Kistler spends summer working, teaching in Uganda

?I really missed ice cubes!? declared Kerri Kistler, remarking on her summer adventure to Uganda and Europe.

Kistler is the daughter of Bob and Barbara Kistler of Fairfield and Joy Hall of Baton Rouge, La. Thanks to scholarships from Iowa State University, she traveled to Uganda to work and teach for six weeks. While in Uganda, Kistler and her fellow ISU students helped to plant gardens, dig latrines, build fences and tended livestock.

?Not cattle, however,? explained Kistler. ?Only the men handle the cattle. The women are in charge of all other agriculture, including chickens, goats, crops, etc.?

Kistler and her group visited Queen Elizabeth National Park, as well. As an animal science major at ISU, seeing the lions, baboons and elephants in their natural setting was ?just the ticket? for Kistler.

Her daily diet consisted of beans and rice. She wasn?t allowed to take her jar of Jif Peanut Butter on the flight to the African continent, but was able to eat Ugandan peanut butter after her arrival, but ?that wasn?t quite the same.?

After she left Uganda, Kistler flew to Amsterdam and took a train to Belgium where she was one of the representatives of the United States and ISU at the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences World Congress. Beginning in Ghent, Belgium, she experienced northwestern Europe and all its sights and flavors. From Belgium, she traveled to Bonn, Germany, to complete the conference.

Kistler has the opportunity to apply and qualify for a similar trip to Sweden during the New Year?s holiday, and the 2013 IAAS World Congress, which will be held in Chile.

Kistler is a sophomore at ISU, where she is triple majoring in animal science pre-vet, animal ecology pre-vet, and Global Resource Systems.