Okay, it has been a long time since my last post. That's because I just returned from the U.S. after more than four months there. The situation is that my brother and his wife have been spending extended time in Germany, where my sister-in-law is from, taking care of her mother, who is seriously ill. So I was elected to house sit for them during that time. Also, someone needed to keep an eye on my parents, who are getting up in years. Although they are doing well for their age (my dad still drives at 92), one never knows what could happen.
So, here I was, in a big two-story house, with just a cat for company. She is 12 years old, and slowing down. Sometimes she'll eat, and other times not. And then, there was a day when she apparently couldn't make it to the litter box in time and made messes in various places of the house.
But, all that excitement aside, I did have access to my brother's and sister-in-law's cars, which gave me mobility, although at first I was completely unused to fast speeds on the freeways (in Rwanda, about the fastest you can go in town is 40 mph). So I preached with the Sacramento Chinese congregation five or six days a week. I also attended the English meetings of my parents' congregation. And this was an additional experience: I had the opportunity, on an informal basis, to sit in on a few vocal recording sessions and practice sessions at the Sacramento RTO.
In October I set a goal of putting 130 hours of field service time in, just to see if I could do it. Well, apparently not. After three weeks, I had 90, but was so exhausted that I unfortunately backed into another brother's car in the Kingdom Hall parking lot. My brother had previously added me to his insurance policy for just that reason. But I did manage 107 hours after all.
All that food in America of course resulted in weight gain, which is usually the case, of about 8 kgs. (17 lbs.).
Then there was the big TV at my brother's place, so that I could keep up with American football (something that never happens in Rwanda). Amazon Prime, Netflix ... so this is what I'm missing living in Africa!
Finally, it was time to come back to Rwanda. Carrying five phones, five tablets, and a laptop, no less. I arrived on a Thursday, and then it was time to "hit the ground running." On Saturday, there was scheduled the orientation meeting of the second Chinese class, then the regular congregation meeting, then the pioneers' meeting with the elders. The next day, Sunday, was the KM School for Elders. I had parts in all these. Even with jet lag. (Time difference between California and Rwanda = 10 hours.)
Okay, it has been 11 days since returning, and I had reasonably adjusted to the time here, but then yesterday evening my roommate and best friend Jacques and I went to this restaurant in town called Lavana. It is an upscale place and one that I discovered while checking the Internet in the U.S. as being the only place in Kigali where you can watch the Super Bowl on a big screen. (For Rwandan readers = championship match of American football.) Of course, while in California I followed the San Francisco 49ers, and now here they were playing in the Super Bowl!
The only drawback to this is that the game starts at 1:30 a.m. and finishes at 5:30 a.m., local time. So it was a struggle, once again, to stay awake, although drinking a Coke helped somewhat. We ordered fish tacos and pizza, my favorite in the middle of the night (ha!) and settled in, in the same room with about 30 people or so. There was some cheering, if one realizes that at least half the people were Rwandans and it is not their nature to be loud and boisterous. Except for this one couple from San Francisco sitting behind us, as well as a Burundian man from Toronto, who very obviously supported Kansas City.
Jacques, who knows nothing about American football, although he did tell me he played rugby in the past, was quite energetic and vocal, even hugging and dancing with the Burundian guy during particularly exciting moments. He even rooted for Kansas City, just to be contrary. So he got quite the experience, especially seeing the lavish half-time show. I hope he doesn't suddenly get the desire to emigrate to the U.S.
Anyway, it's back to the regular routine. Good to stay busy!
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