This is it...

In exactly two days, eighteen hours, and twenty-two minutes—not that I’m counting or anything—I will depart for a new phase in my life. And in an effort to chronicle this new adventure, I’ve decided to keep a blog. I’m not into public displays of myself on the internet (contrary to my Facebook persona, I know…) but I feel like maintaining a blog might force me to keep some semblance of a journal, which is something I’ve always tried—and failed—to do. So here we go. Be patient with me as I’m new to this world-wide blogosphere or whatever kids these days call it, and bear with me as I’m sure to have moments of endless inane comments that no one wants to read (not even you, Mom) followed by long stretches of silence. So apologies aside, I hope that this is somewhat entertaining, interesting, or enlightening and not a total waste of your time.

So what is this new adventure you ask? I’m moving to Uganda. Everytime I’ve told someone this, I’m either greeted with “cool!” or a blank stare. Whatever your reaction, I’m very excited about it and can’t wait to get there. Why am I moving to Uganda? Well, I’ve accepted a job as a project manager/research analyst for Ideas 42, an initiative of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University. I’ll be working with two professors in the states on a quest to understand energy financing for small businesses in Uganda. WHAAAA? Yeah, I know, it’s kind of new to me too :) While I’m still learning the specifics, what I understand is that energy—particularly electricity—is a real problem in Uganda, and the lack of a reliable supply is particularly damaging to small businesses owners who lack the capital to invest in generators, solar panels, or other alternatives to the traditional electricity grid. Thus, we’ll be looking into this issue and determining a “treatment” for this problem which can then be evaluated through randomized evaluation. Essentially I’ll be learning as I go, and would be happy to fill you in on the details as I learn. But really I want this blog not to focus on work. Obviously work will be a big part of my life, but beyond that, I’d like to use this space to record thoughts, anecdotes, pictures, ridiculous musings about my life in Uganda, etc.

So here we go. As I said before, I hope that you get something out of this, but honestly for me this is a selfish endeavor and I’m happy if I get something written every once in awhile, regardless if anyone reads it or not. But if you do decide to read, I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and opinions. Welcome to my journey…