Have I told you lately how much I LOVE the kids at the basketball camp? If not, I do. Every Saturday I leave thinking I cannot wait to have my chubba lubba babies! Also, I am officially adopting. I think I'll have one, adopt one, have one, adopt one. I will obviously have to clear that with the future hubby (wherever he is) but I think we'll be on the same page and if he needs convincing we can just take a quick trip back here. I'm thinking I'll adopt from the US and from Rwanda but, only time will tell. Per usual, I've got big plans! But, I will admit, that the best times in my life so far were not part of my plans so I’m going to just go with the flow.

Also, everyone has said that Rwanda is lucky for love...meaning that there are a bunch of stories of women coming here and then going home and BAM they meet their man sooooo, yeah, watch out now. I obviously have no expectation but I am quickly approaching 26 so it's time to get focused! I will say that it will be weird to see all those umuzungu men around but I will adjust.

Other than that, we had a training session today in preparation for Walk to Remember. We had the Rwandan Representatives come to the Kigali Memorial Center to do a tour and participate in various discussion groups – one on counseling trauma cases , another on their feelings/concerns, and one on the history. It was so interesting to hear their thoughts. Many of the participants are survivors who lost their parents in the genocide and everyone in the room had lost a family member or friend. It was fascinating to hear them speak. A couple had mentioned their fear of traveling to the other countries unprotected. As survivors, they fear the perpetrators who fled to those countries will attack them. Unfortunately, it is a real fear and it never crossed my mind. It shows me how limited my understanding is of the real issues here. Even here it is so easy to get lost in the day to day activities and ignore the fact that only 15 years ago over one million people were murdered here. I read a quote today at the memorial today that really struck me, “But the genocidaires did not kill a million people. They killed one, then another, then another… day after day, hour after hour, minute by minute. Every minute of the day, someone, somewhere was being murdered, screaming for mercy. Receiving none. And the killing went on and on and on…10,000 each day, 400 each hour, 7 each minute, That’s approximately 100 murders since you started this exhibition…another 200 murders before you leave the building…24 hours a day, non-stop for 100 days.” It’s just so unbelievable to me. I cannot believe that it was possible and the experiences of these people my age and younger. A third of them witnessed this kind of violence; some of them potentially saw their parents and siblings murdered at seven. At seven, you have your memory, they carry those images with them…it’s too much to think about and I will never understand. I will say though, from the group that I have met so far, they smile, they laugh, and they are just wonderful.

So, this blog went from light to heavy but that was my day.

I heart you all BIGTIME.