May 10, 2002
A New Continent
It's a beautiful sight, seeing blue Mediterranean waters meet dust-colored land from 30,000 feet, followed by the endless expanse of the Sahara. Looking down at the vast, beautifully desolate desert from the airplane window... that's when it hit me. I was halfway across the planet from home. Europe just doesn't feel terribly far from home. It's foreign yet familiar. This... well, this was the Sahara I was looking at. So there I was on a nearly empty jetliner, heading into the middle of Africa. I can only say that the feeling was freedom. I only wish more people around the globe could experience the freedom and excitement of traveling to completely foreign lands.
The sky was dark by the time we reached Kigali (a fairly large city, though from an airplane at night there is a dearth of lighting by Western standards). From the moment my feet hit the tarmac, I was taking in the scene. The smell of the humid air, the cool temperature. The sounds of a foreign tongue, the interactions of the people. Driving through the crowded post-dusk streets, trying to orient myself in the dark. And the first meal, sitting on the open balcony with the breeze and the bugs. There I was, in a place -- on a continent -- wholly unfamiliar to me. I knew then that I was in for a fascinating experience.