is beautiful. Tea times and many of our classes are held outside under the shade of a tent or a tree. The mornings are cool and foggy, then the sun comes up and the clouds start fluffy white, gradually darkening as the time approaches noon. It seems to rain once a day; a down pour for 30 minutes, then the sun comes back out and all is wonderful.

We have had very little time outside of the training compound so I only have a few pictures to share with you.

Veg stand right outside of the training center. 

Ugandan Bike Shop... Not sure about the selection but the roads are so poor, I'm now hoping I will not be required to ride a bike to work. The traffic is ridiculous too, no fancy bike lanes or trails like the States and no one observes any kind of  right-of-way rules.

Untethered cows walking down the road. They just seem to know where they're going because honestly, they are not held, their ropes are dragging freely behind them! This dirt road leads to the entry way to our training center.