Well, we're here! What a wild ride. For the past month and a half Patrick and I have been preparing in all the ways we know how to put closure to our DC lives & livelihoods, and pack as much as we could into farewell parties, closing projects, and 7 overweight suitcases.
All the while we have been planning our wedding in September too! I think that April was probably the busiest I've felt since the start of NAFASI when I would spend 12 hour work days figuring everything out. It is funny looking back at our DC April right now from my bed at 11:00 in the morning while leisurely writing a blog update and staring across rolling hills at Lake Kivu. The birds singing, cows mooing, nice breeze. I just started Party of Five season 1 on Netflix. ;)
It sounds nice doesn't it? It's all I dreamed of while pulling my hair out trying to get work done last month! Yeah, I wish it were that easy. I worked straight through until the Friday that we got on the plane to leave for Rwanda, and now I'm here and realizing I didn't give myself a chance to mourn. Luckily I'm writing after 2 full weeks of being here, and successfully out of my funk. This is Patrick and I 2 weeks ago all green and giddy for our new life adventure:
While it is true, I miss my job, my family and friends, my nephews, our apartmentttttt! (It was featured in an Apartment Therapy Home Tour actually right before we left! In case you miss it too ;)) I need to let myself be here. It is hard to switch so quickly from a million things to do, in such a comfortable wonderful place, to having less to do, in a whole new, yet wonderful, place.
The things I do now are figure out where we cook, and how to use a Rwandan phone number, and when do we get a stove, and how do I say hello in Kinyarwanda. While overwhelming at times, it's also pretty exciting. And while the beginning is challenging no matter where you move, once you're over the hump, it just leaves surprises and adventure, and calmness again behind all the logistics.
Rwanda is a breathtaking country. I said recently, there is not any direction in any place you look that isn't beautiful. It is clean and lush. It rains every day and cools off, and then the sun shines again. Out our window is a secluded hillside view of the sunset... every night, right in front of our house. Patrick is starting his job at an amazing organization and I get to be really involved. We live in a community in rural Rubengera of about 30 other people who picked up and moved too. They all seem to like dogs and board games and beer and pizza- all good people in my book! And just a couple hours away in Kigali I can get the best sushi or Indian I've ever had!
The house! I've got 2 weeks of filling you in on what's been going on with that! Our house is a bit more modest than what we expected... Which just means I've got a bigger job of designing it and making it our home again!! It has a living room, kitchen area, one bedroom, hallway, bathroom, and the best front porch ever. Stay tuned this week I'll be writing more to get up to date. And I'll post our before pictures too! We've got a lot to do!!!
Love,
Teri
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| On the plane- DC to Rwanda! |
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| Trying to read a French interior design magazine at a smoothie shop in Kigali |
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| Was excited to show Patrick he can get Nike's at the mall in Kigali too! ;) |
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| Keza, one of the neighborhood dogs who keeps us company until Nami gets here in September! |