Things came at me rather hard and fast when we returned from
the US. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to catch the blog up with some of the more
important things. Given that I am using this blog as an account of what has
been transpiring over the past few years (i.e. for me), I’d like not to skip
the more interesting events.
For now I will backtrack to the recent vacation. Doesn’t
seem so recent now unfortunately.
The Hague
We began the trip by stopping in Holland to see some
friends. We have been doing this most trips to the US over the past few years.
It’s nice to break up the trip (get the kids out of the airplanes/airports),
see some people that were good friends of ours from when they were living in
Burundi and also explore the Netherlands.
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| Int. Criminal Court, Kiran in foreground |
It was a wonderful time of year to be in The Hague. Though
we’d been there this time of year before, we never really had a chance to roam
about the place and see what it has to offer. I must say, I was impressed, particularly
to do it on a bicycle. Yes, the Netherlands has a wonderful reputation of being
bike-friendly but until you’ve hopped on a bike and experienced it yourself you
probably don’t appreciate how amazing it is. We were particularly enjoying it
since we live in a place where that sort of infrastructure doesn’t exist.
Ann and Jan have kids around our age so that’s a bonus as
well. Makes it more fun for them since I’m quite sure that our girls were
oblivious to the charm of the city.
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| Priya and bike |
Indiana
Leaving from Europe is of course a much easier way to get to
the US and starting from East Africa. Nonetheless, the airlines were still
incapable of getting all of our bags to our destination. Fortunately I’m quite
familiar with the lost baggage staff at most of the airports that we frequent
in the US. We always eventually get the bag(s) but it’s annoying and one would
think that it wouldn’t need to happen every trip to the US.
Overall I felt that our time in southern Indiana was
relaxing. As you might expect, it gets easier as the children get older. They
are lots of fun when they are tiny but it’s a lot more work.
One thing that is nice is the simplicity of rural life. The
girls had the chance to pet the horses, feed the chickens, see wild rabbits and
raccoons, etc. Also, the weather this year was much more manageable than in
previous years. It’s usually unbearably hot. This year, partially because it
was scheduled a bit later than normal, we were able to spend more time outside
and depend less on seeking the solace of air conditioning.
With four airline tickets, it’s also far more expensive than
it used to be. However we’ve agreed that it’s been so valuable for the girls to
build relationships with family in addition to the overall experiences of being
in the US. It’s significantly different from their lives in Burundi. And we
have a good time as well.
St. Louis
We did squeeze in a bonus trip to St. Louis to see some
friends of ours who had recently relocated there from Bujumbura. We’d
considered it clear back when we first heard they were going. I looked it up on
Google maps and figured out that it was only about four hours away. I didn’t
know at the time that we’d actually be able to pull it off but I’m very glad we
did. In addition to having a wonderful time with them and seeing their new
lives in the US, it was a place I don’t know very well. I went through there a
couple decades ago but hardly stopped and I didn’t remember much.
Though we only went for one night, we were able to see quite
a bit. What we saw impressed us (maybe we’re easily impressed these days…). It’s
definitely livable and I wouldn’t mind going back and exploring more later.
We stayed in a hotel while we were there since our
unfortunate friends’ container, carrying all their belongings from Burundi,
happened to get routed to Peru. It’s a long story but between that and the fact
that their stuff from Virginia was also delayed, their beautiful new house was
mostly empty. Not pleasant for them now but overall I think they’re going to
like living there.
St. Paul
When we left Louisville, we made the short trip north to Minnesota.
Our friend Kathy lives there and we budgeted two nights to hang out with her in
St. Paul, our second and last Saint of the trip. In addition to just a lovely
time catching up on things with Kathy, we again took advantage of the time to
explore this area as well – something we haven’t done in the past. Usually it’s
our first stop in the US and we are normally quite brain-dead due to travel and
jet lag. This time we had the rare benefit of already having been in the States
for a couple weeks.
I have to say, I was quite impressed. We have several
friends from Minnesota and we’ve heard good things but we have generally had to
take their word for it. This time we drove around and see what the place has to
offer. I realize that it’s probably not for everyone – iced over or a few
months a year – but if you can tolerate the winter, there’s a lot to
experience.
Idaho
Then we were off to the West. While I don’t mind the
flatness of the places we visited thus far – and they are all flat – I admit
that I began to look forward to higher altitude and some mountains. I think it’s
part of my DNA. Though we don’t live in the mountains in Burundi, we can see
some. It’s better than nothing.
We sort of hit the ground running in Boise. We had one night
to pick up our camping gear, get organized and head to the mountains. It doesn’t
sound as complicated as it was for some reason.
We don’t camp the way I used to do it when I was younger. My
siblings tend to crank it up a notch or two nowadays. Though a lot of us still
do the tent thing, as a group we tap into the luxury of RVs and a rather
elaborate spread. It’s not rustic but it’s fun. One day, when the girls are a
bit older, I’d like to take the family backpacking in the woods.
After a few days of camping we made our way to my parent’s
place about four hours away. Like Priya’s parents’, it a nice retreat.
Strangely enough camping is not really a retreat. It’s a lot of work and activity
with not much down time whereas small town Idaho was an opportunity to regroup,
get our doctor’s visits in and hang out with my folks. Also, everything is
relatively close so we didn’t spend all our time in the vehicle.
After a few days in Kimberly, we headed back to Boise for
our final couple of days to shop, pack and ready ourselves for the return.
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| Shoshone Falls |
Overall it was a full and fulfilling visit. I’m always amazed
at how much we fit in over a relatively short time.
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| the rodeo |
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| end of a great trip |
Alas, it was time to return to the trenches. I’d been tracking
things in Burundi on an almost daily basis. We had to decide if the security
situation in Burundi would allow for the family to return with me. In discussion
with my team and assessing the overall trend of events, we determined that
there was no significant risk for our expatriate staff and their families. It
was a difficult decision either way but in retrospect it was the right thing to
do. We continue to monitor the situation and it could still take a turn for the
worse but for now, we are back and life goes on. Peace remains elusive.
-Bella Lewitsky,
dancer (1916-2004)
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