Caleb's Log v2

What a crazy 24 hours. 

Monday is nearly over for us and it was a big day.  We all slept pretty well, which is a huge part of the solution.  In the morning I decided to stub my toe on the bed post so hard that I broke my second toe on my left foot (maybe my 4th toe...which reminds me of the "which side of the bed do you sleep on" test).  This is not ideal when you spend most of the day walking.  With that injury behind us we all walked the 25 minute path to school.  All 3 girls are attending the same school, Green Hills Academy, but they're in different buildings, since they are grade 2, grade 6, and grade 9.  (yes, that's how they say it)  They got their uniforms, which are adorable, and headed off to classes.  The campus is enormous and there are so many kids there.  It feels like a perfect combination of preschool and college.  

I headed off to the Bank of Kigali to set up a local bank account so that I could pay for larger items and move money from the US without paying an arm and a toe.  The experience that I had in the branch was mind numbing.  After 3 hours, I left without a bank account, but a lot of fond memories of a culture I don't yet understand.  There is always a military presence, which brings a sense of organization and rules, but there are also no rules.  Imagine working with a teller and having someone walk up behind them and hand them a piece of paper.  They stop helping you to deal with the information on the paper.  5 minutes later, you realize that the guy behind the teller doesn't work at the bank.  Then someone walks up to you and asks you some questions about why you're here and then jokes with the teller and starts doing a deposit while you watch.  Then the teller works for an hour without speaking to you.  Now imagine that all of this is happening in a foreign language while you're standing for 3 hours on a toe that hates you for being your current weight.

I went home and attempted to watch the Sunday Bronco game.  I made it to half time (no spoilers please) but had to give up after our 4th power outage.  (don't know if that's a normal thing during the day...hope not)  

Then....we got our rental car!  So excited to have some more independence to get groceries, drinking water, and tour the large city.

Driving....I'm going to save my stories about driving for v.3.  It's so great!

I had my first City of Louisville Zoom today from my bed with a computer on top of a laundry basket on top of an end table, with a fan blowing my hair ever so gently.

Oh, I forgot to tell you all about how much better I slept....like the details.  We got the mosquito repellent stuff turned on and a fan running all night.  I was so happy and comfortable.  It was a total 180 from Saturday night.  I'm looking forward to sleeping tonight.

We're home now and the girls are snuggled up on the couch watching Wednesday on Netflix (see, we're totally still in the US).  

That's it.

Caleb

I'll figure out how to send pictures...here are a few.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/od1pJGGDiQvnnVid8

Rwanda Arrival (Caleb's Log v1)

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.  :)

And we're off!

Waiting to board our Kenya Airways flight to Nairobi, then on to Kigali! Hard to believe we're finally at this point after months of planning. 

We flew from Denver to New York yesterday & stayed here overnight. 

Yummy dinner & breakfast in Queens, then lugged our 16 bags back here this morning.

Feeling excited and grateful to my crew for going along with this wild scheme. Also incredibly grateful to our amazing family & friends who helped us get out of town. We absolutely could not have done this without you and we're excited to share our adventures with all of you! 

Rwanda?

Does this blog thing still work?  It's been a while.

So anyway.  Apparently we're going to Rwanda.  Jan 5 departure.  Our family is varying levels of excited.  Stay tuned.  

more in Alaska

More in Alaska Part 1

                                    Tide pooling on the beach with beautiful views and creatures.  

                                     

Mazie's Alaska Adventures 

                                          On the plane to Washington getting ready for the long 

                                  week in Alaska. 

                              

Mazie is 10!

We started this blog when Mazie was but a little peanut growing in my belly... lo and behold, she has now grown into a lovely 10 year old child!

For Christmas this year Mazie got her first computer (Chromebook) and has started using the email address we created for her right after she was born.  On her birthday I forwarded her her birth announcement email, and wrote this:

****

Dear Mazie,

If you scroll down through all of the email addresses below (we had lots of people to share our exciting news with), you'll find your birth announcement. 

My memory is pretty terrible, but the feeling of holding you for the first time is still etched clearly in my whole being. I can feel your wiggly and slippery little body on my chest, the ecstasy of having the pain and effort of labor instantly replaced with pure love and relaxation, the wonder of examining your perfect fingers and toes and face (oh, that miraculous little face) of a tiny human that your daddy and I somehow created. Ahya and others had tried to explain to me the love that a parent feels when they meet their child for the first time, while also understanding what I now know: there's no way to really describe it. It is something completely new and magical. You gave me that gift when you were born. 

Since that moment, the gift of Mazie James has  grown and changed in so many  ways. You give me so much just by being who you are. You have always made me laugh... whether it was with the many silly faces you would make as a newborn, your never-ending renditions of Little Bunny Foo Foo and your pronouncements about the delightfulness of our neighborhood as a toddler, or your current dry wit and cleverness. You've given so much love and kindness to your friends and sisters and grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and classmates and pets.... It's been so rewarding to hear your teachers talk about the confident and compassionate leader you are in your school community. 

I am so excited for the adventures ahead, starting with this crazy Mazie summer! I'm excited to bring you out into the world with me, to share these spaces that are now familiar to me with you, and to watch you share your gifts with our global community. 

Bright Mazie, keep shining.  I love you.

Mama

*****
Mazie leaves tomorrow to spend a week in Alaska with Uncle Ty and Aunt Sara - she is flying solo to Seattle, meeting up with them there, and traveling on to AK with them.  On the return, she'll spend a night in Seattle with Nanny and Papa before coming home.  We are so excited for this adventure!  One of her birthday presents was a camera, and I'm getting her set up so she can actually post to this blog while she's gone!  Pretty amazing how far we've come... when she was a baby we would write blog posts in her voice, making up a narrative for her.  Now she's taking over her story!

Mazie also finished 4th grade this year.  For yet another year, she had wonderful teachers who absolutely adored her... here she is with Mrs. James on the last day of school.