When in Rome...

I tried my best to have this mentality when we were in Africa. I don't think you can't fully experience something unless you embrace it with open arms and an open heart. Just for kicks here's a list of things I experienced in Africa.

1. Laugh at yourself when the house mom shows you how to properly eat a mango. And when she does the work of cutting it up for you...every meal.

2. Walk to the bathroom,shower, pass chickens on the way, several times a day.

3. The damn rooster who didn't have a proper alarm clock.

4. Embracing your inner hippie more because you are covered in dirt.

5. Eat food with sand in it.

6. Eat a fish who's staring at me.

7. Let them serve and honor you

8 Keep laughing and smiling

9 Become somewhat tri-lingual in a week

10 Accept the fact there isnt a schedule

Sunrise over Ethiopia

There's something captivating about Africa. For me it began when we saw a sunrise over the continent. It's unlike anything else. Given that I saw my first one from a plane which makes everything "sky related" better. Then it continued until we finally landed and I could not wait to get off the plane. I got a chance to breathe driving through beautiful Rwanda. I saw a bit more of the heart of Africa. The thousand hills are breathtaking. After a lovely 4 hour drive we finally made it to the border. Upon crossing the border, we had to bribe a guy into leaving our things alone. It was frustrating. Driving to the orphanage we had a glimpse of the city, Goma. People everywhere. From what I've been told, in this way it's similar to NYC. Soldiers walking around with guns. Many a close call while driving. This ended up being one of my favorite things about driving in Africa. After a 10 minute drive we finally made it to the orphanage. We were greeted with little ladies singing and playing drums. I practically pushed Q out of the way getting out of the car. Sorry Q...my excitement got the best of me. No hard feelings?. Immediately the kiddos ran to give us hugs. We spent time with them before we crashed. At that point we had been awake for 36 hours. We woke up the next morning for church. I was really anticipating going to an African church for the first time. Most of the service was in Swahili. A big part of church is dedicated to singing and dancing. Repeat X7. What struck me most was how authentic everything is. Half of the people(including children) are on their knees calling out their prayers to the Most High. After church we walked back to our place. There were few times that we didn't have little hands holding ours. Usually you had a little line of hand holding alongside you. I LOVED this. After a very long first day we went to bed early. Our alarm clock started at 3 a.m. by the damn rooster that lives there. To be followed by soldiers marching alongside the place and the girls screaming because of their nightmares. Day 2 came early...we were more than ready to embrace it.