returned to the land of the brave and free and fat

(Whoops... Did I say that last one out loud?)

Well it is quite noticeable, not just compared to Uganda but also to Italy and Greece and Turkey and Croatia. We all need to start walking around a little more.

Anyway, I am indeed back in the good old US of A. My plane touched down in Philadelphia this past Sunday night and I got up early on Monday morning (early as in 4:30am early which is quite easy when your body is on European time) and made the drive to Chapel Hill, NC. Home sweet home. This isn't going to be a long post but I thought I should close out my three months outside of the country with something. Yesterday I took comprehensive exams for my master's program and, given the fact that I studied for this test on one year's worth of material for a mere two days and forgot how to budget time when I was in Africa, I may have the pleasure of taking it again in December. Now it is time to tackle the mounds of e-mails that have built up, finish that final report for UVP, write the IRB proposal, reactivate my credit cards, figure out who is responsible for those fraudulent charges, reconnect with friends, help housebreak my sister's (who moved into my house while I was away) new puppy, pay all my past due bills, find a job, start classes, get back in the gym and try to process what the heck just happened over the past few months.

Again, I just want to thank those of you have been keeping up with me and offering such great encouragement as well as all of your prayers. I love you guys and for those of you planning on purchasing me plane tickets to come see you... can't wait! ;)