We finally made it to Loro! After an exciting trip to the Source of the Nile in Jinja, Uganda, we began our journey to the northern end of the country. The road trip was long but we had many new experiences throughout the day that were incredible. On our way to Loro we stopped at a market to pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables for our home stays, and it was interesting to see some of the different foods we don’t have back home. The highlight of our day came later on when we saw baboons on the road! There must have been at least twenty of them and they came right up to our van! Of course we have seen them in pictures and at the zoo, but it was nothing like the real life experience.

We arrived at our guesthouse in Loro yesterday, which will be our home for the next three weeks. This morning, we decided to attend a service at a local Anglican church with a member of our partner organization, Global Health Network (Uganda), named Winnie. It was a wonderful experience to be submerged in the culture and have the chance to interact with some of the locals. They welcomed us with open arms and we look forward to going back to join in dancing and singing with them next weekend.   When we returned home we finalized our project materials so we would be ready for our orientation that starts tomorrow. After we finished folding pamphlets for our holistic health project Winnie took us to the well to learn how to pump water and carry the water jug on our heads. We have been so impressed by the women carrying everything from baskets of food to pots and pans on their heads, and especially the water jugs so we wanted to give it a shot to see what it was like. Just as we expected it was extremely hard but the children enjoyed watching us try and we had a great time doing it!

Back at the guesthouse we played outside with some of the children that live nearby. They seemed suspicious of us until we brought a jump rope outside and then they warmed right up to us. We played with the jump rope, drew hopscotch in the sand, and ran around with them for hours! Once it got dark the children left to go home and we got ready for dinner.

So far we have all been enjoying every minute here in Uganda and we are looking forward to our orientation tomorrow. The people are extremely friendly and welcoming, and we are eager to begin work!