A Departure, A Delay & A Slightly Squished Bean Bun

It is 10:45 PM in Kacyiru as I sit soaking in the cool evening air. It is well past dark now. But I can still see the valley opening up before me with the lights of the 2020 Vision City twinkling on the ridge up ahead. Its too late for me to snag a picture for you –– everything comes out a bit black. But if you were here, you would know what I mean when I say that it is an inviting darkness. Not an inky blanket, the type of night that bares down and makes you feel alone. But an expansive emptiness that beckons. The world is open, it says, come explore.

I have been in Kigali, Rwanda for three full days now. I arrived Wednesday evening after quite a trip. Packing up my bags on Monday, my parents saw me off at Dulles International around 3:00pm on Tuesday afternoon. I always like to think that I’m not an over-packer. But the trunk of our car might care to differ. Either way, my flight allowed plenty of luggage and I definitely took advantage.

So I, half walking, half lugging my life through the terminal breeze past check-in and and security, making it to my gate with plenty of time to spare. Sitting down, I pull out a book only to look out the window into a torrential downpour. Now. Im not panicking yet – my flight to Brussels leaves at 5:35 and then I’ve got a three-hour layover before Im off to Kigali. But we hit 5:35 and still have not boarded. The rain is coming down and does not look like stopping. 6:35. Okay, I’ve still got two hours for that layover, we are doing fine. 7:00 – finally they board us. 7:05. We have another half hour delay. Time is ticking down on me. 7:35, we finally start to roll a bit until –– oops, it looks like we missed our departure window. 8:00. Okay, we are finally in the air.

We land in Brussels with about 20 mins until my next flight. I recognize I’m one of the lucky ones. I at least have a chance to make my connection. But if I don’t, the next one to Rwanda is not for another 24 hours. If you know anything about Brussels airport, you know it is clean, has good smoothies, and sports public filtered water stations. By the Sam Powers test, its a pretty solid spot. But if you know anything about Brussels airport, you also know that they love their trains, busses and checkpoints. So, no smoothies for me this time and I barely managed to fill up my water bottle.

Striding quickly through the airport, I made it to the terminal just in time. Mind you, 10:25 in Brussels is about 4:00 AM back home. A little beat, I reach into my backpack to find the one comfort I packed –– a sweet red bean bun from my favorite bakery back home. Unfortunately, the casualties of rushing through an airport mean things get a bit jumbled. So my little slice of heaven ended up a little deflated along the way. But it still was delicious and gave me just the boost I needed.

Fast forward through another long 8 hour flight –– Brussels Air is nice and all, but they really had that AC blasting so I shivered the whole way –– and we touch down in Kigali. Its about 8 PM by the time I make it out of the airport and am met by a colleague from the University where I will be based.

So what have I been up to for the past few days? Well, mainly sleeping –– that 6 hour time difference is a bit more difficult when the sun comes up at 6 AM and Rwandan labor laws meant the construction site next door started hammering at 5:45. But Ive also been wandering around the city, connecting with friends from my last stint in Kigali, and of course, enjoying my favorite East African food, the Rolex.

I love the culture of walking everywhere, the scenery is stunning. But believe me when I say that “the land of 1000 hills” is an understatement to describe the terrain. Think “small mountains” or “ridges” or even “45 – 60 degree ski slopes sans snow.” But in between trekking up and down lush hills, I found a place to live longterm. My new housemates love Jesus and boardgames, so hopefully thats a recipe for success. Ill start my project on Monday, but since the mosquitoes are starting to bother me, Ill spare you those details until then.

But before I duck out of from under the inspiring onyx sky, I’ll leave you with my purpose for writing and an invitation to continue following along. My blog is both in part for myself and in part for you. Writing helps me process moving half an earth away. Inviting you into my world helps me make it just that –– my world. As I filter this journey through my eyes, my thoughts, and now my words, I can write myself into belonging here as my story starts to graft into my environment. In the meantime, it will keep you apprised of my life. Selfishly, it means we can all be on the same page without me sending the same WhatsApp message 20 times. I will write some summaries of what I have been up to as well as some more essay-type pieces about features of the Rwandan environment. If there is anything you want to know, please do not hesitate to shoot me an email and Ill either write back or incorporate it in a post.

Finally, a few notes on blog content – (1) I’m Christian and I tend to filter my life through that lens. Its kinda how Im programmed. If I say anything that doesn’t quite make sense to you, whether it be a theological concept or just a daily habit, let me know and Im happy to expand. (2) If you get bored of hearing about my everyday life, then I’m accomplishing one of my goals. If you want to read something a bit more exciting and adventurous, my blog from last summer on my travels in Rwanda fits that bill a bit better. But Kigali is a clean, vibrant city. The purpose here is not to lead you to the cliched and somewhat condescending “they are just like us” conclusion –– there are many things people wrestle with here that never cross our minds at home. But I want to present what it is like for me, a White American guy to navigate a contemporary African city for 9 months and I would love for you to come aboard. If it is neither shocking nor exciting, it might mean I’ve made an environment we often consider “other” a bit more tangible to those at home.

So as I turn to head inside, I am suddenly struck by the memory of my hurriedly eaten red bean bun. Slightly squished yet delicious and energizing to my exhausted frame. Not to force a metaphor too hard, but my jetlagged brain cannot help but think that is how I feel right now. With pictures filtering in from friends back at school, I think about all the fourth year experiences I will miss. So while I continue to get acquainted here, know I miss you all dearly. Yet at the same time, I am energized, savoring the dark open sky that draws me into a beautiful year ahead.