Home again

Back home.

The trip home was good - as enjoyable as any trip could be in cattle class. Final farewells to Ange, Cyrille and Gladys at the airport. Flight to Johannesburg on Rwanda Air's brand new 737, complete with new-car smell. It was less than half full so there was plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy the excellent view of the African continent drifting by 40,000 feet below.

It arrived 20 minutes early which meant a longer than expected wait at Jo'burg, but at least there was plenty of opportunity to drink coffee and browse the shops, of which there are a good many, including a shop called Out of Africa which is quite large and jam-packed with the most beautiful African products you could imagine. Waved goodbye to Julie as I headed off to board my flight to Sydney while she headed off to catch a flight to London for three weeks of R and R.

Had a bit of a turn when I took my seat and discovered that I was a lone Australian surrounded by South Africans going to the World Cup in New Zealand. (It seemed like most people on the plane were heading there.) I wasn't sure that admitting to being Australian would be a good idea given that we knocked them out of the semi-finals, and attempted to pass myself off as an Icelander, but they guessed anyway. Fortunately they didn't hold it against me and only gave me a gentle ribbing. Their view was that if South Africa couldn't win it then the next best thing was that it at least stay in the southern hemisphere. 

I was in luck when I arrived at Sydney. My scheduled flight to Canberra was one of only about three flights leaving Sydney that afternoon - most flights were cancelled because of industrial action by Qantas engineers - so I didn't have any problems getting home on time.

So all that is left is for me to reminisce on the amazing month I've just had. I have to admit it will be nice not to have worry about boiling every drop of water I drink, and it will be nice to be able to eat salads again, and to enjoy nice tender meat. And I can't say I will miss eating cassava at every meal (not a vegetable I took a liking to).

But I will miss all the people I met and their hospitality, generosity and affection. I know I'll visit Rwanda again in some capacity. I had some life-shifting experiences there which I won't forget - making eye contact with Kwitonda the gorilla, hearing Rosine describe her extraordinary experiences during the genocide, and seeing the emotional display at the Murambi Hill memorial centre.

So thanks to David Wheen for the opportunity to take part in the program, to Julie for all her support during the workshops, and to DGIE staff for their hospitality and generosity.

And thanks also to all those of you have read this humble blog and your very positive comments about it. It's been fun doing it.

So it's murabeho from me until next time.