Stepping Into the Darkness

I stepped into the darkness. It was so incredibly pitch black that my eyeballs seared with a bright, glaring light that came from nowhere but my horrible night vision. I was instantly blinded. I had been rushing so fast to get here and now I was paralyzed. First of all I didn't want to look like an idiot and stumble into something. I also didn't want to disturb those around me. I had witnessed this scene before - the bumbling fool who was two minutes too late. It's not like I hadn't been here before. But they had remodeled since the last time. Sure it was all the same objects, a few chairs in neat little rows. And the walls were still curved in a circle. But geez was I disoriented. As I grappled with the wall like it was a life preserver, a gentle voice greeted me. Can I help you find a seat? Could you ever! She took a gentle yet firm hold of my elbow and led me to the nearest seat. Explaining that I could move into the center more because the first few seats were empty. At this rate I could have sat on someone's lap and not even realized. How rude. Pretty soon I was right where I wanted to be, enjoying a lunchtime planetarium session.

This memory popped into my head the other day. See, at Michigan State they have these great activities to de-stress employees. One of them was an hour long planetarium program with relaxing music that fit perfectly into lunch. The more I thought about it - this experience was exactly like moving to Rwanda. It's not like the parts are different than anything I'm used to - they are just in different positions, behavior that is based on unwritten rules that I haven't quite learned yet. It takes a while to adjust but there is usually someone who gently takes your elbow and shows you the way. Fortunately I've had about 20 wonderful people like that surrounding me. Although I'm getting to the point of banging my head against a wall concerning Rwandan culture, I'm taking this particular moment to be thankful and count my blessings.

and I have to say, the stars out here blow a planetarium away. I just wish I had a recliner to view them from.