Reflections on a month in Rwanda

Muraho from Rwanda!

Lark and I have been in Kigali for over one month and, for the most part, it's been a positive experience. Still, our first couple of days were rough. 

Ritchie, Lark and I arrived  on August 2 after a long journey. Our flight from Chicago to Brussels was delayed by a few hours, causing us to miss our connection in Brussels to Kigali. We were rerouted through Istanbul, adding about six hours to our overall trip. Though we'd tried to arrange a layover in Brussels in order to wait for another direct flight, Brussels Airlines was like, "Nope! Here are your tickets to Istanbul. You're boarding in 45 minutes. No thanks needed." And though Istanbul is a beautiful, fascinating city, our departure lounge was bleak with filthy toilets and no services. On the six-hour Turkish Air flight to Kigali, Lark managed to vomit the contents of her stomach all over Ritchie’s clothes. The flight attendant was kind enough to bring him a handful of tiny, ineffective serviettes with which to “clean up”. But we didn't lose heart! Fresh clothes would await us on arrival . . . only they didn't. In fact, our bags didn't arrive for three days and Ritchie had to hang out at the house in a towel for a day while his one pair of clothes was washed and dried.

When our bags finally arrived, we were elated and examined each item as if it were a long-awaited Christmas present: "Wow, shampoo!" "Look, Ritchie, a different shirt!" "Ailey, can you believe how clean this underwear is?!" Things were on the up-and-up from there. We experimented with driving (it's so much easier to be brave when you're driving someone else's car), went shopping, and visited different restaurants around town. 

Unfortunately, Ritchie had to go back to work and returned to Seattle after one week. I was devastated and cried unabashedly as he walked through the security gate at the airport, much to the interest of the Rwandans seeing people off. It's still hard to be apart and I miss him.

On the positive side, my new job is interesting and challenging and I work with a great team. I just came back from two days of fieldwork in the Southern and Western Provinces in which I learned a lot, both from the participants and my colleagues. In my day-to-day work, I feel valued and respected. I feel like I contribute. I feel smart. 

Also, Lark has grown so much since we’ve been here and it is a joy to see. She started walking in the week after we arrived and has grown progressively more confident and stable. She’s also learned several new words, her favorite being 'no'. Here is a sample conversation:

Me: “Lark, do you love me?” 

Lark: “NO."

She also says cow, hi, bye, night-night, mama, daddy, and thank you. She loves to sing to herself, which clearly means that she’ll be rich and famous, but also humble and down-to-earth. She is my child, after all. She gets along well with her nanny, Pena, and is deeply in love with the security guard, Venuste. Luckily for her, I think that the feeling is mutual.

Overall, I feel so, so lucky to spend time in and explore this beautiful country, though I recognize that adjusting to life here will not be a painless process. I miss Ritchie. I miss my family and my friends. At times, I even miss the Seattle weather. Crazy, right? But through new challenges, I grow as a person and as a professional. I just need to ensure that I have enough fresh

clothes and toiletries with me to ease my way.