Experiencing the Roller Coaster

I just went to check my posts and I couldn't believe how long it has been since I wrote a post...too long! There are so many things that have been happening not to write. I have though written a list of topics that I want to blog about so hopefully soon you will be more about life here. Next week I'm headed to Ethiopia and Israel so there are many adventures ahead!

This night's post needs to be written about one of the things that has been distracting me from writing in my blog...a book. I got the book from the library here and it was recommended to me by one of the volunteers. It's called a A Fine Balance and it's a 600 page book depicting life of 2 tailors in 21st century India. It portrayed the ups and downs of the life of these 2 men and the people who interact with them. It was a roller coaster ride for them. It seems to be fitting for me to be reading this book, as I'm experiencing my own ride. It's nice to ride someone else's train...even if it's fiction. It helps to put life in perspective. It's a bit heavy and I'm feeling its affects after finishing the read.

I tried to explain the book to one of my close Rwandan friends and all he could say was that would never happen. I tried to explain that it was historical fiction and similar things happened to many people during that time in Africa. He was making fun of me for taking the book so seriously...it bothered me at the time and I couldn't figure out why. I finally realized why his comments affected me as they did. My friend has also experienced many hardships in life from the genocide. He had to flee his home during the genocide. I've only learned parts of his story. From what I learned, his father and 2 sibling died in the conflict. He even returned home to find his home destroyed. I'm sure there are many books written about the genocide that people read and say that it could never happen. I even hear and read storied and think to myself there's no way anything like that could ever happen...people are just not that cruel. Everyone has their own history...some are not always as easy as others.

I'm learning first hand accounts of the hardships of living here. It's part of my roller coaster ride. It's hard when workers on the farm come up to me and ask for money not because they want something but because if they don't have the money, they won't eat that day. It's hard knowing that reality from people who I not only work with but have become my friends and people that I spend my day working and laughing with. The reality is not always easy. It's hard to describe accept for being heavy. Sometimes I wish the weight would lighten. It does fluctuate as I'm embarking on the ride. There have also been many ups on my ride here which help to balance the heaviness and loneliness that's inevitable from living somewhere so far from home. I love being here and experiencing everything.