getting to know Rwanda

We have been here only a day...so "the land of a thousand hills" still has a lot to show us...but we got off to a good start.

I really have not been feeling well since our Ethiopia flight (that we were not even suppose to have)...so it's been a slow start for me...but Jon, however, has hit the ground running and has embraced immersion...as Christi (my first contact with Azizi Life who has been in Rwanda for 4 years now and is from PA) taught us greetings in Kenrwanda...Jon did not hesitate to start trying them and has done really well...the people we have spoken to have appreciated his effort...I don't know that too many "mazungo" try to speak the language.

Christi amazes me, though. She is so comfortable in her own skin and speaks fluent Kenrwanda. God has gifted her with hospitality and language...perfect for her role with Azizi Life as Marketing and Communications Director!

Tom, Azizi Life's Director of all thinks business is also wonderful. Very welcoming and easy to talk to. My first English friend ever :)

We took a walk about town today to see the post office, community center, a few convenient stores, and to get a feel for the roads (which are very hard dirt roads that somewhat remind me of East Texas)...I didn't feel totally out of place, but being stared at brought me back to living in Chicago during Mission Year. Jon and I are novelties here...I suppose a Rwandese would be in East Texas too, though...

So, to end this post...I decided to make a time line of what getting to Rwanda was like for us...let's just say that the next time, I need to put more than a 2 hour layover between flights...

Wednesday, Aug 10th:

6:30am: Leave for Houston Airport

8:00am: Arrive at the airport with four very oversized bags...the check-in attendant only charges us for one ($225)...our first Airport Angel

11:15am: Our plane from Houston leaves for our first stop, Montreal, Canada

2:00pm (eastern): We arrive in Montreal, eat lunch...hunker down for our 3 hour layover

5:00pm: Find out our plane is not leaving on time due to a hydraulic fluid leak

9:30pm: Finally get on the plane headed to Brussels, Belgium...knowing we will miss our next flight and anxious of what our new arrangements will be

Thursday, Aug. 11th:

11:00 am (Brussels time): We arrive, knowing that our flight straight to Kigali, Rwanda left of 10:40am, are bummed to recieve our new tickets for a flight at 8:00pm that night...to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from which we will connect for our final flight to Rwanda...

11:01am: set off to find a phone to call Christi with our travel changes and email whoever we can...we meet Jemy, a beautiful Canadian woman traveling to Kigali for a wedding, and become travel family :)

11:45am: after going through customs and all over the airport, we finally find the phone...only to discover that I have written down Christi's phone number with one number missing...so I try to email her...only to realize that my password won't go through on Belgium's Gmail...what, did I have to translate it into French?

12:00pm: Jon emails with his account successfully and I call my contact with Eastern to email Christi with our changes, just in case...our never ending layover begins...

12:30-5:30pm: moving from place to place outside the terminal to sleep

5:30pm: check in with our flight...just to be told that we must change our return ticket in order to board the plane...

5:45pm: Met Mike, a friendly Belgium airline clerk who helps us figure out how to change our ticket...Airport Angel #2

6:15pm: Finally make it through check-in

8:50pm: Board our flight to Ethiopia...which is our 2nd overnight flight of the trip...

Friday, Aug. 12th:

7:00 am: arrive in Addis Ababa's small, smokey, dirty airport for another layover...find a place to sit and rest my swollen feet

10:50am: Take off on our last flight to Kigali...

12:15pm: Arrive in Rwanda!!! Finally!!!

1:00pm: Made it through customs, got all 4 of our bags (one oozing with shampoo due to USA security check people just throwing everything back in my bag...thanks a lot) and are greeted by Christi!

We then took at taxi to Gitarama, our home until December...settled a bit, took a nap and then went to a local restaurant for dinner...Jon enjoyed the beef kabob and chipatti bread with a potato, I was feeling not so hot at this point, so I won't judge the food just yet :) We walked back home in the dark and then got in bed...which has never felt so good in my whole entire life...

So there you go...that pretty much updates you till now...I am finishing this post up in the dark, due to the power going out...a lot to adjust to, but not nearly as much as Jon expected...so that is good :)

Speaking of Jon, he is working on a video to show you all what I have just talked about...should be entertaining...stay tuned :)

Much love,

Emily Elizabeth