Another night finding myself unable to sleep, I give in to the insomnia and sit up in bed, pulling my laptop off the side table (no room for a desk in my tiny bedroom in my NYC apartment).

Looking for distractions on the Internet, I’m thrilled when I see my good friend Michele sign online. See, Michele left for Uganda this weekend to start her 12 week stint as a Kiva Fellow.

Seeing her sign on showed me that she had arrived safely, and that in her different time zone, she might be up for a chat. It’s also crazy to think that if this had been 5-7 years earlier, this instantaneous conversation could never have happened between two people so far apart.

Part of her program requires that she blogs about her experience, so I’ll be sharing that as soon as she starts posting, but for those of you interested, here’s a quick snippet of our conversation – an update from the beginning of Michele’s adventures in Uganda.

2:21 AM
me: are you there?
Michele: yesss!
me: how is it?
Michele: it’s ok here still getting acclimated
Michele: got in late sat night and my luggage was lost
Michele: this is my 2nd day at work
me: ahh
Michele: so not much sunday i tried to explore a bit but was more focused on getting my luggage
me: and work is in an office?
Michele: yea and all the gov’t protests apparently take place on the road right infront of the office
me: oh wow
is it safe
Michele: yea i think so
yesterday there was a ruckus outside
but it ended quicly
Michele: i’m working out of 2 offices actulaly
this one is in the capital
the other is about 30 min outside
so not a village
but i have to go to villages to meet borrowers eventually
me: so awesome
did you get a motorbike
Michele: no you have to flag down dudes and hop on the back of their motorbikes – it’s kind of crazy
yea i need to get a helmet
it’s really the only way to get around the other way is a share taxi with like 50 ugandans
Michele: and it would take me an hour to get to work
me: ok get a helmet asap
Michele: yes i definitely will

So, this post is dedicated to Michele as I wish her luck on her African adventure – here’s hoping she gets herself a helmet to deal with that crazy Ugandan transportation… and that next time I find myself unable to sleep in the middle of the night, she’s signed online on the other side of the world.