Arriving

I can hear a baby crying:).

It's 9:35pm and I can't remember the last time I felt this tired. I just had a cold shower. It feels so good to wash my hair, but now I have to wait for my hair to stop dripping before I go to bed. 

I've met most of the girls, though I haven't got their names down pat yet. There's 6 other girls staying in the volunteer house with me, some from Canada and some from America. There's a fair bit of discussion about the Winter Olympics at the moment:). Maybe I should have tried to follow the Winter Olympics a little more. 

I've only met one of the kids so far, Jonah. He has spent the evening with us in the volunteer house as he is unwell. He has sickle cell disease which is not uncommon here, but after being to the doctor today they found he has a blood infection now. This is causing his heart to race and could have caused pneumonia if it wasn't treated. He's going home with Sandra, the volunteer liaison, who stays just down the road. She will look after him for a week, to make sure he's cared for properly and goes to the doctor. 

I feel extremely tired and a little overwhelmed, but I can't wait to start tomorrow. I've been told I'm allowed to sleep in tomorrow and I was meant to have the whole day off too. I've been asked, though, if I want to go help out with a kid's club they run in another area. Of course, I said yes. I can't wait to get into work and everything else. I'll probably get taken into town tomorrow to get money changed and do my grocery shopping. 

My last flight was fine. I had to wait a long time in a seemingly endless queue of people to go through customs. Even though I purchased my Visa before coming, they still have to take your picture and all your fingerprints. I had no trouble once I finally got through the line of people and it only took a few minutes to be cleared. Even though my flight had landed early, it took about an hour to get through everything and walk out the doors. I wasn't very surprised as it can take half an hour in Melbourne to get through customs if there's a queue, so I figured being Africa that it would be a little slower. Apparently this mustn't be normal though as the driver who was sent to pick me up was nearly frantic by the time I walked out of the airport. He had begun to panic and thought maybe I had already left through another entrance. As if I'd be brave enough to head out on my own! Alex, my driver took good care of me on the long drive from Entebbe to Jinja. The traffic was quite bad in Kampala so it took a little longer than the normal 3 hours. Alex stopped to buy me water and raised my window every time we stopped in a busy intersection so that I would be safe. Alex chatted a little and I tried to make conversation but found it difficult as I was so tired. I asked him about his family and any other questions I had about Uganda. He lives in Jinja and often picks up volunteers for Amani. I fell asleep a few hours into the drive, and almost missed going over the Nile and seeing Lake Victoria! Thankfully, Alex woke me up, so I didn't miss it. After that it wasn't far and I finally arrived at Amani just after 7pm. 

The girl's fed me and made me feel very welcome. I was happy to listen to them talk about the kids here and argue over who's kids were cuter:). I've been told that aside from other activities that will be rotated amongst us, I will be assigned to the "C" cottage with 2 other girls. This cottage is mainly the older boys. 

I don't feel like I've been very social tonight, making conversation is hard when all you want is a nice bed. I can't wait to get to know the other volunteers more over the next few weeks. 

Well, I'm heading off to bed now, my hair is dry enough, and I can't think anymore to write.  

Goodnight!