Hello friends and family!

today we crossed the equator and i am now in masaka, uganda. now that
i am in an internet cafe paying for minutes i can’t think of what to
write, how to begin. flights all went well in general, and our stay
at the entebbe guesthouse was great, so many flowers and birds.
except i always forget how hard the first night away is…. saturday
krystal and i met the rest of the fsd uganda folks and picked up the
third intern at the airport, then headed into kampala. we stayed at a
place called the tourist hotel.

this season it rains everyday from maybe 3 am till 10 am. the
temperature has been maybe 75 or 80, and it was more humid in kampala
than it is here in masaka. today we went to the tombs of four
bugandan kings which was very cool, though i got a big nauseous in the
van. if you think Iowa’s potholes are bad… also traffic tends to
be a bit intense.

we also got our phones today, i am at ****** if you need to
reach me. i have no idea what rates would be for you or what uganda’s
int’l code is. it’s free for me if you call into my phone but it is
probably quite expensive.

i also found out about my host family — it will be a farm in namaseenene
village outside of masaka, with i think three sons and a herdsman for
the cattle (yes i think dairy) in addition to goats and chickens. we
will go to our host families on friday. for the rest of the week we
are in masaka doing workshops, luganda language lessons, and getting a
feel for the town.

thank you all SO MUCH for the love and support you have surrounded me
with, even what some 8000 miles away. i really can’t stress that
enough. it is hard to be away from such wonderful people!!

stephanie