May 25; I departed DFW and man what an adventure. The plane departing DFW was delayed 2 and a half hours and I was gloriously sitting in the middle seat for that time. I really had to pee. Sad. We finally took off and headed to Amsterdam. My layover in Amsterdam was 3 hours, and with the delay I ended up missing my next flight. Thankfully, the lady at the KLM desk was very helpful by getting my flight rescheduled and letting me go through the priority check in/security. The airport was a ZOO at 11am so so thankful I didn’t have to wait. Downside, my new flight took me to Nairobi, Kenya instead of Kigali, Rwanda, where I needed to be that night. So when I landed in Kenya I got myself a hotel room, and a nice shower so I could depart to Rwanda by 6:50 the next morning.

May 27; I landed in Kigali, Rwanda around 8am. Got my visa approved and called the driver to pick me up and take me to class to join the rest of the group. When I got to campus, I was dropped off at Thomas’ house which is the homestay I am living with while in Kigali. Thomas was so excited that I finally made it and joined his new family, so sweet :’) He walked me to class, which is about a 5 minute walk from our house. Everyone was in the middle of Kinyarwanda class, which is the major language spoken in Rwanda. Typical, I got called up to demonstrate legit 5 minutes after I got there and looked like a complete goon. We had Kinyarwanda from 8:30-12:30, lunch, then went to the bank to exchange money, and the MTN store to get our Rwandan phones. We LOVE our burner phones, theres this dope monkey game which is a crowd favorite for sure. On the conclusion of our first real day I was awestruck. I am spending 10 weeks in this BEAUTIFUL country with people I am already getting to know so well, and my attitude ending the first week just emphasizes my feelings of excitement for what is to come.

A day in the life; On a normal school day my 2 roommates and I wake up around 7:15 to get ready for the day. We have breakfast which normally consists of african tea (which is leaves and milk brewed together), fruit (either mangos, pineapple, bananas, or passionfruit), bread and butter, and hard boiled eggs. Very simple and very yum. We have Kinyarwanda class from 8:30am – 12:30pm which is crazy fun and also so hard at the same time. Our professors name is John, and he is a great teacher and super helpful. We also have students in the class who are from Rwanda and are able to help with our pronunciation and learning. Our class is full of laughter and jokes, and lots of friendship. Much appreciated. We also get a “15 minute break” which is more like 40 minutes. This is the freaking best because we love talking to each other and the Rwandan students and learning about their life. We then go to lunch around campus and lunches average to 1,500 – 2,500 francs which is about 2-3 dollars, a steal. An average lunch for us is called “fast food” which is really just a buffet with rice, soup, this banana dish (honestly its like a savory banana, hard to explain), beef, vegetables, noodles, and potatoes. Then we go to our lecture/lab of Medical Devices in the Developing World. This is where we learn safety and knowledge on how to interact in the hospitals when we deploy next month to our respected places and fix broken medical equipment. We finish class around 5:30, and recently we have been taking our homestay kids to the field and play soccer/basketball/volleyball with them till it gets dark. We have dinner, which is very similar to lunch and then go to a cute bakery/coffee shop called La Mane.

Fun things so far; Every Thursday instead of having class we will visit local Kigali hospitals and work in them for the day. This past Thursday we went to Kibagabaga Hospital, met with the BMET (biomedical engineering technician), got a tour of the hospital, and fixed different old equipment. I personally worked on an oxygen humidifier and we troubleshooted the heck out that thing, but we figured it out!! Heck ya! For lunch on Thursday we went to a restaurant called Meze Fresh, which was like Chiptole. So good, and so needed. But honestly, at that point I think most of our stomachs got kinda upset by the amount of grease in our quesadillas. But worth it for sure. At night we have been hanging out, watching soccer games, and discovering the city of Kigali. On Friday night we explored a lot and went a music festival called Jazz Junction which had a bunch of different African Artists from rap to country. Such a freaking blast and an incredible once in a lifetime experience.

What I have learned so far; Seriously guys, it has been exactly one week and I am shook by how much I have grown in myself and my abilities. My experience in the airport the first day pushed me to take charge and make decisions on my own and not rely on anyone else to get me through the major and minor setbacks. I have learned that time in Rwanda is slow, and that patience is needed. That the time waiting is so valuable. This is where you learn about peoples lives, passions, and who they are. We have all grown so close so quickly. I have learned that taxi drivers like to take advantage of Americans and you need to bargin and do it well. We finally mastered our 5,000 franc taxi drive to the city center. Booyah. I have learned that I somewhat know what I am doing. When I came into this trip I was worried that I was not adequate enough or qualified to fix devices that would potentially save someones life. I am adequate, worthy and qualified. I have learned that I am absolutely terrible at other languages and can not speak in accents at all. But I am trying and the Rwandans seem to appreciate the effort. I am freaking pumped to see where my time in Rwanda takes me, I will try to post weekly so tune in (fun emoji!!!)