I had to break into my own home.

May 4, 2013 - 6pm

Yesterday I experienced a couple of firsts. In the evening, I visited the Kigali Jamat Khane and Ismaili Centre for the first time, and was welcomed with open arms. The congregation is quite small here, relative to our Toronto congregations, so immediately everyone knew there was a visitor present. I had some wonderful conversations, and was told by all that I now have a second family here. An elder woman, Amina Bai, and her son, Raheman, took me out for dinner after prayers as Chris and Jamie were out on the town. I heard wonderful stories about their families, and the migration patterns of Ismailis from East Africa to many places around the world so many decades ago. I feel so privileged to have this bond, and am grateful for the Ismaili connection.

After dinner, I was dropped home, but I didn't have the house key, as we only have one between the three of us, and the boys had it with them. The family insisted on staying with me to wait, but since it was already 11pm, I thought it best that Amina Bai go home to rest before morning prayers. I figured I could wait in the canteen for an hour, and the boys had called to say that the driver was dropping them home at midnight.

It was quite scary alone on campus, especially as most of the campus is not well lit. I passed by our friends' places, as well as the homes of the professors whom we've met, but everyone was sleeping. Like most children when they're scared, I decided to call my parents in Canada, to simply be reassured that I wasn't alone. I then called the boys again to check their status, and ask them to try and come home a bit earlier, but they realized that our house key had fallen out of their pocket at some point during the night. So not only was I locked out, all three of us were locked out. They remembered that Chris' window was left open, and asked me to try and rip the mesh, and jump in.

Essentially, I had to break into our home. 

I ripped the mesh, and climbed through the small window, only to find that his door too, was locked from the hallway. Nevertheless, I felt much safer inside! I then spent some time calling my parents, my siblings, and my grandparents, catching up with everyone. I re-mastered BrickBreaker on my BlackBerry, and then by about 1am I rested my head on the bed and dozed off during a BrickBreaker game. The boys had their own adventures, and although we were communicating frequently every half hour or so, they didn't make it home until just before 4am. Thankfully, Chris was able to pass me his room key, and I was able to finally get out after five hours, and grab the back door key and let them in.

I still can't believe that happened, but today we went into town and immediately cut the key into three copies, thank goodness!