Settling in

I spent the first day in Mbarara figuring out my communication situation. My neighbor, a new Fulbright Scholar researching a project on public health who works in the same department that I do, gave me some advice about how to proceed. She also lives in the same apartment complex and has been a helpful resource on everything from directions to the university and phone numbers for safe drivers to call.

Buying groceries at the market

Using one of her extra phones and contact list, I was picked up by one of her go-to drivers who spent the day with me running errands. First, Peter took me to one of the telecommunications companies called "Africell" where I purchased a SIM card, airtime and data for my cell phone and also a dongle for my computer that would allow me to access the internet in my apartment or at school when the network was down. Wifi and routers are not very common here, unfortunately, and internet and calling minutes are not only slow and inefficient but also extremely expensive. Other errands included stopping by the ATM, getting groceries and buying a hot pot to boil water.

The front of the campus apartments

So far I've been a mixture of feeling overwhelmed, tired, excited and anxious - there's so much to understand and learn but it takes a lot of time, energy and patience and it's hard to hold myself back from asking every question possible. The few days spent settling in has allowed me to observe initial pros and cons of living and working in Uganda. Some positives about this location are the incredible weather (sunny, warm and in the 70s-80s every day), the cheap and fresh produce (the opposite of Japan), the very relaxed style and pace of life (also the opposite of Japan) and the extremely friendly, chatty and outgoing people. The negative aspects include the high population of mosquitos, the danger and difficulty of transportation, the lack of infrastructure (read unreliable water, electricity, internet and phone service) and the evidence of extreme poverty everywhere.

During training and from a recent phone call with my RELO (Regional English Language Officer) in Tanzania, I was reminded to use the first month of this job to "take the pulse" of the location and position by assessing needs, doing lots of observing and listening and not rushing into things. We were also encouraged to meet as many people as we could during the first couple of weeks, which has been great advice as well. I'm looking forward to my first weekend spent out of the city and am counting down the days until Sean can "take the pulse" of the location along with me.

Banana trees