greetings from kampala

Hi everyone!
First things first, to everyone who wrote letters for the journal matt made for me, i cannot possibly express how much it means to me. i cried my eyes out before i even read the letters because a) i am engaged to the most incredible guy in the world and b) just seeing all your names at the end of each letter made me so happy. i saved reading them for the plane ride which was a good idea although i cried a ton when i read them on the plane. but good happy tears. thanks for the encouragement and support i needed to get here. i truly couldn't do it without you all and after i read that journal and im sitting on the plane to kampala, i thought to myself for the first time ever: i am truly 100% happy with my life and truly content and at peace. i have matt, i have my friends and family, and im on a plane to africa to live out my dream.

done with the cheese:)

kampala is a cool city. its much like tijuana in some ways of course not as hilly. but the smells remind me of TJ - the smog, the trash. the people are very charming most of them speak swahili and english as their second language. their english (with their swahili accents) can be hard to understand, as is mine for them. this guy from i-to-i, the nonprofit program we are with, Joe, also arrived on my flight three days early so i have a bodyguard to roam the city with for the next couple days. which makes a big difference as i am so new here and a girl. we went to the craft market today - tons of stalls with african crafts just like you'd picture them. i got a skirt and sandals and a head scarf. when in rome you know. you can still see repairs and revitalization of the city taking place as it was shelled out from the war with tanzania in the 80s. Kampala is uganda's capital, and the parliament building is literally across the street from our hotel. security is tight, lots of guys with AK 47s. I feel like a millionaire here because there are 1800 ugandan shillings per US dollar. Joe and i were laughing because I just pulled 400,000 shillings out of the bank. This morning we went to a restaurant and had our choice of the local food: "beef boil, goat boil." ew. i dont even want to see that. there is in fact fine print in my "when in rome" philosophy.

much love from kampala~
suz