6 months down!

So I have officially been in Rwanda for just a little over 6 months. It's weird to think that I am 1/4 of the way done with my service. Sometimes it feels like I just got here, sometimes it feels like I have been here forever, and sometimes it feels like both at once. Joining the Peace Corps, I didn't really know what to expect. Although I had been warned there would be down time, I had not really expected it. There have been days where I show up to work, play spider solitaire and dip out by 10 because the thought of staying for another 2 minutes is unbearable and staying till 12 is basically impossible. 

Struggling to survive the workday! 

Although work isn't as exciting as I expected, there are still a lot of reasons I am happy to be a Peace Corps  volunteer. The day to day interactions with the people in my village are easily the main reason I am still here. Because at the end of the day, I didn't come here to help sort files or watch nurses take blood. I came here to get to know people on a person level. That's what service really is about. Showing people you genuinely care about them.

Finding my place in my village has been tough, and it's still something I'm working on. Two weeks ago I had a few items stolen from my house. Nothing major, and all were returned, but it still made me feel as though I was an outsider. As if people saw me only as some rich foreigner to take advantage of. That was my first reaction, until multiple people and authorities went out of their way to find my things and counsel the boy who stole them. In the end it wasn't an action done out of spite, it was the direct result of hunger and desperation. (Since the incident I am on friendly terms with the boy)

My compound has been quiet for the past two months because my neighbors are all teachers and are gone on break. At first I enjoyed the quiet, I finally got some alone time, and caught up on more than a few books. But quickly the solitude became very lonely and I realized how much I had depended on the people in my compound and how I had forgotten to branch out. I didn't know how to fix this. But I soon discovered that leaving your door open, while inviting in flies and the occasional toad, also encourages people to come over. Soon enough I was meeting new neighbors and had more than a couple kids visiting. (Warning: once the door has been opened it is extremely difficult to shut!) 

A few of my little followers

I really had no agenda when writing this post, just a stream of consciousness really. I'm learning a lot about myself in Rwanda and for that I'm grateful. I'm learning how to be alone. I'm learning how to open up to people even when it's uncomfortable. I'm learning that smiles go a long way, cause lord knows I don't know half of what anyone is saying to me in kinyarwanda. I'm learning to appreciate the little things in life, because in the end, those are the only things that really matter. 

So happy 6 months Rwanda. Here's to many more confusing, wonderful, unpredictable, and rewarding moments to come!

On the main highway of the capital. Rwanda never fails to surprise me!

In Service Training (IST)

Sorry it has been a while since my last blog post. If I am being honest, I did not write for a while because I was feeling pretty frustrated with work. Not for any reason except that I still did not have any specific tasks and was feeling pretty useless and like I was not contributing enough to the Health Center and my community. I still feel that way a little, but I am hopeful better things are coming up. One of the big reasons for this change was the In Service Training (IST) I attended with my fellow Health 5 volunteers (The same people I came to Rwanda with).

I had been at site for a few weeks straight so it was nice to just get some space and refresh. Before IST Nikki and I went to visit Hannah at her site for two nights. We climbed down a mountain to see a waterfall and swam in the extremely questionably colored water. (But after the hike I was too sweaty to care). And by climb down a mountain I really mean slide. It was a steep rock face, covered in moss, which was covered in pine needles. Terrifying at the time, good story now.

                                 

Then we headed to Kibuye, which is a town on the shores of Lake Kivu. Our hotel was right on the water, and it was beautiful. We had five days of training, and the days were definitely long and very draining. But overall it was worth it because they had amazing food. I mean seriously, they fed us five times a day and it was fabulous. But I actually did learn a lot and I am really excited to start some projects and get involved more in the community. My supervisor was definitely interested in what I had to say when I came back to site and we are planning a meeting to make a timeline with goals and a schedule and a plan (yay!) Definitely thankful for that, I need something to give me more of a guideline for the rest of my service. 

One day we got free time and everyone loaded onto two boats and we went to two islands. Amahoro (Peace) Island and Bat Island. Amahoro used to have a small campsite and a bar but clearly hasnt had much going for it for a while (except for a cool wooden bridge). Bat Island, as the name implies, is home to hundreds of bats. They were huge. 

                              

Wedding Weekend

This past weekend was crazy busy but was probably the best one I have had so far in Rwanda. 

It started out on a jammed packed bus at 7 am on Friday from my village to Butare, my regional town. I went to the civil wedding ceremony of a teacher at the local high school I had met once. Originally I was planning on having a relaxing morning before heading to my host family's wedding (the only one I was planning on going to that weekend) but my neighbor Bernadette is super persuasive. She also convinced me to go out for a beer my first week even though I had originally decided to not drink at site. She should really consider a career in politics, it really is impossible to say no to her. (Which is also the reason I am now eating two dinners, one I make, and another she makes for me. Apparently the phrase "I already ate, I'm not hungry" does not translate into kinyarwanda.)

Anyways, we arrived at the sector office with the wedding party at 8:55, five minutes before the start time of 9, which didn't really matter considering the official presiding over the ceremony did not arrive until 10:45. The ceremony itself was pretty short and informal, some vows were said (with your right hand in the air and the left holding the Rwandan flag) and they signed their marriage license. The real wedding will happen in another month (I'm sure ill be roped in to going to that too haha). We went back to someone's house for lunch, fantas, and speeches. I was finally able to get away at 2 to catch the bus to Kamonyi. Unfortunately they told me the next one with available seats wasn't until 4:30. I somehow managed to sweet talk my way onto the next bus, and got to my host family by 4:30. They were all super exited to see me, and the umukozi (worker boy named diogene) was probably the most excited and gave me a huge hug. It was definitely good to be back but also very weird to just be a visitor and not living there anymore. 

                                    

                                   

The bride and groom doing some lovely wedding poses

                                        

I was expecting some serious wedding preparations, and I was right. The compound was packed with workers cooking and cleaning and random family members. (Apparently here they call cousins their brothers and sisters, so I now probably have 50+ Rwandan "siblings"). Mama sat me down in the living room where I got to visit with guests until 10 pm. Every time one group would leave, another would show up. It was super exhausting because for whatever reason I was the only family member there so everyone wanted to talk to me. Tried to go to bed at 10, but was woken up at 11 to eat dinner (we had been waiting for the bride, Vestine, to come in from Kigali but the car had a problem so they said they weren't coming until the morning). 

Crashed in my twin bed with host sis Diane, and slept pretty well until 1 when my host brother and all the worker boys got access to a speaker and decided to blast music and have a dance party. Finally convinced them to turn it down, when at 3 am the Kigali family (including the bride) finally arrived. Mama made sure to get me so I could serve them tea and dinner. At 3. At that point I was so tried I couldn't see straight. Went back to bed (this time with Diane AND an 8 year old cousin I had just met. In the twin bed.) 

                                

   

Everyone was up by 5:30 preparing for the wedding, no idea how they did it. I slept till 7 and was still exhausted. The ceremony started around 10 and was the cultural ceremony. They set up a huge white tent on the front yard and had a church choir in matching outfits singing. Most of the guests (including me!) wore umushanana, which is the traditional dress for weddings and special occasions. It's basically a toga. A very bright, patterned toga. They are great. 

    

Host siblings! (Despite the faces im sure they were super excited to see me haha)

                                 

   

The first part of the ceremony was the representatives of each family debating over the dowry. In the past, the bride was worth a cow or two. Apparently Vestine is worth two bottles of coke, one of fanta, two hoes, and a sickle. That's what we call a clash of cultures. The groom and his groomsmen wore golden suits with embroidery and capes, they also held traditional carved walking sticks. The bride had a kind of sari like dress which I think is a nod to the Indian influence in East Africa. After they were done debating there was a formal procession, speeches (obviously), and a catered lunch. I almost cried when I saw they actually had salad. 

Groom hugging the father of the bride (my dad!). Fabulous outfits all around!

                                

                                    

     Nothing says true love quite like a liter and a half of coke!

After the ceremony was over the bride changed into her traditional white dress and the wedding party packed onto rented buses to go to the religious ceremony at a church in Kigali. It was very similar to the American version. After they exchanged rings, Vestine started crying which was very sweet. She had been very stoic all day (only in public, when she was getting ready in her room with the girls she was super smiley and excited). It's culturally taboo for Rwandans to show emotion so it was definitely a powerful moment for her. At 4 they were done with the religious ceremony and getting ready to head out to the reception. (If you have lost track, Rwandan weddings have 4 different ceremonies- luckily for me the civil ceremony had already been done a different day!) I left at that point to meet up with some PCVs in Kigali for the weekend. 

                                    

     

It was a long, long day (and even longer night) but I really enjoyed seeing the wedding. It was interesting to see how the traditional Rwandan values blended with more modern day takes on marriage. I'm sure there will be many more to come (Mama mentioned two more sisters are getting married next year!!) 

First two weeks at site

So I am writing this post by candlelight because although my house has electricity, it went out for no apparent reason last week and has not been fixed. (My village has it, only my compound has an issue. Typical.) This wouldn't be a big deal, because let's face it, I've been going to bed between 8:30 and 9 every night- except for the fact I bought a hot plate to cook. No electricity, no cooking. I also underestimated how much money I would need at site so the past few days have been somewhat stressful, trying to budget my money to make sure I had enough to get to my banking town. Thankfully my food situation was sorted out, after my neighbor realized I was living off PB & Js she invited me over for meals. Her name is Bernadette, she is 23 and a teacher at the secondary school near my house. She is awesome and we have been hanging out a lot. 

Most of my neighbors are young professionals who work at the school, a few work at the hospital or health center. They all speak English which is super helpful, although I make them speak to me in kinyarwanda (at least for a few min until I give up and ask for the translation haha). I'm part of a compound so all of our "houses" are connected into a row. We each have two rooms to ourselves. 

Work has been a little slow, I have been job shadowing some of my coworkers so have gotten to sit in on HIV/AIDS testing, prenatal exams, and family planning. It's been helpful to see what people do, but it's definitely hard for me to just sit and watch. After three months of training I'm ready to DO something, but that takes time. Right now I need to focus on learning the basics at my health center and improving my kinyarwanda. 

So site has been good for the most part. Not without it's challenges but I am lucky to have great neighbors and coworkers I get along with. It's a little weird living alone, I never have before and it's strange to have to depend on myself alone. (Finally got a charcoal stove today- cooked beans and rice and somehow managed to burn them both, mom would be proud of me following in her footsteps). But even when things go a little wrong, it just makes it that much more gratifying when you are able to work around it.  

For example, today I realized I had another jigger. In theory I'm supposed to go to Kigali to get the doctor to cut it out, but that just wasn't gonna happen. Got it out myself in with a swiss army knife and tweezers. Never would have thought I could do that, it did take me about an hour cause I had to give myself a few pep talks. Even though it wasn't a fun situation, I felt awesome afterwards that I was actually able to do it. 

So, lots of ups and downs. Fingers crossed for a productive work week! 

 

Host Family Farewell and Swear In

It's finally official, I am a sworn in Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV)!! Last Saturday we had our host family farewell party. Only your parents get invited because if we invited all the kids there would probably have been hundreds of guests. (Even with just the volunteers, parents, and Peace Corps staff we still had over 80 people). It was a nice way to say goodbye, there were some speeches and the PCVs did a traditional Rwandan dance. I'm sure our families found it extremely entertaining, especially since we had only briefly practiced it three times. 

Me, James, and Nikki (the Karama Krew) at the farewell.

Mama, Me, and James' host mom. 

Karama subsite with our host families

Saturday was host family farewell, then Monday was our final language test. I was super stressed out about it for some reason and was anxious until Wednesday, when I finally found out I passed. Thank god, because if you don't pass you have to spend two more weeks in training and I really could not cope with that. Wednesday afternoon we piled all of our stuff into a huge van and moved to Kigali. (I felt like I left with twice as much as I brought and I really haven't bought anything...how does that happen??)

Friday morning we went to the US Ambassador to Rwanda's house for official swear in as PCVs. (You have to successfully complete training to be a volunteer, until now we have been called PCTs- Peace Corps Trainees). We heard some speeches, including one by the Rwandan Minister of Health, who made an unexpected appearance. She was very well-spoken and I really enjoyed her speech (even more impressive considering she made it up on the spot, because she did not expect to have time to come to our ceremony). Then we got to give our lovely awkward cultural dance again.

Karama with our language teachers, Zilpah and Moses

                           

Me and my site-mate Bob, he lives in the same village and teaches English

Our Health 5 group of 20 people. PC Country Director Steve Miller on the left, Ambassador Koran on the right.

Rocking our awesome African clothes!

It seems super strange to be done with training. There were some days where it seemed like it would never end. Its definitely a huge relief, but when I move to my site tomorrow, thats when the real work begins. It is definitely still surreal that I am going to spend my next two years in this wonderful country. It hasn't been easy, but I have definitely enjoyed my experience so far and look forward to what is ahead. 

It has been a fun few days in Kigali. We got to go shopping for our homes and eat way too much amazing food. (Which I am dearly paying for today as I am trying to fight off a pretty rough stomach bug- but definitely feeling tons better than I did this morning!)

Training Wrap-up

So tomorrow I take my LPI, which is an oral test to see how proficient I am in kinyarwanda. I am a little bit nervous about it, but hopefully I will do fine. 

Wednesday we leave for Kigali and Friday is official swear in as Peace Corps volunteers so training is officially over!! To say I'm thrilled training is done does not even begin to describe how happy I am. It has been a REALLY long 9 weeks. Being in a classroom like setting for 8 hours a day is really draining. I am really sad to be leaving my host family though: they are amazing and I love them a ton. Some days after training I would be in a bad mood and they would always get me laughing. I don't know if I would have made it this far without their help. (And obviously the support from family back home!) 

So next week I will be at my site. And instead of having my entire life planned down to the minute (like in training) I will have literally no schedule and nothing planned. That is the awesome/frustrating part about being a health volunteer. You really have to make an effort to find jobs for yourself and figure out what to do. A little daunting, but I'm ready to actually get started doing what I came here to do!

With all that said, a few highlights of training: 

I got a jigger (a tiny bug that burrows under your skin). I got to go all the way to Kigali to have the Peace Corps doctor cut it out from under my toe nail. That was fun. 

Wonderful/awkward encounters each and every day with the people in my village. I am a pro at going for the handshake when they go for the hug and vice versa. (Today's mix up ended up with my boob being grabbed. Excellent.)

Apparently caterpillars here are not cute and fluffy. They have spikes. Which I found out when 20 got lodged in my arm.  Luckily it's not painful and they are easy to get out. Nice rash though! 

Like I said, laughing with my family always makes my day. We laugh a lot about anything and everything. I'm gonna miss coming home to that.

Living in Karama. It's a super small town but it's beautiful here and I feel like I am just starting to know the people. Also, I was lucky to be put here with other volunteers I really like. They are awesome and it's going to be weird to not see them every day. 

The dog. Karama has one dog. It is a stray and has dreadlocks on its tail. Its pretty pathetic cause they are so long and heavy they drag on the ground. He's basically Karama's unofficial mascot. Hopefully someone cuts his tail, we wanted to but rabies is not the next disease I want to add to my list of African ailments. 

Hugs. Three little girls hug me everyday when I walk home from class. They are super cute and it's an awesome way to end the day. They always sprint towards me with arms out wide, and of course huge smiles across their faces. Hopefully my new neighbors will be just as friendly. 

Well Karama, it's been real. I know I will be visiting soon, but it won't be the same. Goodbyes are never easy and I'm really dreading saying goodbye to my host family. Especially my mom. She really reminds me of my real mom. (When those two meet its gonna be ridiculous- I have no doubt in my mind that even with the language barrier they will be best friends). 

Anyways, sorry this was long-winded and had no pictures. Amahoro. 

A Few Hard Days

So the past few days have been very draining, mentally and emotionally.

On Sunday we went to Kigali to tour the genocide memorial and museum there. It wasn't a large place, but it was very informative and well done. For those of you who don't know much about the genocide, I will give an extremely brief summary. In Rwanda, everyone speaks the same language and has similar beliefs. During colonialization, the Belgians gave power to the ethnic minority, the Tutsi. This was done because they were lighter skinned and thought to be racially "superior." The Hutu majority were deprived of education and good jobs, which obviously led to tensions. After the colonial powers left Rwanda, many clashes between the Hutu and Tutsi occurred. The Hutu took control of the government and they started the campaign to exterminate the Tutsi. I'm going to repeat that. The government started the genocide. Many people believe that the genocide was simply because of tribal differences and was carried out by uneducated people. Yes, most people participated or collaborated. However, the act of genocide was not spontaneous. It was entirely premeditated and had been planned for years. The government even had lists of Tutsi to kill. In the spring of 1994, over a MILLION people were killed in 100 days. The world knew what was going on, and chose to ignore it. 

The memorial in Kigali includes about 13 mass graves that hold over 250,000 people. That number is unfathomable. I saw the graves, simple concrete slabs that don't seem large enough to hold that many people. 

How many times will the world say, "never again"? 

On Monday, we had an entire day devoted to learning about HIV/AIDS. In Rwanda, about 3% of people are infected. It is not as high as some other African countries, that have rates of over 25%, but obviously it is still an issue. (In comparison the rate in the US is less than 1%).

I got home from a long day and met a young girl who was visiting. Mama said she was a cousin, so I was trying to ask her how she was related (moms side, dads side, etc). She was getting confused then finally said she was Diane's sister. It turns out, Diane isn't my host parents biological child. She is really their niece. Her parents died of AIDS when she was 3 years old. My host mom and dad took her in and raised her as their own (my mom made it a point to say that she was not Diane's aunt, she was her mother). Diane's two older sisters live with separate family members. Thankfully, they are HIV negative.

Finding out this news hit me pretty hard. I think mostly because it came as such a surprise. Also, it is so hard to fathom losing your parents so young and then being separated from your siblings. I was also struck by how selfless my host parents were to not only take Diane in, but to truly love her like a daughter. It sounds like her sister is not so lucky, and may have to drop out of school because the aunt who took her in does not support her. 

It was a lot to take in, and I am still processing everything. 

My family thinks I can't do anything....

.....and they are right. So my host family thinks I am really helpless. I can't cook, do laundry, or fetch water. I'm sure they are seriously concerned about my marriage prospects, because these are all essential skills here. 

Let me clarify: I CAN cook, do laundry, and get water. In the US. I can cook when I have a stove, microwave, and/or oven. Give me a charcoal stove and some matches, not so much. I can do laundry when I have a washing machine. Hand washing is much more time and labor intensive, and considering that my host siblings watch me do laundry with faces of unmistakable horror, I am not doing it properly. I can get water when it means grabbing a bottle from the fridge or turning on one of the 7 taps in my house (not including 3 bathtubs and 2 hoses). When getting water means walking up and down steep hills with a 20 liter Jerry can to find the nearest river, I suddenly have no clue how to get water. 

Living with a host family in Rwanda has really put this all in perspective. I am constantly feeling embarrassed by not being able to do the most basic of tasks, because my life in America does not require it. I can only imagine what they think of me, and Americans in general. They can't comprehend how I live, and I can't adequately explain it. Really when you think about it, life in the Western world is often not "real." The issues and concerns that take up our day to day lives are so insignificant it is laughable. We don't have to worry about satisfying our most basic needs, so they are forgotten and taken for granted. What is dangerous is that it is easy to forget that there are other people in this world (and America!) who still lack access to the basics: food, water, education, medicine, etc.

I can feel this turning into a rant, so I'm gonna stop now. Basically my thoughts are this: we as global citizens are responsible for each other. The world has made great strides to end poverty, but it is still a long way off. Everyone (including myself) needs to step back from the insignificant drama of day to day life and focus on the big picture. The world is a big and beautiful place, and we can all do our part to make it a little bit better. 

My Site!!

It has been an exciting week for sure. Last Thursday we had our site announcement, when names were drawn and we got to go and put our names on the map. It was nice to see where everyone would be. I am at Gakoma Health Center, in Gisagara District, in the South. There are three other Health volunteers from my training group in the South, although none are particularly close to me (at least three hours away).

This week we went to Kigali for a few days to meet our supervisors. Mine is a man named Aime who is in charge of all the Community Health Workers (CHWs). Our health center serves over 34,000 people and has 141 CHWs. (I am told that's a lot). Aime is very nice and was extremely helpful during the conference and when we traveled together to Gakoma. We left the hotel in Kigali on Wednesday at 10 and three buses and a lunch break later, we arrived at the Health Center at 4. I met the head of the health center, who is a nun. The Catholic Church has a huge influence in Rwanda.  

Thursday I got to visit all of the services in  my health center. Gakoma is unusual because the hospital is literally right next door. So unlike many health centers, mine does not have wards for patients because if anyone is seriously sick they get sent to the hospital. My center provides the following services: a laboratory to run tests, HIV/AIDS testing and counseling, an IT department, delivery center, pharmacy, nutrition and vaccination programs, and general disease prevention and control. (You go to the health center if you are sick to get medicine, if you are extremely ill or need surgery you have to go to the hospital). I met all my coworkers, briefly, they seem very nice and I am excited to get to know them better! 

My attempt to do a panoramic of my health center, it consists of three small buildings. 

While at site visit I got to tour around Gakoma and the surrounding areas. It is very rural with lots of rice fields. Malaria is epidemic here and one of the biggest issues. I will most likely be working on malaria prevention, nutrition, and HIV/AIDS. Which is awesome because those are the three areas I am most interested in! 

Mamba is the town closest to where I will be living. My house is currently under construction so I don't have pictures. It is  in a compound with other families and is two rooms, a bedroom and a living room. (The bathroom and kitchen are outside). Luckily I will have electricity and a water tap in the compound. I am only a few minutes walk from the town center which consists of some shops, resturants, and bars. It still seems so surreal that I will be living here for two years!! 

Also, I have an education site mate who works at the local secondary school. His name is Bob and he walked me around and gave some great advice. Overall I had a great site visit. Obviously this can't really tell me how the next two years will go, but I am optimistic about it! 

This is the river that flows between Rwanda and Burundi

Liberation Day

So Thursday (July 4th), was a double holiday for us. Independence Day for the USA and Liberation Day in Rwanda. The morning was pretty quiet, some studying and chores. My host siblings were mucking out the cow pens....with their bare hands. Luckily i didn't have to help! Around noon my host mom got on her fancy clothes so I knew we were about to go somewhere. (Rwandans typically wear a certain outfit for around the house, clothes they don't mind getting dirty.) We walked down to the school my siblings attend where they were having a mini performance/celebration.

Me, mama, and little sis Diane! 

At the celebration there were dances by the students. The older kids did traditional cultural dances. It was very cool to watch. They featured men dressed up in long straw wig-like hats. They are supposed to represent the lions mane that were used in the past. (Now outlawed, Im pretty sure). The boys were really into the dance and kept coming together in the middle, no idea what they were saying, but I got the impression they were two rival chiefs trying to make peace. 

After we got home from the ceremony, some of the volunteers met up in one of the central towns to hangout and celebrate. It was nice to just relax, we have been so busy with classes and trainings. 

Nightmares and Long Stares

Well it has officially been two weeks since I landed in Rwanda. Each day is extremely busy with trainings and language classes. Learning Kinyarwanda isn't easy but I am taking it one day at a time and trying not to get frustrated!

Every Peace Corps volunteer is required to take malaria prevention medication. (Unfortunately no vaccine exists for malaria yet, which is why it hits places like Africa so hard.) The kind I chose is once a week and one of the main side effects is vivid dreams and occasional nightmares. (A small price to pay for avoiding malaria!) I was skeptical about the dream thing, but the past few nights I have had some pretty weird ones.

Two days ago my host mom came out of the side house (there are two small houses in our compound, the parents and I sleep in the main one, and the children in the side one). She was holding something but since it was already dark, it was hard for me to see in the dim lighting of the courtyard. Then I realized it was a dead rat (and screamed to the delight of the entire family). Mama dropped it on the ground- way too close to me for comfort. 

That night I dreamed that there was a rat trapped in the mosquito net that surrounds my bed. I was in the bed and couldn't get the rat out. Then my host mom came in and was speaking to me in Kinyarwanda (I took that as a sign my language skills are improving!) 

As far as Long Stares are concerned, living in Africa sometimes feel like you are in a fishbowl. People look. A lot. All the time. Foreigners are rare and interesting, and in a small town there's not much else to do except people watch. I've experienced this before so it doesn't bother me like it used to. My village is pretty rural and small, so there aren't an overwhelming number of people. It's nice because I have started to recognize some of the neighbors and the same kids come outside to play everyday. (We play with balls they made themselves, out of bunched up plastic bags that they tie together with string). 

My lunch (beans, rice, green beans, potatoes, and avocado).

The "Average" Day

So people keep asking what my days look like, here is a basic overview of how most go:

I wake up each morning around 6:30, my host mama gives me some warm water to take my bucket bath. There is a little room next to my bedroom I use as a shower area. After I'm all clean and dressed I sit down to breakfast. It always consists of tea with sugar and some type of bread/roll. 

After breakfast I brush my teeth outside (there is no sink in my house). Then I walk to my language class. It is about a 10 minute walk that takes me into the tiny "town" area of my village. It is a small strip of tiny stores and bars. (My class starts at 8 am and there are often men already drinking). I have class with one other volunteer so it is very personalized. At 12:30 we have a lunch break. There is only one restaurant in the town (very few people here ever go out to eat). Our lunches are buffet style with lots of yummy food. The staples are rice, potatoes, beans, a vegetable (green beans, peas, or cassava leaves), and pineapple or avocado. 

Our town- Karama

After lunch we have another hour or two of language (although by this point in the day we are normally super tired, not sure how much learning is really absorbed). In the afternoon I walk around with the volunteers who live near me. There are four within a 10 minute walk from my house. (There are 5 that are 45 min away and then the rest are almost a 2 hour walk). My group is the farthest away from the "hub"

The hub is the Peace Corps office. We go there two or three times a week to do trainings (cultural, technical, medical, etc). On hub days all the volunteers attend. So people (like me) who live far away from the hub get picked up by the Peace Corps land cruiser. It's a good opportunity to see all the volunteers I don't live close to. 

In the evenings (I am home by 6 pm every night) I hangout with my host family. My mom is always trying to teach me new words and help me say things correctly. I mostly just repeat everything she says. I watch her cook dinner most nights. It's a long process because she cooks over fires. She has many different pots and pans but normally only two fires, so you have to wait for something to cook before starting the next thing. It typically takes 2 and 1/2 hours to make dinner. So we eat around 8:45 (by then I haven't eaten since 12:30 so I'm definitely ready to eat). Our dinners always have potatoes and a sauce (normally with beans and other veggies in it) and sometimes another starch like rice or uragali. (It's hard to describe- its kinda like thick cornmeal). 

Mama in the courtyard

After dinner I get ready for bed (by the end of the day I'm exhausted). Sometimes my family does prayer time. They sing, read the bible, and pray. All in kinyarwanda. It's a very nice way to end the day. 

Falling in Love

Well. It's official. I'm in love. I know, I know. "It's too soon, you don't know each other that well yet, you're so young." But it's too late. Rwanda has taken a firm hold on my heart. 

Seriously though, it hasn't even been a week and I am amazed by this beautiful country. I have been overwhelmed by the love and friendship my host family has given me. It is weird to think I have been here for such a short time, because I feel so comfortable already. 

I am living in a small compound with my host mom, dad, and three siblings. The parents don't speak any English. Not a single word. Two of my siblings are in 6th and 9th grades but neither of them speak English. They might know some words but if I ask them "how was your day?" Or other simple things, they look at me like I have five heads. I moved in with them on Saturday with a vocabulary of 5 kinyarwandan words. (I now know like 10). So obviously the language barrier has definitely been huge. But my mom is super great and always tries to explain things to me and teach me new words. (She also never hesitates to laugh at the stupid things I try to say). Living with them is great and is definitely motivating me to learn quickly so we can communicate better. 

The road to my house (the one on the left, and our amazing view)

Pictures really don't do Rwanda justice. The hills are breathtaking. 

I am lucky enough to have electricity, but we really don't use it very much. I have a pit latrine (drop toilet) that is made of concrete. Which is considered nice since many other volunteers only have a dirt floor. We don't have a water pump so the kids fetch water everyday. I went with them, it's a little bit of a hike, down to the bottom of the valley. There's a little pipe that has a small stream of water flowing out of it. Everyone takes turns putting their Jerry cans under the stream. The water is basically clear, but it still needs to be boiled or filtered. My brother (who is 1/2 my size) can carry a 20 liter jerry can of water on his head all the way back home up the ridiculously steep hill. They tried to get me to pick it up and put it on my head, I couldn't get it past my shoulders. (This was extremely entertaining for the entire family). It really blows my mind that the kids are that young yet that strong. 

I have learned a lot and have so much more to do and see! So happy to be here :) 

Travels

So I started out my Peace Corps journey by flying to Philly on Tuesday and finally meeting all my fellow volunteers. It was so great to finally meet everyone, and it has definitely taken a huge load off my mind. I definitely was so much less anxious after I got to know them. We had "staging" which was a 7 hour information session. Most of what we went over was already covered in the packets we got, so it was not super overwhelming. Afterward about half of the group grabbed cabs and went out to our last dinner in America. We went to El Vez, a nice Mexican restaurant and enjoyed some great food. 

We got an early start on Wednesday, waking up and getting on a bus to JFK. It was about a 3 and 1/2 hour bus ride and then we had to wait around in the airport for a while since our flight wasn't until 5 pm. The two flights went well, nothing super remarkable or out of the ordinary.  

We got in to Rwanda last night (Thursday). It was super dark out and we have spent pretty much all of today in the Peace Corps compound doing paperwork. Tomorrow we meet our host families and I am super excited!! I will try to keep in touch, still working out the internet/phone stuff!

The Journey Begins

Well today is the day! It is so surreal because I feel like I have been waiting for SO LONG for this to really happen. I applied to the Peace Corps in January of 2012, so it has definitely been a long process. I got so used to waiting I don't know what to do now that it is actually time to go! (Speaking of waiting, my flight from Dulles to Philadelphia is currently delayed, so apparently the universe REALLY wants me to lean how to be patient!!)

I definitely have mixed feelings. I am super excited, but saying goodbye to my friends and family was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I have been on the verge of tears for the past two days, but thankfully everyone has been super supportive and helped me keep it together. Although I will miss everyone like crazy, the only reason I am even able to go on a trip like this is because I have such a fabulous support system standing behind me. 

I am so excited to meet all of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) in Philadelphia and get started on this adventure. I still have not really processed that I will be gone for two years. I am trying not to focus on that and instead think about all the positive things about working for the Peace Corps. Hopefully I will have Internet occasionally to keep this updated. The first 10 weeks we will probably NOT have Internet, so I will see what I can do. 

If anyone want to write me letters my address (for the first 10 weeks ONLY) is: 

Peace Corps Rwanda

Attn: Kim Sprout

P.O. Box 5657

Kigali, Rwanda 

 

Wrapping Up

Ok so if you followed my travels in Sierra Leone you might have noticed that I got a little behind. Ok, I got wayyyy behind. I feel like I just left it way too unfinished, so here is my attempt to catch you up. (Including the two posts from April that I just blatantly copied and pasted off my church blog...did not even attempt to figure out how to get rid of the white background. Sorry!)

So after Allen and I finished up the National Exam Prep Classes, we took 16 children and 4 of the Aunties on the National Learning Journey. We all piled on a bus and went to explore the Northern part of the country. I was excited because I have never seen any of the country besides Freetown (the capital) and Bo (where the Child Rescue Centre is). The kids were ecstatic because they never get to go on trips so this was a HUGE deal for them.

On the bus ready for the journey!

Our first two days we spent exploring Makeni and the surrounding areas. We saw many things that most people from America are used to seeing often, but are extremely rare in Africa. For example, in Makeni the children AND the Aunties saw their first train, electric streetlights, and shopping mall. I was so glad I got to be there and share in their wonder. It really is an amazing world we live in when you take a moment and really think about it!

Excited to see a train!

We also got to go on a tour of a hydroelectric damn which was probably my favorite part of the trip. It was very cool to see how innovative Sierra Leone has become. I was really impressed with the facility and that they are using alternative energy. (Remember those street lights I just mentioned? They use solar power!) The kids were pretty impressed with the dam, and it even provided a chance for some "dare-devil" activities. One section of the dam, which was suspended high in the air over the river, only had metal grates to walk on. So you could see through them straight down to the water. This did NOT go over well with most of the kids. It took some persuading and hand-holding, but I finally convinced them all to walk over it. I was so proud of them!

Lansana happy he did it!

We got to see some other interesting things on the trip like a factory, university, clock town, football stadium, 5 star hotel, etc. But the most important part of the trip for me was just spending more time with the kids and getting to know them all even better. It was a long four days with lots of driving and not the most ideal sleeping conditions (I ended up in a double bed with two of the younger girls every night). But I loved every minute of it.

Eating a yummy cassava leaf stew. (Can you spot me in the back?!)

When we got back from the trip, I only had one more full day in Sierra Leone. To say it was hard to leave is the biggest understatement of the year. It. Was. SO. HARD. To. Leave. To say I love each and every one of the children at the CRC is the second biggest understatement of the year. Words cannot express how much I care for these children. I have been home for over a month and not a day goes by that I don't think about them. It makes me very sad because I don't know when I will see them again. But even when I miss them, I can't help but smile because once you meet these children your life will change. Dramatically and for the better. I can't be sad for long because I know life is a beautiful and amazing thing. I know the world is a messed up and confusing place, but it is still good. I know that even at my worst, there are people who are always going to see the best in me. Thank you to everyone who made my trip possible. It was the best two months of my life. Sierra Leone will stay in my thoughts, and the children of the CRC in my heart. Forever.