Movement, and Lack of Movement

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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)