The irony is, I guess, that the more time you have to blog the less you have to blog about. Lately I've been busy from morning to night hence the absence of updates. I'm well aware that I've been here in Rwanda for nearly a week, and I have heaps and heaps to tell you about that, but this post is going to wrap up a long overdue update about my departure.
Also a note of warning, this year's Christmas letter is going to be late. Think New Year's Day…
Despite Sandy putting the kibosh on my farewell from Knoxville, I still arranged to have at least three more going away parties. (I pretty much only go away for the parties.) I loaded up all of my possessions and put them in a u-haul storage unit in NE DC. I hope that Deirdre is not too unhappy about her new living quarters. On my way out of town I had a farewell at the Big Board in DC. Do go by there for a burger if you are in town. It was a super fun time and amazing to see so many people come out for someone who had only been in town a few months. I had a blast with some folks from the DC disc scene and also a number of normals, friends new and old. Extra special thanks to Sarah and Frank for dragging out an 8 year old on a school night, Ben Pauker for bringing me crisp 2006 hundred dollar bills in mint condition and the gang from Snack Pack who came from far afield. I had a super fun time and somehow failed to take a single photo of the event that was marred only by a brief, but insistent, open mic night.
After recovering from that shindig, I got my bags packed and headed out to NYC on the Amtrak. I had every single thing I'm taking to Rwanda for a year, so as you can imaging navigating inside Penn station with my overstuffed and heavy bags was a real treat. Jesse and Alyson met me at Penn Station and gave me some keys. Oh man Brooklyn! Why did I ever leave? It was so great to be back in Fort Greene. Once I got back in the 'Lyn I got to walk Phineas and then I had dinner at Roman's with TG and a few beers at Hot Bird.
Saturday started with an incredible brunch with Danielle at Dizzy's in the Slope. Then it was a bit too rainy for a full walk around Prospect Park but I got to see Dave and Ali and take their baby, Ella, to a bar. She had fun the whole time and never cried or fussed at all. Then I met Erica for dinner at a place that served us "nachos" on potato chips with mozzarella cheese. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Maybe not my best choice for only a few meals left in NYC, but we were in a rush to get to the Park Slope Bier Garden where yet another farewell party was being staged. Again it was great to see tons of folks. Special props to Tishler, Erica, and Taliesin who ended the night by pledging a trip to see me in Rwanda and go Gorilla Trekking. It's in writing now gals. I'm totally holding you to it. Also high marks for Julie Sussman who stayed late and walked me to the subway.
Sunday was also a fantastic time, including watching an improbable Eagles win at the Dram Shop over Bloody Mary's (see my twitter feed for proof @CourtneyMFK) and getting to go to see the Nets in the new Barclays center. (Thanks Jesse!). That place is like a space ship, it was incredible inside and tons of gourmet food as well. The Nets let us down a bit, getting down 32 at one point and losing to the Bucks, but it was still a fun time.
We had the opportunity to meet Anne Heyman, the founder for several hours. She explained the story of the village from her initial inspiration until now with the village being weeks away from graduating the first class. It's incredible that it went from an idea to a fully functioning school for 500 kids in the time that it has. Her vision for development being focused on capacity building and having an exit strategy is compelling. Her passion for the kids she works to help shone through with every topic she discussed. We also met the executive director and had the chance to talk to several formal volunteers and get tips and guidance for the year ahead. During the orientation I had another social style evaluation, and yes Stalin, I am still a Driver. Oh well.
We went on a learning field trip to look at Images of Apartheid at the International Center for Photography in midtown. That was an exceptional exhibit and a stark reminder about extreme governmental control. I'll spare you my detailed review of the exhibit in the sake of time, but I will say that if you haven't watched "I Ain't Gonna Play Sun City" in a while, it's a blast from the past and you should: Artists United Against Apartheid - Sun City - YouTube .
Tuesday night was my last night in the good ol' U. S. of A. for about a year and after phone calls to mom Kelly and the Gupton house I attended my third and final farewell party. Thanks to Drew and Cara for hosting on no notice. It was super fun to eat Pizza, watch Knicks/Nets and play poker. I even came out ahead by the end (charity perhaps?) and won yet another of those prized 2006 Benjamins. I had an amazing time and I wouldn't want to go out any other way.
Staying with Jesse and Alyson in the apartment I used to live in in Ft. Greene was a several hundred dollar donation to ASVY who would have put me up in a hotel. Thanks Guys! In addition to helping the orphans it was great to be back in Ft. Greene and a real treat to hang out with Alyson and Jesse, and (of course) more importantly Phineas! Phineas is super smart and also acts like a person and watches TV and looks at you with a proud condescension. In the mornings before heading to orientation I would gather my belongings on the edge of the couch while I was getting ready, like a staging area. By Wednesday, Phineas had figured out this meant I was going to leave soon and let me know what he thought about that:
Wednesday was an abbreviated orientation day so we could get back to our luggage, do laundry if necessary and any last minute shopping or errands. Then I hailed a car service to JFK (thanks again to Jesse's help). At JFK all of us assembled our heavy, overstuffed bags and, wait for it, three bags of doorknobs.
Sidebar: There's an entire post here on the doorknob situation, but I'll sum it up since I'm already so far behind. Sourcing building materials in Rwanda is very difficult. (Foreshadowing here for some weird fittings in my 'luxury' hotel in Kigali in a future post.) Most of the construction materials for the village were actually sourced from China, which fit the budget, but it turns out the quality has really varied, so some items, like doorknobs, have had unexpectedly short lifespans. This time around a decision was made to purchase higher quality doorknobs, but then they need to be shipped to the village, a process for the landlocked country that is more than 3 times the cost of the already more expensive doorknobs. Since every cost trades off directly with services for vulnerable kids, these are hard decisions. ASYV is trying to send the doorknobs over piecemeal when people from the states visit the village, but this means boxes of doorknobs crowding the tiny NYC office, coordination required to get the doorknobs to the traveller and an inconsistent stream of supplies to the maintenance team in the village. Making do and improvising are a reality.
After waiting in a long check-in line and a longer security line we made it into the terminal just in time for one final farewell beer on American soil together. The flight to Istanbul was an uneventful 9 hours, filled with movies and meals and a nap. We were on the ground just long enough in Turkey to take our Malarone get a coffee and wander around the terminal a bit. The flight to Kigali was another 7 hours with movies, naps, flashcards and some pretty gross Turkish Airlines meals. The flight landed at 1:00 AM a few minutes earlier than expected and we were all glad to have finally arrived. After preparing for months to come here, it was a huge relief to finally be here. I was tired, flight-grimey and glad to be in Rwanda!
Next Post - Landing in Kigali and Beyond.
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