A F R I C A

Ahhhhhhh! A year ago I was sitting in a classroom dreaming of traveling the world and meeting new people... and now its happening. This year has been so incredible and I have been so sad to leave everyone I have met but now I'm in Africa! (Rwanda to be exact) Getting here was a challenge in itself because it took three flights in two days and no sleep. After a while of not sleeping I couldn't tell anyone what continent I was on let alone what city. But I made it! I have only been here for two days but it's been so amazing so far. My host family is incredible and I have taken a couple classes to learn the language spoken here (Kinyarwandan) and I would say I'm picking it up pretty well. My host home has puppies and lots of children so I guess you could call it my happy place. I have already learned so much about the culture here and I can't wait to learn more. Here things are definitely not time centered and it's totally okay to say you will show up somewhere at 12 and not get there until 3. They call it Rwandan time and I guess I'll just have to get used to that. I am definitely time focused rather than event focused so that will take some adjusting. Today we learned about the different stages of culture shock and I would say I'm definitely in the honeymoon stage and probably will be for a while but who knows haha stay tuned. And today my wonderful sister had her baby so I am officially an aunt! It's so exciting and wonderful and although I am almost 9,000 miles away, I am there in spirit. I am so sad I missed the birth of my nephew but I cannot wait to meet him when I get home! Little Braylon already has so many people who love him and I know that he has a bright future ahead of him. Being in Africa is definitely a strange experience to think of how far away I am from my family and the United States, but for some reason I get a sense of peace knowing that I don't have to keep up with the latest on social media or the latest gossip or news. It's nice being able to take a step back and not worry about all of that. Not having WiFi everywhere like we did in Jordan is taking some getting used to also, but I think it will be a good thing to disconnect. Tomorrow we are visiting the genocide memorial and I know that will be a very educational experience as well as a heartbreaking one. This country has been through so much and still managed to stay as loving and as kind as ever and for that I admire Rwanda. The food here is good, there is a lot of fruit which is my favorite so I think I'll like it here a lot. Every morning I will have to take a moto (motorcycle) to work or class which is super fun and I love it more than I anticipated! Don't worry mom I wear a helmet. I'm not sure what my internship is yet but I start next Tuesday so I'll keep you posted. Well that's about it for now! Keep checking for updates! I appreciate all the continued support!