Salem (Mbale) is a 10 acre compound which provides a hospital, nurse training school, outreach healthcare, a children’s home and a tree planting project. There also seem to be other things going on. It was raining when I arrived and very muddy so my suitcase was covered in the red sticky mud by the time we had walked to the volunteer accommodation. The volunteer accommodation is not the same as the guest house - which is for the fee paying guests, and is much more in line with what my first impression was when I imagined coming out here – a bit psychic maybe??
I met up with my 2 housemates from Germany who have been here for a while. Having unpacked I thought I would try out the shower as apparently it’s a bit warmer in the afternoon then the morning or late evening. As there is no hot water except what is heated up on the burner. It was refreshing to say the least, but I suppose you can get used to it (maybe).
One positive thing that surprised was that Vanessa assured me that the water is safe to drink at Salem, so no need to be buying limitless bottles of water. Not at all what I expected to hear.
I think today has been the biggest culture shock for me, especially when was unpacking in my room and realised this is it for the next 8 weeks – what have I done??
This is our kitchen.
This is what my room looked like when I first arrived.
This is me upacked and settled in ... and my creaky bed.
Still I have yet to meet all the rest of the people here.........
I love the pink mozzie net! very cosmopolitan. You'll find by the end that its amiazing what you can do to make it homely. We used to live in tents for 8 weeks in France and by the end of the summer they looked just like our rooms back home. Trick I lerned for cold showers. Rub yourself down with some water first then your skin will be chilli without too much of a shock then the shower doesn't seem to bad. Good to hear about the drinking water - just goes to show!
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