It Begins

Hello from Uganda! I am finally here after months of planning, praying and fundraising (including 5 hours of bag packing, followed by counting out all the pennies). To be honest the whole thing is still serial and I can't quite believe I am here. My trip started on Monday, where mum dropped me off for a flight from Glasgow to Gatwick, and in true Craib fashion we were cutting it fine! In Gatwick I was collected by my good friend Anne who drove me to Heathrow and made sure I went through all the correct motions. She put me on my direct BA flight to Entebbe that evening. Now this flight was a new experience for me as I have never been on a plane that actually gives me leg room and provides complimentary food and drink (which I took full advantage of), so the whole trip was a novelty. I also took great pleasure in having my personal tv screen and having the power to watch any film and change it when ever I wanted, this power led me to start 3 films and not finish any of them.


It was an overnight flight, so I was woken early the next morning as we began our descent to Entebbe airport. I was welcomed by one of Jenga's director's, Robby and Pastor Godrey, a minister from Jinja (this man received so many phone calls on our 5 hour trip to Mbale, which confirmed to me that no matter what continent, pastors are on the phone almost more than in any other occupation!). 


We began our trip by driving from Entebbe to Kampala, which made clear that most drivers here are horrendous or just plain dangerous! There's no giving way in Uganda, you see a space, you take it and honk your horn later. As you see the Ugandan's walking the streets, they are calm and there is no sense of urgency, but the second they get behind a steering wheel, it is like they have run out of time and are doing all they can to desperately get it back. Thankfully, Godfrey my driver was nothing like this which made it a very relaxing journey. 


As we were moving further on with our journey, we eventually reached Jinja where we stopped at a cafe, called Auzzy, which funnily was ran by Australians. After eating the only burgers in Africa safe to eat (according to Robby) we continued on with our trip. As I expected many children shouted 'Muzungu' (white man) as we drove past, and they'd wave frantically to get your attention.  After we arrived in Mbale I met my American room mate Nat who showed me the girls house where I would be living. Shortly after this, Nat's friends came over for their weekly game night which included several games of 'The Seven Wonders' (apparently 'Settlers of Catan' gets to competitive, but we'll fit a game in soon for my benefit).


For the next few days I am to do nothing, which will be difficult for me as I like keeping busy. However it will be an opportunity to settle in, get to know the town and start a blog (which evidently is what I did). 


Will post again soon -Hannah xxx