Glad you made it home safely Richard, tho your second message seems to be in a code I don't quite understand.

Dav, thanks for asking... I may indeed keep blogging. Not yet sure in what context, but it's an active thought. And Lars, yes I am certain we will run into each other while I'm in the USA next year!

For years and years I've been wanting to live in rural America for 1 year. Having grown up in So Cal, there is something that calls to me whenever I visit an area no congested with urban or suburban sprawl. My recently widowed Grandmother on my mother's side moved last year from Texas to southern Washington State to be closer to my 2 uncles who live there. My mom has been planning to move there by the end of this year. I've visited the area before and loved it. It seems to me there must be something I am to learn there.

Norbert is ok with all this. Having lived abroad for 15 years himself, he understands all to well the feeling of needing to go home for a while. I've been in self-imposed exile for a very long time. Last year I went to California thinking my next step might take me there... by the end of the trip I wasn't so sure any more. Then I came back to Uganda and met Norbert the next week. As much as it feels right to plan for a future together, it also feels like I might never be able to give that future the best that I've got unless I take some time to re-ground myself at a distance. Getting to know my grandma better feels like a good use of my time. My uncles have horses, and I'd love to learn how to ride.

Yes, there will also be work to do. I am looking forward to getting that done in a context that offers fewer daily dramatic distractions. Life here in Uganda is sometimes very intense. There is always something that stands in the way. There are very few days when I feel that I've moved forward enough; every day there is more, in the enormity of it all, that feels urgent. Every day there are basic challenges that frustrate. And every day I feel that I can never do enough.

How oddly ironic it seems suddenly, that the USA should offer a space where I think I might be able to slow down. If nothing else, I look forward to reliable power and connectivity for a little while. Who knows - maybe I'll even indulge in a little cable TV!