Pictures of reality

I love pictures... taking them and looking at them. Love it! It isn't uncommon for me to finish some big event or trip and to look back at the pictures with a hint of disappointment. Sometimes even great pictures cannot reflect the intensityor true emotion. The real experience is always better than the moment in time captured in the photo. But I still love the photos!

My experience in Rwanda was amazing. Amazing. Honestly I haven't looked through all of my pictures very closely yet. I'm still just reflecting on the memories. I took hundreds of pictures and I know that they will be special to me in years to come. Right now, I don't need them to remember the intensity of the experience or the feelings I had while there.

So here are a few so that you can see some things that I saw...

The view of Kigali from the balcony where we stayed.

All the signs for Masaka, the village that we worked in. The ride from Kigali to Masaka was always an adventure... bumpy roads and overcrowded cars!

Everywhere you look, even in the city of Kigali, you often see people collecting water. It's a reality that most of us cannot even imagine.

Safely home

Well we made it home from Rwanda on Saturday night!

The group travels were an adventure, but at least this time we all made it to our destination without losing anyone! Our flights went well but I learned that sometimes the rules are different when you are leaving a small country like Rwanda. The tags for our luggage were hand written, which is a SLOW process, as you can imagine. And it seems like some rules are taken more seriously than I am used to. Leaving Kigali, the Kenya Airlines manager was insistent that our carry on baggage should not weigh more than 10 kg. He singled me out more than most of the group and I panicked for a minute thinking that I would be leaving my carry on suitcase (or the stuff in it) behind in Kigali. Somehow Matt and Kathy snuck off with my backpack and so I made it through - what a relief!

Jet lag. I suppose I am experiencing jet lag. I'm exhausted. But I'm not napping. I refuse to nap. So instead last night I was in bed at 8 pm. It was awesome! More of that to come this week... in fact, I think I'm headed to bed in just a few short minutes. Tomorrow I need to actually show up at work before 9 am. Oy.

I'm experiencing more sadness than I expected. I miss my friends from the team. And I miss my Rwandan friends. While I am glad to be home, I was surprised that while we were there, I didn't miss 'home' that much. The things I did miss... hot showers with good water pressure, toilets, my bed, and Pacey the cat! But I didn't really miss those things all the time. I didn't actually think about them all that much. And I didn't miss constant access to email and internet or the constant buzz of news and other media. It was good to experience silence from these things. And space. And to just enjoy the moment and time with new people - new friends. I hope to stay in touch with my new Rwandan friends. I have already gotten emails from a couple of them. And I hope to stay in touch with the team I travelled with. We are truly bonded.

As I settle back in and recover from my exhaustion, I plan to relive some of my favorite moments, tell some stories, and post some pictures. But not tonight. Right now it is past my bedtime... I cannot keep my eyes open any longer.

Land of a thousand hills

Rwanda is beautiful! It is absolutely stunning! Maybe I am a little ignorant, but I just had no idea it would be rolling green hills everywhere you look. Of course, that is why they call it the 'land of a thousand hills'. But I honestly did not know much about this country before I signed up to come here a couple of months ago.

We are staying a couple of blocks from an internet cafe which is convenient. But I have only come down here a couple of times. The connection is slow so I haven't blogged before now. It's really been a great break from technology and always being connected.

The trip has been great so far! Our team is really fun and I'm enjoying the time with them. We have formed incredible friendships with the Rwandan people we are working with. And I really believe that this project is making a difference in the community (check out 20liters.org for more info... I'll post more details later as well.).

It is definitely a different world here. People walking to get the water they need just for survival. And the water they get is likely from the river and filthy (full of e coli and other terrible things). You see women carrying the huge jugs on their heads or people hauling them on bicycles. This is everywhere you look. It should make us all pause... and be thankful for the blessings in our life!!

More later. And especially pictures! I cannot wait to look through my pictures and post some (or tons!)!