Orientation Week with FSD

Wow. The first week was jam-packed. Not in the way that every minute was filled with activity, but the fact that there was so much information thrown at me that I was pretty exhausted by the end of each day. First piece of news regarding my internship: I’m the only intern right now. FSD has five sessions throughout the year, and it just so happens that in Masaka, I’m the only one for this session. There were supposed to be 3 other interns as well, but they all canceled for various reasons. Because of this, the schedule was a little bit more flexible, and the training was geared more specifically to my needs, but at the same time it would have been nice to have other people to go through this experience with. Oh well.

A good chunk of the week was devoted learning Luganda, the language spoken here. This turned out to be a lot harder than I thought. I’ve learned English, Spanish, and French, which have similar roots for many words. But Luganda is nothing like those languages. So needless to say, it might be a while before I feel comfortable with the language. I was very surprised by the lack of good English that is spoken here. I was under the impression that English was the “official language” in Uganda, but that must be more of a political thing than anything. Sure, it is taught in the schools, but people will generally prefer to speak Luganda (which makes sense). The part that makes it difficult is that even if they do try to speak English, there is still the accent to deal with – both theirs and mine – that communication has been difficult at times. I’m sure my ears will become more accustomed to the local accent, but initially, it has made it a challenge to interact with and relate to the people here.

Along with the language training, I was introduced to FSD’s principles of “sustainable development” and what the expectations are for my internship. Since I haven’t started working with my host organization – Masaka Elders Cooperative Savings and Credit Society – I don’t exactly know what I’ll be doing yet. But by the end of the next couple weeks, I should have learned enough about the organization and its clients to find where there is room for improvement and be able to develop a work plan for my time here.