Commence blogging!

It is an audacious task to commit one self to, being a blogger in Uganda. Getting online can be quite the challenge, but finally I have succeeded! The group arrived safe and sound Sunday evening, I followed the next day, and we have had some very interesting days so far.

First our hostel manager thought our group would arrive the next day, but after a couple of hours of haggling, things was worked out. On Monday the group spent the day exploring Kampala, but it was yesterday, on Tuesday, things really kicked off.

Some of the students in our group, together with David Mutaysa from Lions Aid Norway’s office in Kampala, have been planning and putting together a symposium concerning Uganda’s culture, history, politics etc. A professor from Makerere University, whose name escapes me right now, had a presentation about everything Uganda, and we had a great discussion afterwards, us Norwegians, the professor and other participants, about aid work, circumcisions, economics, change and other juicy topics. Truly a cultural exchange. Other presentations in the symposium concerned the work the volunteers in Kamwokya Christian Caring Community are doing in the slum areas of Kamwokya, and LC Bergen Students soon to be president Oyvind Johnsen held a beautiful presentation about Aid In Meeting and just what exactly it is we’re doing here. (A lot of awesome aid work etc. if you were wondering).

After the symposium, lunch and tea, the president in LC Kampala North and another guy taught our group how to play the Ugandan drums. Or tried to. I won’t lie and say we learned really fast, played beautifully and had a concert later in the evening, we pretty much sucked really really bad. But it was a lot of fun and a great way to end the symposium.

Today, Wednesday, in ten minutes actually, we are going to Kamwokya and meet up with the guys at KCCC (Kamwokya Christian Caring Community) and see what they have been up to since last year. For the people in the Kamwokya slum areas, these guys are doing an amazing job.

I think this will be it for today, I can throw in before I leave, that we’re going to some sort of Ugandan Music Culture Something Arrangement this evening, and according to what I’ve heard, we’ll see and hear how you’re REALLY playing the drums.