Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Arrival in Uganda!

What a magnificent first day our delegation has enjoyed in Uganda! Our flight from Dubai was very smooth and efficient (thank you Emirates Airlines!) and we arrived in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, mid-day. From that moment on, we had non-stop activities including meeting our old friends and guides from Empower African Children, eating lunch at the Speke Hotel (named for the 19th Century British explorer), checking out the Nakasero food market (some of us tried crispy grasshoppers, a local delicacy) and finally checking into our hotel and meeting fellow UA alums Agnes Kasule '01, Jules McGee '08 and Ally Rider '12 for dinner. Agnes is Ugandan and lives here in Kampala, Ally is spending her sophomore year semester abroad here in Uganda and Jules flew here to meet us from her home in Mozambique where she is serving in the Peace Corps. It's wonderful to combine our current UA students with these exceptional young alums - we have so much to discuss and share about Africa and about life in general! You'll surely be hearing more about them all in the coming days, for now, here are some photos from today:

All Aboard for Uganda!

Welcome to Uganda!

Jeremy Phillips, CEO of EAC, welcomes us and begins our orientation to Africa!

In front of the Speke Hotel with our old friends, George and Jimmy, from The Spirit of Uganda 

Our first meal in Uganda, pizza, garlic bread and samosas - delicious!!

Trying Ugandan pineapple and ginger soft drinks -  Yumm!

Emily with Sharon from EAC

So much to see here!

We spent much of our day waving to school children from our bus

It was so interesting to meet UA alums Agnes and Ally!

So now, we have 5 UA alums helping to lead our happy group - so fantastic to be together!!

3 comments:

  1. I'm so glad that you have this blog so I can follow what y'all are doing and be jealous as I'm studying for finals! Have SUCH a great time, and if anyone is in room two, you'll have those nightclub songs memorized by the end of the week from hearing them outside your window.

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  2. Liza!!! So great to hear from you - Ms. Chinuntdet is enjoying Room 2 - I will pass along your message! All our love from Uganda!

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  3. Glad you all made it safely, and especially glad you are already enjoying some Stoney, so jealous!

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