I came into Rwanda thinking I was going to tackle five different stories, but IWMF fellow and photojournalist Yana Paskova and I ended up focusing our attention, efforts and energy on just two stories. There were a couple of mornings where we had to wake up particularly early for our reporting trips, and much of Kigali was wrapped up in a dense, gray fog that was reminiscent of a winter morning in Washington, D.C. It was easy to stress out during these past couple of days; I think every one of us at one point questioned our stories: Did we get enough color? Will we get all of our interview requests? Did we get enough photos? Will this story even work out?

Yet despite the madness and the adrenaline rush that comes with reporting, there are always moments of silence, solitude and stillness just waiting around the corner.

– Alexandra Petri