We finally made it!

(This blog was written on Wednesday, May 8th. We didn't have internet connection right away, but I wanted to jot down some of my initial thoughts.)

At Last… We finally made it, and it has been quite the adventure! This Wednesday, we departed from the Brussels airport for our last flight to Kigali, Rwanda.

The plane was great, and the flight seemed to take quite a shorter amount of time than it did when we were flying into Brussels, even though the actually flight time was about the same. As we were about to land, I felt an enormous amount of butterflies conquer my stomach. I felt as if my heart was in my throat, and the thought that I would finally be landing in Africa, my life long dream, brought so much enthusiasm! 

As soon as I walked off of the plane, so many things hit me; emotions and physically feelings flooded me. I had finally reached Africa; my dreams were coming true! Physically, the humidity overwhelmed me as my glasses fogged up, and the smell was so different, not in a bad way. Everything around me was different, and the opportunities that are going to come excited me. 

We then met our drivers who took us to SOS, they will also be our main drivers during this trip, and the car ride presented itself with more feelings. Being the cautious driver that I am, the traffic in Kigali gave me a few heart attacks. It was crazy that people were darting in and out on their motorbikes, and even on foot! There was so much noise and confusions, and so many things to see! There were people cramming into taxi buses, literally cramming, music playing, and so many different buildings and surroundings. 

Finally, we reached SOS, the main place that we are staying, at 8:30p.m.. Even though it was dark, the sun goes down very early here, I could tell that it was beautiful. There was and is just something about this place; I can hear the crickets and bugs making noise, and can see the starts so clearly. We were all brought to our rooms, which was just the beginning of new things. We all have our own rooms while we are here, and each room contains our bedroom, a closet, a sink, and a shower. For me, the bathroom is right down the hallway. The first thing that stuck out was the large mosquito net hanging above my bed. This would be the next part of our night. 

We met as a group to go over a few basics, and we learned how to really set up our beds with the nets. As I write this portion of the blog, I am currently under my net, surrounded by my computer, a bottle of water, and my bible. For some reason, I feel as if I am 6 again, "camping" under this net/tent that I assembled myself. I love it though. :)

My first thoughts? Wow. I think I am going to love it here. Everything is so different, and I think that at this point in my life, a trip like this is really going to put some things into perspective. It will also allow me to grow in so many areas of my life, especially in my faith and relationship with God. I am so curious to see how I will change. Other thoughts? umm…. I totally forgot how much I hate humidity… let's be real. It is kind of sticky here, but I will get used to it eventually, or so I hope. I do really miss some things already, like being able to chat with my family, my boyfriend, and friends on the drop of the hatch, but it helps knowing that they support me in my decision to be here. I can't wait to come back and share my story. 

Well, It is time for me to head out to sleep. I miss you all!