Finally from Africa

After months of planning, exhausting hours of traveling and securing of technology here we are. We are finally able to update our blog and let you know we have arrived and started our project. We've met with the training participants, set out a plan and will begin our training on Monday. So much has happened in 5 days. We have had a wonderful time orienting to the culture, geography and weather.

When we woke up in Entebbe with monkeys swinging from the trees, we knew we weren't in Phoenix anymore. And as we drove on the highway on our way to Tororo and saw baboons, we knew we weren't on the I-17. Goats, cows and chickens roam everywhere. The people are beautiful...inside and out. They must be some of the friendliest people on the planet. They have graciously cared for us in the nicest lodging around. We have electricity, running water and indoor plumbing. The showers are cold, but we have 3 of them. Well, 2 working ones, anyway.

We have 2 women "in charge" of our food needs. We're learning lots about how Africans cook their food. Let's just say, none of us wants to have our cholesterol checked anytime soon after we return. We should have had a clue when we went shopping and they wanted the gallon size of cooking oil. The market is fascinating. There are lots of fresh fruits and vegetables...some we recognize, others we're learning about. The pineapple is outstanding, better than Hawaii! It's actually quite a culinary adventure.

Our fear of mosquitoes and malaria materialized when we thought we saw a bat, but it was actually a mosquito. Seriously, the bats eat the mosquitoes and we all have buckets of repellant. Plus it's the rainy season (it actually hailed yesterday) and they're numbers are down with cooler nighttime temperatures.

Hopefully, now that we have our technology sorted, will be posting often. Stay tuned...