I am adjusting to so many things: applying bug repellant every few hours, endlessly killing flies/mosquitoes/ants, talking to every single person I meet on the road and asking them how they are in Luganda (it is considered rude not to exchange this question and appropriate responses), turning on the lights at night (when the power is working) to scare any large bugs/lizards, and similarly, not pouring anything in the dark (I have heard horror stories of frogs/bugs in unexamined glasses). I now assume it will take 20 minutes to walk to school and another 5-10 to make it across the sprawling school campus, sleep through the daily song beaconing devout Muslims to 4:30 am prayer, ignore the honks of every vehicle passing by (they honk to signal a free seat), and anticipate obscene traffic going back/forth to Kampala. I am more accustomed to having my compound patrolled by both a day guard and a night guard (complete with a gun), watching birds of every shape and color dart about, sleeping under a mosquito net, boiling water to do my dishes, locating candles every time the power goes out (usually at least once a day), and waiting about 5 times longer than I would anywhere else in the world to do anything (a 4 person line at the bank might take an hour).
These are a few of the adjustments I have been making this week. Not to mention all the new things that come with working in a new school, interacting with a new community, making new friends…
Honestly, I am exhausted. But, I am also really excited for things to come. Each day life feels more natural here. I am excited for the day when things really start to feel like home!
A few snapshots of my new life (there is a full album with many more on my facebook page if you are interested):
My house (the smaller one):
My school:
Kampala:
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