Friday, August 22, 2008

3 week in Uganda

So, I`ve finally gotten a blog to post my thoughts and updates on.
I`ve soon been in Kampala for three weeks now, and time is passing by very fast. I have seen a lot already, and there is much more coming.
Last week, we went to see a community based organisation that works with health and environmental issues in one of the slums of Kampala. We have also been to a wildlife education centre and seen a lot of animals that have been taking care of for various reasons.
This Sunday, the whole group of app 25 students are off to a weeks fieldwork in Mbale, east of Uganda. I`m looking forward to it, think it will be very interesting, although the weather forecast says it will be raining the whole week. Not so funny!
I spend my days at school, listening to lectures, and then fieldtrips. From now on, there will be most fieldtrips, which is good, because that is what I came here for.
In the afternoons, we visit markets, going into town or just realaxing at the hostel. We get served three meals a day here, and it is quite Ok, except from the fact that it is the same food every day. So, some days we eat out, just to get the taste of something different. But I know I have no reason to complain, at least I have food to eat. I am not used to people coming up to me on the street asking for the food I am eating. That puts things in perspective.

I enjoy being here very much, I have never been to Africa before, so everything is new to me here. Uganda is beautiful, but in Kampala, there is a lot of pollution and some days it feels as if you can actually chew the air. The people are very friendly towards us, which gives you a good feeling. At some point, I would consider buying the t-shirt with "My name is not Mzungu" printed on it, because that is what they call us here, "hello Mzungu, how are you Mzungu, bye Mzungu!"
Although I am having a very good time here, I have started to miss my family and friends during the last week. But there is so much going on here, that I will soon get my mind on something else.
Right now, we are having a lecture on SPSS, an analyzing computer programme in social research, which I find very boring, since I am not going to use it for my fieldwork.

I wil continue writing this blog in English, if there are some non-Norwegians that reads it, so please let me know by sending a comment or something.
For now- have a great weekend!