Laura (Rolla) - The Sleepy Intern

As you can see from below, Laura and I have decided to blog about each other! About the title - Laura often gets called “Rolla” by Ugandans who can’t really get their L’s straight. It’s become her defacto nickname amongst the snarky FSD bunch.

Laura and I have to see each other at LEAST every week or else something is seriously wrong. We laugh about all the weird things that have happened with our host families, rant about frustrating things happening with our projects, and reminisce about "total muzungu moves" (typical things that white tourists do in Uganda).

Laura has an amazing ability to get along with everyone. She is clear-headed and open minded: from her Folklore minor to her desire to become a globe-trotter. She's made many Ugandan friends, and is always the one organizing get-togethers and trips. She's my adventure partner-in-crime! Before we came to Uganda, we would used to get together and grab dinner or coffee. We made our "Uganda Bucket List" full of all the adventures we wanted to have while we were over here. So far, we're pretty well along: the only thing that's left is touring the Nile Brewery and going on safari - and we'll do all of those next week!

Despite bumps in the road in with her work plan, she has been able to be amazingly calm and focused on her goal of successfully implementing her project. Even when she chipped her tooth during white water rafting, she took it in stride (something that would definitely have sent me off the wall!).

And of course - she's the sleepy intern! She's always the one down for chilling and taking a nap. It's been great during hectic days and nights here in Uganda - sometimes you just need a nap! Some of our conversations go like this: "I'm hungry." "I'm tired." "We should probably get out of here then." But make no mistake: Rolla is one of the most positive, cheery people on our snarky intern team!

It's crazy to thing that if I had never come to Uganda, I never would have met Laura. It's amazing to be friends/blogging buddies with someone so adventurous, passionate, and kind!