Right now I'm sitting in the Kigali airport awaiting my first flight on my way to Greece!!! To say I'm excited is an understatement. But I'll get to tell you all about one I actually go.
Today before heading to the airport I visited my counterpart Etienne and his family at his house in Kigali. First, when I say Kigali I don't mean that he live in the middle of the city he and his family live in one of the surrounding neighborhoods that if you didn't know the city was there you would just think you were in a typical Rwandan village. I personally love it. I took a small van taxi from the bus park up the hill where I met his beautiful daughter Bellies (I love her name so much) and we walked together to there house. They were so welcoming as always, made me a delicious lunch and we visited for a couple hours. The typical Rwandan visit.
I had met his wife and children before a couple times and I absolutely love them. His wife is so sweet, motherly, and always has the cutest dresses! His two daughters are adorable. The oldest is quieter but carries herself like the oldest child typically does. The middle daughter has a wild side to her, in the best way, and I can't wait to see her as she grows up. And his son, the baby, is all wide eyed and adorable and definitely the baby of the family. They are adorable and watching him with all of his kids I wish he didn't have to travel so far for work, even though I don't know what I would do without him.
I also got to meet one of Etienne's sisters. She's 28 and has her bachelor's in biomedical technology. So impressive. She was really talkative which I always appreciate. She went on to tell me how it was Etienne who encouraged her to continue her secondary school and then university studies even after they faced some difficulty at home. She talked about how she wanted to get a really good job in order to help out her other siblings. And she talked about how great it is to watch Etienne and his wife making sure their children get good a good education and make that a priority.
Now basically since I met Etienne and started working with him I've been in aw of him. HE works harder than anyone I know, he is so open minded to all the ideas I bring in, he's always attending trainings and works really hard to bring the information he learns back to the health center or the community, and he's the most positive person ever! He works far from home, works days, nights, is in charge of so many services at the health center I've lost count and he never complains, never is grumpy or jaded, it's amazing. So, even after I already have this amazing view of him from working so much with him, I now hear the amazing things his sister is saying and I can't even comprehend how lucky I am to have met him and be welcomed into his life.
Throughout these two years I'm constantly in aw of the people I'm surrounded by. When I was in the small taxi heading out towards the airport I just couldn't help but feeling my heart full of joy, love, and inspiration. I don't leave that often like this but the few times I have, including today, I just think about ow hare it is going to be to say goodbye to these amazing people and this amazing country. I wish the world was a little smaller and I could get back and forth between all of my loved ones easier. But, I know that in these last 3 months I plan to soak up every minute of it because I've learned in the past that it's completely true, "you don't know what you have until it's gone." but in this case I know what I have and it's incredible. <3 p="">
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