My first full day.

Brussels was an easy connection, i thought it was funny that they painted a fly in the urinal...to limit spillage I guess. ahaha
I love this place, the journey was long but so worth it.
When I arrived last night, it was dark so i couldn't see much, but there was so much going on.
Three of the people who I will be working with met me at the airport, Kato, Deda and Sadat. All three of these guys were very happy to see me, but that is because they thought they were late and that I had left that airport already. HAHA
Getting though customs was easy, we just waited in line for the customs officer to see us, then we payed the $50 for the visa and I was off.
It was about an hour drive from the airport to my apt. During the drive we had sort of a question and answer session about life in the US compared to like in Uganda. I tried to explain Maple Valley to these three guys and talked about the night life in Maple Valley compared to what I saw in Kampala, but Kato replied "It sounds like you live like chickens, waking with the sun and going to bed at 10." We all laughed.
We first went to the PRO.ME.TRA. office where I received my first gift from Sadat, an avocado from the tree in the front yard. We then went to my apt building, Bulongo's Apartments, where I met Zurah. She is the receptionist at the apt buliding, she made us dinner; a chicken sandwich. It was a nice introduction to Ugandan food. Then I was off to bed, mosquito net and all.
I didn't sleep well, but I guess that is because I was nervous for my first day in the office and was battling jet-lag.
At 5am I found out that there was a mosque behind the apt building with the call to prayer. I also found out that there is a school there, by the sounds of children playing and also a goat.
The surroundings are completely different in the day time.
At 8:30 Zurah knocked on my door and offered me breakfast, which is now know i included in the cost of my room. I had freshly made bread, pineapple, papaya and what they call African Tea. This is possibly the best tea I have ever had.
At breakfast I talked with my server, Disire. He just started working 3 days prior to my arrival. He started teaching me some Luganda, the local language. I hope to be able to carry a conversation by the time I leave.
After breakfast Zurah walked me to the office, because I probably wouldn't have been able to find it again. Kato met us half way in the car.
At Prometra I met Laura, an master student at the University of Montana and another intern. Sadat and Deda were there too.
In all of these introductions, Laura pointed out that Luganda doesn't have the English "L" or "R" sounds, the locals call her Rora and I think they have been calling me Tyra. haha
Kato, Laura and I then went to Makerere University, which had 70,000+ students, to meet with a professor who focuses on the geography of tourism. Prometra has a field school where traditional healers are trained about 65km (~40 miles) from the city, and it is a current goal to increase tourism to this field school. I met several interesting professors at the university and an anthropology prof offered for me to sit in on some lectures.
On the way back we stopped by the bank and a store, their currency is so beautiful...not just green.
After this meeting we went back to the office where I met some other interns who are from Makerere, Emma (short for Immanueal) and Diana who are all forestry students. Diana was listening to Katy Perry, Medi was listening to Cher. haha I also met Medi and Umar, both of who work for Prometra. We had a meeting with everyone, which I guess is usual for Fridays. Everyone talked about their goals for the upcoming week and what the want to accomplish at the forest school. Also, FYI I wont be checking my computer from Tuesday night to Thursday morning each week because I will be at the forest school. In the meeting I think I found a possible project that I will be working on, writing a report evaluating the success of Prometra over the past 10 years. I think I'm going to do this through interviews with the traditional healers at the field school.
After our meeting I was asking about getting a call phone, it is a good thing I brought my phone from home, the SIM card was only 2000 shillings, less than a dollar. The whole country runs on a pay-as-you-go system, its really easy to use. If anyone finds themselves in Uganda, my number is 078-113-2250. :)
The jet-lag caught up with me, I fell asleep in the office. I walked back to my apt with Laura, who has an apt about 400m away. I then took a long nap, then headed to dinner. Before dinner I visited Zurah in her office, and she started to give me Luganda lessons, today was counting and the name of food stuff.
For dinner I had millet or talapia with some Irish Potatoes (as compared to sweet potatoes) and a glass bottle Coke. It was pretty good and only 9,000 Shillings or $3.90.
Now its 10:15 pm here and I am just finishing my Coke as I blog, we'll see what tomorrow has in store.