, and I can't believe how fast the time is passing. My flights here could not have gone any smoother. I can't say the same for my checked bag, however. It missed one of it's flights along the way, but luckily it made it to the airport the next morning, so I didn't have to go too long without it.I’m here with four other interns from the U.S. The five of us are each working with different local organizations in different fields of development, and we’ll each be here for a different span of time. So while it’s nice to have the support of others going through similar culture shock, we won’t keep each other from immersing ourselves in the local culture.
We spent our first week together in an orientation program with the local FSD site team. We learned about safety and security here, local culture, the basics of working with an NGO (non-governmental organization) in sustainable development, and we had many lessons in the local language, Luganda. Luganda is the most commonly spoken language here other than English, but there are around thirty distinct languages spoken in Uganda.
This last week was my first week of 11 working with my host organizati
on, Busoga Trust. During my time here, I’ll have the opportunity to initiate a project of my own in an attempt to tackle some of the problems local rural communities face while trying to maintain adequate supplies of clean water. From what I could gather during my first week, it looks like I'll be researching how effective sand filters might be as a water treatment option. I had the opportunity to spend 
three days this week travelling to field sites outside of Jinja. I was able to see the rural communities that Busoga Trust works with and the conditions the people in these areas live with. The field days are interesting because we spend most of our time driving along very poorly maintained roads, dodging potholes left and right. Then, once we reach the rural communities the roads are almost non-existent. Also, I've learned that the men I'm working with take almost no breaks for lunch during field days. I think I'm going to start packing a lot of snacks for these days. 
I'm living with a host family during my time here. The house I'm staying in is quite large by Uganda standards, and the family I'm with is quite small by the same standards. Most of the other interns are living in houses with many young children running around, but my home is pretty quiet most of the time. The house has electricity, but running water is absent. I've been
taking bucket showers with cold water, which is pretty exhilirating, but I always pause for a moment before pouring that first bucket over my head. It is a good way to cool off in the evenings.The climate is very comfortable here. It's not as hot as I was expecting. Daytime highs are probably around 90 F. The sun is quite intense at all daytime hours and especially around noon when it's straight overhead. Temperatures drop pretty well once the sun goes down. It's supposed to be the rainy season now, but we haven't had much rain. Most people are saying that the patterns are changing due to global climate change. I haven't met any global warming skeptics here yet.
I've been enjoying the food, eventhough it is quite repetitive. The staple food is matooke, which is made from mashed and steamed plaintains. The basic meal consists of "food" and "sauce". Food is your carbohydrates, and is usually a combination of matooke, potatoes and rice. Sauce is your protein, and is usually peanut sauce with fish, beans, or a meat stew.Contact Info:
The easiest way to get in touch with me here would be by email: sean.hoban@colorado.edu
Good old fashioned mail can be sent to:
Sean Hoban
c/o FSD Jinja
P.O. Box 1722
Jinja, Uganda
I have a cell phone here now, so if you’re feeling inclined to call you would dial:
011 +256 773 10 30 50
I also have a Skype account, and my username is sean.hoban
The time zone here is UTC + 3. For reference, mountain daylight time (MDT) is UTC – 6. Thus I’m currently 9 hours ahead of Colorado until daylight savings ends, and then I’ll be 10 hours ahead.
