Hello world.  Welcome to my life.  Gooood morning Vietnam! If you read the Tennessee Journalist - and I’m assuming that if you’re here reading this, you do – you may have ran across an article a couple of weeks ago, by Laura Hall about a UTK student who will be spending a month in Uganda, starting this May.

For most people, the worst part of spending a month in Africa, more than likely, is the whole dealing with being away from everyone you know thing coupled with the sheer foreignness of it all. People don’t generally like to venture too far from beneath their security blanket.
Well, my name is Dustyn Winder, and I’m that student. I’ve been asked to keep up with my preparations for and experiences during my trip to Uganda here on TNJN, and that’s exactly what I’m going to attempt to do.

With that being said, here goes the first installment of my Ugandan diary.  journal. memoir.

For most people, the worst part of spending a month in Africa, more than likely, is the whole dealing with being away from everyone you know thing coupled with the sheer foreignness of it all. People don’t generally like to venture too far from beneath their security blanket.

Our comfort zone suits us perfectly. Now, I said that to say this: the key words were “for most people.” Don’t get me wrong, I like my blanket like anyone else, but something else seems to dwarf that worry to an infinitessimal point I no longer notice.

Shots.

I hate needles. Always have. Probably always will. I’ve already received one batch of them, and I’m set for another this Monday. We’ll see how it goes, but I bet I could guess the outcome.

Since no one wants to read the ramblings of some Joe Schmo’s inner-workings, I’ll attempt to give some semblance of relevancy to this whole “memoir.”

The Center for Disease Control recommends anyone traveling to Uganda to receive roughly five trillion vaccinations. In addition to your routine shots (i.e. tetanus, diphtheria, MMR and polio), they recommend you get Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, Meningococcal (meningitis), Rabies and Malaria medication.

That’s all good and fine. As much as I hate shots, I’d rather be safely vaccinated than sorry. But no. I found out late last week that I am not eligible for the Yellow Fever vaccination. Apparently, Uganda only requires it for visitors from endemic countries, and due to a shortage, the shot cannot be administered to me unless it is explicitly required.

My first thoughts were, “Yes, one less shot!” But upon further reflection of the situation, I realized, I may be sorry.