Ejoc from Karamoja!

I have arrived and all is well! Thanks for all of your prayers in my travel. Things have been goin very well. Our internet option is limited. There is one computer in one house on the compound and it is slow and touchy. I will try to post as often as I can, but be patient with them.

First of all, let me say, Uganda is now tied with Switzerland for the prettiest place in the world. It is so unbelievably green here. I am amazed at the agriculture that grows here including, bananas, sugar cane, rice, papyrus, sorgum, and tea. There is also great coffee here (so I hear). The compound where we are staying is kind of in the less fertile place of Uganda. EVERYONE I talked to said the same thing when I told them I was going to Karamoja, "Why are you going there? I do not wish to tell you, that is bad place - not as beautiful as..." and then they would fill in their hometown. Most people think Karamoja is a rotten place, but so far I love it! The people I've met have all been very friendly - Muzungu or otherwise.
Muzungu is what they call white people and we are a novelty. Wherever we go people shout and wave and run, "Muzungu!" I waved back for the first two hours of driving, but slowed down a little after that.
I arrived on Wednesday night and met the Eldeens, a missionary couple. They introduced me to the Proctors and the Proctors' new teacher, Laurie. I ended up staying in a great hotel called the ARA on the American Embassy grounds. I had fresh fruit for breakfast and it was pretty great. We shopped in Kampala (the capital city a few miles out of Entebbe) and I went to several grocery stores. The first was very rustic, but the second two were not too far off from Western ones. We went to a butcher shop run by a Belgian and then we were off to Mbale.
We drove about 4 hours through a rain forest, accross the Nile river (yep, little ole me on the Nile!), and then through many villiages. I spent that evening with an Indian family who was celebrating the wife's birthday. We had great Indian food.
I slept at the Proctor's house and met all of their great kids: Lydia, Naomi, Hannah, and John Knox. They were pretty cool. I also met their housekeeper's daughter, Naomi. Such fun. The next day I drove about 2.5 hours to Nakaale which is my villiage in Karamoja. I was greeted by the Goodhearts (my friends from San Diego) and I got a little homesick.
The Wrights had me over to their house for dinner and then we spent the evening on their deck watching the stars, fireflies, and lightning that flashes from cloud to cloud. I then went to the Main House to sleep in a room called the bookcase. It's called the bookcase because it's not really a room, it's just a space behind the bookcases in the livingroom. I have a mosquito net around mine. I was having a litte trouble sleeping so I took a Benedryl last night. Anyone with the priveledge of seeing me on Benedryl can attest that I was having a great night!
I spent the morning painting a ceiling, had beans and rice for lunch (like I will have every day), and then went to a devotion at the Wright's house.
I will type more later when I can. I'm having a great time. I love you all and I miss you.