(Written September 13, 2009, to be read January 30, 2035) Dear Mandy, Happy 50th birthday! I hope this letter finds you happy and in good health, surrounded by people you love. I just wanted to check in and let you know that on a warm, lamp-lit September night in Uganda, with the sound of children [...]

When training was finished, we were sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers and shipped out to our sites, spread throughout the country. I was terrified! I began adapting to Uganda with 31 other Peace Corps Volunteers around me every day, and suddenly I was going to be completely on my own, five hours from [...]

As I look back through my Uganda pictures, one thing is clear: I’m a terrible picture-taker! I always end up with tons of shots of one thing (for example, the neighbor’s piglets), while neglecting documenting other areas of life. My training group of Peace Corps Volunteers (later nicknamed “The Valentiners”) arrived in Uganda on, well, [...]

I’m back! It’s so nice to be home! It feels different coming back for good than coming home just for Christmas. I feel a little overwhelmed with the complexity of life here. It’s a lot of work to get back into the system—job, car insurance, etc. And the biggest task: figuring out what comes next. [...]

My journey from LA back to Uganda was CRAZY! (With a capital K! I mean C!) Monday, 5:00 p.m. – Say goodbye to Spencer and leave LAX. Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. – Arrive at London Heathrow Airport, glide through customs, buy a ticket for the tube, and make my way into the city for the first [...]

I poured a glass from my container of drinking water. As I was bringing the glass to my mouth, a thought flashed through my head that I should make sure the water is clear—after all, it has been sitting stagnant in that container for almost a month. I glanced down. What’s that [...]

There’s another aspect to the idea of “starting with the (wo)man in the mirror.” This one not so warm and fuzzy, but is a personal rant of mine. I’m saying this to all Wal-Mart-bashers and government-blamers: Individual action is powerful. Sure, you’re only one of 300 million Americans, but our country turns—politically and [...]

It’s grasshopper season. I just ate about a hundred of them. They’re actually really good as long as you try not to think about what you’re eating. They’re kind of like fries, but better. Except now I have an antenna stuck in my teeth! Time for some floss… And now I’m [...]

It’s been a while… sorry about that! (As Ugandans would say, I’ve been “quiet” lately.) Life here is good! I know there will still be rough patches ahead, but I’ve survived the first six months out on my own since training. I’m finally into a groove and feeling really excited about the work [...]

Punch was clearly too young to be taken from his mother. When I took him home, nobody seemed to know his exact age, but the closest estimate I got was one month. He cried nonstop, except when I was holding him and when he was sleeping (which was never more than one hour [...]

A few of my favorite things! Starting next week, I’m going to be teaching math at the high school on the next hill! I’m pretty psyched about it. It will take some getting used to the Ugandan school system. No text books at all—not even for the teachers to reference. No calculators. [...]

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve checked in, but everything’s going great! I was in Kampala the end of August for a Peace Corps Uganda All-Volunteer Conference. Such conferences are a bit rare in our world of budget cuts, so we were all pretty lucky to have this opportunity! It was fantastic to [...]

I keep bumping into a few attitudes that just make me want to hit my head against the wall: “We can’t do anything until we get more grants.” No way! There are plenty of things small, start-up organizations can do without grants! Gain knowledge. Talk with people. Build a network. Become [...]

The 15-ish mile journey began in a jungle-y area… …through a few tiny towns and villages… …up higher to a beautiful view of the horizon… …past children in their school uniforms… …and finally home!

Saturday: After riding two hours in a “small taxi”—a circa-1990 Corolla carrying about 12 passengers (I kid you not! They even squish two people into the driver’s seat)—I arrived in a nearby town to visit my friend Irene in the hospital. Irene’s story is so sad! She was a nurse in our [...]

“It is simply no good trying to keep any thrill: that is the very worst thing you can do. Let the thrill go—let it die away—go on through that period of death into the quieter interest and happiness that follow—and you will find you are living in a world of new thirills all the time. [...]