its night where i am, and day where i was, and the girls and i are safely on the other side of the world. the entire experience went by so quickly i can hardly believe i am laying in bed, under my mosquito net canopy, replaying the last 30 hours in my mind.
to recap this experience, ill just share a few examples of the rollercoaster of emotions today;
~ caught off guard by a snow storm as we were leaving virginia to come to this equatorial place. it was strange to know that we would not only be in another time, but in an entirely different type of land, where something like snow would never come in a million years.
~ saddened by watching robert try to get a cart with all our bags through the icy parking lot while i took the girls inside to shelter ourselves from the accumulating snow. passerby after passerby doing just that, watching him struggle and drop our mountain of bags. no on helped at all until another african came along and happily shared roberts load. people.
~ so thankful for the thoughtful crew on our favorite airline, klm, who let us board early, helped us acquire an extra seat for ivy on each flight, though we had not paid for one, and tended to us with so much care. i almost cried on multiple occasions because of how thoughtful particular crew members were
~so proud of the girls. there were a few moments where things got a little hairy but the overwhelming summation of the girls travel experience was triumphant. everyone slept during the night flight and everyone really held it together and were pleasant during the layover and day flight. ivy was loud, so that was hard. she’s loud even when she’s just talking so i certainly had my face bored into by laser eyes of nearby elderly women. but truly they did such an excellent job of practicing self control and being willing to wait and be patient. it was so worth it to help them flex those muscles
~surprised by all the people i met on the plane to rwanda with whom i have multiple points of connection. including someone who lives in Canada but knew robert as a kid. i met a lovely couple from georgia who live here with their daughter and work in consulting. we had so much help from so many kind strangers
~overwhelming gratitude at the huge crowd of friends and family who showed up to envelop into loving and long overdue embraces, as well as all of those who showed up at our apartment to welcome us, bring us food and supplies, and make us feel like we belong here. it was humbling and incredible to see so many of these faces again after years and years.
~utter exhaustion after the enormity of the task we just accomplished.
~loneliness for robert.
~excitment for tomorrow
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