Our family made it safely to Rwanda. We flew to NYC on Thursday night and then flew 13.5 hours from NYC to Nairobi, Kenya on Friday. We left around 1pm on Friday and arrived around 12pm Saturday, due to the 9 hour time change. Quick turnaround and we were off to Kigali, Rwanda for a 1 hour flight and a 1 hour time change, so we got in around 1:00pm local time.
We had three wonderful gentlemen pick us up from the airport with a pickup truck and a van. 5 people and 16 bags is no joke. They took us to our home and we barely made it, due to the dirt road being severely washed out. We met our security guard/gardener/cleaner, Ephrem who is (I'm just guessing) 15 years old and lives in a small shed-like building next to our house. Apparently his uncle lives nearby, but he doesn't speak any English and we don't speak Kinyarwanda, so....unknown.
The first night was rough with hot, muggy temperatures. I tried to sleep without blankets or sheets, but then got eaten by mosquitoes. Considering the real risk of Malaria, a mosquito bite here is a little unsettling. (we're on medication, so don't worry)
Lexi and Athena are having a blast, playing tag, doing cartwheels, playing Mario Kart on their new switch, etc, etc. Mazie is miserable, crying and pouting and staying in her room. (tables have really turned, as Mazie was the most enthusiastic en route)
Day 2 is going much better.
Sunday morning we made breakfast in our little kitchen. Met the host, Thibault, who taught us how to get hot water in the shower, operate the stove, turn on the mosquito repellent things, and access water. (4 really important things)
We walked to Question Coffee and met 48 employees and 2 security guards at this little coffee shop that loved that we were there. It proudly supports women coffee farmers and the pastries and coffee were AMAZING. I'll be working from there a lot.
We walked to a grocery store (with 35 employees and 2 security guards in a 500sqft space) and got lots of great stuff for the house before walking home.
Internet is super fast and we've mostly unpacked.
Mustard doesn't seem to exist here.
Cheerios aren't a thing, but lots of other brands are.
A bottle of wine was $18, but the corkscrew was $25.
This is one of those countries where people are hired for the sake of hiring people. They have a person sitting at the produce section (6 feet long) to write down the things you grabbed and create a paper receipt for the check out. (they double check the work at the register) There were 3 people managing the checkout at the grocery store, while the security guard watched over them.
There is a security guard at the entrance of the coffee shop drive-through, whose job seems to be to ALLOW people to come in to get coffee. There is another guard for the other part of the parking lot whose job seems to be to move the cone he put in the way whenever someone wants to go by.
Oh, motorcycle taxis!!! They're like ants on the road. Hundreds of them weaving through traffic with a passenger chillin on the back.
Mazie has hardly cried at all today.
Lexi has done 736 cartwheels and has played soccer in the front yard (4 feet x 30 feet).
Ephrem cuts the grass by hand with a machete. (he holds the grass up with his left hand while slicing underneath with his right hand) I'm hoping he never loses a finger while we're here.
The kids have their first day of school tomorrow. We'll make the 20 minute walk early enough for them to get their uniforms before the other students arrive.
So curious to see how the kids feel about day 1.
We miss our pets.
We miss our friends and family.
I miss you all.
If I'm being honest, this has been a rough start and I've had more feelings of "WTF am I doing here" than, "this is really cool."
I think that will change over time. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment