Welcome to Uganda!

After several flight delays, I have finally arrived in Entebbe, Uganda on Monday August 25.  I stayed the night in Kampala the first night.  The following morning I took the Post Bus which is basically a bus that you take with the post office that goes from Kampala to Gulu.  On the way, we passed by the Nile River, which was very beautiful.  I was finally united with my SIT group which was a relief. 

            For our orientation period we stayed in a hotel.  We also spent one day walking around Gulu to get to know the town.  Gulu is a growing city, but very different from what I am used to.  There is a lot of construction happening everywhere which leads to unexpected blackouts.  The blackouts do not faze the population here; people continue to do what they are doing as if the lights did not change. 

            I am staying with a local family here for the next week.  The family has been very nice and welcoming, just like everyone has been in Gulu.  Everyone refers to everyone as this is my brother, this is my sister.  It’s a very welcoming community.  I am very excited to learn more about Gulu and start on my research.

            Currently there is a census going on.  It started on August 28^th and will continue until September 6^th.  There are a lot of commercials about the census with the slogan: “it’s your right to be counted.”  The last time that a census has been conducted was in 2001.  I’m very curious to see how the estimates compare to the census count results. 

            The weather here is very hot.  The sun is also very consistent; it rises at 7am every day and sets at 7pm every day.  It also rains a lot which is nice because it cools down the temperature. 

Until next time.

-Leissan S.