The Long Night

I’ll admit I’m writing this quite a while after our travel days, but I want to give you all an overview of what it’s like to travel across the world.

During our last day of Staging, they addressed how early we were leaving, saying that they realized it was really early, but they just wanted to make for sure, for sure that we would make it to the airport on time. Well, we did. We got to JFK airport in NYC at 5:30 am. Our flight didn’t depart until 11:40 am, and we couldn’t even check in until 7:00 am. So the staff kindly made a line for us to stand in, and then most of us collapsed. Our Staging staff warned us that it would be a long day of travel and that we should sleep, but seriously now, who was going to sleep? Not I, not I. (Well, I had intended to take a nap, but then I had to re-re-re-pack my suitcases because I couldn’t find something I needed for session….) So we get into our line, and I eventually lay down on the ground and sleep for about half an hour. Then, just before 7:00 am, they let us start checking in. The sign said it should only take us 20 minutes to get through security, but it definitely took more like half an hour to 45 minutes. It’s definitely the longest airport security line I’ve ever had to wait through. At least this time I made it through without having to be patted down….

Once we all got to the gate, some people stayed with bags while we went to get breakfast. Then began the waiting. We probably got to the gate and settled in with breakfast about 8:00 am, so we had three hours or more before boarding. I sat on the floor with my stuff, just talking to people for a while. One person had brought a book of questions (Something I seriously wish I had!), so we did that for some time. When we boarded, I realized just how huge the plane was. My seat was a window seat next to one of the girls I had come to like (not that I dislike anyone), so I was pretty happy about my seat…until I sat down. I realized very quickly that my hips were just a tiny bit too wide for the seats. At first I tried to brush it off, but it ended up being the worst part about the flight. Regardless, I took some Dramamine, ate lunch (My first airplane food! It wasn’t bad.), and dozed off. Through the flight, I probably got 7-9 hours of sleep, off and on. I forced myself to wake up about 3 hours before landing because it was 6:00 am Uganda time. This helped my jetlag to be fairly little. Whoo!

When I forced myself awake, it was dark outside, which was pretty chill! I could see the stars, and it was so interesting. I knew we were in the air, but I felt this strange mixture of feeling both closer and no closer to the stars I was seeing. I couldn’t pick any constellations out because my window was so small, but it was great. Then the sun started coming up, and that was beautiful. I got lots and lots of great pictures of it!

We landed in Johannesburg on time, about 8:00 am local time. We had to go through passport control and another time through security, and then began our layover. The Johannesburg airport is a great airport! There are so many shops, and the prices honestly aren’t that bad. I bought souvenirs for less than $10. In JFK airport it was $30 for almost the same amount of stuff! I was worried about our layover being basically forever, but it actually was a good amount of time. I feel like if it was less we would have felt rushed, but if it was more it would have been too long. Some of us got breakfast (which consisted of a plate of “chips” and a milkshake for me), then we went shopping, and finally I was able to sit and look at my site bid before boarding. I even have some rand (South African currency) to bring home with me!

The flight to Entebbe was my favorite flight of the entire trip. It was only four hours, and they even fed us! The seats were comfortable, and I was able to sit next to a PCT and have a great conversation most of the way. We both slept a bit at the beginning of the flight, but the last 2-3 hours we talked about TV shows, social causes, and so much more.

Landing in Entebbe actually made it real that I was in a new country. Going through passport control and customs was extremely easy – They didn’t even check our WHO Yellow Cards! – and soon we were walking out of the airport to 10+ Peace Corps staff awaiting our arrival! We had our bags put in a truck to be brought to our training center and then boarded the bus. One of the staff came to get us off, though, so that we could get our arrival picture taken. One of our PCTs was in the bathroom when we took the first picture, but thankfully she ran out while we were all still in the same place, so she got into the picture!!

            

The bus ride to our training center was intense. Ugandan driving laws are…interesting…and not well enforced, though I’ll talk more in depth about that in another blog post.  The most confusing thing, though, was that I couldn’t tell when Entebbe stopped and Kampala began. There were shops lining the road the whole way into Kampala, through Kampala, and then out of Kampala to the training center. When we got here, though, they had dinner ready for us! We ate and went to bed, ready to begin the next day bright and early.

  

                                     

 

Staging!!

Staging is finish! WHAT?! Legit! As of November 7, I was no longer an Invitee, but rather I became a Peace Corps Trainee (PCT), which is what I will be until I swear in during January. The emotions of the last couple of days have been quite intense emotionally. As stoic as I have had to be, trust me, my mind has been riddled with emotions.

Saying goodbye to my parents at the airport was possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Unfortunately, my sister wasn’t able to go because she is sick, but my parents saw me off. The sheer amount of tears, mostly from their side, was impeccable. My mom walked me through checking my bags in, something I desperately needed because I just have no idea how this whole air-travel thing actually works. She hugged me, gave me much-needed words of encouragement, we cried, and I said goodbye. As she walked out and I walked toward security, an immense feeling of sadness overwhelmed me. I stopped before getting into the super-short security line to get my electronics out, and then I went ahead through security. While waiting, I heard my name and looked over to see my dad standing outside of security to see me off. He had been forced to stay with the truck while they dropped me off because unattended vehicles are not allowed. I waved goodbye, cried a little, and went through security fairly painlessly.

When I got to my gate, my dad had posted this prayer to Facebook along with a selfie my parents and I took that morning that made me cry for like ten minutes in the middle of complete strangers. Let me tell you, that is insanely hard.

Waiting for my plane was crazy boring other than that because I got to the airport 2+ hours before my flight left, and I really didn’t need to get there that early. There was just no one flying early on a Saturday morning. Our flight ended up being delayed a bit because they couldn’t get the cockpit door to lock, but we still landed in Philly about 15 minutes after we were supposed to. Getting through the airport was pretty overwhelming because I had to lug everything around by myself, and once I picked up my checked bags, that was a terrible feat. (I actually ended up being able to check one of my carry-on bags for free because they were concerned about luggage, which was pretty cool in my opinion.) I found the best configuration for my bags, eventually found the desk I needed to stop at in order to get a ride on a shuttle, and off to the hotel I went.

Once I got to the hotel, I took a bit to rest and got a hold of one of my fellow trainees to do some sight-seeing. We had been in touch over Facebook, and we headed out. While we didn’t get to see Independence Hall due to time, we did get to see the Liberty Bell and get a Philly cheesesteak sandwich off the street! Plus we did it all on public transit, and I always feel accomplished riding around on public transit. :)

Registration was Saturday night (can you tell just how long of a day it was?) from 6:00-8:00 pm, come and go as you can. I went with my friend who I had been sight-seeing with, and it was no big deal. We had to sign a couple of things, we got funds to get us through our time here in Philly, and we took a pre-staging survey to test our knowledge of things about PC. I met a couple of people at registration, and when my roommate got here (MY FRIEND WHO I TALK TO ON FACEBOOK ALL OF THE TIME!!), she and I went for a light dinner at TGI Fridays (it was late) then made a run to Target BECAUSE OUR HOTEL IS RIGHT NEXT TO TARGET.

The first day of Staging was great. We did several ice breakers, most of which were fabulous, and had a BUNCH of activities. By the end of the day, I knew most people’s names, had formed several inside jokes with everyone, and had gotten into the strange habit of saying “I’m Bethany” before everything I said. Just for fun, I’m going to post OUR version of PC’s core expectations. You can find the real version somewhere on peacecorps.gov, but I don’t have internet access at this moment, so I can’t hyperlink it.

1. Drop everything and go

2. Commit to caring-sharing

3. Go and serve flexibly

4. Integration is key

5. All day, errday

6. HoCo fo’ sho’. ARETHA!

7. Follow levels of laws

8. Ownership of wellbeing

9. #AmericaRepresent

10. #UgandaRepresent

I also learned an awful lot about Uganda as a PC country. First of all, I learned that Uganda is the ONLY PC country to have the ad-bid process. (EDIT: I actually have found out since coming to country that although we were one of the first countries to implement it, we are not the only country using it.) That means we are the only volunteers in all of PC to have as much of a say in where we stay throughout our service as we do. Talk about cool! Another thing I learned was that Uganda is a Let Girls Learn (LGL) country. We were actually one of the original LGL countries when PC launched their LGL program in March. This means that part of our mission as PCVs in Uganda is to promote LGL and all it stands for, working toward gender equality, especially in access to education. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?! Seriously I am more excited about this piece of information than anything I learned these last few days. This means that not only CAN I work with empowering girls and women in my community but that I am HIGHLY encouraged to do so and that I have resources available to me in order to enact these projects that are not available to other volunteers. SCORE!!

My second day of Staging was today, and I feel so much closer to my fellow PCTs even just in the few hours we spent together. I know everyone’s name most of the time (Some of them still slip my name occasionally, but now we have a picture that I can practice with!), and we even finished Staging about an hour early! For finishing, we got our “lovely” brown shirts, and we got our first picture together as a cohort.

After we were officially finished, I went upstairs, fully intending to take a nap before our 2:00 am check out of the hotel. Instead, I re-re-repacked my bags, much less frustratingly this time, and went out for dinner with some fellow PCTs. Although I had already gotten a Philly cheesesteak, I decided to go with a group that wanted them just so I could mingle, mingle, mingle. (Inside joke. Sorry.) It may not have been my favorite meal in the world, but I took my first Uber cab ride (I still don’t quite understand it, but I also don’t really understand cabs in general.), and the company was hard to beat. I even got a really cool picture of the sign!!

I am feeling so much less anxious now that I have met everyone, that I understand what is expected of me, that I understand a bit more about what I am getting myself into, that I have ensured my initial support group. I know that some of us may not be the best of friends, but that’s okay because we’re all PCTs right now, and soon we will be PCVs, and that means we have each other’s backs. We leave in a few hours, together, without any PC staff to guide us. I still can’t believe that I am officially a PCT and that I will be in a whole other country in a couple of days, but I won’t let that get me down because I’m just so excited!!

Typhoid and Other Questions

I finally have an answer, in writing, to the most burning question of my entire time as an invitee. The CDC recommends you receive two vaccinations before going to Uganda, at least above the normal vaccinations: typhoid and yellow fever. I got my yellow fever vaccine, but even as rigorous as medical clearances was, it didn't include getting a typhoid vaccine. I have asked current PCVs, our country desk officer (CDO), searched reddit and the Facebook group, all to no avail. Cue the conference call.

We were invited to a conference call with PC/Uganda staff (like, the ones actually in Uganda), and we had half the call to ask questions. What was the first question I thought of? DO WE GET A TYPHOID VACCINE?! It's such a simple question with a simple answer.








So there you go, folks. We will receive a typhoid vaccine when we arrive. We were asked NOT to get a flu shot before leaving, as they will give us one more specific for Uganda when we arrive. I'm sorry poor child who cannot afford a vaccine, but I will not be getting my flu shot from Walgreen's before I leave.

Another thing I learned was that Uganda has 23 different languages. (I had thought it was more than that, actually). All of us will learn at least some Luganda, the language spoken the capital of Kampala, so that we can get around Kampala. When we get our site assignments, we are, by default, broken up into four language groups and regions. The languages are part of both the Bantu and the Acholi families: Lusoga, Runyakore/Runkiga, Runyoro/Rutooro, or Acholi.

Also contrary to what I had believed, we will only be allowed to visit Kampala when necessary, not every month. We have to request special permission to go to Kampala outside of days when we're required to be there. Apparently Kampala is more dangerous than I had previously thought.

A big part of the call was to learn about the Ad/Bid process. PC/Uganda is unique in that they give their volunteers the opportunity to be part of the decision process for where they will live. (If I had a dollar for every time I've explained that....) Many, if not most PC countries don't allow you to have a voice in where you live. I think this is changing throughout countries, but it is not standard across PC. Anyways, about a week before staging, PC/Uganda will send us "advertisements" for the sites available to us. We will then come up with our top three and bottom three choices, as well as explanations for our choices. When we choose our sites, we are also choosing our positions. More reason for me to procrastinate on deciding whether I want to be a Teacher Trainer or a Primary Literacy Specialist.

Speaking of, I learned that Teacher Trainers will be working with kids aged 18-21. I had thought they would be 16-19, since the Ugandan education system is based on the British one, but apparently I misunderstood. It would be quite interesting to be teaching someone who is 21 when I'm only 22, almost 23......

For those worried about my safety, please know that the PC/Uganda people are watching very closely the stability of things with elections coming up soon. They don't expect for there to be problems with it, but we will be told more about the procedures to follow if something were to happen during PST.

There were a few other things we talked about, but these are the interesting bits. I'm so thankful that PC/Uganda gives us all of these resources to prepare us for our time with them. Next time I'll just make sure to use my home phone instead of using 70 of the 100 minutes that was supposed to last until I leave....

One Month?!

I can hardly believe this day exists. I am leaving in one month. I will be in Uganda a month from Sunday. How is this possible?

Currently, I'm sitting on the dorm room floor of one of my friends, making my last visit to Kirksville before I leave. The day I got here, today, is one month from when I'll leave for Philadelphia and the day I leave, Sunday, is one month from when I'll be in Uganda for the first time. Everything is surreal right now.

Realistically, I'm closing in on everything. When I get home on Sunday, I will have a little less than a month to finish up buying everything, getting things settled with my phone, arranging personal property insurance... Oh, and y'know, packing. The more stuff I buy, the more I doubt that I'm going to be able to fit my entire life in two suitcases, at least not being able to have space for the food that everyone keeps telling me to bring. But that battle is going to be fought in a few weeks.

Speaking of, I have a busy schedule coming up! Well, busier than normal at least. I have a going away party being thrown for me up here on Friday, then next week I'm throwing myself a going away party, then the next week I'm going to a concert and then a wedding reception for my roommate...and then I leave.....

In case you can't tell, I can't quite grasp that I'm leaving in a month.

On the bright side, we got an email about PST! I was hoping for a staging email, but this email told us that we will be arriving in Uganda on November 11, then taking a 3 hour bus ride to our first training location. We have to turn in site bids on November 13, then we find out where our sites will be November 14! On the 15th, we will get a tour of Kampala, something I'm actually super excited about.

From November 30-December 11, we will be living at Shimoni Core Primary Teachers’ College doing Teachers' Bootcamp, learning how to do our jobs! Then from December 13-15 we have site visits!! (SO EXCITED) The last stint of PST is our homestay from December 19-January 17. The last week of PST is back in Kampala, with swearing-in on January 21, 2016!! (MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!) I can't wait to travel Uganda, see all there is to see, learn how to do my job, learn a new language or two,

Excited and terrified. Some of my best experiences in life have begun like this, most of them even. Everyone keeps asking me if I'm ready, but see I don't honestly think you can ever be ready for something so big in your life. I think Hugh can take this one away.

Staging Update

I received an email earlier today which shared that our staging date has even moved up a couple of days. Staging (in the US) now begins November 7  instead of November 9. I now have two fewer did to figure out how to pack my life away in two suitcases, but it'll be okay. I've changed my countdown accordingly.

Aug. 14 update to the update: I have read like 30+ blogs from current or recently-former PCVs, and it would appear every one of them had staging in Philadelphia, PA, then took a bus (at some ungodly hour of the "morning") to NYC to fly out of JFK airport. They then had a couple of different layovers, but they flew into Entebbe, Uganda, where they began their PST right away. Thus, it is a good assumption to make that this is what we'll be doing. :)

October 9 update to the update on the update: Yup. This is in fact what we're doing.