It has now been three weeks since I hugged my Rwandan family and friends goodbye and left Kigali. I am back in New Hampshire and things have been quite busy here since my return home.
My first week back was filled with some much needed quality time around family and friends. The B-day/coming home party was a blast in which Anna and Ayden ( for lack of better words my little sisters) filled up a GIGANTIC bag of candy from the town parade that took place. Since my voyage to Rwanda, my mom moved to a great place in Downtown New London.
Kara and I made a few trips down to the Cape to see the Hyannis Sound, and I was even able to make it to Nantucket to see my Nana and Uncle as well as spend some time playing on the beautiful beaches.
Unfortunately I was unable to go down to Adventure Links to finish off my summer at camp, but I was able to land a sweet job at Harvard First Year Outdoor Program for two weeks, thanks to my best friend, Christa. So, presently I am up at my prof's condo below the whites acting as basecamp and support staff for the 35+ trips that went out on Saturday.
Oh yea, I almost forgot!....MY BROTHER JOE WAS MARRIED THIS WEEKEND! This meant that I got to spend my weekend in Nashville, TN rocking out to country music with my cowboy boots. The wedding was beautiful and perfect in every way.
Perhaps more importantly, I have tried to be as aware as I am able of myself during this important time of re-entry. Reflection is one of the most important steps to an experience, and here are some of the things I have noticed:
1) I have been very family oriented. Kara and I were literally attached by the hip my first week back, and I was ecstatic when I saw my grandmother.
2) Random moments have struck me in random ways. I have found myself tearing up to weird moments as well as having a rush of different emotions. Often times these come with a memory, but sometimes I have to ask myself " Seriously, why am I crying right now?"
3) Thinking about the Genocide here has been harder for me than when I was actually in Rwanda.
4) Every time I see a black child I want to go over to him/her and pick them up.
5) I am making a big effort in trying to use my Kinyarwanda because I already started loosing it.
I will let you know how these things change over time and when I get back to school,
-Rach
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