More Reflections

So I did get another chance to post again.  Today was a more relaxed day which was nice.  We went to a rockin church service this morning and then just get to chill out this afternoon.

I wanted to share a few more reflections on the genocide memorial that I forgot to yesterday.  They had a children's room in the memorial with a picture of the child and a profile on each one.  They were all killed in the genocide.  There was one little boy whose last words were "Mommy where can I run to" another little boys last words were "UNAMIR [the UN] will come for us".  This is heavy stuff.  1 million people were killed.  And how do I deal with coming from a country who turned a blind eye to what was going on.  These aren't just a bunch of dead Africans.  They are someone's son, daughter, wife or father. 

I have felt nothing but warm acceptance while here, but we were warned that some Rwandan's might be indifferent towards Westerners because the West let them down during the genocide. I haven't found this to be the case, but I can't blame them if they felt that way.

On a lighter note, I started working with the other civil engineer yesterday.  He is from Western Australia, and I really enjoy working with him.  The site presents some interesting challenges and I'm looking forward to how we are going to tackle them.  So if I come home saying "I reckon" you know why.  There have been moments when one of us has said something and the other is like "What???"  I now know that the bonnet is not a hat, but the front of the car.

There is a resident rooster that rises at 5 AM every day.  Him and I are not friends.  I told him that he better start sleeping with one eye open.

I love it here and I feel so lucky to be here.  The fact that I am one of only a few people to experience something like this is not lost on me.  Coming back to Africa felt like coming home.  I'm so happy to be here and I'm going to try and savour every moment.

Jaimee