I have been asked many times, "How do you see Rwanda?" The only way I can respond is, "I love it." I have a hard time explaining it. There are no words to explain the calmness I feel as I rock side to side in the bus as it climbs the hills out of town. There is little to be said for the grace and poise with which people transport hundreds of pounds of goods. I cannot explain why driving past tea fields dotted with brightly colored laundry makes me feel at peace. Maybe it is the air or the simplicity of life. It could be the smiling children chasing after deflated footballs or the joyous laughter after I try out a new word in Kinyarwanda. Frankly, I don't think I will ever be able to pinpoint it. But in many ways I have grown up here. I arrived a bright-eyed and eager 18 year old--- now, at 22 I could not imagine my life without this land and these people. The red dust has infiltrated my lungs and no matter how hard I scrub, it has stained my feet forever.
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