The first few days

I have arrived safely in Kampala, Uganda on Wednesday morning. I was tired from the trip for a few days. I had two overnight flights with a 10 hour layover in London and a 7 hour time change. There are many new sounds that wake me up at night. I feel like I have overcome the jet lag now. 

I am excited to be here. It has been a very busy few days. We are in the middle of going through the office orientation here with the interns that have just arrived and myself which included walking around the neighbourhood of our office and house, getting familiar with the office, a scavenger hunt in downtown Kampala, cultural training, etc. It feels a bit overwhelming at times as everything is new. 

We have been hosted by different staff families each night for dinner. I have yet to do much shopping, I anticipate that it will be a frustrating experience for a while. There are smaller grocery stores here that carry some items I am used to, but they are more expensive than shopping at the markets. There are road side vendor/markets that sell most fresh produce, which is wonderful here. It is frustrating because I don't know how much it should cost, where to buy it, what I should be looking for. It will come with time and the people are friendly. I will just have to step out of my comfort zone and engage with the culture around me. 

I am currently living with the four male interns in a two bedroom house. So as you can tell I am sharing a room with two other people. I have not shared a room for a long time so it is an adjustment. I will need to find some space for alone time which is difficult in a smaller house. I feel comfortable in Uganda now but not settled yet. As I get more settled I will be looking for other accommodations.

I am adjusting as well as I could hope. It will take more time than I would like. I will update you more later with some pictures but I just wanted to let people know I am fine.

Praises:

-It has been a blessing to meet the people I will be working with and the community that is here, even though it is a struggle sometimes to be meeting a lot of new people I am excited

Prayer Requests:

-adjusting to life in Uganda
-grace and patience as I am living in closer quarters than I would like
-finding a church

Blessings,

Matt