I am back in Kitgum after a two week trip South towards Kampala. I spent the first week in the town of Gulu with the seven other volunteers that are posted in the North and have been learning Acholi. This first week was a language in-service training session where we were able to get together and discuss the problems we have been having in learning the new language. It was facilitated by our two local teachers Nancy and Moses.

We were housed in a Convent named St. Monica's just outside of Gulu, run by a host of Italian nuns. It was a very large convent and we were the only guests staying. It was a very beautiful, serene place to hang out for a week. The nuns really took care of the eight of us. Every evening after language class we would go out and play frisbee in the garden, we even got one of the nuns to have a few tosses. You haven't seen funny until you see an old Italian nun trying to throw a disk. Every night they prepared for us an amazing meal of either steak or fish and all the fixen's. After dinner we would sit in the courtyard and talk while the nuns would bring us cold beer they were letting us store in their fridge. The bats would fly over head eating mosquitoes, while we sat in the cool evening catching up on each others experiences.

One morning while waiting for language to start Nancy said; "you know, there is an eclipse this morning. Do you want to see it?" Of course we all said yes, so the next thing you know Nancy pulls an X-ray of a human skull out of her purse and walks off into the garden. Apparently an x-ray makes a great viewfinder for looking directly at an eclipse. We all stood taking turns looking at the sun through an image of her sister's skull. Luckily I was able to catch a glimpse of the eclipse without identifying any tumors! Quite a sight to see.

We have become friends with a couple by the name of Ben and Holly that originally came over as Mennonite Missionaries several years ago. They have decided to stay here to live and work for the foreseeable future. That week they had us over for a dinner party at their compound in Gulu. It was a great night, we sat outside grilling chicken, drinking beer and listened to American music on their stereo. Holly made Hummus and salsa and the chicken tasted like home.

On Thursday we were taken on a tour of St. Mary's Hospital in Lacor. As we walked in we were immediately overcome by the smell of feces and urine. The hospital is an enormous place that was completely over run by the sick. Every bed was occupied and there were still hundreds spread all over the complex, under trees, on the patio and sleeping in the grass. We were taken into the children's ward and I saw some of the most heart breaking things I've ever seen. More sick children than I can even describe. Kids dying from AIDS and Malaria, children that had been neglected and malnourished. Very tough stuff to see. It quickly reminds you of the nature of this country. There is a lot of work to be done.

On Saturday we left for Kampala and a week of In Service Training with the other 47 volunteers that came to country at the same time as me. They put us up in a resort hotel on the outskirts of the city. We spent the week having sessions during the day and having a great time in the evenings. There was a pool, steam and sauna, weight room, two full bars and the best food I've had in country available every night.

It was a great time to get together with some of the people i haven't seen in three months and we wasted the time having belly-flop contests, swapping movies on our computers (Where the Wild Things Are, The Hangover, every season of the Wire, among many others), and just having a mental vacation before heading back to our respective posts.

welcome to Africa!

Hey all!

Welcome to my first posting! I feel very strange starting my own blog, as i used to think it was for people that felt a little self important. There has been a lot of people curious about how i'm doing and what i have been up to since i moved to Uganda in August and i figured this would be the best way for me to let people in on my experiences.

As the weeks led up to my departure i did a lot of research on what to bring to begin this new life. Everything that i read said that i should plan on leaving my computer at home, as Uganda wouldn't have adequate utilities for it to be worth the packing. So, i left mine at home and packed my bags with 80 lbs of clothes and toiletries.

Shortly upon arrival we were having a session on technology in a training class when the instructor asked "who here didn't bring a laptop with them?" I was the only one out of 52 new volunteers who raised their hand. He then asked "who here didn't bring a thumb drive with them?" again, i was the only one who raised his hand. From behind my friend Caleb put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Travis, you stone-age bastard!"

My point is that the availability of technology has reached the third world...i was able to buy a laptop in the capital city of Kampala as well as a mobile modem that allows me to keep in touch with family, friends and current events while sitting in the comfort of my home.

So, that leads to this blog, my experiences here are amazing! I never could have fathomed that i would have the opportunity to lead this kind of life and it's important to me that i share these experiences with those that are close to me.

Uganda is a country that is as diverse as the African continent as a whole. In the West (along the Congo border) is one of the only places in the world you can see the silver back gorilla in the wild, in the South you can see hippos, lions and elephants. In the North (where I live) you can see giraffe, zebra and elephants. Also, Uganda has some amazing landscapes and waterfalls that attract tourists from all over the globe.

Politically, i'm here at a pretty fascinating time as well. In Sudan there is political unrest as the people in the South are wanting to form their own country. There is talk that there is going to be another bloody civil war leading to refugees flooding across the border into Uganda. My home is about 50 miles from that border.

In Uganda, elections are to be held in 2011 and there is talk of protests/riots in the South as that date approaches. Some of you may recall that i was under house arrest during a riot last September that arose after president Musevini blocked one of the main tribal leaders from entering the capital.

Musevini has overturned a law stating that a president could only serve two terms, and looks like he has no plans for relinquishing power. To say the least, my two years here could be very interesting.

There is also a bill on the table in Parliament that if passed could make it possible for anyone found guilty of being a homosexual to be put to death or given life in prison. Anyone that is found to knowingly harbor a homosexual or not report can also face a strong prison sentence. President Obama has taken a hard line stance against this bill and if it goes through it could definitely have negative repercussions on the work Peace Corps is doing here.

Anyway, these are some of the issues that I will be living with for the next couple of years and i figured this would be a good way of keeping family/friends informed. So, welcome! I hope you enjoy.