Jinja - week 1

I'm getting settled in to life here in Jinja. I'll start working at the Source Cafe tomorrow, helping with their accounting system and other things. In the meantime, Candice & Bobby have been great hosts and have been helping me get acclimated to life here in Jinja.

Emily Stutzman also stayed with us for a few days. SMALL, SMALL world....we had never met & found out that we are related by marriage. We have the same great uncle & aunt--how crazy! On Friday Candice took Emily & I to a cool place which does beautiful weavings. We also went to the Bujagali Falls, where Nile rafters end their journey. I will definitely go rafting while I'm here; I've heard its amazing. Then on Saturday Candice took us on the "Jinja Tour." We went to the Source of the River Nile, Hindu Temple, Fishing Village, Metal Working District, Jinja Hospital, amongst other places. We took the city transport--Boda bodas. You hop on the back of a motorbike & they take you to your destination like a taxi. Sunday we went to the Jinja Church and then had lunch with some Ugandan friends from church. Candice & I also visited a few women at the hospital. One lady we visited just had a baby & had an unexpected c-section. The hospital was quite an eye-opening experience. To all of you Americans complaining about healthcare: you have NOTHING to complain about once you visit a place like Uganda. At the hospital there are tons of family & friends hanging around with the patients. They were sitting around the beds in the wards, and then sitting outside of the wards in groups eating and just "being there together." I thought that was very impressive, how they are all there camped out with their loved ones. But while I saw many visitors there with their loved ones, I only saw one or two nurses and never saw a doctor. Anyway, very eye-opening. The Ugandans are lovely, friendly people and I look forward to learning more about their culture as my time here progresses. Posting pictures on here hasn't been that easy (I'm not a very skilled blogger), so please see my facebook page for lots of pictures.