West Nile

I’ve been in Uganda for 10 days now and I finally made it to an internet cafe!  It would be impossible for me to write about everything that’s going on – so let me start with the big news.  The program managers had our assignments before training even began!  (I was under the impression that our assignments were going to be based on our training skills.)  They asked for our site preferences but it did not change what they had already scheduled for us.

The Peace Corps has decided to place me in the West Nile region of Uganda – it is in the northwest corner, on the border of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  It was definitely not my first choice to go to this area, but I will make the best of it.  I won’t get my actual job assignment until Week 5 of training, but the managers wanted to get us started on our regional dialects for language training.  The West Nile region is a 12-hour bus ride from Kampala (the capital) and is basically in the middle of nowhere.  Needless to say, I will not be doing many weekend trips or safaris.

I’ll be going to the West Nile region with 6 other volunteers, and there are currently 10 volunteers teaching English there.  My group will be the first to work on public health, since the Peace Corps just reopened the area.  With that being said, anything I do will make a difference in public health there.  :)

In the meantime, I’ve got a full schedule (8:00am-5:00pm, Mon-Sat) of classes:

• Cross cultural adjustment
• Language (Lugbara is regional dialect that I’ll be speaking)
• Public Health training: HIV/AIDS education, malaria prevention, nutrition, water sanitation, and health management information systems
• Basic survival skills (bucket baths, charcoal stoves, pit latrines, etc.)

We will also be taking weekend trips to different regions for field research.  I have a couple of research projects to present at the end of training.  And I have to pass my language proficiency test.

This is clearly going to be the biggest challenge of my life.  I will be in the most remote volunteer location in Uganda.  I expect the harshest living conditions and limited communication.  I know you all think I’m crazy, but I’m totally loving it so far.  :)

P.S. I am living my host family now and I pass the internet cafe on my home from class everyday.  I hope to blog and email more frequently during the next 9 weeks (of training).