Right now I am writing this from my room at St. Paul’s in Rwanda! Please excuse any poorly worded sentences or bad grammar, as my brain and body are pretty jetlagged. Let me tell you about my travels so far:
My packing was somewhat rushed and last minute — which I tried to avoid — however despite this procrastination, I seem to have done an okay job; so far nothing major seems to be missing from my messy suitcase. Even before I left for Rwanda I was being challenged — could I go against 20 years of over-packing? It seems like so far I have risen to the challenge — I managed to fit everything into one suitcase and one carry-on! A small victory, but personal growth nonetheless. I put some considerable thought into what books I would take, and I finally decided on:
- The Great Enigma: New Collected Poems by the Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer
- King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild
- A Human Eye: Essays on Art in Society, 1997-2008 by Adrienne Rich
- Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for Women Who are Changing the World by Holly Morris (on recommendation and loan from my roommate and dear friend, Annie)
- I Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poems I Defense of Global Human Rights, edited by Melissa Kwasny & M.L. Smoker
- Rwanda: the Bradt Travel Guide by Philip Briggs & Janice Booth
I didn’t read a lot on my plane ride, but I did read some of the history of Rwanda, specifically of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda: the Bradt Travel Guide. During the flight from Brussels to Kigali I also started I Go to the Ruined Place. It is a wonderful read and really relevant to some of the topics that I will be looking at during the delegation, so I will probably post some of my favorite poems from there on here later.
My journey started in Marion, IA at 7am on June 16th. My parents drove myself and my friend Monica (whose plane for Greece departed hours apart from mine!) to O’Hare airport in Chicago. It is difficult to explain how I felt. I found out I was accepted into Global Youth Connect’s June delegation in December, yet nothing could have prepared me for this trip. Before Thursday I have never been on a place before, and I don’t think I could have picked a better reason or a more perfect destination to fly for the first time. I found everything exciting! When my flight was taking off from O’Hare for Philadelphia, I was so excited! I wanted to grab the arm of the businessman next to me and say “This is my first time flying! This is my first take-off!” But I restrained myself, and settled with grinning like crazy in my seat. I don’t think I will ever forget my first take-off. The plane tilted, I looked out the window, and straight below me Chicago and all its suburbs stretched before me. It was beautiful!
On my flight from Philadelphia to Brussels I made my first, and definitely not last, friend of the trip. Cam was my seat buddy. He is in the Navy and was traveling to Brussels on vacation. We had a fun time and he was nice enough to help me figure out where I was going at the airport in Brussels.
At first Brussels Airlines told me they didn’t have a seat on the plane for me, but luckily after some nervous waiting I was upgraded to business class! What luck for a first-time flyer! It definitely made the nine hour flight more comfortable as well. The woman who sat next to me was very nice, and told me that she was originally from Rwanda and was coming here for the summer to visit family and friends. She gave me some great advice and told me about some good places to visit if I got the chance. The television screens on the plane informed us as we flew over Luxemburg, Thessaloniki in Greece, Egypt, and Sudan. Just flying over these places made me excited! A lot of my mom’s family came from Luxemburg, Monica is studying in Thessaloniki, and I read so much about Egypt and Sudan this past semester with the massive political changes both these countries have made.
When my last plane finally landed at Kigali International Airport at 12:30 pm CST on June 17th, it was the second time during my traveling that is difficult to describe. I have taken courses on African history, public health in Africa, human rights in Africa, etc., but to finally be here, in Rwanda, was — and still is — an overwhelming feeling. It gets dark here very early, around 6 pm or so, so when I arrived in Kigali the city was lit up with the lights of buildings. Jesse from GYC met me at the airport, and I have met a fair number of people in the delegation. Everyone seems really nice, and I’m excited to spend more time here!
Ni ah’ ubutaha,
Marisa
