Thursday, February 25, 2010

Tips and Tricks for Fitting In...

               Secretly when I first started to blog I really didn’t like it. I used to blog when I was younger and I didn’t mind it then, but being forced to write 750 words once a week regarding the trip that I am going on; it is suffice to say that I thought it was challenging. I now look forward to writing my weekly blog, it has become one assignment that I don’t cringe at the thought of completing. So to keep on track of what this blog is about: getting ready for my three month placement in Uganda! I can tell you this much: it is hectic. Each day is filled with more things to do than the last. I have been moving along with what needs to be done before I leave: needles, forms, appointments, doctor’s visits, dentists, wisdom teeth extractions, volunteering and when I have a spare moment I try to research Uganda as much as possible. I am still frustrated at trying to find resources about Uganda in the specific areas that I want but I realized that the more I poke around the more I find. I can easily find more information on the United States or Canada but I guess that is to be expected since I live in this part of the world.
I have recently had the pleasure of sitting down with a woman who works at the University of Waterloo to discuss what it is like to live in Kampala. I invited along my travel buddy Krista and on the first day back from reading week we went to discuss what it is like to live in Kampala. So here is a brief view into what we should be expecting:

Clothing:
Evidently if you want to look like a tourist then you should wear shorts. We have to wear pants and long skirts. Did I mention that Uganda is on the equator? Oh and flip-flops are shower shoes and should not be worn out of the house. People will look at you funny.

Transportation:
Apparently this is the only time that I will feel most fearful for my life! The roads are so narrow and the boda boda’s zip in and out of areas with heavy traffic. Now I know what most of you are thinking, “A boda-what?” A boda boda is a way of transportation that people take in Uganda. Think of it like a taxi, only it is a motorcycle (or a bike). Here are two pictures:











General notes:
Do not wear jewellery, do not take a purse into the central market. Ok I’m warned. Also the people there are very friendly.

The Creepy Crawleys:
There should not be a problem with spiders (phew!) although there are lots and lots and lots of mosquitoes. (Mental note: if I only pack one thing, let it be a good mosquito net). There are also snakes.

Map:
And the last thing we did which made me so incredibly excited to go to my placement, we Google mapped. So that everyone else can be really excited about where I am going I will include a map for everyone to take a gander:














(www.maps.google.ca)
On the map the location that I will be staying at will be A and the location that Krista is staying at is location 
B. And there are a few things I learned about Uganda this past week! There is more to come though, I promise.
                On another note, I am glad to report to you that I have a volunteer placement! Finally! I start this coming up Tuesday and hopefully I will be able to get all of my 20 hours in before the end of the term. I have been very lazy when it comes to getting my placement set up. There were a few places that I wanted to volunteer at but the training days had already passed. I will just have to keep these in mind for when I return from my placement. I am going to be volunteering at the St. John’s Kitchen! I will have more to post about next week when I am going to have my first day of volunteering under my belt! Wish me luck! (First days are always a dousey for me)

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update!!! seeing the map is super exciting.

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  2. Well, the good news about the long pants and skirts, at least, is that they will be more effective mosquito barriers than shorts would be.

    I think Cat has started a trend... We're all going to end up at St. John's. :)

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  3. Hahahaa, are you going to St. John's too :O Which days? And that is true, I never thought of that (the pants)

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  4. thanks for bringing me along Jacquelyn - definitely got me that more excited about our trip!

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  5. I am glad you had this experience, to be able to meet with this individual and talk about Uganda! Much better knowledge was probably obtained than you could have probably retrieved from the Internet!

    Keep the updates going! :)

    Nev

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  6. This whole jewelry thing is bothering me...I really don't want to part with my iron ring. It just looks so CUTE on my finger I want to pinch its stainless steel cheeks.

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