Here is a map of where Uganda is in Africa. Kampala is where I will be staying. It is the capital and is located right above Lake Victoria.
This past week has been a blur of visiting friends at schools around here and seeing local family as I try to prepare for my four months away. I have been eating as much pizza and hamburgers as I can and watching plenty of American sports so I can get in as many American experiences as I can before I leave.
I have also been packing and shopping quite a bit. I had to go to REI for a suitable travel backpack and ended up getting advised on a number of useful things to bring for this kind of trip. I have everything from a travel shampoo/soap combo to a water filter and intense DEET bug-spray. My mother isn't thrilled with the state of the living room right now as it's completely covered in all my clothes and other items as I slowly pack everything.
My biggest challenge in packing is the ambiguity of the dress-code in Kampala. While I have been advised by SIT (my study abroad organization) that tank tops are inappropriate, and that I must always cover my knees, I have had friends tell me that both of those recommendations are exaggerated. So, I have had to be careful about picking shirts that are not too revealing, but will also keep me cool in Kampala's heat, as well as skirts that either go all the way to my ankles, or stop just above the knee.
Today I went by my alma mater, Shipley, to pick up some supplies the lower school kindly donated to The Brain Tree school, located a few kilometers from Kampala. Shipley has sponsored Brain Tree since 2005 and has helped them fundraise for projects such as a library and a kitchen. I am planning on volunteering once a week at the Brain Tree school but I am unsure about the technicalities of that as of right now. I will write more about the school and my plans in a later post. I am bringing a bag filled with pencils, stickers, portable speakers, paint, headphones and two laptops. School supplies are much more expensive in Uganda and shipping is both astronomically expensive and very unsafe, so sending things over in a carryon is the safest and cheapest way to ensure it gets to the destination.
For those of you who are concerned about my health while I am in Uganda, rest assured that I will be a safe 3,000 miles away from any instances of Ebola (aka 500 miles further than the distance from Philadelphia to San Fransisco). I have also gotten 4 shots and am taking a ton of preventative medications while I am in country.
I will hopefully post again by next Thursday with an update on how my flights were and my home-stay family. I do not know who I will be staying with until I arrive in Kampala but I am so excited to find out!
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