Ten days into my first visit in Africa I’ve got no hope of adjusting; my jet lag, 10 hours from Los Angeles, is interminable. I’ve been awake for the slumping loss of electricity when the generators turn off at night, and for its energetic return.

My friend August Kleinzahler wrote a poem about this, in a book that came out 14 years ago, The Strange Hours Travelers Keep:

Cities each have a kind of light, / a color even, / or a set of undertones / determined by the river or hills / as well as by the stones / of their countless buildings. / I cannot yet recall what city this is I’m in. / It must be close to dawn.

This is my experience too.

But the meetings start early, no matter what. So at the end of the day, I take 15 minutes, and just sit quietly by the beautiful Lake Kivu.

#Goma #DRC #IWMFellows #jetlag

– Molly Peterson