I am just over two weeks in to my Rwandan adventure, and to be honest the first word that comes to mind is overwhelmed. I’m doing fine, and things are going well, it’s just a big adjustment that is going to take time to fully adapt to.
Arriving in Kigali late on a Tuesday evening, humidity hung in the air as a warm welcome to what is to become my home for the next year. Sweaty and exhausted, I arrived at the Airbnb and immediately broke my iPhone screen as I tripped going up the uneven tile stairs. Wifi was non existent, and I lay on my mosquito net draped bed, wondering what exactly I got myself into. The next day, however, I started work with some great and welcoming coworkers, who assured me that it does get easier. I later took a moto taxi into town and got my screen fixed and sim card with data sorted. A rain storm came through and released the oppressive humidity. Within one day the pressing concerns of the night before had nearly vanished. That is life here, one minute you feel totally lost, the next minute you are laughing realizing that Africa is a whole different animal. Stress comes and goes. Just like the rain here, what seems to be overly burdensome one minute, can be no big deal the next. I’ve gotten lost on several moto taxis, caught in a couple rain storms, and have been quite literally lost in translation, but still and all I’m slowly finding my way.
Kigali is a beautifully lush city sprawling over several green rolling hills. Nicely paved and landscaped roads run parallel next to four-wheel-drive dirt stretches. Fancy coffee shops geared for expats are a block away from small dimly lit local corner stores. You go from fluent english and warm hospitality, to Kinyarwanda and blank stares for the Muzungu (white man). The contrast is clear, but makes for a fascinating environment. A traditionally low-income city and country rapidly shifting and developing.
I feel very fortunate having the ability to work in this environment, gaining first hand exposure to businesses grappling with these changes. It’s going to be a steep learning curve, but I am confident I will eventually adjust. My current work projects, and those in the pipeline, are engaging and I definitely feel like I am in the right line of work. Of course it’s different and there are going to be plenty of challenges that arise, but I really feel that it is all going to pay off.
On the social scene, I’m still a bit new. Coworkers are great, and Iv’e met some fun people already, it’s just going to take a bit of time until I have a decent sized network. On this front in particular, I find myself thinking back to when I first moved to Leeds. Granted, Rwanda is certainly not the same as England, but I still moved to a city where I really didn’t know anyone. Things progressed relatively quickly, and I now consider some of the people I met in Leeds to be among some of my best friends. Just like In Leeds, I’m confident that I will eventually find my place here in Rwanda.
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