Home, part 1

Yesterday I was hurrying to get everything done that needed doing before I left for 2 weeks, and trying to say goodbye to everyone - then, as usual, I was a bit late, so I flew out the door to the waiting taxi, and when we were on our way I realize I had missed saying good bye to Ama. I will miss her!!!

Eddy and I are headed to Texas for an AAZV meeting - I am soooo happy Eddy won a scholarship so he can attend this meeting. He is one of our best and brightest, and a heck of a nice guy too! It will be great to have him there! We got to Kigali with absolutely no problems for either of our flights. Amazing. Unfortunately it was really hot, and I was so sweaty and very smelly by the time I got to immigration at Kigali airport that I was embarrassed, and I had another 36 hours to go…with no change of clothes...ugh. As I was filling out my immigration departure form I started to smell a familiar, but not so good smell. Not me, but Chewy. Ugh. Chewy is one of our guard dogs, and I love him like crazy, but he smells really bad (yeasty ears, chronic wet dog smell...). Where on earth was the small coming from????? Is it my pillow??? ME???? After some surreptitious sniffing, I realized with horror that it is my pants. Oh no. Mzungu that smells like sweat and wet dog getting ready to board a plane. Nice. I went to the bathroom and scrubbed my hands and tried to delicately clean my pits. But the pants.... nothing to be done.

A quick 1.5 hour flight to Nairobi, then a 3 hour wait. At Nairobi airport I am for the first time in months, surrounded by white people. I am used to hearing a language I don’t understand, but here there are dozens of languages. People in turbans, tons of American, Asian and European tourists, and Africans of every flavor in their beautiful colors. I walk, shop and watch. And sweat some more, but here in Nairobi there is such a bouquet of smells I blend in. After I check in, I am ushered into the air conditioned waiting area (thank god, my pants no longer smell like wet dog, at least to me, and I’m not getting any strange glances or crinkled noses in my general direction). But there are NO Africans in the waiting area. None. No people of color. Feels strange. I watch as countless people walk under an air duct that is dripping water every now and then. It feels a little like candid camera – people duck and look up, some bemused, some angry, and some just confused. Four older ladies walked under it, obviously traveling together, and they each one got dripped on, giggling and pointing at one another. Maybe that will be me and my girlfriends in another decade! It is amusing. Then Ty Pennington blares on the television – “GOOD MORNING CARTER FAMILY!!!!” Oh-my-god. I watched as the team meet the unfortunate and tearful family, send them on vacation, and then tear down a house that would be worth a fortune in Rwanda. But it isn’t in Rwanda. That’s what I have to keep telling myself. And so my re-entry to life in a developed country begins.

On the flight to London (boarded at midnight) I pulled on my socks and got out my fleece, trying to settle in for a sleep. I was seated next to 2 men who won a week long trip to Malawi through a trident chewing gum contest! Nobody wins those! They had a blast and stayed at the best lodges – no strings attached. Amazing. They didn't ask me what I did in Rwanda – I’m sort of glad, but sort of disappointed too. We all slept until they woke us for breakfast at 5am.

London. Heathrow. Cold wind when we deplane at 6am. Shiny and well lit with huge shops. Coffee and a muffin for $10. Perfumes and leather bags. People with pink hair, people with long tweed coats, young moms looking harried, backpackers. TONS of white people speaking English. Then I see a group of businessmen from Kenya, and feel a bit more at home in their midst for a moment. Not sure why…Maybe I still want to be part of that world?

Time to board the plane to Houston where I meet Eddy and we head to South Padre Island for a week. Then HOME for a week! I am soooo looking forward to family and friends! There will probably be lots of americans on this flight. Hope I don't smell too bad....