Maybe it was for the chance to ride a motorcycle (called a boda) to and from destinations around town each day.
Marjani and I started this blog. We had the idea, a theme, plane tickets, a plan and we set off. Looking back after our first week here we never really got down to the whole business of explaining it all. Part of that is maybe on purpose. The life treadmill can get going but a small step to the side rails offers one the chance to watch the road pass along. We wanted to stop, breath deep, and take some notes of where we are and where we may want to be next. The treadmill isn’t by any means stopping and we are confident we can jump back on after wiping the sweat from our brow. 
We may be in Mbale just to find and eat jackfruit, for all the obvious reasons of course.
We wanted to turn down the speed for a second. After leaving Chicago we ventured off to the east coast half ready for whatever came and half wondering whether we would ever find another wooden deck to spend our summer evenings lounging on. Our plans changed fairly quickly after arriving and next thing we knew we had our first home together, new jobs, a new city to explore, and new friends to meet. The only hiccup we can even remember was the days spent along Massachusetts avenue trying to figure out which way was north and which way was south. New flavors were sampled, enjoyed, discussed, researched and we began cultivating ourselves as a unit and as individuals. DC will always be a part of us and who we are. Leaving, while logistically stressful, felt right.
Aunt Vi has the skills/passion to make a beautiful quilt. She just needs the raw materials from the center of where it all started.
When Marjani began thinking about the opportunity to head off to Uganda to help 1000 Shillings with its inaugural Fellowship program part of me was jealous. A month in a new country meeting new people and laying the foundation for a company making a direct impact on women in Uganda, Nepal, and possibly more. While I contemplated business as usual? The same bills, same routine, same evenings spent chipping a golf ball back and forth in our front yard? No way. Not for us. Our whole thinking changed and we put the highest value on being together and the opportunity to build something new. No doubt after just one week we know the right decision was made. The fellows have jumped into their work and the hugs from the women in Namatala make us hopeful for more good things to come.
Perspective change. Water is precious. Electricity is a luxury. Traffic signals can be construed as excessive.
Our feet remain planted on the side rails for now. We are taking notes, learning about how to be better leaders and communicators and figuring out where and how things fit. Two months here in Africa is just what we need and if you would have told us that back in Chicago our mouths would have hit the floor.
By the way potatoes should be called “Irish”. Our cook here says so and there is absolutely no way to disagree.
"It's all happening." 