Eventually, Patrick arrived. And then the 4ish hour drive began. I was no longer suspended in Entebbe but moving westward, toward Kakumiiro, over roads that stretched longer than I expected. We pulled over on the side of the road and were swarmed by people selling plantains and goat meat. We bought some. They were mostly young kids and one girl drew a heart from the red dirt on my window. I drew one back :) Most of the boys were screaming "mzungu!", which is the Swahili word

A woman walking on the road on my way to Kakumiiro. She looked so beautiful in this dress; I felt bad that our car was going to throw red dust in the air. I learned why the internet was shut down in Uganda during the election from a conversation with the hotel manager where I was staying. What he shared with me was not an official explanation, nor something I can independently verify. It was his opinion, offered quietly and with caution. He asked that I not share his name, ex

Jan 17th. 9 a.m. GMT+3. Lake Point Villa Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda. I am sitting at a table waiting for my driver to arrive. I hope he can find me. I hope he shows up at all. His name is Patrick, apparently. I am bored. Over the past few months, I have become very good at avoiding sitting alone with my thoughts. This was not particularly difficult, thanks to a great modern invention called the internet. In any lull of my American life, I would turn on Netflix, sometimes in the b

Jan 16th, 8 a.m. Brussels Time. GMT+1. My brain was absolutely convinced it was 8 p.m. when I woke up from a nap in the Brussels Airport. Not in a vague, jet-lagged way. Not in a “maybe I should nap” way. My body was releasing all the chemical signals that mean night. Melatonin. GABA. The whole physiological chorus telling me to wind down, to sleep, to prepare for darkness. Except there was no darkness. I was watching the sun rise. For a moment, I truly thought I had lost tra

I wasn’t brave. I just jumped anyway. I’ve had multiple encouraging texts from friends who mention my bravery. They ask me about being scared and do not shy away from sharing all of their concerns, everything from militias to bugs. They deem my move to Uganda as courageous. I have never thought about it like that. It is not out of bravery that I chose to come to Uganda. If anything, there were just as many factors pushing me out of the United States as there were factors pull