Crazy Rwanda Girl

Books for Africa, Projects Projects

2010-10-17T01:43:00.000-07:00

Part of being a respectable Peace Corps volunteer, other than fulfilling your regular day to day job description, means working on projects that benefit the community. After a year long process of planning, interviewing, IDing issues and fundraising, the books and computers we ordered from Books for Africa finally came in!

Many thanks to PCV Jessica McGhie, who worked her ass off putting this together, dealing with all the paperwork, politics, banking issues and phone calls. Also thanks to the volunteers who helped organize all the books, which took a very long time to separate and label. I also personally want to thank all of my friends, family, and my mom's colleagues for contributing to this project-- your donations were vital to making this happen!

Rwanda has few libraries; therefore students don't have easy access to books, especially in rural communities. The school I used to teach at consisted of students copying down information in their notebooks from the blackboard. When I taught there, I spent hours making copies of books in their entirety so my students would have something long and interesting to read. I was lucky enough to be able to use the Peace Corps office to make these copies for free, which most teachers wouldn't have been able to do. Only one of the two ancient desktop computers that were there worked, which made teaching computer skills virtually impossible. These books and computers will create libraries and learning centers at each of our sites throughout Rwanda, and at various places such as schools, health centers, and community centers. This access to literature and technology will open up Rwandan's connection to the outside world, and change people's education and overall learning experience.

Like all projects of course, this one didn't come without some challenges-- the computers sent didn't come with Windows, so that has to be purchased. Also about half of the computers didn't come with power cords, so we're working on finding some in Kigali for a good price. B4A has been informed of this.

Another project I'm actively working on is Appropriate Projects water charity. Access to water is a huge problem in Rwanda, especially during the dry season. Many people in Rwanda, even in Kigali, do not have running water and fetch water daily in jerricans at the nearest water pump. I'm lucky enough not to do this anymore, but at my old site I remember how so much of my day revolved around getting water, finding someone to fetch it at the top of the hill where the stadium was, negotiating a price, waiting, doing my best to use the water as sparingly as possible, using the hierarchy of water usage: 1) boiling for drinking 2) Cooking 3) Washing myself 4) washing dishes 5) If any water is left over, cleaning the house. I used about a jerrican a day, and I only had to take care of myself and my own needs. Very few people in Rwanda live alone, and therefore need more than two jerricans of water per day for their family. For this project, I'm working with REFTTA (Rwandan Evil Fighters Through Talents), a very motivated and hardworking group of youths who used to be part of the Kagarama secondary school Never Again Club. After they graduated, they decided that they didn't want to stop the activities they had been working on, and formed REFTTA two years ago. They are very active and have been extremely successful here in Rwanda- it really is amazing what they've done at their age-- huge concert and film fundraisers, publications... They've gotten funding and visitors from all over the world, including diplomats from Canada.

I visited the site they had identified as needing a water project, which is in an area of Kimironko, in Eastern Kigali. Together with a group from REFFTA, which included the president, vice president, and members who have been trained in plumbing, we walked around the community, where I spoke with the people living there and took pictures. The problem that the community is facing is that during the dry season, sometimes water is unavailable from the pump for 3 days at a time, and residents are forced to go down to the swamp (which is more like a tiny stream at this point)for their water. This water is both limited and dirty.

The members of REFFTA, along with the inhabitants of the community, told me that they have 1 of 2 projects in mind-- creating a pipe that collects rainwater, and be in a location that is more central to the inhabitants. Another is to have a large water tank that collects rainwater during the dry season. The members of REFFTA will meet this weekend, come up with a budget, and e-mail me what they have decided (I want them to have as much say in this as possible).

The other project I'm trying to get started (I need to turn in the proposal)is to start an income-generating project with young single mothers who are part of NAR associations. It looks like they've decided on making and selling soap. I've seen soap making before, but it would be best if we hired someone to teach it. It's a project with potential because unlike basket weaving and bag-making, this is a product that people run out of constantly, and does not depend on tourists as clients. My time here has taught me that the most beneficial IGAs are ones that depend on the local market. This is a project I'm very passionate about, as it would benefit a population that's very marginalized. Unfortunately, there's still a strong stigma when it comes to young mothers who have babies outside of marriage.

That's all for now. Wish us luck!

My Parents' Visit (Part 2)

2010-09-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

Being sick in Nairobi is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand I wasn't able to walk the streets and discover the city as much as I had planned, but on the other hand we were in a hotel with comfortable beds, nice temperature and staff that weren't shocked at the request for ice bags and tea (This could never happen in Rwanda, unless I was at a 5 star like Mille Collines). My parents were very comforting, although I feel a little like I held my mom back since she opted to stay with me in the hotel room while I rested up. My dad, always the musician, spent most of his time in Nairobi looking for local musical instruments. The best he could find was a kalimba (finger piano) which he bought two of.

After a few nights in Nairobi, we met with the team from Intrepid, the tour company we booked with. Along with 15 other tourists, we listened as our guide Leilei gave us a summary of our Serengeti trip that lay ahead of us. I knew immediately that my parents had picked the right company. Intrepid exists all over the world, and their philosophy emphasizes community and cultural understanding. He told us not to give money or candy to kids because they would get used to a culture of begging and fighting over who gets it (something I've had to repeat to people in Rwanda). Another thing that sets Intrepid apart from other tour companies is that everyone pitches in to clean the bus, wash dishes, and help with chairs and food set up. Other than the very first night, we slept in tents with another member of the tour. The friends and couples who came together shared tents of course, and I shared a tent with this really cool Australian girl named Karla. We spent the second day by Lake Victoria in Tanzania, and some of us rented bikes to discover the town. Along with a local guide, we got to meet students at a school and listen to a very talented church choire practice outside. Although I don't speak Swahili and Kinyarwanda is definitely not helpful in Tanzania, many people spoke English, so it communication wasn't too much of a challenge. Of course, I also took the time to visit the local markets! The markets there were definitely very different from the ones in Rwanda. There was more variety, more space. I showed off my negotiating skills to my parents as I bargained for two fabrics and some art they wanted. I'll say this- bargaining is way more of a challenge there than in Rwanda! Merchants lower their price to meet your asking price at a MUCH slower rate, which frustrated me but I guess that's just tradition there.

Next we camped out two nights in the Serengeti! During the day, our bus drove through the savannah on VERY bumpy roads, stopping when we saw wildebeest, lions, elephants, giraffe, hippo, hyenas, zebras, buffalos... we even got to see a leopard, but they are unfortunately very difficult to see since they spend most of their time in trees. It made me really wish I'd invested in binoculars. The savannah plains were beautiful, and the group dynamic was really positive. Even though we were all from different countries and came with different people, we all got along very well. I was initially (and secretly) worried that my parent's age might negatively affect their experience, but they didn't seem to mind the sometimes painful road and meshed well with the rest of the group. Spending time with my parents amongst people we didn't know but were traveling with was a very unique experience. It was interesting for me to see how they reacted to the unfamiliar, and their interactions with people. We all played games together and enjoyed funny moments, such as when one of the baboons prowling the camp stole Tania's towel and toilet paper!

Next we headed for the Olduvai Gorge. On the way there, we saw many Massai-- some more traditional (actually nomadic, wearing traditional clothing, living off of the land) others who seemed more commercially-minded (jeans and sneakers underneath cloth, aggressively peddling jewelry to tourists). I had never heard of the Olduvai Gorge, but was really impressed to find out that it is an archaeological site where Dr. Louis Leakey (who Diane Fossy worked for) discovered the oldest hominid (human ancestor) yet found, and objects that date from 2,100,000 year ago. It is thought that this is was the site of the earliest hominids. Next we set up camp high above the Ngorongoro Crater, were we froze but got to experience the fear and joy of animals stomping through the campgrounds, including elephants, hyenas, buffalo and a large gathering of zebras who'd come to munch on the grass between our tents. Hearing munching by your ear while drifting off to sleep in your tents is quite an experience! Driving around the Ngorongoro Crater was a nice change-- the landscape was marshy and full of fields, and we got to drive around in individual safari cars with open roofs instead of one large bus! We got to see cheetahs, but not while they were running. Our last night of the Intrepid trip was spent reflecting on our time together and what we'd learned. Our last night in Nai Robi, I begged my parents to go for seafood, where I ordered delicious crab and tried some of my dad's spiny lobster. I can still taste it...

The hardest part of course, was saying goodbye to my parents. This was facilitated by the fact that we had a rather large to-do list to complete on our 8 hour time back. We flew back to Kigali, went to Mille Collines (the "Hotel Rwanda" hotel), negotiated for crafts, and met some more of my neighbors. After we said our goodbyes, I stayed at the airport for as long as I could see my parents go through security. I'm really grateful that my parents got the opportunity to see Africa. My mom mentioned to me that she didn't think she ever would have come if I hadn't been here. It was a unique opportunity to show my parents how I'm living here, since before they could only put together images from phone conversations and e-mails. I feel like we both reached a mutual understanding of each other-- our philosophies, reactions to the unfamiliar, and our relationships with others. This was a very special two weeks in our lives that I know we'll often think about.

My Parents' Visit! (Part 1)

2010-08-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

My parents arrived late on the 3rd, and it was definitely an emotional experience seeing them for the first time in a year! I arrived extra early at the airport after negotiating with a taxi driver at Remera station for a pick up price (that's the best way to do it). I was incredibly anxious while waiting at the airport for them-- every second felt like a minute and every minute felt like a lifetime. I kept checking my phone for the time, bought overpriced (but delicious) ice cream, read crappy tourist pamphlets, played with kids-- anything to keep my hands busy! Then I joined the small but growing gathering of people waiting for the Brussels Airways passengers to get off.

I glimpsed my parents first by cranking my neck over an incredibly tall woman. My mom followed a few minutes later and paused to wave at me excitedly before walking back to the carousel to wait for her luggage. Then there was another grueling 25 minutes of waiting for them to get their luggage so I could finally hug them. I was rather entertained this time though-- by seeing crying babies and kids jumping up and down to greet family members. From the Kinyarwanda I know, I was able to pick up enough comments from my fellow waitees (that's probably not a word) to know that they were equally entertained by the nonstop flow of people. It's actually pretty interesting to observe how different people greet each other when they get off an airplane- sometimes you can guess how long it's been since they've seen each other, or if they're close.

When my parents finally got through, my mom hugged me tighter than ever and became so emotional that there were tears in her eyes. She wasn't completely silent either, which made us a bit of a spectacle--people started turning their heads towards us (Rwanda sometimes seems almost devoid of emotion-- so this kind of reaction stood out even at the airport).

Once we got to the hotel, I stayed in their room a while just to chat and catch up. The next day we went to Mugatare and Rugarama-- the villages on the outskirts of Kigali where I used to live and work. My parents descended the mountain rather easily, and it was really a pleasure for me to see them interact with the kids and go inside my old neighbor's houses. It was like the convergence of two separate worlds, with me as the only connection. I know that sounds cocky. My mom loved playing with the kids and meeting people I used to see every day. My dad was especially interested in seeing the school I used to teach at, but at as I predicted, it was closed due to the holiday. I took a few pictures but deliberately limited my camera usage because I didn't want the neighborhood to feel like I was using them as tourist material. We then took two buses back to where I live/work for our interviews with Zack Baddorf, an RPCV and freelance journalist who was doing a story on how technology has changed the Peace Corps experience. He interviewed my parents and then recorded part of a skype conversation with my friend Danny in the U.S. He was a nice guy and we talked a little about his travels and future plans. Although Zack was doing the interview for Voice of America, NPR also picked up the story. Here are the links to the interview:

Recording from NPR:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129449455

Recording of my parents and I (unedited):

http://www.sendspace.com/file/w9kce8

The next day I brought my parents to the Peace Corps office where they got to meet the PC staff. It was really cool to have them meet each other, and once again it felt like a convergence of two worlds. I was actually surprised by how eager and enthusiastic the staff was to meet them—I was worried I’d be bothering them during busy work hours! We then headed out to Nyamata to see the church there--- my parents and I both agreed that this would be more personal than going to the museum in Gisozi. The ride there and back was on a small less comfortable bus, which my parents handled really well. My mom didn’t want to see any bodies, so she only went inside the church while my father and I also went out to the back. Unless you go underground, the church doesn’t have any bodies anymore—but it’s full of clothing and belongings. Looking at all of it, it’s hard to believe so many people could fit inside such a crammed space. The church itself was largely kept the way it was after the massacre there in 94, so you can see where grenades were thrown, machetes hacked, and blood dried, all along the walls, ceiling, and floors of the church. Going underground and to the back of the church wasn’t as difficult for me as going to Murambi. Here the skulls and bones are all separated and placed in orderly rows inside glass cases, which made it less visually harsh for me. The most emotional part for me at least, was knowing the horrors of what took place in the space we were standing in.

After returning to Kigali we had dinner with a friend of mine. The place we went to is one I go to often, so not just friends but even the owner of the restaurant came to our table and greeted my parents, which was awesome. The next day my parents met me where I live/work, so they got to meet some of my coworkers and the summer interns. While sitting at Simba waiting for the bus to Musanze (to see the gorillas) we ran into Janelle and Michelle, two PCVs who my parents both really liked. Janelle entertained them by being her usual self and Michelle showed us pictures of Mauritania.

Shortly after getting on the bus to Musanze, I suddenly realized I had forgotten our gorilla permits—which were cumulatively worth $1,250! I freaked out and started cursing (everything you’re not supposed to do) when it just so happened that the man sitting next to my mom introduced himself. He said he was a police chief inspector and he knew someone at Virunga (the bus company). He told me that if I had someone bring the permits to the Virunga station, they could be on the next bus to Musanze and we could pick them up there. I was so incredibly relieved and thankful. I was able to get a hold of one of the interns for NAR who also lived at the house, and he gladly delivered the permits to the Virunga station. 3 hours later I was holding them, and the next morning we were in the mountains on our way to see the Sabyinyo group. Seeing the gorillas was awesome. We got to see a 3 day old baby but spent most of our time watching two young brothers play. The only downside was when one of the gorillas attacked our guide, (started hitting him), to which our guide quickly instructed us to leave.

Afterwards we walked around Musanze a bit but I started feeling sick so I went back to the hotel early. I called the PCMO and he gladly offered to see me the next day. The good that came out of this is that my parents got to meet him, since he hadn’t been at the office the day they visited. It seemed like I had a virus so there wasn’t much to be done, and while my parents gently suggested maybe it wasn’t the best time to travel, I insisted that we go on with our plans of flying to Nairobi followed by a safari tour of Tanzania.

Patriotism, etc.

2010-07-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

I was under the impression that no one read my blog other than my parents (especially since I never receive any comments!) so it was surprising to me when I got nagged on several ends to "update your blog already!". Ok, here I am. It's not that nothing's happened- A LOT has happened, but I guess I just wasn't sure how the events of the past two months could be taylored to fit my blog. So, a few highlights:

The theater performances are finished. We ended up having 10 instead of 15 for various reasons. I really love my theater group and am trying to find ways to still work with them, especially since many of them are unemployed and don't go to school, and really need opportunities to fill their time and use their talents.

I got interviewed by Philip Gourevitch! He came back to Rwanda and we had a general interview about my time here so far, my impressions of things, etc.

Emma is back in America, and is getting married soon (congratulations!). There are now 3 other people here at NAR, but they'll only be here for a month a piece.

In late June, there were a bunch of international theatre groups showing their work at Ishyo (an art and cultural center in Kigali). I thorougly enjoyed it and look forward to seeing the Canadian play that two members from One Family (the theater group I worked with for NAR) are involved in.

Celebrated both 4th of July and Bastille day in style. 4th of July was spent in Kibungo, where there was a huge get together of PCVs. We roasted a goat, and pretty much just spent the whole weekend cooking and eating till we filled ourselves silly. It was a lot of fun being with that big of a group of us, it was like one huge family reunion. of course, we had the traditional round of games like Mafia and pictionary, and sang along to Brandon's guitar-playing.

Bastille day was spent at the French Ambassador's house. I didn't talk to the ambassador directly. I did however, enjoy amazing food and free champagne. It was nice meeting new people, although this confirms my suspicions that there are very few French expats in Rwanda, especially those under the age of 35. I did see some familiar faces as well of course. The new PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) who's a French native (though he's lived in Africa for several years) was present, and we joked about how we're the only two people in Peace Corps Rwanda who hold a French passport.

After the theater festival performances, we were supposed to have trainings in secondary schools by the actors. The students were very excited about this and so was I, but unfortunately this will not happen. I'm not going into details...

It seems like my job for the next few months is to recruit new youth into Never Again Rwanda- both schooling and non-schooling youth. I think this will be fun and interesting. I like finding out about the IGAs (Income Generating Activities) and other projects the NAR youth have come up with, and getting ideas on what else can be done.

My parents are coming in 3 weeks, and that's 3 weeks too far away. I feel like these past few months have been inching by at a glacial pace. We are going to see the gorillas in the North, and then go to Nai Robi and do a tour of the Serengeti in Tanzania. God I can't wait.

I'm going to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest peak on the African continent! Anna (another PCV) and I just bought our tickets and will be heading out there in mid-September. Our goal is to reach the top, and I'm confident we can do it. Super excited- this is going to be epic!

Visited my old umudugudu this weekend. I hadn't been back there in a long time. Some kids recognized me immediately, yelling out "sonia, sonia" and coming to wave and hug me. Some had completely forgotten about me, which is understandable. I didn't get to see everyone- some people weren't there and my old neighbor's house was all boarded up. I asked about what happened to them but couldn't get a straight answer. It really is amazing though, how fast kids grow when you're far away. One of the pastor's sons not only shot up about a foot higher, but his voice, once that of a little kid, has completely changed into and an adult's. No squeekyness whatsoever! The babies I remember are now walking and talking, and toddlers have become little kids. The woman who works at College Misericorde (as the one who cleans the school and serves tea) found me and invited me into her house for milk and cake. I offered to pay her when I saw she ran a small business of selling these from her house, but she insisted that as her guest, I should just take it. Her and I had never talked much while I was teaching at that school, so I found this gesture very hospitable, though not unusual for Rwanda.

We had Peace Corps mid-service in early June. It was in Kigali this time at a nice hotel with hot water and a pool. While I did not have as much fun at MST as I did at IST in Kibuye, I learned a lot more. There were representatives from Peace Corps Washington present, and they informed us of funding opportunitites available solely to Peace Corps volunteers, and encouraged us to take advantage of them.

There's more but this entry seems long enough. I don't predict I'll write again until my parents are here. Missing all of you. Take care and until next time. ;-)

Theater Festival

2010-05-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

Now that it's mid-May, NAR's 2010 Theater Festival is in full swing. We've had 5 performances so far, and I'm happy to say that they've all gone really well, with the occasional mishaps that are always expected.

The theater program at NAR is composed of several actors between the ages of 19 and 31 who call themselves "One Family". They're semi-professional-- some have had their acting filmed for the Rwandan Prosecuter's office! They're such dynamic, intelligent people and I'm really lucky to be working with them. I did dance and drama for the majority of my youth (elementary school, high school, and college) and it makes me realize how much I miss both those things. It really is such a huge relief to be able to express yourself in a creative way like that. I also realized how much I miss being around people who regard the arts as something important. Being in Peace Corps, living in Rwanda, forces me to get creative in other ways, but I feel like there are a lot of creative outlets I haven't explored in quite some time. I work, visit neighbors, hang out with friends, but I feel like I need to step up and add something more, or i'm going to make my life very dull and boring.

Enough of my rant. Of the many actors in One Family, 14 of them are involved in the 2010 Theater Festival, and 11 of them are acting in the play. The play is about a Rwandan girl who transfers to a boarding school where she experiences human rights violations by both the administration and her peers. The play was written by two members of One Family and one professional writer. The story isn't particularly complicated but it is well written, well performed and has been well recieved by the audiences. Overall, the troupe will perform at 15 secondary schools. After each performance, each actor holds a small group discussion with members of the audience about human rights, both in the play and in their actual lives. After the discussion the students fill out surveys, which include the questions,"What human rights were violated in this play, Inzitane mu Rugamba, and "Give one example of how you can promote or protect human rights". I'm really pleased to say that so far, the students really like the play and really seem to understand the message. Since this is a play by and for students, it's a release that the students don't normally get. It's a platform for them to express their views and experiences with their peers, who support them and can empathize.

So what's my role in all this? Mostly logistical- I went to the 15 schools, met with the headmasters, and checked out the performance space. I left them with a letter explaining what NAR's theatre program was all about. Some fo the schools already knew us well, since we have youth clubs there. I made the performance schedule, was present at the writing of the play and rehearsals, and gave feedback. I did some directing and stage managing. I go to each performance and make sure everything is running ok. I also collect the surveys and record the answers. I really like my job- I like being able to work partly in the office, partly out and about in the community. I love communicating with the actors and seeing different student's reaction to the play. I'm definitely happy about this.

Before ending this post I should mention that I was able to see my relative, Jean! After a huge headache and hassle with a hotel reservation which wasn't kept, I was able to book him and his collegues a nice room, and I hung out with them for a few hours (they were only in Kigali one night). Amahoro.

Genocide Memorial Week

2010-04-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

This week marks the 16th anniversary of the beginning of the genocide that took place in Rwanda. While this was a huge tragedy that marked every person living here and elsewhere), it's unfortunately the primary thing Rwanda is known for.

On April 6th, Philip Gourevitch, the author of the book, "We Wish to Inform You", came to Never Again to conduct an interview with some of the staff. I was fortunate enough to get to meet him. I told him how much I loved his book, and how I felt few Westerners really understood Rwanda the way he did.

April 7th marks the beginning of the genocide, and it is a national day of mourning. I joined a handful of my fellow staff members as well as some of the members of Never Again youth clubs in participating in the "Walk to Remember", hosted by Aegis. The march started at the parliament and ended at Amahoro Stadium. I was surprised by the lack of speeches, which seem to always accompany public events here. When we arrived at the stadium, there were many people, mostly Rwandans but also a good percentage of ex-pats. I ran into a few people I recognized, including some of the Peace Corps staff.

Most of the event included musical performances, gospel singing in particular. The singers were extremely talented, and I recognized some of the songs. Some of the songs were general, others were about the genocide in particular and the reunification of Rwanda. I opted to stay sitting on track instead of in the stadium seats- it made me feel closer to the people there. I ended up sitting right in front of Paul Kagame, who was in the stadium seats. He did not stay very long, at least from where anyone could see him.

As night fell, the stadium lights were turned off and we passed around the flame between the individual candles that had been passed out to us. This was the first time in my life I'd ever participated in a vigil, and it really touched me. Two years ago, before I knew I'd be living in Rwanda, I never could have imagined participating in this event. I remember hearing about the Rwandan genocide many years ago, but I never thought that I would one day get to know so many Rwandans, and be able to listen to their stories and take part in their traditions. Reading about some far away place in a newspaper article is so drastically different from actually participating in an event that, up until recently, seemed like it had nothing to do with my life. I don't pretend to know or understand everything about Rwanda and it's people, but while I stood there among thousands in silence, with the wax drip burning my fingers, it suddenly hit me. I may not be Rwandan, but I feel deeply connected to this country, and its forevor burned into my life and memory.

Burundi, Betrayal, and the Kasubi Tombs

2010-04-07T02:51:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, my father gave me some words of advice. He said that I had to be extra cautious about who I let into my life, because I wasn't good at reading people. There are many things my father has told me that I did not feel were accurate, but in this case he's 100% correct. I can't read people worth a damn. Due to an instance that recently happened, I realized I sincerely have no clue who's genuine and who's fake. There were two people in my life who I held rather close and thought respected me. I was completely wrong. I got double stabbed in the back, and it's definitely forced me to re-evaluate how I read people. It's unfortunately made me feel like I really can't trust anyone, and it sux.

We all lie from time to time for various reasons-we did something we weren't supposed to do and we don't want to suffer the consequences, we don't want to hurt someone's feelings, we're unsure but don't want to admit it, etc. However, I had no idea how much people lie, and I honestly believe I'm one of the more honest people in this world. I really don't like lies and deceit, and most of the times I have been dishonest, I later came clean cause I can't handle the guilt. Maybe that's due to my upbringing. From now on, I'm going to be extra catious about who comes close to me, because I don't want to get screwed over again and played for a fool. Moving on...

I went to Burundi! I had a three day weekend due to Good Friday, so of course I took advantage. I flew in (it only took about 25 minutes)and walked out of the airport to see the most perfect rainbow in my life! My roommate, Emma, took the bus and met up with me at the hotel. We had an awesome time, and I can say with much confidence that this was one of the best vacations I've ever had. I got to eat and drink things I haven't had in ages, and I barely spent a cent! Emma and I spent most of our time hanging with this one group of people, going to the beach (sand by lake Tanganyika), and just walking around the streets of Bujumbura. It did rain for part of the time, but when it did we'd just drink mojitos at Bora Bora, this cute little bar on the beach, and watch the storm.

Burundi's not drastically different from Rwanda, and it was nice to be able to use my Kinyarwanda. In Rwanda, us PCVs constantly experience the following situtation: We ask a stranger something in Kinyarwanda. They laugh for a bit and before answering the question, they always go "uzi Kinyarwanda?!" (You know Kinyarwanda?) In Burundi, it's the same scenario, except people kept saying "Uzi Kirundi?", which was a nice change of pace. (Other than a few minor differences, it's the same language). I got to jet ski for free, lay out on the beach, and swim in clear water with waves! I found Burundians (Burundese?) to be very friendly and outgoing. After visiting both Burundi and Uganda, I've realized how reserved and quiet most Rwandans are.

Emma and I danced the macarena with some teenagers, and they told us that we needed to spread the word that Burundi is a good country with good people. Therefore, that's what I'm doing through this blog. Without going into too much detail, let me just say that this vacation was much more luxurious than I ever could have anticipated.
In sadder news, the Kasubi Tombs burnt down. Emma and I were fortunate enough to see them about a month prior. From what I read, there were some casualties, during and after the fire. The Kasubi Tombs is considered a world heritage site and active religious place in the Buganda Kingdom. It is the burial ground for the previous four Kabakas, therefore, the Kasubi Tombs is a place where the Kabaka and others in Buganda’s cultural hierarchy frequently carry out important centuries-old Ganda rituals. The fire is truly a tragedy, and I'm deeply saddened to hear about it.

The Perfect Birthday

2010-03-08T23:15:00.000-08:00

Haha, well, almost...
This weekend was kind of crazy. Friday night Peace Corps put on the benefit concert at the small stadium in Kigali to raise local money for Books for Africa. THe event itself was pretty cool, and almost every single volunteer from our group was there, plus many other volunteers and people who work with PC. While the performances were cool, the turnout was very bad. Most of the people who came and bought tickets were people we personally knew, which leads me to believe that promoting did nothing to recruit people. I'm not sure if the event raised enough money to cover the amount of money that is supposed to come locally. I unfortunately left a little early, and missed a happy birthday serenade by the Ben, the closing act, which the other PCVs had set up for me, so I was kind of bummed. It was really nice of them to set that up, though I do feel a little bit bad since my birthday wasn't till Sunday, and it was actually Brandon's Bday!

The next day I went to Gisenyi, my favorite part of Rwanda, with 3 friends. We spent the night there and swam in the lake. We ate two meels at the Serena and ordered drinks while we laid out on the sand and pretended we were back on the beaches in our hometowns.

Sunday we got back to Kigali. Most PCVs were in Kigali this weekend to help out with Operation Smile, which is a week long campaign to give surgeries to people with cleft pallet. Sadly, there are only so many surgeons who volunteer their time, and half of the people who travel to Kigali and show up don't get picked for corrective surgery. I saw some pictures and videos, and it looks like a really awesome project.

Monday was a holiday so a lot of people stayed on in Kigali Sunday night, and we went out to my favorite resuraunt in Kigali. It was nice to have everyone together, including two of Ahmed's friends who are here visiting from Chicago. I asked if I could get a free desert and I got serenaded by the waiters who gave me an ice cream and fruit plate.

Monday was nice since I didn't have to work-God I miss 3 day weekends! I'll be working pretty much every weekend from now until July so I'm going to be a very busy bee! I thought I'd write a blog entry while I"m on a high instead of when I'm stressed out, so it might be a while until I write again! Miss all my friends/fam abroad and thanks for the bday wishes!

French-Rwandan Relations

2010-02-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

Sarkozy is in town, and French flags have sprouted all over Kigali to welcome him. I doubt I'll get anyting more than a glimpse of his car as it rides by (it will undoubtedly pass my house), but it's comforting as a French citizen to see that the two countries have officially renewed diplomatic relations. Even though I didn't vote for Sarkozy, I am definately glad to bear witness to this move he's making. It'll be intereting to hear what he says to Rwandan political leaders.

I'm definately not proud of what happened here in 94, and I know the past can't be buried. I'm sure a lot of people are still understanably very angry with France, but lets hope that this is a step in the right direction.

I'm not sure when the embassy will officially open, but I definately want to go! They're going to re-open the French school and my Belgian friends are telling me there's going to be a lot of rivalry between the Belgian school and the French school. I'm discretely rooting for the French school, of coure. I'll end this post with the official slogan, "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite"!

Uganda!

2010-02-23T12:12:00.000-08:00

So I just got back from 4 days in Uganda, and needless to say it was an awesome experience! I'm so sore from rafting I'd kill for a massage.

Having not left the country since my France trip back in August, I felt like it was high time I break out of Rwanda for a bit and see what else Africa has to offer. Living in a small country with few vacation days has been waring on me, and since I'll be crazy busy March until July with the theater festival (including and especially weekends) I felt like I needed to get Uganda done with a quickness.

I really like Uganda and wish I could have stayed a little longer. There's a lot to see there and the culture is pretty different from Rwanda. I saw people kiss in public (NEVER see that here), bump and grind in clubs, and witnessed more outgoing behavior in general. The Ugandans I met in the 4 short days I was there were outgoing and loud, in contrast with the quiet, more reserved Rwandans I know.

We (Emma and I) left for Uganda at the butt crack of dawn (6 AM) and arrived around 4:30 to Kampala. It was a hell of a long bus ride, but was bearable due to the scenery and fully charged ipod. Emma and I were really impressed with Kampala-we had no idea how big it was! It really felt like being in the United States: Big buildings (including the Sheraton hotel) wide sidewalks, and variety galore. I'm assuming Uganda does a lot more international trade, because there were definitely way more products than I could ever find in Rwanda. Shopping was a fun experience--there was just such a huge amount of clothes, shoes, everything! I'm not used to that. I really liked the hustle and bustle of the city, the noise, the livelyness, the well lit streets. Of course, I don't want to completely diss Rwanda. Rwanda's definitely cleaner, but I had been warned about this so I wasn't suprised by all the litter in Uganda. Also, people drive like maniacs there-every time I crossed a street I feared for me life! It's seriously unreal how many times it feels like you're going to be smashed by an oncoming vehicle.
The food wasn't that different, just more variety readily available, like watermellon, chicken and fish. I'm told that it's illegal to cook food for sale outside on the street in Rwanda-- when you're hungry you usually have to settle for tiny bags of peanuts, hardboiled eggs, or the occasional popcorn. It was nice to be able to walk down almost anywhere and find barbecued chicken, sausuage, and a variety of other items for cheap.

Emma and I were supposed to go rafting the next day with Nile River Explorers, but were unfortunately uninformed that the time zone in Uganda is one hour ahead of Rwanda. We woke up at what we though was 6 AM and were ready and waiting outside for Nile River Explorers to pick us up at 7 AM to take us to the campsite in Jinja. After waiting for a good 15 minutes a few of the other people staying at the hostel nicely informed us of the time difference. At first we were worried, since we didn't have much time to spare, and it would have been extremely expensive to rent a car to take us all the way to Jinja. We therefore postponed our rafting for another day, but since we'd reserved the campsite for that night, we decided to leave for Jinja that evening.
So we walked around Kampala, did some shopping at the huge markets, and went to the tombs of the kings and the kings palace. The tombs were kinda cool (even if you don't get to see the actual tombs, they're covered by a curtain and only family members can look), mostly just to meet the decendents of Ugandan royalty and learn more about Ugandan history. I definitely wouldn't recommend the king's palace, since you can't even go inside.
After looking for and failing to find Ugandan crafts, we jumped on a bus headed to Jinja. Jinja's a nice place with a cool nightlife as well. It also reminded me of America--of a nice, suburban neighborhood. The next day was the big day we'd been waiting for for so long! We got in the raft and the guide gave us safety instructions. With us in the boat were a Dutch couple, a Yastonian couple, and a 62 year old British woman. We had met her at the hostel in Kampala the day before and had convinced her to go rafting with us. She used to be a traveling photagrapher and now she writes for guidebooks in Africa. I love meeting people like her because it lets me know that when I'm that age, I can still travel the world and do all the same things I do now. I hate when people use age as an excuse to not do things. People who don't travel don't do it either for lack of funds, fear, or medical problems. Everything else is just an excuse in my opinion. I love bouncing around from place to place, seeing new countries, discovering new cultures and trying different adrenalin-filled activities. Hopefully I'll be able to do that periodically throughout my life.
After hearing how terrifying rafting on the Nile was from several people, I was a little dissapointed. 70% of the time was spent just rowing, and the rest involved rapids (most of which were not that intense), and a few minutes of swimming. It could be due to the wheater-it was raining so they may have felt they had to keep us warm. The most fun part of rafting was falling out of the boat. The very last rapid was pretty intense and all of us flew out. I let the river water bounce me and move me wherever it pleased-it was like a water park. I would love to take a day and just swim down that part of the Nile (with kayakers there for safety of course).

Our last night in Kampala we went clubbing with some people we met. Kigali is quiet on the weekends-there are 3 clubs and they all equally suck. Kampala has so many different clubs with really good DJs. I haven't gotten clubbing out of my system, I just have no desire to dance if I'm not feeling my surroundings.
The bus ride back took about 12 hours due to two accidents on the road. Both times, we were in stand still traffic for over an hour a piece. The roads weren't that bad, but I guess accidents there are pretty common. It really is tragic. I spent that time walking around, talking to people, buying food, playing with kids, peeing on the side of the road, and reading. It felt like a lifetime.
I definately want to go back to Uganda, and spend a good week or more there to get a real feel of the country. I highly recommend it to anyone.

It's been 1 year!

2010-01-29T23:49:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, I want to assure anyone reading this that I got an e-mail from Felix and he is alive and well. Huge relief. My condolonces to anyone who has lost someone they loved in this horrible earthquake.

Now on to more selfish things. Today marks exactly one year since 34 of us wide-eyed Americans stepped off a plane to start a 2 years+ adventure. Safe to say none of us had any idea what we were getting into. I remember how exciting it was to go to DC for staging, only a few days since Obama was sworn in. On the plane rides to Rwanda, I was so nervous. I remember opening up my plane window on an almost constant basis wondering if I could handle being a PCV.

Of course there have been ups and downs, and, like everyone i'm sure, times where I just wanted to throw in the towel. I don't blame those of us who have left, I feel like they all had legit reason. Our original group of 34 has shrunk slightly to 28, but we have another group of 35 in country now, and the new groups keep on coming.

Since it's the one year anniversary, it's inevitable that I begin to reflect. I've definitely learned a lot in the last year. I don't feel like I've changed drastically, I just feel like I have a better understanding of my limits, my capabilities, and the ways of the world. I learned that living amongst people with a completely different culture than myself is very challenging, but not impossible. We're all human beings after all. I have definitely made sincere friendships with the locals, even those who don't speak a word of English or French. (Thanks Peace Corps for the language training!). I've learned when to be agressive and when to just go with the flow. I've also realized there are many problems I'm not able to solve, and the the definiton of a "problem" is fluid.

I don't miss America necessarily, I miss the people in it who I was close to. For my friends and fam who I haven't seen in quite some time, I hope you understand that this was something I had to do. I needed to prove to myself that I could live in a developing country for 2 years, and that I could evoke some kind of positive change no matter how small. I know that what I'm doing is nothing extraordinary-- plenty of people live abroad and work towards positive change. Still, this experience has incluenced my thinking, my attitude, and will stay with me for the rest of my life. I hope that some of the Rwandans I've known feel the same.

Tragedy in Haiti

2010-01-15T00:59:00.000-08:00

As many of you are aware, there was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Tuesday that greatly damadged Haiti. 60% of the buildings in Haiti were unstable for even normal conditions, so there was severe damadge especially in the capital of Port-au-Prince, causing huge numbers of casualties.

Hearing about this event is especially alarming to me because I know someone who is living in Haiti right now. He's a Rwandan police cheif in the North who's worked for UN peacekeeping missions for more than 15 years. He served in Darfur in 2004. He called me 3 weeks ago, telling me he wanted to hang out because he was leaving shortly for a UN job in Haiti, and wouldn't be back until 2012. We never did get together before he left, and now I regret it. I know that the UN building collapsed and there are many people trapped underneath the rubble. They're currently trying to free people who are trapped, but many people are missing. According to the latest New York Times, "The United Nations said it had confirmed that 36 of its workers had been killed in the earthquake, 73 had been injured, and an additional 160 were still missing. The United Nations began an effort to send teams around to the homes of its more than 1,200 local staff members to see if they were still alive and what help they needed."

I'm scowering the internet trying to find some information to see if he's ok, but I can't find his name anywhere. I'm not sure what the media regulations are about the release of names of casualties and survivors, but his first name is Felix, and I can't remember his last name. He has a wife and a daughter so if somehow you've recognized that name in any news media, please let me know.

The more I travel, the more I care about international issues. I know it sounds selfish, but, like most people, when I used to hear about natural disasters or civil war, I really wasn't all that concerned if I didn't personally know anyone involved or affected by it. I just took it as information that I could turn on and off with the click of a remote or mouse. One of the results traveling and living abroado is that I've become personally invested in more and more places. Hearing about a crisis in a country I've been to or a country where people I know live is so personal.

I think I really started realizing this after visiting Israel in December of 2007. Even though my aunt, uncle and cousins lived there a long time ago, I would just gloss over the headlines about Israel, especially anything related to border conflicts. It just all meshed together for me. Once I went there, walked in the streets, and met the people, it became more personal. I realized that in the news, I recognized the names of streets I had walked on or stores I had been to. I also realized that people I had talked to while I was there could be directly affected by the events I was reading about from my computer.

Now that I'm in Rwanda, the '94 genocide isn't just some tragedy amongst many that occurred far away. I've met many people who were not only witnesses to the genocide but whose names I recognized in interviews with PBS and in historical books. It makes such a world of difference when I've met these people and had conversations with them--they become so much more real instead of just images on the screen or subjects to read about.

As my international contacts expand, my level of concern with international issues, especially crisies, rises. I don't know if I'm echoing a common feeling felt my by fellow PCVs, but I'm much more affected now by the recent tragedy in Haiti than I would have been 1 year ago. I recognize those killed as people with personalities an active lives, not just statistics in a news story.

2010!

2010-01-11T23:04:00.000-08:00

Now that it's 2010, I can officially say that I spent all of 2009 (minus 4 weeks) living in Rwanda. I still don't plan to go back to the U.S. til I'm done. January
29th will make it one year since I left America, but I won't be halfway done with service until April 15th. It's still crazy to think how long I've been here. In the beginning, time went by so slowly, and now it's moving a little faster, probably because I'm crazy busy at work with the job I love.

NYE was good. I went to the Happy People Party, which was mighty expensive but still worth it. It was incredibly crowded and pretty much everyone I knew in Kigali was there, and then some. Drank, danced, talked to some people, it was cool.

A new intern recently joined the NGO I work for and will also be my roommate for the 4 months she's here. It's nice having someone my own age living and working in the same space as me. I like getting her perspective on things and compare them to mine. So far, we've gone to the genocide memorial museum (yeah, it only took me 1 year to finally go) and I've taken her to a party as well as other local events so she can get aquainted with the community. It's her first time overseas but she's pretty open to meeting all kinds of people, not just the ones who are well educated and speak English.

Below: Genocide Memorial Museum in Kigali

Other than that, work has been getting back into full swing. I gave a presentation in French to the One Family theater group on Saturday. They seem like a dynamic, creative group of people, which is to be expected from anyone in the dramatic arts. Even though my job with them won't involve any role-playing for myself, it's still nice to have some kind of involvement with drama. I was heavily into it for a long time, but didn't get involved with it at all during my 4 years of college. It'll be interesting to compare the styles of Rwandan theater to the other styles I know. I'm sure it's drastically different from Beckett, Simon, Shepard, Shakespeare, or Mamet or anyother playwright I'm familiar with.

Christmas Safari

2009-12-29T04:55:00.001-08:00

This was my first Christmas in Rwanda. It's an odd time of year, with so many people traveling abroad. I went to the swearing in ceremony for the new PCVs. It really hit me, realizing that we aren't newbies anymore. Watching the new volunteers, sitting in the exact same chairs, repeating the exact same oath we had made 8 months ago really had an effect on me. Their ceremony was a bit different from ours. They had one extra speech and a really nice Intore dance and drum performance. Most of the performers were kids, one of whom looked as young as 3--she was so cute! When the dancers invited the audience to participate I picked that little girl to dance with. The only unfortunate thing was the dismal turnout due to the time of year. So many people are on vacation, and it was on umuganda, the day when everything is closed until noon for people to do their monthly community service.

Christmas is a fun time of year for me, but I don't usually do very much to celebrate, other than get gifts for people. I did, however, make potato latkes twice. They turned out great, and my mamma would be proud. I had planned to make a menorah but that never actually materialized.

I made Christmas the theme with my class this month, giving them new vocabulary such as "sleigh" and "snowman" and teaching them "Jingle Bells". They seemed to get a kick out of it. I asked them to share what they do for Christmas so I could get a better idea of how it is celebrated in Rwanda. From what they told me, and from what I observed, it's not really a major holiday the way it is in the U.S. Businesses are open, and it's more of a family-oriented and religous holiday as opposed to a gift giving holiday. It makes me realize the amount of materialism we're subjected to in the states.

I went to Rwamagana to see some fellow PCV friends, who had taken a big branch and decorated it with funny magazine cut-outs of things like paternity tests, ugly babies and upside down people. We drank and ate candy we rarely get to taste-- candy canes, M&Ms...

I stayed there for a few days before 8 of us went on a safari to Akagera. Akagera doesn't have that great of a reputation, but we saw a fair amount of animals, probably due to the rainy season. We saw zebras, jiraffes, hippos, water buffalo, warthogs, deer, and monkeys. Our guide allowed us to get out of the car at certain points, so could get close to the jiraffes. For most of us, it was our first safari,and we were pleasantly surprised. It's a tourist attraction that's really downplayed, overshadowed by the much pricier Gorilla trek in the north. It was so nice to get out of Kigali for once and see some of the country, and being able to do that with my fellow PCVs made it that much better.

Still don't have New Year's Eve plans...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

GLOW Camp

2009-12-29T04:29:00.000-08:00

I realize I've been lagging a bit on the posts- it's been over a month!

The 3 major things that happened in December (after all, the month is almost over) are GLOW (Girls Leading Our World), the new volunteer's swear in, and Christmas of course!

So, I think it's safe to say that GLOW went well. Of course it didn't all go smoothly or according to plan, but that was to be expected. The overall number of girls was about 70, and the camp lasted 5 days.

I ended up bringing 3 of my girls (from the school) to camp. It was so nice to see them having a good time and learning. The camp focused on health, sexual health, and career planning. The girls had several different games. We got creative--one of the PCVS set up "bowling" with water bottles and a small ball, darts on paper, and one even got a carpenter to make the necessary bean bags and wood frames to play bean bag toss (or "cornhole"). Every day, there were different guests to speak or throw an activity our way. Among these were theater, trust activities, a career panel, and health presentations. The girls got to sign up for different field trips around Kigali, including orphanages and computer labs. One of the more contravertial activities was teaching the girls how to put on condoms. We had model penises made of wood, donated to us by PSI along with condoms. Each girl was given one and time to practice. The youngest girls at GLOW were 15, so I personally don't feel like they were too young for this. There's such a stigma that girls with condoms are promiscuous, dirty or untrustworthy. It's going to take a long time to shake that image in Rwanda (hell- it's hard to shake that image in the U.S.), but I can see that it's an issue that is becoming more public. The "No shuga daddi" billboards are now being replaced by pictures of local celebreties advocating condoms. We also gave condoms to the girls to take home with them, if they so chose.

Below, one camper shows another camper how to put on a condom.

I was at GLOW for the majority of the time (4 of the days) and I'm really glad I got to participate in it.

Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T22:56:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was awesome! All of the PCVs got together (minus 4-- still a really good turnout) and made food at the Peace Corps office. There was a turkey (freshly slaughtered thanks to Ahmed) mashed potatoes, grean beans, sweet potatos with marshmallows, mac and cheese, AMAZING stuffing and "cranberry sauce" made from pineapples, orange rinds and lime-and of course, apple pie from scratch and some cakes. Also hummas and pita bread. Ugh, really wish I'd taken the initiative and brought tupperwear to take some home! We also had tons of wine and beer. Anywho, it was the first Thanksgiving I'd spent without my parents, so I was glad to be with my PC family. It really was special.

Afterwards, a bunch of us decided to burn off the mass amounts of calories accumulated from Thanksgiving food by going clubbin'! It was at a club I usually don't like, but it was actually really fun! Since it was a weekday, there were way less people, and there was a really good DJ and some really good dancers bustin moves. There were a bunch of us Peace Corps volunteers, plus friends of ours, and we danced and drank the night away. One of my friend told me that the prostitutes (that are abundant at this club) don't charge money- which launched a debate as to whether or not they're even prostitutes. Apparently a lot of them are looking for sugar daddys. The first hit is free, but afterwards she'll be calling you and showing up at your doorstep to pay for this or for that. Some of them are looking for a green card and a better life. I still don't know if I'd call that prostitution though, I feel like it needs to be tit for tat (money directly for sex) for it to count-- everything else is just slutty behavior and financial dependence. On that note, I gotta get back to work! Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Oh, and thanks Mom for calling me--I love you!

New Home, New Job!

2009-11-15T23:13:00.000-08:00

So I can finally break the silence now that it’s official—I have switched organizations and domiciles. I now work for Never Again, a really awesome organization established in 2002 to promote conflict resolution, specifically among youth. Never Again exists in several countries, but of course, I’m working for Never Again: Rwanda. I’m really excited to be working for them. It’s a new organization but is well established, and officially became an NGO last year. The staff is small but NAR has so many projects. My supervisor told me I’ll be wearing different hats while working for them, but that’s more than fine with me! My official title is theater coordinator and part-time English instructor. I will also help to update the NAR website from time to time, as well as edit the newsletter. The people I work with are incredibly nice and professional—it’s almost like being back in America. On the first day, my colleagues taped a welcome poster above my desk, and have done so many favors for me since. I feel lucky and incredibly grateful. I just hope I don’t disappoint them, I’m definitely a little nervous.

I now live in a more central, urban location. It’s definitely less Peace Corps-ish, but it’s beautiful and comfortable. Can you tell Im happy?
The weekend went relatively well. I unfortunately wasn’t able to see my relative who was in town as he had trouble coming back into the country from the Congo (Visa issues). He’s a doctor who was working on a project in Goma, but flew in and out from Kigali. By the time I got a hold of him, he was already about to board the plane back. Such is life.

I got to talk on the radio! So NAR does a radio show every other Saturday, and my first Saturday working with them was going to be a show day. I decided to come along because I wanted to see what it was all about. I only meant to observe, but they gave me the opportunity to talk on the air which was pretty cool. The theme of their discussion was about human rights, what it means, etc. I was nervous at first but it’s actually pretty easy to talk on the radio because you don’t see your audience, it’s basically just you sitting down and talking into a mic. One thing I learned is that the microphone is heavily magnified, and EVERY little movement you make is heard on the air, which is why the radio announcer was getting irritated when some of the participants shifted papers around or whispered to each other.

I know my contribution to the show was very small, but I walked out of the station on a high. It really feels good to be a part of this.

Pros and Cons

2009-11-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Like I said before, I'm in a transition period right now, which therefore makes my ups and downs here go even more out of wack. I'll explain more about my transition soon (maybe even tomorrow!) Instead of writing a real entry, thought I'd write a list of pros and cons of living here. Sorry if this bores you, but this is more for me than for anyone else. Helps me get a better idea of how I feel about being here. I think I'm happy, but sometimes, I don't know...

PROS
1. Living in the main province.Being in a central,
urban location makes my life here
so much easier. Better access to resources.

2. My neighbors. Some of them in
particular anyway. It's nice to
finally be past that "a white person
is here so she must be rich", having
people try to rip me off, but now actually
giving me the real price. It means they
respect me and look at me more as one of
them. I definitely have a good group of
friends here, all ages, religious
backgrounds, and genders, who hang
out outside my house or who buy me a
beer at the local bar. I learn way more
from them about Rwandan history and
culture than I could ever learn from
any book (which are usually written
by foreigners visiting the country)

3. The kids in my hood. They're
just so nice and friendly.
They're always happy to see me
and greet me. All they ask for
is a hug. They brighten my day.
I have also developed a namesake
trend here.

4. Rwandan landscape. The mountains
and trees are beautiful!

5. Laid back culture. I'm from
Cali, so maybe this is more familiar
to me than my fellow PCVs from
the East Coast.

6. My new transition! I'm really happy and
excited about it! I feel very lucky to have this
opportunity!

CONS:
1. Living in the main province! It's so damn expensive!

2. Ignorance is frustrating. There's a huge
difference between locals who are well educated
versus those who aren't (as is true for well-educated
and poorly educated Americans). I've had it
up to here with being called "umuzungu" everywhere
I go, and having my hair pulled and inspected by strangers.

3. Transportation. I miss having a car! I like having
complete control of where, how, and when I go
somewhere. It slows down my life A LOT
and makes me feel much less free than I'd like to be.
I hate crawling in and out of vans
(buses are in van form here), having people's
asses in my face while others push and shove to get
in the van before people can get out. I'm also tired of
slouching and being squished like a sardine inside
those things. Gotten quite a few bruises.

4. The mountains. While pretty, they're a huge pain
in the ass to walk up and down all the time, especially
when I'm in a hurry. At least I'm burning calories. No
treadmill or gym membership needed!

5. The disorganization. Alright, I moved to Africa.
It has that general reputation, so I guess I'm
not surprised. But it goes without saying that
this slows things down, and is frustrating.

K, that about evens it out. Meant to write the pros and cons parallel to each other but it's hard to do that in this blog format. My next entry will be a lot more fun to read, I promise!

Movement, and Lack of Movement

2009-10-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

I recieved some bad news a few hours ago, so I'm not in the best of moods. I won't get into specifics, but I'm in a transition period right now, and it's not going at all the way I'd planned or hoped up until I got that phone call. Sux. However, I just hung out with a friend who accused me of being too negative. She's probably right--so, out of respect for her, I'll fill up the rest of this blank post space to talk about the positive things I've experienced.

I've been doing quite a bit of traveling lately. I'm done grading papers, but when I'm not keeping busy with GLOW, Books for Africa (which everyone reading this should donate to), or working on the draft for the mayor of my district, I've kept busy traveling a bit. I went to the Nrth two weekends ago, and then to the East to visit some friends, then to the South, and I'll be going to the East again for Halloween (probably). I still have a very long list of things to do and places to see before I leave in a year and a half (that's right--I'm a quarter of the way done with service!) Rwanda's a tiny country, but there is A LOT to see here-- in every province.

I went to the site where the new PCVs are having their training. I didn't present as I had expected, but it was really nice to get out of the city, and get to talk more with the new volunteers. I really like them--they're outgoing and friendly.

I didn't stay in the East for very long, just went to a small get together of PCVs to enjoy Malea's homemade Pasta, and other delicious goodies. We didn't really leave the house, but it got me thinking that I really need to get out and discover Rwanda more.

Halloween is tomorrow! So is umuganda (the last saurday of the month where everything is closed until 11, so people can do their community service), and afterwards I'll either go to the East or stay here. Haven't made up my mind yet. Since Halloween isn't celebrated here, finding materials to put together a costume has proved to be much more of a challenge than I would have thought. I really do enjoy going to the market and just looking at the clothes. A lot if it really is nice-- a lot of it is rediculous. It really is filled with what you'd find in a thrift store--basically everything that Americans have thrown out, I'm convinced, gets sent to Africa. It's hard not to chuckle when you see old women wearing shirts that say innapropriate things in English, or styles and trends that were popular in the US a decade ago (I have seen about 100 Eminem shirts). If I had more money, I'd shop more, and get more dresses made from the numerous differnt fabrics they have here just for that purpose. Unlike everything else at the market, that really is authentic and local. Happy Halloween!

New Volunteers

2009-10-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

The new volunteers have arrived! I got to meet them briefly at the PC country director's house. There's something comforting in seeing people who were just like us 8 months ago, and being able to answer their questions. From what I hear, they're going to be placed in rural areas, which means, no one will be near me :(. Oh well, I'm already living near 3 other PCVs, which is more than PCVs in most other countries can say (Rwanda is very small). I'll be visiting them at their training site in a few days, I'm assuming to speak a little about my experience in Rwanda and advice on teaching, since the new group consists mainly of education volunteers. I'm told they won't just be teaching English, but Comp sci, bio, and other subjects. Should be iteresting. I think this group has it harder than we did. We were put up in a compound all together, with regular full meals and snacks prepared for us, our laundry could be done for us, and we almost always had electricity and(cold) running water, which meant regular showers. This group is holding their training in a more rural area, which doesn't have regular running water. It's probably a good thing though, they'll be able to get more of the real PC experience right off the bat.

I went to Mutzig fest (One of the two main beers here-- the other one is Primus), which is basically an all you can drink festival. There was live music that was actually really good, as well as food. Although the majority of the people there were ex-pats and ngo employees (which I guess aren't mutually exclusive) there were still quite a few Rwandans, which I was happy about. Even though I'm honestly more comfortable with other Americans and Europeans, I know that I'm not going to truly appreciate or understand Rwanda unless I spend time with Rwandans. And really, discovering new people and learning new things is what the Peace Corps is all about.

Workwise, it's winding down. This week is finals week for senior 1-6, and in two weeks, finals for senior 1-3 only. It basically means I walk around the classroom and make sure no one is cheating. I caught one girl and made her wash her hands (where she'd written the answers). I only have two classes with finals to grade, which means no more than 40, probably less since I'm sure not every single student was present.

Peace Corps is definately a journey of self-discovery, and I'm starting to realize that, unlike most Rwandans I've met, I like being alone. Although I was nervous about living by myself for the first time in my life, I really like it. After work, I like to come home, cook, and just be by myself for a while. Nightime is when I like to hang out. I'm worried I may have offended some of my neighbors by neglecting to visit them on a regular basis, and I don't really invite people to my house that often, but that's due to trust issues, since there aren't that many of my neighbors i'm that close to (2 of my favorites moved away). Still, I think I need to expand my horizons a little and not be so closed off.

Just got a call from my mom a few minutes ago while I was writing this and I feel a little guilty because I think I should have been more friendly and appreciative of her call-- I didn't even ask her how she was doing or what's been going on. I guess that's what Saturday/Sunday is for (right Mom?). Miss you.

Today was a Good Day

2009-09-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

Didn't mean to quote Ice Cube, but today was a good day. This morning I, along with 2other PCVs, had a meeting with the mayor of our district. We are planning to have a big festival at the Nyamirambo stadium (date TBD), which will be geared towards young people. The theme of the festival will be teaching health through the arts- specifically music, dance, and painting. We're planning on having art competitions and dance offs with prizes, as well as booths where the youth (14-24 year olds) can get information on health and art, which are both things that I feel need some improvement here. Of course, I understand that there is a huge lack of resources. I'm really excited about this, and can't wait to get the ball rolling. For the month of October, we're just going to work on the project proposal and budget. Then we'll look into sponsors, figure out the logistics, etc.

Next I went back to my umudugudu and walked to my school so I could conduct the essay competition for GLOW camp. We don't have much time to plan the GLOW camp, so as soon as Meredith e-mailed me the flyer, application, and information for heads of schools, I made sure to tell every single student of mine about it yesterday, and decided to hold the essay competition the next day, Wednesday, since it is a half day for them. I arrived a little early and was able to witness some of "church day". Since the school I teach at is officially a private Christian school, every Wednesday they have a service led by different students from the school. Since I don't teach on Wednesdays (and, to be perfectly honest, since I try to steer clear of any religious ANYTHING here) this was my first time to actually attend this, despite the fact that I've been been teaching at the school since April. Even though I don't usually like church type settings, and I didn't understand most of what was said since it was in Kinyarwanda, it was still interesting to get to see my students who are normally so shy leading charismatic sermons and singing songs in harmony. It made me realize how much the language barrier prevents me from really getting to know my students.

A surprising number of students (28) showed up and stayed after school for the essay competition, so I'm really glad I decided to ask my students if they were interested. I'm still a little worried though. The main requirement for the students to be accepted to GLOW camp is how well they speak English, and most of my students don't speak or understand English well enough to follow a 5 day camp that is conducted almost entirely in English. Last I heard, the camp is going to be very small (about 50 students), and I know most of my students won't be picked, but hopefully I can vouch for some of them. I really do feel like I have a few diamonds in the rough who really deserve an opportunity like this.

I decided to host one of the new PC trainees when they come. It'll be really cool to see their reaction to the way us PCVs live and work (which, truth be told, varies SO MUCH here in Rwanda). It's always fun to see newly arriving Americans reacting to things I now find so normal. Peace out.

HIV/AIDS Presentation

2009-09-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the help of my fellow PCVs (special thanks to Edison, Chrissie, Rachael and LCF Kassim)I was able to launch my first project last Saturday (2 days ago): A presentation on HIV/AIDS and general health. I think it went relatively well. After I got the funding (I only needed a very small amount), the principal of my school cancelled most of the classes on Saturday in order for us to give the presentation. He couldn't stick around, but to be honest I was relieved. Since he's an authority figure, I think the students would have been really intimidated to talk about a subject so personal.

We did a few activities, demonstrations, and gave info about the biology of AIDS, how it's transmitted, and nutrition. At the end we asked the students to write down any question they had about AIDS, sex, or health and to submit it anonymously to a paper bag I'd brought. We only had time to pick a few questions, but it was really good to see what the students knew and didn't know. Many of the students are quite informed, but a lot of them have been told myths about AIDS, such as you can prevent transmission of AIDS by using a lubricant, or that AIDS is mostly the fault of prostitutes and unmarried women. One of my students, who is smart but also a little rowdy, really made the whole thing feel rewarding when he approached me and told me how appreciative he was of the presentation. He said that at such a small, rural school, they rarely have opportunities for such activities, and this was really a great thing. We also got asked to come back, so maybe we'll do a follow up.

In other news, it's the end of Ramadan! To be perfectly honest, I didn't know very much about Islam until coming here. Rwanda has a very small Muslim population (under 5%, I'm told) but for some reason or another, almost all of the friends I've made here are Muslim. I guess I'm just a little tired of being preached at. I celebrated the end of Ramadan by going to Chocolat, a really nice resteraunt in downtown Kigali, with two friends. It's an outdoor resteraunt with a Moroccan vybe, and I ordered hummus and a smoothie (two things you can't really get anywhere else in Rwanda). Good times.

Oh- and PS, I just got my first pair of glasses EVER. I have near-sightedness in my left eye only, and I'm starting to realize that my right eye was always the one doing all the work, since putting on my glasses really doesn't change anything unless I close my right eye. Maybe I should wear an eyepatch to force my left eye to work, or better yet, get a monicle! All I know is as soon as I get to the US, I'm gonna get A contact lens-- that shit doesn't exist in Rwanda, nor would I want to use it seeing as much dirt there is everywhere. Na ejo.

Visuals

2009-09-09T03:38:00.000-07:00

One is a picture of a neighborhood boy with a home made toy. I don't see that many toys in Rwanda-- sometimes a ragged doll. What a lot of the kids do is run while turning an old tire with a stick, or make cars out of home supplies. I've seen cars made out of milk cartons and bottle caps for wheels, but more often I see cars similar to that in the photo-- metal rods, broomstick ends, and wire. I've even seen a homemade kite that actually works!

Like I mentioned before, my neighborhood is known as the young, hip hop spot. Therefore, most of the buses in my neighborhood are pimped out with stickers and decorations (they range from rappers names to hip hop phrases like 'krunk' and 'buy you a drank'), while they blast hip hop through their oversized speakers. Even though there are old people who live in my hood, it still seems like it's run by young people who idealize American hip hop culture and commercialism.

Soccer Game and GLOW Camp

2009-09-07T01:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to the Egypt vs. Rwanda soccer game. I don't think I've ever been to a professional soccer game before, and I really enjoyed it. Egypt won of course, 1 to 0 against Rwanda. They played well, but Ahmed (another PCV) told me the team wasn't playing as well as it usually does since the players are fasting for Ramadan. I think it's pretty honorable on their part to respect that tradition. They even got approval to break fast for the occasion, but they decided to stick to their beliefs, which are apparently more important to them than winning a soccer game.
We also had a meeting during the morning amongs PCVs who are interested in GLOW camp. GLOW camp will tentatively take place either in November or December. It's going to be for girls 15 and above. The plan is to have a five day camp at a boarding school, where the girls will do activities and recieve information concerning: life skills, HIV/AIDS, hygeine, reproductive health, resume writing, job opportunities, art, nutrition, and recreation. We're planning on having guest speakers come in too. I signed up for the second to last day, being in charge of health along with 2 other pcvs. I really want to get a few of the girls from the school I teach at to apply. The problem is that we need the "cream of the crop"-- girls who can speak good English so they can follow our sessions. A lot of my students struggle a lot with English, but hopefully it'll work out. I'm hoping the girls are at least interested and apply (we decided that they'll write an in-class essay as their application). Im really looking forward to this--if this actually happens,I think it'll really have a long term impact. I'm starting to realize that it's a lot better when PCVS come together for projects-- doing things on your own is a lot more difficult-- a lot slower. Can't wait!

Cultural Sensitivity: Where do you draw the line?

2009-08-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

So, I got off the plane on Sunday evening, and after dealing with a baggage fiasco all of Sunday night and Monday morning, I started up teaching again on Tuesday at 7:30 sharp.

Its both good and bad to be back in the classroom. What I like about teaching is that its social. I get to interact with the youth in the community. I also like the fact that its structured. Theres a set time that people actually abide by (im talking about class time, meetings are another story), so it makes life a lot easier. Now that its been 4 months, i feel like Im getting to know my students as people.

Since I focused on grammar for the first quarter I taught, I planned this quarter around literature. I assigned E.B. White's Charlottes Web and John Steinbeck's The Pearl . I feel that reading a language is a fun and useful way to learn it, but Im dissapointed to see that most of the students dont seem very interested in literature. (I also think I may have made a mistake with Charlotte's Web, there are a lot of expressions in it, and the vocab is above the students level, even though there are pictures included). The students in one of my classes asked me if I was going to teach them "business English". I told them I hadnt planned on it, but if it was very important to them, I would consider it. I'm sencing this echoed sentiment that business and making money are all thats important, and everything else in life, especially the arts and social sciences, are a waste of time. Its such a fallacy and it drives me nuts how many people buy into that crap. I dont know how to open peoples minds to other possibilities, other professions besides banking and administration. Ok, Im done with that rant.

So, the reason for my title. On Friday, while I was teaching a lesson to Senior 4, the principal walked into the classroom with a pair of scissors. He didnt say a word to me as he walked in, just out of nowhere started walking around the room and cutting the students's hair. I was horrified. For one thing, he wasnt sitting down and giving them "haircuts". He was nipping little bald spots into the students hair, both male and female, who were struggling to get away from him. He was most agressive with the students who resisted the most. When they leaned away from him he made it a point to cut bigger bald spots in their hair. I was honestly a little shocked and didnt know what to do; I mean, Im a white female foreigner who is younger and obviously of lower status to a school principal. I finally got up the nerve to approach him and asked him if it was really necessary to waste class time with this, and he told me yes. He continued throughout the classroom, and ushered half of the students out so that they could be given full haircuts. It was very difficult to get back to the lesson after all that drama. Neither I nor the students were really up for it, but I did my best. The students who were taken out did come back in, with their hair shorter but also uneven, i mean, paper scissors arent really made to cut hair. It was also a huge distraction when the students came back in, trying to cover their heads while the other students examined them.

I know I am supposed to be culturally sensitive. I know that there is a rule about hair length in schools in Rwanda (and Kenya, Uganda...) and I had even heard about teachers at other schools cutting students hair. My principal is not a bad person. He works hard and I know he cares. But where do you draw the line? Maybe Im being dramatic, but I really am disgusted with how this went down. Especially due to the fact that these students arent really kids. Some of them are in their early twenties, some are even older than me. What right does one adult have over another adult to do something like this? I also feel a little guilty because I have long hair, and although I tie it back, theres no way im cutting it short like the students and as a teacher, I know I dont have to. I didnt approach the principal to discuss how I felt, because if my previous experience with students cutting grass has taught me anything, its that there is already a system in place, and my Western thoughts or feelings about it conflict with that system. Expressing my thoughts doesnt do much to change a longstanding tradition. I still feel like there could be some middle ground, like giving the students a strict warning that they cannot go to class with their hair long, or have a rule that they must tie it up/ have it covered. I just dont know. Im open to any thoughts, advice, or suggestions my readers have on this. Amahoro (peace)

I'm..............Back!

2009-08-31T10:08:00.000-07:00

So, Im back in Rwanda, and I have to say that coming back here after two weeks (well, more like 12 days) in France was a lot easier than I had anticipated. Ive therefore encouraged my fellow PCVs to go see their families this Xmas, if thats an option. It was a really good refresher, since I was starting to feel a little claustraphobic lately.

Being away has actually made me appreciate Rwanda way more than I did before, and I realize that although there are some things here I wont EVER get used to (extremely slow internet, flaky people who dont show up or get back to you, the amount of religion) Ive realized im pretty lucky to have ended up in Rwanda. Its small, beautifal, and most people are very friendly. Ive never been anywhere in Africa besides Rwanda, so I keep comparing Rwanda to Western Europe; the US and even India, but Ive realized from doing some research and talking to people that Rwanda is ahead of a lot of other African countries. First of all they are developing EXTREMELY fast. In just the two weeks I was gone a lot has changed. The bank downtown is totally different, they now have two teller booths dedicated to Western Union alone. A lot of the buildings in Kigali that were covered up with green construction netting are now uncovered and almost finished. One downside to the rapid growth is rapid inflation. Transportation costs more than it used to (all the busses and taxis have uped their prices) and the menu at Bourbon is brand new, and about 500 RWF more for each item. Such is life.
I guess I also need to take into account the fact that I live in Kigali, and Kigali is a bit particular. As far as I can tell, it is growing and changing much more rapidly than the rest of Rwanda. A lot of the rural areas get left behind.

Je suis en France

2009-08-17T01:51:00.000-07:00

So im actually writing this entry from a relatives computer.... in France! I cant tell you how good it feels to be here, among family and amidst a culture I am familiar with, with the ability to communicate in a language I can speak fluently! I realize that this may be a bit taboo, but, to be perfectly honest, being in France has made me realize that I feel very constricted in Rwanda, for a number of reasons. I feel like there are so many rules and regulations, cultural taboos, and I dont feel the freedom I feel in France. I miss dressing the way I want, cracking crass jokes that people understand, and just being a 23 year old. I often feel like Im back in middle school, with a bunch of responsibilities but not a whole lot of say.... I dont know, its complicated. I just really like making my own decisions, and im not used to so many restrictions.
Thats depressing-- let me tell you aboutwhat ive been doing in FRANCE! So ive been seeing my family of course. My grandmother held a welcome party at her house, with my aunts, uncle, and three of my first cousins and my parents of course. It was really nice. Ive mostly been partying with my cousins, either going to bars and dancing or going to friends houses for parties. Its a lot of fun. Ive also been stuffing my face silly with food-- clafoutis, crepes, tarte au mirabelles, sushi, middle Eastern food, Thai food, striped bass and salmon, frites moules,.... ooo la la. My mouth is watering. Oh and I also saw the movie Bruno, which I highly recommend.
Leaving here is gonna be really hard. Im happy here.

Focus Newspaper interview

2009-07-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I gave an interview for a local English Paper called The Rwanda Focus. Here's the link to the article:

http://focus.rw/a/content/view/955/26/

It talks about my job, Peace Corps Rwanda, and the pastor's work. Enjoy!

Funeral and Umuganda

2009-07-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

I figured I'd combine two traditional events into one entry, especially since both events happened during the same weekend.

The housemaid for my counterpart's family is a woman who I've never gotten along with, but when I found out that her husband had just died, I knew that I had to got visit her and express my condolonces.

This is not the first funeral I have been to since arriving in Rwanda. I live close to a very large cemetary that was recently built, and it's just a fact that people here in Rwanda die younger than those back home. It's common for people to not make it past their mid 50s.

Still, this event felt a little different since it involved someone I actually knew. When I arrived at the mud hut, there were many people, but mostly women and children. Some were outside, some sat inside in a circle, singing religious songs. My counterpart (the pastor)'s wife was there, and so were his daughter and nephew. They ushered me into another room, and they asked me if I wanted to "see it". I looked down at the bed, and the long, bumpy form that was covered by a thin sheet, and immediately told them that I did not. I have seen bodies of the deceased before, both people I know and people I don't, but it's just not something I like to experience. They seemed weirded out by the fact that I did not want to see the body. Hopefully I didnt offend them. I ended up seeing it anyway, as the put the body in the coffin and then put it in the center of the living room. A pastor (reverend?) led prayers over the coffin, and after staying for an hour I decided to leave. Maybe I'm a wimp, maybe I'm disrespectful, but Im just not comfortable in situations like that. I guess seeing or even touching a dead body is nothing unusual in this culture, even for kids. This was a sad, moving, and eye-opening experience.

On a brighter note, when my friend and fellow PCV Edison came to Kigali for the weekend, we decided that we would participate in Umuganda. Umuganda is a longstanding, country-wide tradition that takes place the last Saturday of every month. Basically, it's 4 hours (from 7 AM until 11 AM) of the community getting together and cutting grass or doing other things for the community. Its also a way for people in the community to get together and become closer with one another.

Since I've always worked Saturdays, I had never participated in it, and wanted to seize the opportunity. I got up early, found out once again that there is absolutely no water in my community, foudn a guy to fetch me water, negotiated a price, and handed him my two jerry cans to fill (it's too heavy and too far for me to carry two jerrycans full of water up and down a mountain, so I pay out the ass everyday to get it). On my way back to my house, I saw a huge group of people coming down the road, clapping and singing. I was told that they were doing it for umuganda, so I assumed they were making noise to wake everyone else up to participate. Edison and I joined the crowd, where we of course stuck out like sore thumbs. People were really nice to us, and even wanted us to be in the front of the line and lead songs and dances. We danced and sang for over 2 hours, all while walking down the path until reaching the cemetery between my house and the school. There were a few police officers among us, and it was quite entertaining to see them doing traditional dance in full uniform.

I began to think that umuganda was more like a party than anything else in my umudugudu (village), what with all the singing, clapping, whistles, and dancing in a circle. However, the woman leading the group (who is a nurse), told me that the umuganda for the month of July is very special, since it is the first umuguanda after the 100 days of the genocide. Across the country, umuganda is led by people hired for the day as sort of "cheerleaders" to motivate people to get together and have fun, to bring solidarity in an effort to never repeat what happened in 94.

After about 2 hours of this, Edison and I were getting very hungry, thirsty, and tired, and decided that since all we were doing was dancing and singing the same songs over and over, we might as well call it a day and go home. We felt a little guilty since right when we left, a truck arrived with machetes and hoes so that people could finally start cutting the grass and cleaning up the cemetery. Oh well, I still think it counts for something! We regretted not bringing our cameras along with us to document the event, but maybe its all for the best because we may have been viewed even more as outsiders.

Egyptian Embassy

2009-07-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

So on the 23rd, I had the priveledge, along with a few other PCVS, of going to the Egyptian Embassy for Revolution Day.
The event was starkly different from 4th of July at the American Embassy. While the 4th of July celebration was an afternoon, backyard barbeque event, this was a more formal, indoor night time event. There were less people, and it was really nice.
The Egyptian Ambassador greeted everyone at the door, and later gave a speech in English(deciding not to use the faulty microphone). Even though the food we were given wasn't in abundance, I still preffered it to the food we got on the 4th. Im still thinking about it now and it's making me hungry--especially the dates.
I met some cool people and I look forward to going there again next year.

Pictures

2009-07-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

So, it's high time I added some visual stimulation.

My House:

View from my house

My Neighborhood is really into American Hip Hop culture

Kids

Goats

Links and References

2009-07-22T03:38:00.000-07:00

So, I thought I'd dedicate at least one entry to links and references.

Web Links:

The first is a link to a recent interview between President Kagame and CNN’s GPS talkshow host Fareed Zakaria:

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=13963&article=17746

The second is a speech Kagame gave about the new arrival of Peace Corps in Rwanda:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pres-paul-kagame/a-different-discussion-ab_b_213370.html

Books:

I strongly, STRONGLY recommend the book "A Thousand Hills" by Kinzer. I just finished reading it, and, although it is definately written through Kinzer's point of view, it is an extremely comprehensive book about the history of Rwanda, the events leading up to the genocide, and life in Rwanda afterwards. The book includes interviews with Kagame, quotes from Romeo Dallaire (the UN General who was in Rwanda during the genocide), and many, many others. Some of the people mentioned and interviewed in this book are people I have actually met and spoken with--- Rwanda is a small world.

I also recommend "Land of a Thousand Hills" by Rosamond Halsey Carr. This is less of a historical manuscript and more of an autobiography by Ros Carr, an American who lived most of her life in Rwanda, from the early 50s until her passing a few years ago. At the time, she was Rwanda's oldest living resident. I didnt enjoy this nearly as much as Kinzer's book, but it still offers a different perspective, and it's worth a read.

I've also been told that "We Wish to Inform You" is a good book, but I have not read it yet. Comments to come later.

Movies/documentaries:

I have not yet seen that many movies and documentaries, but the ones I've seen and liked were:

Sometimes in April.
Once again, about the genocide, but I feel like it paints a much more realistic picture than most movies. Personally, I'm not a big fan of 100 Days or Hotel Rwanda. They seem contrived and I am told that they are historically innacurate.

Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire, is a CBS documentary film about, you guessed it, Romeo Dallaire. I missed the very beginning of this documentary, but I enjoyed it very much. It cronicles Dallaire's return to Rwanda after ten years. It won a Sundance Film Festival Award.

I have yet to see, but plan to see, Ghosts of Rwanda, a PBS Frontline documentary. I have gotten mixed reviews about it.

Ups and Downs

2009-07-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

These last three weeks have been full of ups and downs. Ill only mention the pros, since I feel somewhat obligated to keep this blog as upbeat as possible.

I started taking karate/kung fu lessons. I actually like it a lot. It's only 2 days a week, for about 2 hours, and it's really fun. I was so damn sore after the first class, but that actually makes me happy-- it means it's a real workout. I might at some point also take dance lessons here if I can. For know, karate is enough, because it fits perfectly with my schedule. I'm the only female in the class so far, but the teacher doesnt treat me any differently which im very happy about. As a result, im also getting to expand my Kinyarwandan vocabulary.

I had an interview with a small local English paper call Focus, and the girl I interviewed with also wants to interview the pastor i work for, which is good because that means he has an opportunity to get the name of his organization out. He told me he's happy about the publicity. I also set up a meeting with the manager of Cards From Africa to see if our organisation can work with his (we have a group of women who make cards and are trying to find an international market). Hopefully this is a sign that i'm doing at least a halfway decent job.

Im also looking forward to IST (in service training), as well as my 2 week trip to France directly afterwards. Going back to teaching might be a little weird, but im looking forward to doing literature with my students. Hopefully it wont be over their heads.

4th of July and the Pastor's Return

2009-07-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

So, this is my first 4th of July in a long time that was spent outside of the U.S. However, I spent it at the American Embassy, which is considered US territory, so I guess technically this is no exception.

My weekend was pretty crappy, mostly due to personal reasons I wont divulge. Lets just say Im not jumping up and down for joy right now.

My original weekend plans were to go to Kibuye and take a boat out to Amahoro Island to camp out for the night with 5 other PCVs. However, when I went out to dinner Friday night, I realized while I was paying the bill that I only had 10,000 RWF, which wouldnt be enough to cover the travel and all the expenses for the weekend. The banks would be closed on Saturday, the next day because 4th of July is also Rwandan Independence Day. Of course, all the banks are also closed on Sunday. I knew that borrowing money from others was a possibility, but I didnt want to take the risk of getting stranded over there, and not being able to return to my house until Monday. Instead, I stayed in Kigali and went to a function that the U.S. embassy was putting on. It wasnt exactly what I had expected, but I got to see a lot of people which was nice. I listened to the Ambassador speak, ate food, and thats pretty much it. THe function was only a short afternoon thing, so there werent any fireworks or anything.

Today, I woke up bright and early, went to the bank, and then took 2 buses to go to the airport to meet the pastor I work for, who has been in America since early May. I hadnt been to the airport since I first arrived in Rwanda, and at that point it was nightime and I was so groggy I really wasnt all that aware of our surroundings. So I got to see the airport in the daytime, and I realized how small it really was for an international airport. Im so used to LAX and CDG airports. While I waited for the pastor and his wife to land, I chatted it up with his family and some members of his congregation who had come to greet him. I realized, waiting there, how emotional it must be for them to return to their home after so long, especially for the pastors wife, who has never been to America. She had tears in her eyes as she hugged her sons and various friends. I think seeing my parents when i arrive at the airport in Paris will be very emotional for me. I left America over 5 months ago. I think thats the longest Ive ever gone without seeing my parents. After the two weeks in Paris are up, I wont see my parents for an entire year, since they plan on coming to Rwanda summer 2010. I seriously cant wait to see them. I think a lot of us PCVs are going through a low period right now. I spoke to an RPVC when I was at the embassy function and she told me that the first few months are the hardest. I hope shes right.

Kwita Izina (the Gorilla Naming Ceremony)

2009-07-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

So I got the opportunity to go to Musanze to see the Gorilla naming ceremony, which is a huge event in Rwanda. After all, Rwanda is famous for two things-- the G word (that I don't need to mention), and the mountain gorillas that Diane Fossey studied. It was the 5th annual gorilla naming ceremony (it's the 5th annual everything here-- 5th annual amahoro week, 5th annual film festival, and 5th annual Kwita Izina).

I didn't really know what to expect, but it was pretty fun. We didn't get to see any actual gorillas, but we did get to see people dressed in gorilla costumes, which I promise isn't as lame as it sounds. There were a lot of them, even young children dressed as baby gorillas, and they acted really well, banging on their chests and making gorilla noises as they crawled across the lawn. They interacted pretty well with the people.

So there were A LOT of performances, which I'm happy to say heavily outnumbered speeches, thought the speeches were good. Paul Kagame was not there as I'd hoped he'd be, but the prime minister was.
Some of the performances were exceptionally good, especially the traditional dance groups and a group of middle school aged drummer girls.
So each year, the government picks people who they feel have had a positive influence on the country to name the baby gorillas of Virunga National Park. This year there were 14, so 14 "special guests" got to name them-- one of whom was a former student of Diane Fossey. Another was a musician from South Africa. None were people I'd heard of.
There were definately some big names in attendance, which of course included the prime minister, the American ambassador to Rwanda, Jack Hanna from the Discovery Channel, and a bunch of NGOs.
When the ceremony ended, we waited in line to eat under a large group of tents. I couldn't really see much of inside, due to the fact that we were pretty far back in a long line. However, a person who I assume was working the event spotted us in line and told us to skip the line and come right in, so we did. We not only got our own table, but we got tons of very good food (all the food and drinks there were free for everyone). I felt a little guilty that we didnt' wait in line, but I couldn't help but savor the wine, meet, and delicious rasberry pastires we got to eat.
All in all, it was a really fun event and a really good oppotunity to meet a lot of important people. However, I feel a need to mention a few other things (I'm always critiquing things, I can't help it).

The people attending the ceremony were a certain crowd. Diplomats, ex-pats, rich poeple who'd flown into Rwanda for the event, NGOs, and upper class Rwandans. The people on the other side of the fence, who got to watch the performances but mostly saw the performers and the speakers backs, were the "real" population of Rwanda-- the ones without shoes or in sandals, the ones with old clothing. There were so many of them, and they had to stand the entire time to see anything. I wonder how all that works, exactly. I mean, tickets to the event are free, they can be aquired from a website, but they don't necessarily check tickets at the door. It's kind of like when you go to a club, and the bouncer doesn't necesarilly care if you pay or not, as long as you portray a certain image. On the one hand, I know most people in Rwanda probably don't have access or don't know how to use internet, and therefore didn't have the connections to get tickets, but I can say with some confidence that it's also the guard's way of keeping certain people out of the event, worried that they'll cause a rucus and disturb people of quality. That made me feel a little uncomfortable, like I was turning my nose up at people, which is something I'm sure all of us do when we live in or visit a developing country. I was really happy when one of the people who had been chosen to name a gorilla turned around and faced the crowd of people, and told them "this event is for you". I was also pleased that the prime minister took a significant amount of time as he exited the event to talk to and shake hands with the people on "the other side" of the fence. At some point, the guards must have gotten more relaxed or the crowd went wild, because towards the end of our meal (when I think they were encouraging us to leave), a large part of the crowd behind the fence came in and stormed through the dining area and all around, taking food and collecting empty bottles. They were chased away, btu of course, I was left feeling a little guilty and awkward.

I would still say that Kwita Izina is a great event, and I look forward to attending it next year.

Marathon

2009-06-30T08:54:00.002-07:00

Kay, so im way late on this, but here it is: the marathon.

So this year marks the fifth annual Amahoro week in Rwanda. Amahoro means peace in Kinyarwanda. The entire week is dedicated to ending violence and other injustices. It includes several eents, one of which is a marathon that I along with 5 other PCVs participated in. This event is huge-- UNICEF, USAID, and Women for Women are just a fe of the organisations that sponsor this event.
On Saturday, I attended an avent by the stadium which turned out to be all about saying no to cross generational sex. Apparently, its very common here in Rwanda for economially disadvantaged youn girls to turn to Sugar Daddys to help them out with school fees, phones, clothes, etc. Ive heard this from several sources.
The people in the audience mostly included school children who were their with their classes, as a sort of field trip. There were also some representatives from various organisations who were there to show support or make speeches. They passed out bottles of water (thank god-- its so hot in Kigali and water is a serious problem), as well as orange bracelets that said "not for sale" (in kinyarwanda of course) as well as posters that said Oya Shuga Daddi and Oya Shuga Mami. I like their choice of spelling. The pictures on them were pretty cheezy and contrived, it made me laugh, but I still plan on hanging them somewhere in my house. The same pictures are shown on billboards all over Rwanda.
The event included:

1. Performances by Rwandan singers and rappers whose songs I've grown to become very familiar with (there are only so many famous and successful singers/rappers in Rwanda)

2. Speeches by representatives of various organizations (such as USAID)

3. Two plays about "shuga daddi" and "shuga mami"

Overall, I was happy to have witnessed such an event. At the same time, I couldn't help but wonder if this event was catering to the right audience. Most of the people in the audience were schoolchildren, but from what I could tell, they were schoolchildren from well to do schools (which makes sence, which schools can afford to go on field trips? Not to mention Amahoro Stadium is in a better part of Kigali, far away from a rural place like the school I teach at). The children who go to these schools, are they really the ones who are all that susceptable to turning to sugar daddys and sugar mommas for financial help? I guess that's the problem with organizations that try to change things in general-- the people who are the most vulnerable are the ones who are the least reachable. The kids who need the most help are the least visable-- they're not going to school, or going but with very poor attendance. The schools they go to are far away from NGOs, and the schools they attend don't necesarilly have the money for extra curriculars.
The next day, we woke up early and split a cab ride to Amahoro Stadium for the run. It was a really potitive feeling-- being there with so many different people with so much energy. We really felt like something was happening. There were 6 of us PCVs all together, but only two of us had signed up for the half marathon, the rest of us had signed up for the 5K. However, we missed the 5 K, since when we saw the first group of runners lining up, it was a group of mostly children and senior citizens. We figured it was some kind of "special kid race". I'm actually glad we missed it-- to be perfectly honest running with just kids and a few people who are older than my parents would have hurt my pride a little. So instead, we lined up and ran with the half marathoners-- but only ran half of that, so basically, we ran about 10K. Even though that's not a huge distance, I'm still proud of myself for having been able to run like that, especially since I've barely done any kind of excercise beside walking up and down my mountain (and everywhere else) everyday. Not the same as hard cardio. And hey-- I got a free shirt out of it! Yay

Dry Season

2009-06-24T09:44:00.001-07:00

The dry season has begun in Rwanda, and it is apparently much longer than the rainy season. I was really happy about this at first, but now Im starting to realize that the dry season also comes with its fair share of problems.

The upside of it being the dry season is that theres no rain, so people are more apt to leave their houses and do outdoor activities. Walking from point A to point B is much easier and more pleasant. I dont have to worry about putting my clothes out on the line, because I know that they will dry and I can have clean clothes again. I dont have to wear my huge hiking boots on my walk to school, and its easier to plan my day. However, with the dry season comes dust, draught, and really bad heat. I often feel tired and dehydrated. I have running water even more rarely, not just inside my house, but also in this entire area I live in. I pay extra now to get my water fetched, since now people have to walk up the mountain and go all the way to the stadium, and wait in an even longer line for water. I feel especially guilty complaining when I see little children walking up and down the steep and rocky mountain late at night without a flashlight, balancing a jerrican on their heads. Instead of the roads being muddy, now they are dusty, a fact that is literally thrown in my face whenever the wind picks up or a truck rolls by. It gets on our clothes, in our hair and in our eyes. Not fun.

I know Im stating the obvious, but daily life here in Afria is hard, much harder than in Europe or the US, especially for women and kids. Its hilly, the roads are rocky and uneven, and very few people own their own transportation. Most people (myself included) alternate between walking and squeezing into a crowded taxi van. Its 4 asses to a row, and it doesnt matter how big or small the ass sitting on it is. Ive sat next to kids as well as very large people, with one but cheek on someone lap or my face smooshed against the window. The vans also usually smell of BO, but its easily fixed since most people like keeping the windows open. When its evening time or later, getting into a van from town to home is a tricky task. The taxi buses and vans run less often in the eveinings, but more people need them since they are getting off of work, and going home. To get back, you wait on the street with a huge group of people, and when the van arrives, theres no order or line for who gets in first. Basically its every man for himself; everyone runs and pushes and shoves to be able to grab a seat. Its especially difficult for the people trying to get off the van, since people who are so eager to get on block their way. I used to make fun of this event, since it seemed very childish, disorderly, and rude, but now I find myself shoving and elbowing like everyone else. It can be quite painful. FOrtunately, taxi cars lower their prices and cram three or 4 people in, an option i sometimes take if Im carring a lot of things or I just dont have the energy to fight for a place to sit in the van.

What I first noticed about Rwanda was that people, especially women, carry heavy items on their heads instead of over their shoulders. Ive maybe seen one baby stroller the entire time ive been in this country since its not practical. Women carry babies on their backs, EVERYWHERE, when its crowded, hot, and steep. They tie them with a cloth, and sometimes put a cloth over the baby to shade them from the sun. I cant imagine doing all the things I do on a daily basis with some heavy thing on my head and a crying baby tied to my back. Ive almost never seen a man with a baby, and I have NEVER seen a man with a baby tied to his back.

My neighborhood is unusual in that I see women as well as men in bars drinking late at night. In most areas, you see the bars packed with men, and no women in sight, something that seems ironic to an American like me. In the US, this would not be considered a party, it would be considered a sausage fest and a failed party, since bars and clubs do their best to have as many women customers as possible.

The husbands stay out late at night, having fun and relaxing with their friends while the women are expected to stay home, cook, and take care of the kids. Of course this isnt everyone, many women do have careers and a life outside of the home, in fact, Im told that Rwanda has more women in its government than any other African country. However, from what I have observed, the majority of women are not making much money or spending time relaxing with their friends. Theyre breast feading their kids, going to market to buy food, and cooking and taking care of the house. I wonder what I could do to maybe tighten the gender gap here. I would definatly love to do that if I could. Ill think up a project.

TIA (This is Africa)

2009-06-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

So, of course, my life here is full of ups and downs. I knew that thats how it would be before I came here. Today was definately a more down type of day.

I walked to school in the rain and mudwhich took a while and was not fun or easy. I arrive at school to find the class I am supposed to teach in minutes cutting grass with machetes (thats how they cut grass here, since they dont have lawmowers of course). I asked them what the hell was going on, and then I walked into the teachers office to find the principal and a few other teachers there. I asked them why my students were cutting grass instead of sitting in class learning, and I was told that since licensing people were going to come visit the school that day to make sure that the landscaping and whatnot was up to code, and it wasnt, all classes would be canceled so the students could work to clean up the school. I was furious, not only because I had walked for over a half hour in the mud and rain for nothing, but because it goes against my beliefs that children who pay money for school should be doing manual labor during school hours because staff procrastinated on keeping the grass up to code. I asked them why I wasnt informed, and never got a clear answer. I decided to go back home, but talked a little bit with the students. I told them that I did not agree with what was going on, but I quickly realized that this was not the time for me to lead a 1960s rebelious stand up for your rights campaign.

That same day, I ran into a friend of mine who grew up in Africa. When I told him what had gone on that day, he reassured me that asking students to cut grass is very normal here in Africa, and that he did it all the time as a student. Im still not thrilled by this, but I guess its a big lesson for me in terms of cultural differences. I am somewhat relieved to hear that what went on that day wasnt against the rules, and that students expect it. Oh well, I guess i need to open my mind a little more. TIA (This is Africa)

Snapshot of my life

2009-06-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

More literal snapshots to come, I promise. So, anywho, this is my daily life:

Four days a week, I teach at the secondary school that the pastor runs, which is a 30 minutes walk from my house. School starts at 7:30, so i have to leave my house at 7 at the latest if I dont want to be late.

Since I dont usually have running water, I fill up a bucket full of water that I have fetched for me, stored in two yellow jerricans. Since its cold, sometimes I boil it, but I usually dont. After that, I make breakfast which usually consists of either hot cereal or an omelet with bread and jam.
Then I walk to school, on the dusty, rocky road. The path is very bumpy and uneven. I walk uphill for part of the way, and dowhill for part of the way. Its a difficult concept to explain if you cant see it. I dont so much mind the turf when its sunny, but the days when it rains suck balls. Because I have to dress appropriately while I teach, my only pair of formal shoes are definately not suitable for the muddy ground. I had one nightmarish walk one time attepting to walk back in that mud. My shoes were caked with mud and long pieces of grass, and even when i did have the opportunity to wipe it off, it would immediately be there again after taking 3 steps. Not to mention I was slipping and sliding everywhere and almost ate it several times. My shoes would also periodically get stuck in the mud and it would take a lot of effort to get them out. I seriously considered just walking barefoot, but that would have been a really bad idea. That treck only had to happen once before I decided to always come armed with hiking boots for the walk to and from school (the weather here is unpredictable, so you never know), and change into my now torn up formal shoes once I get to school. The students and teachers have caught wind of this ritual of mine, and love to tease me about it. Apparently, people here are used to the roads and can wear the same shoes no matter what the turf is like. Im not so sure I believe that, because I have seen many people slipping and sliding in their flat shoes.
Otherwise, the walk to and from school is fairly pleasant. I pass a lot of houses, and all the kids in the neighborhood know me now, along with their parents. Ive trained them to not ask me for "amafaranga" (money), and to call me Sonia instead of "umuzungu" (white person). I constantly hear my name being called, and I sometimes go up to shake their hands, or hug and pick up the kids. No joke, I often get a big group of kids running towards me chanting "Sonia, Sonia", so they can give me hugs one by one. I hate to let that get to my head, but it really does brighten my day and make me feel welcome. I love kids here, theyre really something else since theyre not spoiled brats, and have had to learn to play without toys. I also run into goats on the road, where they graze and occasionally hump each other.
I teach three computer science classes for the lower levels, Senior 1 to Senior 3. I teach Senior 1 in English, and 2 and 3 in French. For these levels, the curriculum and the tests are made up entirely by the district, so its less effort for me, I just follow a general guideline. Although teaching English is more challenging, I enjoy it more because I feel that its a subject I can get more creative with, and it keeps the students animated. I really like my students. They range in age between about 13 to even 23 (not everyone has the opportunity to start school on time in Africa in general). I like teaching, I dont so much like going home and grading papers, making up lesson plans and tests. Oh vey, that takes a long time.

Acclimaiting

2009-06-11T10:46:00.001-07:00

So... first few weeks at site. Just basic life here is a lot to get used to. At the compound, we were kinda spoiled. I didn't even always do my own laundry, since the cleaning women at the nunnery did some of it for us. I really miss washing machines, refrigerators, running water, reliable electricity, and paved roads. I also miss set prices, because I'm tired of bargaining for everything, knowing that I have to work twice as hard because a white girl like me is always given the "muzungu" price first.
A little about my living situation. So, as I mentioned earlier I work for a pastor, which should be interesting given my personal beliefs. Hopefully there wont be too much conflict. Im really excited about teaching, and I’m really happy that ill be teaching adolescents and young adults instead of children. I have my own house, which is bright turquoise both inside and out, so I can see my house from quite far away-- as you can imagine, it stands out what with the color and all. I’m pretty sure everyone and their mom already knows where I live. I have bars on all my windows, two gates, a guard, and I live right across from the police commander's house, so there’s no need to worry about my safety (ahem, Mom). This is way safer than the rickety apartment I lived in while in college.

I live at the bottom of a hill (well, in my opinion it’s more like a mountain) which I have to hike up using a steep and at times windey and rocky path. There’s another way, which is the way the taxis and SUVs go, but it takes WAY longer and just isn’t worth it. I was worried about getting fat here, but now I’m realizing that I may have the opposite problem. Even though a lot of the food here is starchy and fatty, I don’t eat big portions and this walk up and down the mountain everyday may ensure that I never need to worry about watching my waistline. In fact, I have to pull up my pants every two seconds to avoid giving someone a nice clear view of my gorgeous arse. I’m always worried that I’m doing just that when I hear people hiking up behind me, giggling like crazy. Maybe I'm just self-conscious-- they do seem to giggle a lot here.

Swearing In Ceremony

2009-06-03T06:43:00.000-07:00

So, we had our Swearing in Cermony, and I am now officially a PCV! Yay! I knew I filled out that long assed appliaction, got blood drawn, and had all the other medical stuff for a reason. The ceremony was held at the American Ambassador to Rwanda's house, which I have to say is NIIICEE. Wow. We didn't see much of it, mostly just the backyard, but I noticed that the kitchen was about the size of my entire house! The food was sooo good, probably the best samosas Ive had since I got to Rwanda (they're a triangular shaped fried egg-roll type thing filled with meat), hotdogs, and delicious cookies! The cups and even the napkins we used had the US seal on them-- made me feel special.
Of course there were speeches. By the ambassador, by some of our volunteers (in both Kinyarwanda and in English), and by other guest speakers. After we raised our right hand and repeated the oath, making it official, we hugged each other and our Kinyarwanda teachers. I was surprised to see the pastor along with his wife among the audience. They greeted me and we talked a bit. Im really glad they came, because I feel that it means they have a real interest in working with me. That I'm not just some piece of free labor.
Later that night, at a bar, we saw that our swearing in ceremony was on the news! Im sure only people in Rwanda saw it, but it was still pretty cool seeing ourselves on TV and being talked about. We're also featured on www.newtimes.co.rw, the embassy's website, and recently, Paul Kagame made a speech about us. It feels good to know our presence is appreciated and wanted.

15 anniversary of the genocide

2009-06-03T01:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know its been forevor, but im seriously crazy busy, and blogging just isnt at the top of my priority list, so im about a month behind. Ill do my best to highlight the important events.
The last week of training in Butare before swear in was a little particular. It marked the beginning of the 15 anniversary of the genocide. THe first week, and especially the first day, is a HUGE deal in all of Rwanda (and understandably so, of course). THe first day, all schools and businesses are closed, and for the rest of the week, all stores and businesses have very limited hours. There are also conferences held everywhere all week long. I did not attend any of them, since the ones I knew about were all in Kinyarwanda, and I wouldnt be able to follow anything.
The first day was really something to experience, especially since all of our Kinyarwanda teachers who weve gotten to know quite well were there with us. THe streets of Butare were completely empty, except for the silent march which we joined. I dont remember if there were many (if any) signs being held up by people, save the large purple banner (purple is the color of mourning in Rwanda) with the words "never again the genocide...." in the front of the group (Im parphrasing, since I couldnt comprehend the rest of the kinyarwandan words).We marched all the way to a grave site for the victims of genocide, and as we progressed more and more people joined. It really felt deep and meaningful, walking with a large group of Rwandans where every group seemed represented. We walked with beggar children, nuns, professors, government officials, students... I really felt a strong notion of solidarity. Even though some of us, including myself, were not in Rwanda at the time, and some people were not even born until after 1994, it meant something that we could all participate in this event and support each other.
Once we got to the grave site, we listened to government officials and representatives from different churches give speeches and words of hope. Some people wept, including some of our Kinyarwanda teachers, and I felt guilty somehow. I felt like I couldnt possibly understand what they were going through or how they felt, how many people they had grown up with who were brutally killed or in jail due to involvement.
Since we didnt have class that day, and everything in town was closed, us PCVS, as well as some staff, stayed at the compound to watch sevearl movies about hte genocide. I highly recommend the movie Sometimes in April, it seems really accurate and real to me having lived in Rwanda for a few months now. the movie 100 days on the other hand is complete crap and i dont recommend it to anyone, since it was made by people who didnt even take 5 minutes to research the genocide.

Presentation

2009-04-13T12:56:00.001-07:00

So I wrote a very long and detailed entry here, but, since internet here moves at the speed of a diseased snail, and cuts in and out all the time, everything was completely lost and i'm so bummed. TIA (This is Africa). Basically, I gave several presentations in Kinyarwanda to an orphanage in Nyanza along with about 6 other PCVs. It went really well. We went over basic hygiene and hydration with the kindergartners, and came back the next week to do a presentation on sexual health to the teen orphans. I really liked Nyanza and the orphanage there. We got really positive feedback from the teachers and the students, and it felt genuine. For the first time since I've been here, I really felt like I could make a difference in Rwanda.

I got a dress made for my swearing in ceremony. It's not very African looking but I think it's really beautiful. It's gold with sequins, and poofs out at the bottom. Kay, I realize this information may be very boring for some...

I passed all my tests and I'll be swearing in as a PCV on Weds. I signed the papers and everything so now it's official. We got super fancy invitations to the ceremony, which will be held at an undisclosed location ( I can't say on the blog). Anywho, I gotta finish up packing. I'll miss Butare but I'm sooo excited!

Music and News from Home

2009-04-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

So at this point, I have recieved two packages from my mom, and I have a third on the way that I'm very excited about! I miss all the delicious food from home, so much that I dream about food almost every night. It's pretty rediculous. Just last night I had a dream that I had a plate full of delicious shrimp, and just when I had dipped it in sauce and was about to eat it, someone knocked on the door and woke me up. I was pretty pissed off. I can't even enjoy pretend food :(. Anywho, on to sunnier things.
Mom- thanks soooo much for sending me comfort items. Just seeing your handwriting on the box was such a huge relief, I actually kept the labeling for a while, much as a crazy obsessive stalker freak would. I also want to say congrats to my cousin Kevin for the job in Seattle. Mom told me a little about the job, it sounds cool. I know that you weren't planning on staying in San Fran for long, and now I have a place to crash in Seattle (I'm jumping to conclusions on this of course).
Since I dedicated a blog entry to food, I thought I'd also dedicate a blog entry to music. I have had the luxury of going to two concerts since I've been here. Well, one was a reggae concert at the stadium by the compound which was pretty cool. The other was an awards show with various performances. The musical performances at the awards show were very obviously influenced by American music videos. I didn't so much enjoy the long acceptance speeches in Kinyarwanda since I could only pick up a word here or there. The music was ok, a little too comercial/generic for my taste. It mostly included rap and R&B. What I enjoyed most was the dancing. There were some really good hip hop dancers, so even though pretty much every performer was obviously lip synching, i didn't mind. Since Rwanda is a relatively conservative country (well, outside of Kigali), it was surprising and, in a way, refreshingly familiar to see girls shake their asses in super tight outfits. What I found a bit odd was that this was supposedly a relatively fancy affair; there was actually a red carpet out front, and the artists are supposedly very well known (in Rwanda), but anyone could get tickets to this awards ceremony, and the artists who performed sat in the same seats as regular ticket buyers. There was definate cheering and jeering, but none of the locals seemed star struck the way people get in LA. I also found it odd that people would walk on and off the stage in the middle of a singer's performance.
I've also seen quite a few Rwandan music videos at this point. There are the more traditional videos that feature women or girls dancing Rwandan dances to drums while wearing conservative clothing. By contrast, the rap videos consist of quick camera shots, and often, girls shaking their ass in tight, revealing outfits. Rap culture is interesting. I feel like, generally, it used to be more about what life was like in the ghetto-- the violence, the drugs, the struggle. Today, commercial rap is all about bragging, especially showing off material posessions. It's interesting to compare American rap videos to Rwandan rap videos. While a Jay-Z or Lil Wayne video would show off an Escalade or a Benz, Rwandan rap videos show a bunch of guys hanging out by a 5 year old Honda. They're still showing off, but they're showing off what they can. I can't watch an R&B video without laughing. They're so rediculously corny, I don't understand how these people are taken seriously. This is not to say that there are not good music videos. Overall, I find them entertaining.

Food!

2009-04-11T05:42:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, thank you for the comments, they're greatly appreciated! It feels good to have "followers" to my blog, makes me feel less cut off from the world. Thanks for toasting me Sondra, and thanks Diane and Lisa!

So i decided to dedicate one blog entry to food, since that has been a subject many people have asked questions about. Rwanda is a beautiful country with a lot of greenery. It seems like good soil for a large variety of vegetables, but for some reason, there is very little variance. If we want to go out to eat without spending a lot of money or waiting 3 hours for food (yes, it sometimes takes that long)then we go out to resteraunts and use the buffet. Most resteraunts in Rwanda have buffets, and every place I have been to in and out of Butare has had the exact same items for the buffet: French fries, plantain, rice, kassava leaves, spaghetti, kassava bread, goat meat, beans, and tomato sauce. The price varies from about 800 to 2,000 RWF (Rwandan Fracs).

The food is not spicy, but people sometimes add some "pili" ( yellow pepper sauce) which is quite strong. I've had it a few times, but i usually just mix food items together then add salt. The food we are given at the compound is fairly good by comparison to what I have had elsewhere in Rwanda, so I feel lucky. One of my favorite days here, however, was the night the kitchen staff allowed some PCVs to cook dinner! I helped shop for some items, but I stayed out of the kitchen. We had delicious pizza (that actually tasted like pizza!), and one volunteer made mass amounts of guacamole. By far the best meal I've had since I've been here, and I really want to thank all the PCVs who've helped make food here-- your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Only a few days later, we had a "Rwandan cooking" day. We were split up into groups and assigned two trainers to accompany us to the market and bargain for food. It was fun, and I learned some new vocabulary. It was also a little depressing, seeing some very sick babies next to their mothers who were selling fruit.

When I say we cooked Rwandan style, I mean we really cooked Rwandan style. We got 4 live chickens which we had to slaughter. I didn't partake in the killing of the chickens, but I watched and took pictures. It bothered quite a few of the volunteers- both the ones who partook and the ones who watched. Maybe I'm just heartless, but watching the chickens get decapitated didn't bother me. I'd never seen anything like it. First they would step on the chicken to hold it still, pluck its feathers around the neck, then cut the neck as quickly as possible. There is quite a bit of blood, and like I thought, the chicken still moves around for quite a while after its head is cut off. The knife we were given to cut the chicken's neck was dull, so it took longer than it should to perform "the duty". What happened that day would have made PETA declare world war. When a volunteer was killing the last chicken, she said "i can't do this", then suddenly let go in the middle of the act. The chicken's neck was halfway cutoff at that point, and it went flying all over the place with it's head half on. It was a pretty terrible (but entertaining) scene. People freaked out and ran when the chicken came near them-- I mean, that thing looked like one bloody airborne ball. Even one of the male teachers freaked out and ran behind the wall. After about 30 seconds or so of this, one predictable male teacher grabbed the flying chicken, took it back to the grass, and swiftly cut off the neck without flinching. Needless to say, it was an intersting day! Hopefully I haven't made my vegetarian friends throw up with this story.

Back to Butare

2009-03-21T04:06:00.000-07:00

So ive been back in Butare for almost a week now. God it feels good to be back. This last week has been so much fun, and the compound really feels like my home. The pastor I worked with was nice but I do have some issues with how that week went. Dont get me wrong, I'm happy that he's my counterpart. He has traveled quite a bit, and he is going on his second trip to the U.S. soon. I think he is fairly well known. I tried to speak as much kinyarwanda as I could muster but it was difficult to say anything of any significance, and even more difficult to understand what people said to me-- i felt somewhat like a toddler who's first learning how to speak and cant form complete sentences, just selects nouns and verbs. I have trouble conjugating, especially when it comes to the noun classes (there are 16 noun classes in Kinyarwanda-- the ajdective conjugates to the noun.)

I am so happy that I will have my own house-- living with a resource family would drive me crazy! I am soooo happy that our PCT is at the compound instead of with individual host families like most Peace Corps groups. I greatly value my privacy, and I already feel like i'm constantly under a microscope, so living with a family only increased this. Let me explain, so I dont sound like a whiny little brat.

I had a little bit of a sniffle while I was at my site that week. It's not a big deal, its usually allergies and it goes away. However, ANY TIME I sniffled even a little bit, whoever I was around would act like I was dying! They'd ask me a million questions-- was I ok? Did I need to go to the hospital? What did I have? They'd readily offer to go to the store to get me medication, and I'd have to almost yell at them so that they wouldn't. I explained over and over again (often to the same people) that it's just allergies, I get sniffles all the time and its not serious, plus I had decongestant meds already. Its like I had to say the same thing 20 times in order to get through to anyone. This sort of concern was not limited to the family I was staying with, but with ANYONE I even so much as said hi to. It happened while I was walking to school to teach, I was even talked to by a man who looked MUCH sicker than me, it felt kind of offensive.I wonder if it has to do with the fact that i'm white or a foreinger, or if Rwandans behave this way towards other Rwandans. I also had quite a few mosquito bites, and anytime I scrathed one I would again be bombarded with questions and looks of concern. To top it off, I cut myself while shaving my legs, and the skirt I wore didnt cover up the cut. I tried to hide it, but sure enough word spread that I was injured and needed medical help. Pretty frustrating.

Another incident which was both strange and entertaining happened one of the last days I was there. I hadn't locked the door to my room, and I was changing my shirt. Not naked, just changing shirts. The Pastor's daughter walked in while I was still in my bra, and she caught sight of my belly button piercing. She looked concerned and, thinking that something had gotten stuck in me, started pulling on it to take it out. I tried to explain to her (she speaks very good English) that i was not injured, that the metal bar was SUPPOSED to be there. There really is a big difference between Rwandans in terms of this. I was originally told that no one in Rwanda has tattoos/piercings or has even heard of them, but I have seen local women who have both, so I know that's not true.

One aspect of Rwandan culture that makes me feel very uneasy is that there is a heavy religous influence, specifically a Christian influence. Of course I know that I have to adapt, but I feel like there is a lot of conflict to come in terms of this. I remember that, many years ago, my cousin Cloe told me that when she lived in Senegal, she told people she was Jewish, because it is better to have some kind of religion than to have no religion at all in Africa. Even though I'm sure Senegal is vastly different from Rwanda, I took her advice, and I've been telling people I'm Jewish whenever I'm asked a question about religion. I have often been asked what church I go to, if i'm a Christian, etc. Asking someone if they are Christian is along the same lines as asking someone their name or what they do for a living. There are different branches of Christianity here, and there are Muslims as well, but as far as I've been told, there are no Syagogues. I guess there are very few Jews in Rwanda, if there are any at all. When I told the pastor that I was Jewish, he appeared to be somewhat familiar with Judaism, but I think the majority of the people here do not know what it is, and it's difficult for me to explain to people. I'm still going to stick to telling people I'm Jewish, it's too late to change now, and since i'm not lying (i'm cutlurally and ethnically Jewish, but not religous), I figured it would be the best thing to say. I thought that telling people this would stop them from pushing me to go to church all the time, but i'm not so sure that's true. The principle of my school was familiar with the holocaust, but then he went on to ask me if this meant I was rich, and if i'm orginally from Israel. Oh well.

I just really need to learn how to deal with these sorts of situations better. Right now I still feel uncomforatble when it comes to this. The pastor had some guests over to the house, a very nice couple who spoke fairly good English, and then out of nowhere the woman asked me if I was saved. I felt caught off guard, so I just said yes (I don't even really know what being saved means), and then she asked me if my family was saved. In hindsight, I should have answered differently, but I still don't know what I should have said exactly.

I did however, agree to go to church with the pastor's daughter one time. I really don't mind going to church once in a while, in fact, I feel like I should out of respect since I'm working primarily with a pastor and with all the people who attend his church. However, I don't want to go every week for hours at a time, and I don't want anyone to try to convert me. I respect their beliefs, so they should respect mine. I don't go around telling people God sucks or is fabrication just because I'm athiest-- I honestly don't care what people believe in as long as they let me be.

Anywho, going to the church was quite an experience. I walked in expecting the typical scene, but the pews were all backed up in a corner. Instead, there was a large circle consisting mostly of women sitting on the floor, with one woman in the center on her hands and knees. The man who I'm assuming was one of the pastors was standing above her with a microphone connected to two huge speakers. As the only caucasian walking into church in the middle of a service, I definately brought a lot of attention upon myself. I just followed the girl's lead, walking past people and then eventually sitting down. We watched as the pastor put his hand on the woman's head, then scream things I could not understand. This took some time, and he rubbed her back and shoulders as well. The woman was moved to tears, it was obviously very emotional for her. After he was done, they played recorded music while a bunch of people got up and danced around the woman. I watched as he and other pastor did this over and over again with different people, mostly women, but one man. The pastor would ask who was sick, or had a problem, or knew someone who was in trouble and needed help. A volunteer would come forward, and the pastor would then "cure" the problem by touching the person in a certain way and screaming for an unspecified period of time. Each "healing session" (i don't know what else to call it) would end with music and dancing. It reminded me of the church scenes in the movie "There Will be Blood". I really hoped that the pastor would not ask me to volunteer. At one point, I was given an interpreter. I woman got up and sat next to me, then suddenly started speaking to me in English. I was grateful for this, because it made me feel more included. It made me feel welcome there. The stories people had for needing healing were interesting. At one point, the pastor fixated his eyes on me and told me my fortune. My interpreter told me that he was saying I,("umuzungu", as they call white people) had come to Rwanda for a good purpose. I was going to help improve Rwanda, and then I would be going to the Congo to improve conditions there. This was fun and I was flattered, but was also a bit difficult for me to hold back laughter-- as a PCV, I'm not even allowed to go into the Congo. I managed to keep a calm composure, and shrotly afterward, the daughter led the way out, as I guess the service went on all day. It was an interesting experience, but I don't know how many times I'd be able to go in there. I don't know if the church has several different styles of serivce, or if it is always like that. I found myself craving the comforts of being surrounded by people who understand me, so I was relieved once I got back to Butare.

I guess this entry hasn't been the most upbeat. I want to stress that I still really like Rwanda and am proud to serve here. I guess I just feel like I have to tell it like it is while still censuring myself (trust me i'm leaving out a lot). I don't want to lie about stuff because years later, when I read these blogs, I want to remember what really happened and how things really went down. That's all.

Site Visit+Birthday

2009-03-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

So, this is the first blog Im writing as a 23 year old-- yes i know, its a corny thing to say but im easily entertained. Anywho, my birthday was a lot of fun. I started out by going to a wedding, which actually turned out to be the dowry ceremony. In Rwanda, an engagement comes in several parts. I dont know all the details, but there is always a dowry ceremony some time before the actual wedding. From the time I arrived there with the woman who invited me to the end of the ceremony took about 2 and a half hours. It was held outside in someones front yard. There were about 100 people there, so sizable but not big by Rwandan standards. In Rwanda, you dont need a formal invitation to attend a wedding, people are generally ok with just someone walking by and joining at the last minute out of curiousity. I didnt get cake, but they did serve Fanta (like they do everywhere). The way the dowry ceremony is set up is that the family (and friends?) of the bride sit together on one side and the family and friends of the groom sit on the other. Both are separate from the audience. The two groups take turns talking to the other, presumably telling stories or wishes of good luck. My kinyarwanda is not good enough yet to say for sure. There were two sets of dancers, the first were young men and the second were women. They danced in the traditional Rwandan style, which I really want to learn-- its beautiful. After the two dance sequences, the "groomsmen" and "bridesmaids" walk in with the bride and groom. I was surprised to see a white guy and an asian in the groom's party. The woman who brought me to the wedding told me that the groom is from Kenya, so maybe theres some relation to that? Im assuming Kenya has more expatriots and is more multicultural/multiethnic than Rwanda, but thats just a guess. Hopeuflly nothing Im saying is offensive, its always a risk anytime race or ethnicity is mentioned. Anyway, the bridesmen and groomsmen all drink jugs full of milk which I correctly assumed symbolize fertility. Two cows were presented as the dowry for the bride, and after some time, groomsmen and bridesmaids leave, ending the ceremony. Quite an interesting and enjoyable experience.

It was easy to put something together for my bday that evening since Im still in training with all the other PCVs, and it was on a Saturday night, when we all eat out anyway (the nunnery doesnt provide food on Saturday). So we all went out to dinner and I had a few beers. Other stuff happened, but well, this is a public blog so I'll keep that information to myself ;).
Im really going to miss everyone here, its hard to believe I have less than a month before I swear in as an official PCV. Last week was spent at my future site. I got to see my house-- yes, Im 23 and I have my own house! I've never even lived alone before so this should be ineresting. I could get used to having a whole bunch of space to myself. My house isnt furnished yet, and the construction workers (or whatever they are) are still putting the finishing touches on it, so I didnt stay in my house during my visit. But it's super cute. It's painted turquoise on the outside, with a front and back yard. So I have a few little trees to admire from my window, running water, an actual toilet (that flushes!), electricity and a real shower-- not a faucet! I took pictures but due to the speed of internet here (which I always complain about) it would take me over an hour to upload a single photo, so unfortunately I probably wont be able to show anything on here :(

I stayed with a pastor's family. Turns out Ill be working for him (I dont know if im allowed to name the organisation im working for, so for now I just wont say). He seems like a fairly decent man. He speaks French and some English. He's well traveled and fairly well known; he's going on his second trip to America soon. My future house, the pastor's house, his church, and the organisation's building are all right next to each other, which is both good and bad. Its good because it means that I can easily go back and forth, if i have a question or if I need something. I do think I might start to feel a little claustraphobic, especially since Ive come to realize that this culture doesnt really consider privacy, at least not the way we do in America. This is also a very conservative society, so if I have a visitor, especially a male visitor, I might turn into the talk of the neighborhood, and be judged. It's already odd to many people here that a little white American girl is going to be living in a house all by herself, since no one lives alone in Rwanda. You either live with your family or your spouse, which i guess is the same thing.Ill have to figure out how to respect Rwandan culture while still living my life. Maybe its immature, but Im used to my freedom, and I definately think my respect of the culture will have to be compromised in order for me to be happy, thats just the way it is.

I had a meeting with the pastor and two of the women I will be working with. The two woemen barely speak any English, so it was pretty much just the pasor and I engaging in conversation. The building He works in has three rooms from what I could tell. A large office, a meeting room lined with benches, and a room full of sowing machines where women make clothes, mostly school uniforms. Even after my meeting with the pastor, Im still not sure where exactly I fit into this equation. I know that he wants me to teach English to the adults who work there, and to conduct these lessons in the meeting room. He also wants me to help sell women's handbags and handmade cards. Im not clear on what the money for these items would be used for, and until I do Im not very pleased about this part of the job description. Ive never really liked customer service/sales, and I know that people here generally look at whites/Americans, and assume that we have money or connections to big money. They're not completely wrong with their assumptions about Americans and American culture, but most people here take it to a rediculous extreme--I'll explain more about that later.
Im not sure what the pastor wants me to do with the women who sow sweaters, but generally it seems like he wants to use my knowlege of English to get grant money and interpret documents his organization recieves. He said that he only wants me working about 3 or 4 days at the school, which saddens me because I would rather spend the majority of my time teaching. I dont want to be a teacher as a career choice when I get back to the U.S., but what I like about teaching is that its something established. There's a set schedule that everyone's familiar with, and the objectives are clear. I wouldnt have to do much organizing, just setting up lesson plans and developing a teaching style based on what my students need. I already started teaching while I was there, which surprised the the other PCVs since it seems like most of us only toured our town and (possible) workplaces. I think Im pretty lucky. I like the principle of my school, hes a nice (and attractive) 30 year old. He speaks French and fairly good English, even though he doesnt think so. The school is about a 20 minute walk from my future house, and its what i would call a middle school and high school combined. The school is small, and fortunately, so are the classes. I dont think there are 5 different classes, and none of them exceed 25 students. I thought I would just be teaching English, but Im apparently teaching computer science as well, which is what I taught while I was there. Im a little uncomfortable teaching computer skills--Im pretty ignorant when it comes to technology. When I told my friend Shaun in the U.S. that id be teaching computer classes, she laughed and said "they must be desperate". Yeah, they kind of are. The school has two computers, one of which works and, due to the frequent power outages, only works if the generator works. I could go into more detail about teaching--its going to be difficult but i actually really liked it. Instead, you can ask me personally. If youre reading this blog, you have my e-mail.

That Friday night I met up with some other PCVs in Kigali, which was A LOT of fun. We talked about our different experiences, and ate American style food which we greatly miss. Rwandan food is good, but its also fairly unhealthy and very repetative. We met up at Nakumatt, which is a large 24 hour Target/Ralphs type store inside a mall. I hate to admit it, but I almost jumped up and down for joy when I went inside that place. I could spend hours just admiring the alchohol section alone-- not that its huge, but huge by Rwandan standards. Its definately a hotspot for the "abazungus" (whites/foreigners) to go. It made me realize how materialistic I am, but so what? It was nice to have choices, and products Im familiar with. I bought shaving cream and an ice cream sandwich, I was on cloud 9. Its hard to find ice cream, especially ice cream that actually tastes like ice cream here. I spent the night in Kigali then took a 20 minute cab ride back to my site. I was then almost immediately whisked off to a huge wedding reception, or rather, the dowry ceremony (once again). This one was HUGE-- much larger than the one i went to before. It was held, oddly enought, inside a school auditorium. There were maybe 1,000 or more people in the audience, I have no idea how they managed to have enough food to feed us all at the end of it, but Im so happy they did since it lasted about 4 hours! It was fun comparing this ceremony to the previous one. It was fairly similar-- still the two groups from each side, still the wedding party of groomsmen and bridesmaids with the drinking of milke. However, since this ceremony was held indoors and in an urban area, there were no cows presented. Instead, there was a fairly comical episode of a man walking up onstage wearing black and white poka dots to represent a cow. While he spoke, the recording of a cow mooing would periodically be played. I have no idea what he said, but the audience cracked up a lot.

Well, thats a huge blog entry. Bravo if you made it this far, and sorry for talking your ear off. Once again, I want to reiterate that I'm happy here and I made the right choice in joining Peace Corps.

Halfway Done

2009-03-05T03:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm halfway done with training, I can't believe it! Once again, so much to write, so little time to do it. I guess I'll try to be chronological...

So a few weekends ago, we went on a field trip to Muranbi, which is a huge memorial site where mass killings took place. It's also the site where the French soldiers were during operation Turquoise. There aren't any plaques or pictures, only bodies. On the one hand, I wish there was more to the memorial, but it makes it much more real and blatant without having the usual entertainment that museums have. It was hard seeing room after room of halfway decomposed bodies-- many of them still have hair and skin, they're well preserved. We were allowed to take pictures and I took a few, but I felt awkward and disrespectful doing it. Many of the bodies were maimed and many of them were babies. There was also a room full of just clothes. Really eerie to think about how recent all this is--I was 7 years old when this took place.

Well, it's not all depressing. The American ambassador to Rwanda came to our site and had lunch with us later that week. I got to sit next to him! He made it a point to greet every single volunteer and staff member, so by the time he was done with the rounds he didn't have much time left, but we did talk a little bit. He's a Columbia graduate, same school my mom went to. He said he used to be a lawyer but then met a bunch of diplomats and decided to switch careers. We didn't talk about anything deep or personal obviously.

I've been to my resource family's house about 5 times now, and yesterday I finally found their house without any help from neighbors! That's a good thing, considering the attention I get when I walk around aimlessly or wait in a given spot for more than a minute. One time when I went, I called up my resource mom and she said her kids would come meet me on the main road. The kids took a while, and within that time I had not only the 12+ kids who'd been following me for a good 15 minutes, but an entire crowd of (mostly) children surrounding me. I know it sounds cute, but it's also uncomfortable. I know little Kinyarwanda, they know only a few words in English and French, so eventually we run out of things to say to each other and it's just me in the middle of a bunch of kids staring at you and watching your every move. For some reason, its very common for kids to say "give me your money"--maybe because they think it's funny, maybe cause they assume I'm rich and should give them something, maybe both. Anywho, I'm really liking my resource mom. She had a guest over last time I was there, who invited me to a wedding on Saturday (my birthday). Hopefully there'll be cake :P. She taught me a few dance steps, I think I did ok. I'm excited for this weekend!

Oh, and I know my placement and job-- I'm going to be teaching English at an elementary school "somewhere" near Kigali. As a secondary project, I'll be working with women who make clothes for people with HIV and AIDS. I said during my interview that I wanted an urban area, and was very flexible jobwise. Most people here don't want to teach English, they want to do something health related, so I don't mind helping them out. I hope I do a good job. Even if it's not a very unusual job, I like that there will be a set schedule and structure already. I'm not very good at organizing my time. I'm also glad I'll be working with kids. I'm spending all of next week (monday through sunday) at my site, so if I don't respond to your e-mails I apologize. ooooo, soooo excited to see where I'll be working and living!

Last weekend we went to the national park. I don't remember the name. The drive was long but the park is gorgeous. We got to see two different kinds of monkeys. There wasn't really a "trail" to take---basically, along with 2 guides, all 25 or so of us walked downhill through a forest. Since so many people come through there, i'm surprised a trail hasn't naturally been blazed by all the walking that's been done there. It's really hard to figure out where to walk, as you squeeze between treas and get your face scratched by the brush. It was definately difficult, but rewarding. It's ironic, because we spent so much time and effort to see the monkeys, yet there weren't that many of them and they were very high up the tree (I couldn't even capture any on my camera), yet as soon as we got on the main road and sat down for lunch, a monkey came out of the forest! It had no fear, it got really close to us and tried to grab a fellow volunteer's sandwich. So, just fyi, if you want to see a monkey, all you have to do is take your food out of your bag.

I'm not doing so well language wise. We had a test last week where random people in the community sit you down and ask you questions. I had no idea that my voice was going to be recorded, so I kinda freaked out when the interviewer took out a huge tape recorder. The guy was nice but I barely understood a word he said-- I felt like such a fool meeting his questions with blank stares. I tried, but I know I did badly. We're taking another test this week, so hopefully I'll do a lot better this time. I know that it's my fault-- I've been spending my free time watching episodes of Reno 911 that I burned from a fellow volunteer instead of practicing my Kinyarwanda.

We've also been given tours of hospitals, an orphanage, and an HIV counseling facility. I liked the orphanage a lot-- the kids are just adorable. One of the nuns who worked there chose me to hold the baby, I was so happy! It made me realize how much I really do want to work with kids, so I'm glad I'll get to work with both kids and adults at my site. I definately want to revisit the orphanage.

I'm sure there's more to say, but right now that's all I can think of. As always, I miss all you guys!

In country!

2009-02-26T04:15:00.000-08:00

Hey all! I realize I’ve been procrastinating when it comes to writing this blog. Due to the speed of internet here, I usually just check my e-mail and Facebook and neglect everything else. Therefore, I’ll do my best to squeeze in 3 weeks worth of information in one entry. Just the highlights, no boring stuff.

As a Peace Corps volunteer, there are certain regulations I have to abide by concerning what I post online. I can’t state my exact location or the exact location of other volunteers for safety reasons. I also can’t express my political views. I’m not very good at censuring myself, but I’ll do my best.

First off, I’m so happy to be here in Rwanda. More and more, I feel like this is the place I need to be right now. The country is so picturesque—hills galore and lots of greenery. I have pretty much only seen Kigali and Butare and not much else, so maybe I’m jumping the gun. The weather is really nice (at least it has been for the last month). I’m told that we’re in the dry season until March, but it still rains fairly often. I actually really like the rain, and even though it rains very hard here, it never rains for very long. The heat hasn’t been unbearable, certainly nothing like Southern India last summer!

Right now, I’m in the middle of week 4 of training, so my training is almost halfway over. In a week and a half, we’ll get to know where our sites will be for the next 2 years! I’m so excited, I keep wondering where I’ll be, if I’ll be in a very rural area or somewhere like Kigali, and what kind of job I’ll have. So far, all I know is that I will be doing something health related, and it will include HIV/AIDS education and prevention. Our living situation during training is much more comfortable than I anticipated. While most Peace Corps volunteers stay with local families, we are all together (all 34 of us) in a nunnery. Most of us have individual rooms. Our teachers have rooms here too. I’ll admit that initially, I wasn’t jumping for joy at the idea of living at a nunnery, but it’s nothing like I expected. The rules aren’t too strict, we have a curfew and we can’t have guests, which really isn’t a big deal at all. I’m also really happy that we have electricity, internet at a price, and toilets that (usually) work. I was anticipating latrines, which I don’t like but can learn to get used to. After all, that might be what I have once I get to my permanent site.

Basically the focus of training is language, language, language. Monday through Saturday, we have at least 2 hours straight of language class, and we can have up to 6 hours. Our classes are divided into groups of 3-4, and we’re taught in these cute little huts spread outside throughout the nunnery. Sometimes looking at the gardens and the colorful birds can be distracting, and we have had to relocate a few times due to the rain, but I like having class outside, it makes me feel more at ease. We have 12 teachers that constantly rotate. We’ve gotten to know our teachers fairly well, since we pretty much spend all day with them. We eat with them, play volleyball, and even go to their family birthdays. They’re basically our friends/teachers, they’re here to help us in all aspects of learning Rwandan culture. I’m definitely having trouble learning Kinyarwanda—it’s not a romance language so I pretty much have to memorize each word individually instead of relating it to Latin roots.

We’re given three meals a day here, as well as a snack in the morning which usually consists of coffee, tea, and some kind of sweet cake-like substance. We really are spoiled here. On top of language, we also have “tech training”, which focuses on our roles here in Rwanda. We often have guest speakers. We have had people from the embassy to talk about security, professors lecture about Rwandan history, and doctors to talk about the medical situation and the government’s role in health. I’ve met some really amazing people, and learned so much. When people hear about Rwanda, it seems like all they think about is the genocide of 1994. Of course it’s important and relevant to know about it, especially since it happened so recently. In just one month I’ve seen how it has affected so many aspects of people’s lives here. On top of two discussions we had with survivors of the genocide, I’ve also seen how the genocide or “war” as many of them call it—sneaks its way into conversations. Someone will talk about a picture or a book or something they once owned, but got lost during the genocide. I’m wary to ask about people’s families, because I know that most people have lost family members. An event of such magnitude simply can’t be ignored, and it does distinguish Rwanda from other countries, but I feel like I have a responsibility to show my friends and family that there is so much more to Rwanda than the violence which took place. That’s one of the main reasons for my maintaining this blog, on top of the fact that I need to write for my own personal sanity, and of course, to let the people I care about know what I’m up to. I’ll do my best to call on birthdays, but international calls are very expensive. Unlike the U.S., there are no cell phone plans, you buy a card that has a pin number, and by dialing that pin number on my cell, I get a certain amount of minutes. They come in groups of 1,500 RWF (Rwandan Franks) and 2,500, and they never seem to last more than maybe 15 minutes. Like I said, internet is slower than death here, so it takes time and money that I don’t always have to use it. I figure by writing this, I can let everyone know what’s going on so I don’t have to always send individual e-mails. As another volunteer here says, “such is life”. Feel free to leave a comment, I’d love to know what you guys think! Love you, hugs and kisses to you all!

Only two weeks left

2009-01-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

So in two weeks, I will be leaving San Diego for two years--crazy. It still hasn't sunk in. Sometimes I get a lil freaked out, sometimes I'm really happy. I'm really excited that I'll be part of the first group to go to Rwanda since 1993.

My going-away party was yesterday. It was fun, and I was happy to see so many people that I haven't talked to in a while. My dad remarked how funny it was that most people there were my parent's age, but I reminded him that most of my friends from college and high school now live far away. I was appreciative of my friends who drove down from Orange County and Riverside (you know who you are, and thanks :).

So many people have encouraged me to put up a blog, so I'm doing it! I hope I'll be able to keep it up. I don't know how often I'll have internet access in Rwanda. Hopefully I'll have electricity, but I know that's no guarantee. I haven't kept a diary since elementary school, and even then I didn't show my entires to anyone. I saw it as a place to vent and talk about things I could never talk about out loud, so this blog thing will be a totally new experience for me. Even though I can be loud and crass at times, I really am a pretty private person. I'm just hoping that nothing I say here will hurt anyone's feelings or divulge too much information.

I wonder who will end up reading my blog. I'm planning on posting it to my facebook, and then giving it to my family as well. Ironically (but expectedly) the person whose attention I crave the most pretty much ignores me. I have tried to get a hold of this person, but I can't keep contacting them to the point of humiliation. I'm very sentimental, it's hard for me to let go. Goodbye for now, I'll write more soon.