Friday, January 23, 2009

A lovely evening

Yesterday, in desperate need of exercise, I ran up one of Rwanda's "thousand hills" after work.  At the top, I enjoyed a dazzling view of Nyamata and the surrounding villages.  Coupled with the sound of my own heavy breathing was the never-ending chorus of children squealing in glee or utter dismay (i've remembered recently that kids rarely fall anywhere on the spectrum of emotions except the absolute extremes).

Later that night, I found myself interrupted at my computer by my landlord Bosco, who showed up at my door with his larger than life, tooth-missing smile, insisting that I join him and his wife for dinner.  Moments later, I found myself at table with the two of them and Amir, laughing our way into the African night and struggling joyously through our language barriers, elated to discover in the immense confusion an almost sacred bond of friendship that truly united our common humanity and reaffirmed my strong belief in Christianity, a religion focusing on the two qualities that made the night transformative: love and community.

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