Mbale, here I come (in merely 22 days)!

(Picture from Wikipedia.org)

The tickets are booked, all the vaccinations are done and I've stacked up a seven-month supply of Lariam. The fact that I'll actually be outside of Norway for over half a year, straight, is slowly dawning on me. Sure, I've known that I'd leave in the beginning of October the past six months. But there is a huge difference between knowing the answer when being asked: "What will you be doing next year?" and actually having an idea of how the next year is going to be.


That is an almost impossible question to answer. But I'm pretty sure that's what the
precourse at Hald is supposed to help us with. To give us an idea of how our lives are going to be this year. Through the lessons given here, we get prepared to live in another culture where people have world views that are worlds apart from our own. The "international students" (from Brazil, Peru, Nepal, China, Lao, Thailand, Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Cameroun) living at Hald also contribute to our education on this subject.

Some of the things I've learned and experienced at Hald, have shook my nerves a bit regarding the next seven months. But I've definetly been more reassured that my stay in Uganda is going to be a good one after I came here. The slightly queasy, nervous feeling I got when I thought of Uganda, is turning into pure exitement. And a very important reason to this change is my lovely team-partner, Marthe. And, to me, looking at this picture further validates my hopes for a good year!

Marthe and Silje, the "Mbale-mzungos"!