And working life begins :-)

So week one over .. finished up with the VSO training and moved to Ntinda where I will be living for the next year. Izy and Chantal moved up as well to the same compound so it's great to have others around .. I also have neighbours Bekky and Chris and of course Ian who I am taking over from as a VSO volunteer who has been exceptional in the way he has been supporting us all and advising on all the best places to shop, eat, drink etc ..

Apartment is lovely .. Ntinda is a busy area about 4km's outside of the centre of Kampala .. very spoiled with a balcony, kitchen, sitting room etc .. trying to get creative with cooking as we're on a two ring cooker .. any tips on recipes would be most welcome!!

Kampala is a tale of extremes from what I have seen so far .. extreme poverty is everywhere and dotted in the middle of this are developed areas although these are outnumbered from what I have seen to date ..

Got to experience driving in Kampala yesterday .. most drive slow which is great and very necessary .. patient drivers are the norm .. we sat in a two hour traffic jam last Friday and not one person beeped at the other drivers .. driving is an obstacle course with so many craters (pot holes doesn't cover it) on the roads you can't avoid driving in zig zags which is then interesting for padestrians trying to get from a to b safely ... the rainswash the roads away quite quickly and as we're in rainy season this is happening quite a bit .. so city driving is like ooff road driving :-) .. still haven't figured out what you're supposed to do with the second gear stick in a four wheel drive ..

Started work today at the most fantastic MARPs network .. such inspired people with a great vision and unbelievable passion in this vision .. which is 'building synergy for an HIV free Uganda' .. I'll write more on this amazing organisation as I go along and am sure there will be lots to say as there is so much being worked on ..

We're due to go up to Jinja on Friday for Ian's leaving do so that will be great to get out of the city for a while .. like any big city it's mental busy with crazy traffic, lots of moise people etc so nice to get out into the open space for a while ..

Right signing off .. off to the Irish bar to get tickets for Paddy's day celebrations ..

Will be back soon ..

Life in the fast lane!!

Arrived safe to a fabulous Uganda (and this was seeing it in the dark)! Have spent the first few days training (lots of Luganda (language) training) with three other girls in the training group (Izy who is English and Rebekka and Chantal who are Dutch). We've had a mozy round busy!!! Kampala through some of the markets and the busiest taxi rank/park I have seen (O'Connell/Dame Street haven't a patch on it) .. will post pics as soon as I am brave enough to have the camera out in the centre of the city ..

Met with Ian (volunteer who I am taking over from) and the guys from work on Sat eve and had a great evening of catching up and looking at the Ugandan sun set ... was great to get to meet some of the people who I will be working with and I have received a huge welcome which gives great comfort in helping to settle in ...

The 'Pearl of Africa' is one of the friendliest places I have been .. Ugandans couldn't be more welcoming and speaking a bit of the language ensures an even friendlier experience if that's possible! .. Kampala is quite cosmopolitan .. obviously lots of NGOs here so there are shops, bars etc catering to that although you can pay dearly for the experience of any home comforts (dearer than at home) .. The green hills around Kampala make for some stunning views and for anyone looking for a bit of an adventurous break I would highly recommend it ..

Went to an African cultural night of music and dancing on Sunday and I have never seen such energtic dancers .. great night although we never made it on to the dance floor at the end of the night with the rest of the audience which is not like me :-) ... One question we were asked at this is 'what's the hurry with all the Westerner's?' if you keep moving really fast .. the earth is round and you'll just end up in the same place that you started anyway ... true!! we are learning to slow down to an African pace and liking this part of it at the moment ..

VSO have been great in welcoming us all and in ensuring that we are settling in and getting all our documents etc sorted out .. starting work next week and really looking forward to that and also moving to where I will be living .. Both Izy and Rebekka will be living in the same complex which is great ..

An evening out on Friday to meet up with most of the other VSO volunteers who are in and around the Kampala area so looking forward to that ..

Will try to upload pics as soon as I can and will try to write some interesting posts :-) .. not sure how regularly I'll be able to do this but will do my best :-) ..

Helen ..