Lots of Love...

Today Sam and I went to Ndeina’s family house (she is our friend and cook). She is one of nine children and they live in rural Mutara which is two hours northeast of Kigali. Ndenia is 19 and no longer lives at home but her brothers (15, 12, 5, 4) and her sister (7) still do (does?). We went there for lunch and had a great time. Her family was so wonderful and the kids were so cute. They were obsessed with our cameras and, as a result, I have many headless shots…

According to Sam, their house was nice in comparison to those in southern Rwanda. There were three bedrooms and a living room. Both their kitchen (a firepit) and their bathroom (a concrete stall with a hole) were located outside of the house. There were no family pictures hanging, very little furniture (two chairs and a couch) and the only color throughout the house was a map of Rwanda and a poster of the Virgin Mary. The walls were concrete with sheets over the windows and the floors were a mix of concrete and dirt. When I first walked in my gut reaction was to feel sorry for all that they did not have. I couldn’t see how 11 people fit in this house and could not even begin to imagine a life with no electricity or plumbing…AT ALL. I felt guilty eating their food as they are a one income household (her father is a tailor and her mom stays at home) and already had so many mouths to feed without adding two more.

In the midst of all those thoughts, I started to relax and shut off my racing mind long enough to realize that they had all they needed. Yes, we could get into the argument regarding whether they have a choice or not but, let’s not. There was so much love in this house. The father had tremendous respect and admiration for his wife and her of him. She was always smiling and laughing and the children did the same. It was obvious how close the siblings were and they were incredibly friendly with all of their neighbors. It quickly became obvious that they already have everything that really matters. Their house was more of a home than many in the US.

Other than that fabulous experience, I have a meeting with the President of Basketball – Rwanda next week. I’m trying to get on a team for fun and maybe even get some money (may be a long shot as I think they are out of season but we’ll see). To be honest, I am excited but the first thought that came into my head was “damn, I hate defense” haha yeah…makes my legs hurt. I hope they give me some time to workout before evaluating me since I no longer have any muscle and literally suck wind at this altitude. We shall see. It’ll be a great experience if it works out but life has become so much more than basketball that it will be interesting to see how my mental state is…I would bet, if given the opportunity, I will be consistently more effective because I truly do not feel like I have anything to prove anymore. I am a 25 year old has-been and I am totally cool with that.

LOVE YOU.