Arrival!

Rwanda Blog 3

Arrival

The perfect welcome to Africa – landing in Ethiopia to a pink sunrise lacing a mountain. As we touched down in Adis Ababa the sun crawled, bright orange and huge over the edge of the mountain as we rolled up to the airport.

Compared to Ethiopia, Rwanda is a mirage of green. The air in Rwanda smells of smoke and rain, wet but clear and light. The colors are brilliant. Even beyond the deep green of the plants and mountains, the colors of advertisements, signs, clothes, seem to shine they are so vibrant.

I haven't had time for photography, but here is a picture from near our hostel.

It is a beautiful, endless rolling green hills cluttered with redbrick rooftops and houses. Though in contrast to the vibrancy of the color, the city is quiet. Rwandans move and speak quietly, shadow-like, and the city seems to to reflect this calm. For a capitol city it seems soft, relatively slow traffic, quiet streets and lots of trees scattered among roads and construction sites. I know very little, yet, having just been into town for a few hours to send emails, but what I have learned leaves me even more curious.

For the next few days we are staying in a hostel close to school, recovering from days of travel, and getting to know each other and the country before we meet our host families. I am grateful for the rest time! I am so tired, though so excited to be here I can hardly sit still.

Update 1/30/2013:

My school is surprisingly lovely, in a big house with a eden-like garden and beautiful architecture. Our teachers are fantastic. I am a bit disappointed at how much time we have spent in the class room so far – almost no time to explore the city. But I am sure I will get plenty of time for that soon! I meant to post earlier but internet has been crazy hard to get. Just bought a USB modem though so I should be able to communicate more soon.