17 hours on a plane is better than any icebreaker.

On the flight over, Ethiopian Airlines made up for lack of leg room with a relaxed attitude towards wandering the aisles, so we took advantage of the long flight to put faces to the names and introductions we got via our google group. Some people seemed surprised that I’m the Sudan girl, though by now they’re all probably tiring of my references to life in Khartoum and the endless words of wisdom from my father (already a mythical character here). On the flip side, however, we are at that stage where we’ve realized we need to benefit from everyone’s knowledge as much as possible – Ben’s years teaching high school math, Penny’s previous experiences in Rwanda, Gina’s all-around girl scout problem solving (from blisters to ending pointless debates)… and all of our collective travelling knowledge. (As a group we’re quite well traveled!) So, maybe for once my stories aren’t so irrelevant.

And as for that group, in total there are 18 of us, for now living together in a mission in the center of Kigali, but soon to be spread all around the country. While we range a lot – in age (22 to 70), marital status, life plan (or non-plan), teaching experience – we get along very well. And in a little more than a week, we’ve all found the two muzungu cafes with overpriced coffee and free wifi ; some people have found their bars of choice; I’ve begun my pastry survey of the city (thanks to Belgian influence I’ve found doughnuts, a raisin Danish, and even a challah chocolate croissant!) ; we can even navigate the public transportation pretty well (though I’ve yet to get up the courage to take a moto – or moped taxi). That said, 90% of our time is spent in training sessions, so I couldn’t really say that I’ve become familiar with most of Kigali, but from the mission this is what I see: (on second thought, pictures coming later... so here's a brief description.)

It is really beautiful. We're up on a high hill, and down below the city is all red rooftops and earthtone buildings against the green, superlush forest and fields. Then there are more hills (Rwanda is called the Land of a Thousand Hills) with the city buildings spilling up them, followed by fields and then forest just where its too steep for anything else. Its almost always misty so the farther hills are only partly visible most of the time - sometimes the whole city disappears! And there are flocks of crows that are forever zooming in and out of the distance, kind of reminiscent of Hitchcock, but more dramatic than menacing. Occasionally they land on our roof and sound like children running around! (They are pretty huge.) Also. it rains almost every day (this is the end of the rainy season), and you can see the rains rolling in across the city. The entire valley below us and the distant hills are covered by opaque purple storm clouds and then comes torrential rain- in the tropical sense, more of a constant stream than actual drops... Oh, and i almost forgot the singing! When the rain isn't drowning it out, there is always singing coming from somewhere in the mission. Its really a fitting soundtrack, and a good reminder that while we may be in class all day, we're still in the middle of Africa!

I hope that gives a little context. I hope to put up some pictures soon... This weekend we're going to Butare - the city near my school - so no email for a few days, but more stories (and pictures...?)to come.