We left the place we were staying at for Teacher Boot Camp on Dec. 17th to head off to FSV (Future Site Visit). It was really sad to say goodbye to everyone, but we were all very excited to see our site. The place we will be living at for the next two years after swear in at the end of Jan. I was in a car with four other volunteers who live kind of the same area as me in the Southwest part of the Country. We stopped at the equator and got a nice pic. So cool to be living below it :D I was the first stop along the way. I am living in the Ibanda district.
My site: Very not what I would ever have expected for Peace Corps! I have a room located in the Daughters of Mary and Joseph nun convent, which sounds kind of crazy, but it's actually really legit! They are very chill and funny and the compound is super nice! Everything is already provided for me. A bed, mosquito net set up, desk, chair, wardrobe, and nightstand is all in my room. They also have a full kitchen with stove and dishes etc. There are even flushable toilets and showers which sometimes have hot water :O not pit latrine or bucket bath?? WHAT WHAT!
I met my supervisors (Head Teacher and Dept. Head Teacher of the Primary school I'll be working at) as well as my counter part (the P4 teacher I'll be working with). They are all very nice! The school itself needs a lot of work. The buildings/classrooms are in very poor condition, but it's located very close to my place.
My village is pretty nice. There are two trading centers where I can do some shopping. The hospital is located next door to the compound. Also, there are BEAUTIFUL hills all around! Soooo pretty there! The village is located only 5km away from Ibanda Town which is a pretty decent size so I can buy things that I can't find in my village. It doesn't take very long to get to Mbarara town either (about an hour drive) which is even bigger.
We stayed at our site until Dec. 20th, then we headed to a village very close to Mbarara town for language training/homestay. There are nine of us who will be living in the Southwest region of Uganda and we are all here together learning to speak Runyankore/Rukiga. We each have been assigned to a family to stay with. We will stay here until swearing in at the end of Jan.
My family is super great! There is the dad, mom, daughter in law, her baby, a niece, and a grandson. They are very nice and not too overbearing. They make GREAT Uganda food, but they feed me WAY too much. They told me they want me to get so fat that no one recognizes me when I go back home :S I'm afraid this is going to happen!
We got a holiday for Christmas so we all went to stay at two other volunteer's site. IT WAS SUCH A GREAT TIME! We made lots of great food, decorated sugar cookies, climbed a hill, star gazed, and had lots and lots of laughs :D I also got to talk to some people back home so that was nice to hear their voices :)
Right now, we have all made a trip to Mbarara Town to get some fabric to make dresses/shirts for swearing in so I had better get going!
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| Merry Christmas from the SW! :D |
Are you going to sew your swearing in outfit yourself? It sounds like you had a very merry Christmas! What's the best new food you've had? And the worst?
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