I am here. Finally made it to our destination, though a little groggy and extremely wide-eyed with excitement, every sight and scene I took in as if breathing really deeply every second. It is good to see palm trees again and feel a breeze that does not tear at my skin but hugs one’s senses as if in greeting. That tropical rainforest smell or mildew of a damp basement permeates the bathrooms and dimly lit areas. Our flight pit stopped at Kigali, Rwanda (before heading to Nairobi) where there is a small airport with a tiny duty free tuck shop and one baggage belt; it would be hard to miss anyone coming off a flight, namely our mentor, Marian after about 40 minutes from the time we landed. We were surprised to be greeted at the airport outside by Andrew, a friend of Zachary’s (head of the Ubumwe Community Centre where we are to work). We greeted in English and with smiles as we also tried to speak some Kinyarwandan, saying Muraho (hello). We spent some time studying the language as we waited, sweating, at the front of the tiny airport (there are no waiting areas). The drive to the Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel was surreal as I wanted to see everything. The most memorable moment was when I realized just how hilly it was. Imagine a dark, dark night and driving in a large Toyota SUV, windows open, whipping by palm trees and paved sidewalks that ended as a slope downwards into a pool of stars (the houses in the valley below). Kigali is big, with seas of houses riding the wave of a valley or slope of a hilltop (though less at the very top of hills). I was so curious when we arrived at our hostel approaching a Chinese restaurant called the Great Wall of China Restaurant. We asked our new friend, Andrew, if he enjoyed Chinese food and he nodded. Our first experience with a Rwandan was that they were quiet and soft spoken, always kind and gentle-hearted, smiling and patient with our lack of filtering. Of course, not everyone was like Andrew who spoke softly and calmly, as I later found out, though joyous hospitality is a consistent occurrence so far. Our hostel was nice, deceivingly so; there were many travellers coming through from Europe and the States; the most Caucasians we would probably see for the rest of our trip. The room we got was incredibly cheap for six beds (bunk), a porch, wifi, included breakfast and incredible views. Still very spoiled. I had a wonderful sleep on the top bunk of our mosquito-netted bunker and a refreshing cold shower; it was good to be clean after a long almost two-day flight! This whole time, though I had my own thoughts, I was also surrounded by the presence of my 6 new friends, including our mentor; all very exciting! I am now relaxing at a table on our communal balcony area on our floor in semi-darkness, charging my computer and trying to use the wifi to contact family and friends, though sometimes taking 20 minutes to load a page. I am glad for that opportunity.