Yes, I'm Still Alive ...

So it's been more than two months since I've posted something on here, and I figured an update was due (LONG overdue, as some people have reminded me). And I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't going to be the epic two-month review that some of you might like. That will have to wait. I will give you a brief update, as well as share some big news.

First of all, my mom and brother are coming to visit! And they arrive in Uganda today!! I'm so excited to have them here - it will be so refreshing to see some familiar faces and have the opportunity to show them around the country I've been in for the past five months. They will be here for almost two weeks, and it will be quite a full schedule. We'll go rafting on the Nile River, go on a safari, stay a couple days at a beautiful mountainous lake, and of course see where I'm living and working. So that's the next couple weeks of my life, with no real time to sit and blog (considering I haven't blogged in over two months).

Secondly, let me tell you about my new job. It's great. I work about three days a week, and then have time to relax, hang out with people here, and travel (which I'll get to in a minute). Essentially, this is what I do: for two full days, I'm down in Kibaale - an hour south of Masaka where the community center is - working in the finance office. And I'm the only one working in the finance office. I am the finance office. There are about 130 staff on payroll, with a few additional employees here and there. And there's about 40 different people that handle money (teachers, maintenance staff, department heads, etc.). And it all goes through me. The ex-pat director that is in Kibaale - his name is Jeff - has been there for two years and knows most of what needs to happen with the day-to-day finances. He can keep the place running. But he has other responsibilities, so the money stuff falls on me. Most of the staff know their budget, how much they should be spending, and what they should be spending money on, so they are responsible and trustworthy enough that it makes my job easier. They simply come to me when they need cash. Then there's staff loans and savings that we organize for the employees. And the payroll at the end of the month is important (people want to get paid!).

But the most important aspect of this position is the month-end reconciliation process, producing the monthly financial statements. There are tons of different departments, accounts, classifications, etc., and at the end of each month I have to be able to account for all the money we received and spent. So for accountants, this is pretty basic. But I'm not an accountant. Sure, I took some finance classes in college, but did I ever have the actual real-world experience of managing a budget? No way! And this is not a small budget: we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars annually! So yeah, I'm feeling the pressure a little bit to do things right. Before the past financial director left (middle of June, when I took over), I had about a month to train under her and figure out the system and processes. This was a huge step, because without that, I would be absolutely lost. But at times I still feel like it wasn't enough, so I guess I'm just learning on the run. I know for a fact that this will be amazing work experience to put on my resume, and I'm hoping that in the next couple months I'll have a firm grasp on everything I'm supposed to know :-)

As for the rest of life in the past couple months (and the blog posts that will be coming at the end of this month), it's been good. At times I've been bored, but I have books, movies, TV shows, and people to hang out with. At times I've had a lot of work to do and feel really busy. (Still no comparison to "busy" back home, but relative to the lifestyle in Uganda.) And at times, I forget that I'm actually living in Africa, because the longer I'm here, the more normalized life becomes. I think this is a big reason I have been forgetting to write blog posts, because most of the time, to me, it doesn't feel like life is all that exciting. It's just a normal day for me, although it's driving on the left side of dirt roads in Africa, and not the right side of paved ones in the States.

I have been doing some traveling here and there, which again, I will eventually write about and post some pictures. At the end of May, I went on my first African safari! I went up Murchison Falls National Park in northern Uganda, and it was great. We saw tons of animals and got some great pictures. And it was the first time I had really been out in nature in a while, which was very refreshing for me. And just last weekend, I traveled down to Rwanda with a group of friends from Masaka. It was quite an entertaining weekend, including some long bus rides, delicious food, learning a lot about the Rwandan genocide, and celebrating the 4th of July in Goma, DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). I know, the DRC doesn't sound like the safest place to be, but hey, I survived and I'm here, right? :-)

So in summary, I'm still here, alive and kicking. Life in Uganda is going well, though it's a bit surreal that it has become so normalized, considering a year ago I had no idea I might be living in Africa for a year. Like I said, this month is going to be crazy - crazy good, but also crazy busy - so don't expect much more from me for a few weeks. I promise though, when Mom and Michael leave, I will have so many pictures to put up, including everything from the last couple months, too. I will sincerely do my best to stay more up to date in writing about my life here in the coming few months before I return home. (Which by the way, if anyone cares, will be December 13.)

Well, that's all for now. I gotta get packed, clean the house, and drive up to the airport to pick up my family! Man, I'm so pumped they're coming! I hope everyone back home is doing well, and seriously, please let me know how you are doing. I know I suck at keeping in touch, but that doesn't mean you have to as well :-) I would love to hear from you and get an update of peoples' lives back home.

Until the end of July … peace out!