When Val exited the plane, the heat she could feel as soon as she stepped out of the plane door into the jet bridge was different. She waited at baggage claim for her bags before passing through customs. She knew as soon as she stepped out into the arrivals area that she wasn’t in the United States anymore.

People were pushing and shouting to find their loved ones, and she noticed several people give her second glances as she searched for her ride. She spotted a young man hold an ESAG sign,

and she followed him to a nondescript van in the parking lot. A few people were loading luggage into the back of the van. She greeted them with a smile and shook their hands. The group made small talk as their bags were being loaded and they waited for the last couple of arrivals.

Val greeted a man in his 40s who talked with a Texas drawl.

“I’m Brian,” he said. “I’ve never been outside the states before, so this is all new for me.” He was an engineer interested to see the ESAG projects.

“I’m Val,” she said to the group gathered next to the van. “I work at an engineering firm in Virginia, and I’m on the trip to see if our firm can partner with ESAG on a project or two. It’s my first time in Africa.” Val turned to an older man next to Brian.

“I’m Frank,” he volunteered with a firm handshake. “Retired and doing some traveling. Never been to Africa before but I’ve been several other places.”

Val moved to greet the only couple in the group, an older pair with warm smiles on their faces. “I’m Charles and this is my wife, Jane. I run an engineering company back home, but my real joy is traveling with Jane. We’ve been to quite a few places and to Rwanda a few times, too.”

Val reached out a hand to the last person to join the group, a man named Jerry who looked to be in his late 40s or early 50s. “I’m Jerry. I’m from Massachusetts and was an engineer. Now I’m looking into maybe changing careers, maybe doing more volunteer work. I’m hoping to figure that out on his trip.”

Val was glad she had Jane as another female in the group. Jane was dressed in hiking pants and a button down plaid shirt. She had her hair tied back with a scarf as a headband. She carried a backpack that looked like it had seen better days. She had a quick smile and greeted Val warmly.

“Glad to see I have another female here to keep me company,” Jane said with a grin. Val couldn’t help but feel at ease with her.

At the van, the group was met by a couple of staff members from ESAG who accompanied them in the vans for the trip to the guesthouse. Once their bags were stowed in the back of the van, the staffers laid out the plan for the group. It was late in the day in Kigali, so the group would settle in at the guesthouse, eat dinner, have a quick orientation meeting, and then rest up for the first day tomorrow.

It was dark as they drove through the city, and the streetlights were few and far between. There were few of the neon signs she was used to seeing back home. The buildings Val could see were small, with hand painted signs, and there were people coming and going with packages balanced on their heads.

The traffic lights were different; they counted down on the yellow, which struck Val as a very smart thing. There were taxi motorcycles with riders carrying packages or sitting with arms crossed, balancing behind the driver. It all felt so strange.

After passing through a large metal gate, the vans pulled up to the guesthouse and the ESAG staffer announced that this would be where the group would be staying for the duration of the trip. The group was led on a brief tour of the property. The guesthouse had a main living room with an adjoining dining room and a kitchen in the back. There were two hallways going off each side of the living room. Val’s room was off the right hallway, at the end next to the bathroom. As the lone single female, she got a room to herself. It was sparsely furnished with a double bed and a desk. There was a fan sitting on the desk and a mosquito net above the bed. She set her suitcase down and unpacked it into a small wardrobe. She didn’t have much to unpack. She set a couple of books on the desk, and then she went to check out the bathroom situation, relieved to find a western style toilet and shower/tub combination.

The staff called everyone for a buffet-style dinner. She filled a plate and sat down at a large table with the rest of the group. The food was tasty and filling with meat, avocados, rice, and several vegetable dishes. Val wouldn’t have to worry about having too little to eat here. She filled a plate and sat down.

The staff introduced themselves. There was Luc, an ESAG staffer with a jovial personality and quick laugh, who handled visitors and other needs for the local projects. Next, there was Gogo, the translator, who was young and beautiful with a serious demeanor. As the group ate, the staff went over the obligatory instructions, including safety precautions such the importance of not getting separated from the group or getting in strange vehicles, and watching what you eat.

Next, we were instructed to fill out forms, including one with questions that only you could answer so the staff had proof-of-life if you were kidnapped. Only a few eyebrows were raised as the group completed the questionnaire.

Things were getting interesting already.

After the meal was done, the staff wrapped up with a preview of the week and general schedule for each day. Breakfast and dinner would be served at the guesthouse, with a packed lunch on the road. A short wrap-up meeting would take place each evening after dinner. The schedule was full of places they would visit: a local school, the water project site, the trade school, as well as various meeting spots in the community. Val was excited to learn all about ESAG’s work but also about life in Rwanda. As much as she enjoyed reading about the culture, seeing it in person would be much more fascinating.

After dinner, Val tried out the shower. She was able to manage only a few seconds of warm water before it turned scalding. She had to keep turning the handle between hot and cold to try to get a shower that was a bearable temperature. There was a bucket in the tub that she filled as she showered, and since Val wasn’t sure how long she was allowed to shower, she made quick work of it and used the filled bucket to rinse off.

After getting dressed for bed, Val looked out the window of her room. She could make out some trees and grass in the dark. There were no screens on the window, but the breeze was nice, and she left the window open to help cool down her room from the heat of the day. She untied the mosquito net and draped it over the bed, switched on the oscillating fan, and fell right to sleep.

Val woke to sounds of people in the hallway and the unmistakable aroma of coffee. The sun was streaming in through the window, and the day was already heating up. She got up, dressed, and headed out to find coffee. She sipped her mug while breakfast was being set up on the buffet table. She ate baked oatmeal and fruit and finished her drink before grabbing a couple water bottles and stashing them in her backpack for later. She was ready to go.

She walked out of the guesthouse to find the van that the group would share all week. Outside in the light of day, she was finally able to take in her surroundings. She noticed the yard was modest with a patch of grass and several twisty trees.

On board the van, Luc and Gogo explained what typical life was like in the villages of Rwanda. It would take two hours to reach their destination, so there was time to listen while taking in the countryside.

The countryside was beautiful. Dark red, dirt roads stood out against the vibrant green trees that lined them. There were banana trees and matoke trees, heavy with a fruit similar to plantains that is used in many local savory dishes. Many times, people came out of their dirt or concrete block houses to see who was driving by. Val enjoyed waving to the kids as they passed.

Today, they would take a tour of a community that ESAG was very involved with. This community already had water pumps installed, and ESAG was working to establish other necessary functions, such as a tool cooperative and possibly a branch of the trade school Adam had told her about.

Once the van arrived at the community, the children circled the group. The children were quite bold and wanted to hold hands or touch the arms of the people in the group. A couple of children were quite taken with Val, pointing out her blond hair and freckles. Her hair wasn’t super pale, but it was light enough that it was striking compared to the hair of the children, most of whom had dark, close-cropped hair. Val held hands with a couple of the children as the group walked around the community. Luc and Gogo narrated the tour and explained each building.

The school and the clinic were concrete buildings painted in bright colors. The water pumps had several people around them with oil cans, waiting for their turn at the pump. The children ran around freely, some with shoes, some without. The adults were hesitant to come up to the group, but the children had no hesitation.

After the tour, Gogo translated for a couple of the community leaders who talked about the difference in the community since ESAG arrived and helped with the water pumps and wells. Now that those functions had been set up, their biggest problem was that young adults were leaving the rural community for the city to find jobs and earn a living. This left only older adults to farm crops, raise animals, and take care of the community. Luc explained that this is one of the reasons ESAG is considering putting a trade school in the community, to give those young adults job skills without leaving the communities that need them.

The group took a break and ate their packed lunches in an empty classroom at the school. After lunch, the group engaged with the schoolchildren. The kids got Brian, Charles, and Jerry to play a game of soccer. Val wished she had brought one of her new soccer balls today to the school as theirs was well loved and practically falling apart. It did not stop the kids’ enjoyment of the game or the onlookers from intently watching the game and cheering when their schoolmates scored a point on the strange visitors.

Once the ESAG group was soundly beaten on the soccer field, the group boarded the van and headed back toward the city. On the way, they stopped at a boarding school that ESAG had helped with in smaller ways. They had helped build a dormitory and fix up some other buildings. The school also had wells with water pumps.

This boarding school was not for children whose parents could afford to send them; this school was for children that had no parents, no place to live, and no school to attend. Without the ability to live at the school, many would be out on the streets.

Val was impressed with the children at the school. They helped with cooking and cleaning, including washing their own laundry and cleaning their own dishes. This was all on top of a rigorous school schedule. The principal explained the importance of good role models to keep everyone studying diligently. The program seemed to be working. The top student in the entire country, based on countrywide exams given each year, attended and resided at the boarding school.

Once back at the guesthouse, Val realized how dirty she had become. Even though she didn’t play in the soccer game, she was sweaty from the heat and covered in dirt from the roads. The pollution in Rwanda was worse than at home, so even the inside of her nose was coated in grime. When she took her turn in the shower, she noticed the water turned brown as she washed away the dark dirt that seemed to permeate everything wherever they went.

At dinner, Val sat next to Jane and spoke with her about her past travels.

“We’ve been to Rwanda several times,” said Jane. “It’s one of our favorite places. It does get dirty here with the red soil, but it’s nothing like other places. We visited more congested areas of Africa, and our snot turned black from all the air pollution. Good, old dirt is much better.” Val and Jane laughed at the image.

“This is my first time to Rwanda and to Africa,” said Val. “I’m really enjoying it so far. Those children today were adorable. One girl was so taken with my skin, she was practically petting my arm.”

“Yes, many of the children in the more rural communities haven’t seen very many white people,” said Jane. “We can be quite the entertainment.”

“I see that. One girl was cracking up over my freckles. She pointed out that she didn’t have any but I had so many.”

“The children are always one of my favorite things on these trips with Charles,” said Jane. “I taught elementary school for several years, and I just love meeting the kids here. They are so similar to kids in the US yet so different in a lot of ways.”

“It seems that way to me, too,” said Val. “I can’t wait to see what the rest of the days hold for us.”

She lay in bed that night thinking about all the sights, sounds, and smells of Rwanda. It was so different from home and her daily life. And yet, this was Adam’s daily life. This is what he was used to. Val wondered when she might see him. She fell asleep pondering how she felt about seeing him again.