Tragedy in Haiti

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!

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

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

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!

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!

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

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!