Day 1- Is this real?

Written 5/30 

What a whirlwind of a day. I think last night’s sleep was the most rejuvenating 6 hours of my life. It probably doesn't hurt that I woke up to a beautiful sunset creeping into the Kampala sky. I have posted pictures below.

I am slowly getting settled into my house. As I mentioned, it is currently just one other intern and myself, though I was told today there will be 5 of us total. The house is beautiful. I will eventually post some pictures, but it wasn’t until after dark when I got home tonight. It is 2 ½ levels and 5 bedrooms (though one is huge and one is small, I am assuming 2 people will share the large one). We also have a guard out from of our house at all times. It isn’t that I would feel unsecure if he wasn’t there, but the guard does make it feel very safe.

I had a private driver pick me up today to take me to the embassy. It was the same driver who picked me up last night. Later I will take a shuttle that many of us in the Lubowa district (the neighborhood I am staying in) will use.

My first two weeks at the State Department will be working with the Management Office heading up the fundraising for a July 4^th event. I will get started on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday) and am so excited. Most of my job will consist of going to various potential donors with the hope they will match or expand their contribution to the event from previous years.  Most of the day today was just down time. I am temporarily moved into my boss office (who is currently out of the country) and will relocate when he comes back and I move from the Management Office to the Refugee Unit.

Until about 2, I felt like I had don’t nothing. I was able to set up my State email account and check my personal email from the embassy’s library computers, but that was about it. Because I didn’t have access to the wifi there however, I wasn’t able to post my previous blog or this one until ..well…whenever you are seeing it. The embassy was beautiful, but I wouldn’t call it the best start to a work day. I felt pretty out of place and was unsure what I was supposed to be doing. After 2, that all changed.

At 2, there was a run through of the awards event for July 4^th. Before this started, I was able to speak with many different individuals in the embassy, all of which were fantastic. After the run through, there were food and drinks served and I was able to continue to mingle with everyone. To say I met 50 people today would be a conservative estimate. Now, it’s just trying to remember names. Everyone was so welcoming I didn’t know what to do. I barely looked at someone without them introducing themselves. I was also able to speak with Ambassador Delisi, who is awesome.

Later in the evening there was another event at the ambassador’s residence for indiviual’s who will be relocated from the post in the next few months. This event was catered and the Ambassadors residence is beautiful. I was even able to meet his niece who is volunteering in Kampala for the summer and staying at the ambassador’s home. She also allowed me to use her phone, which was great because it has been pretty difficult to contact home the past days. This should all be much better however once we are “wired.” At this event, I was able to meet even more of my colleagues who are already helping make plans for DOS Ugandan travels and weekend adventures with their families! One the officers even lives across the street from where I am staying and has offered to be our “mom” for the summer and will help us get adjusted to life in Lubowa and Kampala.

Also..the ambassador also took the time to recognize my arrival to the entire post (which is awesome), at which point I was coerced into trying Nsenene i.e. fried grasshopper. It was actually not that bad, but I wouldn’t say it’s my meal choice of the future. I am glad however I could take one little step closer to culture immersion.

I feel like I am blabbing on about my day, which is not the essence of this post. Everything is just so new and I feel so overwhelmed. My final takeaway from today is, however, that the people of Kampala are fantastic and along with FSO’s at Unit Kampala. Every individual I met with at the embassy, especially Ugandans, spoke so kindly and friendly. They were all so fantastic I cannot explain. I am trying to absorb this “state department life” to which I have been subjected. Could this be my future? It all seems so surreal and I feel that they have so much faith in my future efforts. This looks like it may just be the most amazing summer of my life…

View from my balcony