Having Arrived

Praise the Lord. My roommate and I are now what you might call 'chilling' in a nice hotel in Kigali, although it's actually sticky and hot. We are not to wear sleeveless shirts or shorts outside, but right now in the room it seems necessary for some relief.

The journey here was incredibly long and now seems like a hazy stream of consciousness and unconsciousness. We took off from Waco without a hitch after praying with the other teams headed to Africa. Then we waited for about two hours in line to check our bags, after which we hurried through security and made it just in time to board to take off around 9:00pm. Then followed a lovely flight to London, during which I dozed off and on, thereby surprising myself. I must have been exhausted, because I rarely fall asleep on planes. I had planned to read and write but I simply couldn't. So I'd wake up for a bit and watch a movie, sleep, wake up and see another movie, sleep.

We landed in London at 12:30pm Monday. Some of us went with one of our professors to meet some of her friends. They led us around town a bit. We visited Kensington Palace and Gardens, and had a spot of tea at the Orangery there. Then, sadly, we had to return to the glorious place of mass air transit. We got to experience a little train ride, Underground, and walking across London streets. When we entered the area of Kensington Palace, our guide pointed out embassies along the street. We saw Israel's flag, as well as South Africa's. That was neat.

That evening we left London around 8:00, arriving in Kenya at 6:00 this morning. There was talk that the volcanic ash from Iceland might interfere, but thankfully it didn't. This second flight, I hardly slept whatsoever. That's because it was daytime for my body and nighttime for real. I spent time with God, wrote in journals, organized some things for school, played word games, and watched half of two movies. Right after they served us breakfast, I was accosted by achy, tired eyes and an almost absent mind. Which was a bummer, because we were about to land. I sat next to a worn-out fellow who works for the UN. He told me he was South African. I could have told him that. :)

Kenya. I wish I could have actually seen it, but the airport was definitely a new experience after Western culture. Small hallways, people looking at you a little differently, things not in English, grasshoppers on the walls, low security, "special offers" on M&Ms. Sounds great!

And we came into Rwanda around 8:00 this morning, beautifully sunny and hopeful. Peacefully went through customs and were met by congenial fellows who loaded our luggage into vans and delivered us here, to the Hotel Gorillas. It's a very pleasant place. While we were waiting for our rooms, we were brought glasses of this sort of mango iced tea liquid. Birds are heard all over the place. People waved at us as we drove here from the airport; we kind of stand out.

Now we're resting until our next phase...and getting used to being here, waiting, and taking advantage of rest. Our feet are a little swollen, but aside from that and feeling gross, everything has gone dandily. Oh and I'm exhausted. Apparently it's about 4am Texas time, and I am feeling that very strongly right now. It is coming close to naptime.

I said earlier that the concept of going to Rwanda wouldn't hit me much until we actually arrived. Having arrived, I must correct that a bit by saying that it is only beginning to be clear to me that I am spending two weeks on another continent, as a minority, tourist, student, and I hope, servant. The drive from the airport was amazing. If you could only see the countryside in person, because a camera cannot adequately capture that beauty. We saw all kinds of people doing a countless number of different things, and I realized that there really are people who live in places like this and have their own stories and culture and purpose. And that fascinates me. I am excited now, however hesitant I was before.
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Items of Note*:

• Some birds deposit green poop.
• Kenya Airways gave me PG Tips and marmalade this morning. I am pleased.
• Don't eat tomatoes here. And close your mouth when you shower.
• Beds are gifts from heaven.
• I have spend almost 30 hours trying to get to Rwanda.
• I am literally falling asleep.

*(this idea borrowed from my dear friend Kim's blog)