|| Nothing more important than a first impression||
And so that’s what happened. I got impressed! Last night i arrived in the middle of the night. Jean, a local boy, picked me up from teh airport. He was very friendly. On the way to the compound we had to stop for the police. Probably a check if he wasn’t a secret taxi driver or for security reasons. They seemed not unfriendly. The policeman waved politely.
Then i entered the compound. A big alone standing house in the middle of a super humpy dirt road. With a gate around it, it seemed very well protected. Which feels nice. This area should be the so called expat area. Lots of white people working here. Even the president is living not far from here. Pretty rich area. The dirt road may have the a function, so it will not be crowded or it doesn’t look too rich? I don’t know why it’s like that, the other roads seemed pretty fine.
I went to bed. I have a nice spacey room with a big bed. It’s not super-the-luxe but comfortable and fine. I am content.
The next morning i met Deirdre for the first time. Another impression, and a good one. She’s a very sweet lady. Nice and knowledgeable if it’s about Ashtanga yoga and also she knows so much about Rwanda, Congo and all that is happening here. Her stories are breathtaking, interesting, impressive and teaching me so much. We were going out to teach the orphans today, but that class was canceled, we will stay in and instead we would take a little stroll around the neighborhood and just chat more. The Internet connection is pretty fine, which means that i could Skype talk with my mum in the afternoon and with Stijn at night. That’s really great! I am excited about what i am going to learn and see and hear… i have the suspicion it will be more extraordinary but also sad and horrifying than i can imagine. Things i learned today even, were things i had no clue about… we actually have no idea what is more happening in the world than what happens in our safe little bubble or what we see on TV… i hope i can add something and make a little difference.
Missing my boy but I feel lucky to be in this place, is my first impression!
some facts: Internet is great here, ATM is in the airport – it needs a VISA credit card (and i don’t dare to use it, ATM’s don’t seem very trustworthy), there are no dogs, it was warm – around 28 degrees Celsius today, groceries are crazy expensive – cornflakes around 10-12 US Dollar for example, i hear birds singing – probably tropical ones cause i don’t recognize the sounds, also Catholic children are singing – all day long in a house in front of ours – no comment yet.
Shanti! Anneke
The house of love 