Meeting my new family

Written April 21st



It’s my second day here in Uganda, though I find it so hard to believe that it was only yesterday morning that we landed because it feels like so much longer. Probably because I haven’t had much sleep and everything has been so overwhelming so far. Today we were picked up from the Banana Village by Robert who took us to his and Carli’s home in Kampala. I was so anxious to see the place where I will be staying the next 10 weeks since I didn’t have many ideas about what to expect (besides a lot of kids, which there were). Everyone was very warm and welcoming so it was easy to make myself at home because it’s such a laid back environment. While at the same time it is a bit chaotic; with so many people I wouldn’t expect any less. I am the new auntie in the house to all of the children, which makes me wonder about how difficult it might be to leave in July. I can definitely see myself getting attached to the children. There are other people staying in the house as well; relatives of Carli’s who are leaving on Monday and Joan, who is here as a volunteer for 3 months and will be sharing a room with Teresa and I. It’s a bit crowded, and there isn’t much room to unpack and put things away, but the room is a good place to come for quiet time or personal space. We went to the grocery store today which was interesting. They seemed to have quite the selection of grocery foods and other things that a Walmart back home would have which is oddly comforting. It seems that I will be able to get anything I could want at the grocery store here, which I wasn’t expecting at all.