12/20/2020 0 Comments Last night in rwandaIt’s a very odd feeling that I will be leaving here tomorrow. It feels very strange that I’m not even on the same continent as my family. I will leave Monday but not even be home until later Tuesday night. I have been thinking over a lot of this experience and what it has meant to me. I have met so many people that I really hope to stay connected with and get to visit many times. I really love Kigali, I have become very comfortable with it. Learning the bus routes and correctly giving directions to get places always felt like accomplishments and made me feel like I knew where I was.
Looking back I think there are certainly things I would have done differently and some things I possibly regret not doing. I wish that in our first month here when we were getting stipends to eat out, that I actually did, even if that meant sometimes going by myself. I was just really nervous in the beginning and unsure of venturing out on my own a lot, I did sometimes but I don’t think so nearly enough. I’ll be honest that I was jealous when one of the other girls was describing what different restaurants are busy on certain nights... I wish I knew that. I did a lot of nights just ordering in with some friends, which wasn’t a bad thing, always need time to just stay in and relax. I also didn’t want to be left out by going out on my own a bunch, being left with no one. I wish that I was more adventurous in Kimironko and explored the area more, but again I was nervous to be out by myself. But I shouldn’t have been. All this said, I think I needed this experience to learn all of these things. To learn that I can be more adventurous and try more new things. To go out by myself and just learn more about my areas. I hope that I can take this experience and these lessons to go out and continue adventuring, to test my limits/ go outside of my comfort zone, and really just explore life. For a long time I was scared of taking these adventures due to my health issues, but I have seen what I can accomplish and there’s no turning back. If someone had told me that I would’ve done what I did over the past 3 months with all the new foods and long traveling, I would have laughed in their face. Not to say that I haven’t had my challenges, because I certainly did, but I have seen how I can persist and make the best out of situations. Tonight I went out onto our balcony and just looked out at the beautiful nighttime Kigali skyline and couldn’t help but have tears come to my eyes. This has been the most challenging and gratifying experience that I have had in my life. I have learned so much on the academic side, and as a researcher. But I have also learned a lot about myself: how to be more patient, to be flexible, to care less what others think of me, to be myself, and to go out and explore. Without SIT and staff- Celine, Mercy, and Janvier (Uncle Janvy)- I don’t know how I would have made it through this time. Janvier has been like an amazing Uncle to myself and the other students. I will miss our pretend fights and jokes and story times. I have learned so much from you, and I cannot wait to come back and visit (because there is no way I can stay away from this place). Wow it’s so crazy this is it. I am so sad :(
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