June 2011 I returned to my homeland of Indiana. August 2011 I returned to my homeland of Kigali, Rwanda. Two very different homes, two very similar emotions upon returning. It’s hard to explain the hardships and the joy that go along being a part of two cultures and having to leave both just to return to the other. When I arrived in Indiana this summer, I breathed in the hot humid summer air, and gazed over the many cornfields and felt as if nothing had changed since I left. Indiana was still the Midwest, although I have come across people who have disputed that fact. Most of the people I associate with home were still there, living life as usual. Some things changed like that Subtaco place that went up in Jasper. Although that has actually changed twice since it also shut down this summer right before I left. Go figure.
It was good to come back to familiarity and comfort. I find it amusing the amount of people I have in my life that I can go a year without speaking to and am able to pick up a conversation with them as if we had just talked on the phone the other day. I was reminded that I have a great home in Indiana, which includes but is not limited to many great communities of people, restaurants, and parks. It became normal again to go to a store to find whatever I needed, to go to a movie theater, to have a hot shower whenever I wanted, to drive a car, to watch TV, to have fast service, and to eat delicious American dishes. It didn’t take long at all for me to slip back into living like the average middle-class American. Being surrounded by all the good things I missed about living in Indiana, I only really missed the people and the weather of Rwanda this summer.
Upon returning to Rwanda, I was greeted by my new roommates and old friends at the airport. I walked onto Kigali soil and felt like I was coming home. Last year at this time, my feelings were vastly different! I wasn’t coming home. I was not coming anywhere. I was leaving. Leaving everything behind to start anew in this place that I have come to love so much. As soon as I got to my new house, it was clear that America was far behind me. However, the funny thing is, I am ok with dealing with plumbing issues, a broken refrigerator, the lack of a mosquito net, never ending dirty feet, power outages, etc. because it’s Africa. Those inconveniences have become an endearing quality of my life here. Sure, I don’t always see it that way after going 3 days without a shower, but I have learned to accept it as a part of the journey.
When I was in Indiana, I was so happy to be in Indiana. Now that I am back in Rwanda, I am so happy to be here. God has given me two homes, two places to return to. There is no competition between the two, as some would like to think. I would say they are pretty good friends actually. At least I know they both have worked together to form a global community for me :)
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