Just the Assistant in Africa

Forgive me in advance, readers. I know I’m here to be witty and quirky and charming, but after a week in Rwanda, my heart is still sorting out whether or not I love my dog anymore and if I should unfriend people on Facebook for complaining about the long lines on Black Friday.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to unfriend anyone, and I’m sure in three weeks I’ll resume feeding my dog (oh, kidding), but for now, I’m in a very odd state of mind.

Because this is a mortgage office blog, I won’t go into all the details of my trip, but I will share a glimpse. I’ve seen commercials of children living in mud homes, children with dirt and flies on their faces and little food to eat. But to actually wander along the dirt footpaths to reach that home, to pass neighbors who’ve come out of their houses to see the foreigners, to approach that home and stoop down to enter through a stick-framed doorway and wait for your eyes to adjust to the dark and nose to adjust to the stench is an entirely different thing. To hold that child, to rub his back and realize you’re touching skin because his shirt has so many holes in it is very different than seeing the commercials.

I’m not trying to send you all into depressions here. Like I said, I feel like a nutcase today. It is a good thing the rest of the office is busy at some sort of team building/goal projecting camp today perfecting their trust falls and I’m here at home in dirty pajamas (my luggage was lost in Belgium) crying at the sight of appliances in my kitchen.

I’d planned on trying to tie all of this into mortgages, to convince you all that since interest rates are the lowest they’ve been since Biblical times, you can save money and sponsor a child. But that feels kind of low. Besides, I think even if interest rates were through the roof, sponsoring a child is a good idea.

That said, I’m not going to weave any tricksy prose into convincing you to buy a home and change the world. I’ll just say this. I work with amazing people. They helped make my trip possible, and when I was on the other side of the world grappling with all sorts of emotional highs and lows, they emailed me words of encouragement that helped me keep pressing on. Interest rates are low no matter what mortgage bank you use these days (the Bosses are likely slapping their foreheads now and wondering why they let me even show up in their building), but I think the people here in this office have something more to offer. Of course, like I’ve been saying for years now, they know their stuff and are honest and close loans on time and all that jazz. But they’re also helping change the world with their paychecks, and helping people like me give African babies back scratches in the middle of the dusty roads of Rwanda.

Got questions about obtaining a mortgage, sponsoring a child, or the best way to bargain in an African market? Contact me or comment below.