Sunday, April 26, 2009
blurb about extra time on my hands
I forgot to mention that while I was sitting at home by myself, before Emily came, I made myself a pillowcase from the extra fabric my mom in Butare gave me. Its amazing the things you can accomplish in one day when you have absolutely nothing else to do. I might make myself a dress next.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Moving in
Week 12
Sunday, we packed up and left. I drove with the three other girls who live in Nyamasheke district and we stopped in Butare to pick up the rest of our things and met up with the group of girls who live in the south and had lunch with them. After lunch, we had our long drive through Nyungwe. We only saw one monkey the whole time! We dropped off two of the girls things, but were unable to make it to my and another of the girls sites because we are too far off the main road, so we all stayed the night in Cyangugu, where we had to wait 2 hours for our little pizza. On Monday, my roommate had to be back at her site by 7:30 in the morning, so she left and we stayed and waited for the car to come back to get us. While we were waiting, I went to get prices on a gas tank for my stove and to get a post box. The post box didn’t happen, but I think AIDS Relief will let me use theirs, so I’ll send an email with the updated address soon. We ate breakfast and then just sat around for a few hours while our driver’s friend went into Congo to get me a gas tank because they’re cheaper in DRC. There was a little island out in the middle of the river that is the border between Rwanda and DRC, so we went out to that and sat for a while and took pictures as if we were in Congo. Its off limits to us, so of course it’s the most fun thing to joke about. We finally left Cyangugu around noon to my site. The road was really good for a while because they were fixing it the last time I was here and it was done, but then we hit a nice muddy hill and the car was spinning out and we had to spend quite a bit of time trying to get up it. We almost tipped the car off the cliff at one point when we were trying to drive over a log bridge, but we didn’t and we’re all still alive. We made pretty good time though because the majority of the road was pretty good and our driver drives like he’s ripping off a bandage. He doesn’t care much for potholes, he just goes right through them, no easing the way. The nuns were out waiting for me when I arrived and gave me big hugs and said they were so happy I was back, that they were waiting a long time, but that they’re sad that I am alone. They told the driver and my teacher that they are bad people for leaving me here by myself, haha. I got all unpacked and the nuns brought us over some food and drinks and then the other volunteers and my teacher left. My counterpart stayed with me for a while and helped me unpack some things and then he went back to work and left me alone. It was nice. I did some laundry, unpacked and put away some things and just hung out at my house. I love that I am somewhat secluded. It’s so nice not to be stared at all day and have people talking about you. I am so happy I have my house to get away to. When we were at the lake, there were people there the entire time up in trees, standing looking through cracks in the fence and swimming in front of us. It was crazy. We did “hire” a few of the boys to get our volleyball and soccer balls for us when they went into the water though. We gave them coke and cookies (good nutrition lesson from the health volunteers).
Tuesday, I went to the clinic in the morning for the staff meeting and introduced myself and everyone introduced themselves to me. I didn’t stay at the clinic long. I came back and did some more laundry and watched the Office on my computer. One of the drivers came and dropped of my bag and a box that got into a different car. I had dinner that night with the nuns and they taught me a new game when you get two bananas that are fused together. You pull them apart like a wishbone and then the first person to say “filipine bonjour” to the other in the morning wins. I was totally going to get her, but she snuck up on me and knocked on my window and said it. So I lost. Wednesday, I didn’t go to the clinic, I stayed at home and went to the market around 9:30. I got some food and some dishes and utensils and some really cute glasses with ladybugs on them. Wednesday night I went over to the neighbor’s house and had dinner with them while we practiced English and Kinyarwanda. Then Thursday, Emily called and said she was going to come live with me. So, I stayed home Thrusday as well and cooked dinner and she came around 8pm. We unpacked a few of her things and got her bed set up and she brought the internet card with her, so I got on the internet for a few HOURS! Its so nice not having to worry about how long you’re on and how much you are paying. Friday morning, we went to the clinic for the staff meeting and introduced her and showed her around the clinic. I used the computer at the clinic to look at the TEFL CD and write out my lesson plan for Monday. Then we came back home and boiled some water to put in the filter, unpacked a few more of her things and cooked lunch. I was on the internet pretty much all day. Then I stole her external hard drive and have been watching Gilmore girls ever since. We don’t have anything planned for today other than boiling some more water and cooking food. I made dinner last night and two of the men at the clinic came over to visit in the middle of me cooking and never left. So when the food was done, I had to serve them even though I only made enough for two people. Its very rude in Rwandan culture to not serve food or drink to people, so I had to give it to them and they weren’t leaving and I didn’t want the food to get cold. I hope that doesn’t happen very often. I’m still not sure how to get people to leave your house in a polite way.
Sunday, we packed up and left. I drove with the three other girls who live in Nyamasheke district and we stopped in Butare to pick up the rest of our things and met up with the group of girls who live in the south and had lunch with them. After lunch, we had our long drive through Nyungwe. We only saw one monkey the whole time! We dropped off two of the girls things, but were unable to make it to my and another of the girls sites because we are too far off the main road, so we all stayed the night in Cyangugu, where we had to wait 2 hours for our little pizza. On Monday, my roommate had to be back at her site by 7:30 in the morning, so she left and we stayed and waited for the car to come back to get us. While we were waiting, I went to get prices on a gas tank for my stove and to get a post box. The post box didn’t happen, but I think AIDS Relief will let me use theirs, so I’ll send an email with the updated address soon. We ate breakfast and then just sat around for a few hours while our driver’s friend went into Congo to get me a gas tank because they’re cheaper in DRC. There was a little island out in the middle of the river that is the border between Rwanda and DRC, so we went out to that and sat for a while and took pictures as if we were in Congo. Its off limits to us, so of course it’s the most fun thing to joke about. We finally left Cyangugu around noon to my site. The road was really good for a while because they were fixing it the last time I was here and it was done, but then we hit a nice muddy hill and the car was spinning out and we had to spend quite a bit of time trying to get up it. We almost tipped the car off the cliff at one point when we were trying to drive over a log bridge, but we didn’t and we’re all still alive. We made pretty good time though because the majority of the road was pretty good and our driver drives like he’s ripping off a bandage. He doesn’t care much for potholes, he just goes right through them, no easing the way. The nuns were out waiting for me when I arrived and gave me big hugs and said they were so happy I was back, that they were waiting a long time, but that they’re sad that I am alone. They told the driver and my teacher that they are bad people for leaving me here by myself, haha. I got all unpacked and the nuns brought us over some food and drinks and then the other volunteers and my teacher left. My counterpart stayed with me for a while and helped me unpack some things and then he went back to work and left me alone. It was nice. I did some laundry, unpacked and put away some things and just hung out at my house. I love that I am somewhat secluded. It’s so nice not to be stared at all day and have people talking about you. I am so happy I have my house to get away to. When we were at the lake, there were people there the entire time up in trees, standing looking through cracks in the fence and swimming in front of us. It was crazy. We did “hire” a few of the boys to get our volleyball and soccer balls for us when they went into the water though. We gave them coke and cookies (good nutrition lesson from the health volunteers).
Tuesday, I went to the clinic in the morning for the staff meeting and introduced myself and everyone introduced themselves to me. I didn’t stay at the clinic long. I came back and did some more laundry and watched the Office on my computer. One of the drivers came and dropped of my bag and a box that got into a different car. I had dinner that night with the nuns and they taught me a new game when you get two bananas that are fused together. You pull them apart like a wishbone and then the first person to say “filipine bonjour” to the other in the morning wins. I was totally going to get her, but she snuck up on me and knocked on my window and said it. So I lost. Wednesday, I didn’t go to the clinic, I stayed at home and went to the market around 9:30. I got some food and some dishes and utensils and some really cute glasses with ladybugs on them. Wednesday night I went over to the neighbor’s house and had dinner with them while we practiced English and Kinyarwanda. Then Thursday, Emily called and said she was going to come live with me. So, I stayed home Thrusday as well and cooked dinner and she came around 8pm. We unpacked a few of her things and got her bed set up and she brought the internet card with her, so I got on the internet for a few HOURS! Its so nice not having to worry about how long you’re on and how much you are paying. Friday morning, we went to the clinic for the staff meeting and introduced her and showed her around the clinic. I used the computer at the clinic to look at the TEFL CD and write out my lesson plan for Monday. Then we came back home and boiled some water to put in the filter, unpacked a few more of her things and cooked lunch. I was on the internet pretty much all day. Then I stole her external hard drive and have been watching Gilmore girls ever since. We don’t have anything planned for today other than boiling some more water and cooking food. I made dinner last night and two of the men at the clinic came over to visit in the middle of me cooking and never left. So when the food was done, I had to serve them even though I only made enough for two people. Its very rude in Rwandan culture to not serve food or drink to people, so I had to give it to them and they weren’t leaving and I didn’t want the food to get cold. I hope that doesn’t happen very often. I’m still not sure how to get people to leave your house in a polite way.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Swearing in Ceremony and Good Food in Kigali
Week 11
This week has been a whirlwind! We left Butare on Tuesday early in the morning and got into Kigali in the afternoon in which we had a short talk by the IT guy about using the computers at the Kigali office and our director talked to us about our jobs and went through the community assessment packet we have to do our first 3 months at site. And I cannot remember what we did that night… so much has happened since then. Wednesday, we had our swearing in ceremony, so we were all dressed our best and went to the ambassadors house. It was pouring rain and the ceremony was outside, but thankfully, the ambassador had the sense to put up tents. The minister of education, health and the former ambassador to the US were there to congratulate us and say a few words. The TV crew was also there and I got to see myself that night on the national news in English, French, and Kinyarwanda! The ceremony was really nice and it made me feel very proud to be here and be a part of this. We are getting so much support from the Rwandan government its amazing. Most PC countries do not have this much support from the government, our very first day in Rwanda the Minister of Health met with us, not just a representative, the minister himself! They are excited to have PC back in Rwanda and I am so happy that I get to be a part of this. We are also getting a lot of support from the US side of things. Many former PCVs are now working in Rwanda and they all are completely supportive of us and want to help us and are totally open to having us visit them and ask them for things. After our ceremony, there was some food and it was delicious! Mini pizzas, quiche, cookies, I was so happy I ate too much and got a stomachache. Our picture was in the paper the next day with a quote from me, which got pretty skewed and it said that another volunteer had said it. Our picture is also up on the PC website, if you all want to see it. The TV crew got a lot of me in their filming because I was in the front row and at one point zoomed in on my face so all you could see on the screen was my head!! Not the most flattering. Wednesday after swearing in, our PCMO took us around Kigali to a few different shops so we knew where things were and could check some prices before buying. My favorite store she showed me was a little shop with food and electronics and a few other random items, but it is owned by this Indian family and they are amazing. They are so nice and gave me free bottles to put spices in, a free jar of peanut butter and their prices on lentils and spices were the best. The other Indian store is awesome too with a really nice owner who lives in Texas for a while and they have an amazing lunch buffet (which I went to on Friday), but the prices are a little higher and they don’t give me free things. I bought very few things on Wednesday, mostly food. I got gelato from a German bakery and it made me super happy! Wednesday night, I went to a tapas restaurant that is owned by one of the volunteer’s friend’s boyfriends. It was amazingly good, but as soon as I sat down I saw they had mojitos and got sooo excited, only to find out that they didn’t have them that night! I almost cried. The food was so good and it came so quickly that I thought they must have given us someone else’s food. The restaurants here are crazy slow. Most places Rwandans eat are buffet style and they just go out to drink, so when we order food it’s confusing and it takes on average 2 hours to get food. I waited four hours once and had to call our director and tell him we were going to miss curfew (we had a curfew during training because the center we stayed in closed the gates at 10pm). Mom and Ricky called me to congratulate me on graduating from training, so that made me happy!
Thursday, we went to lake Muhazi for a celebration of sorts at the embassy house. The US embassy has a house on the lake that they use for various occasions, so we got to use it. its not much of a house, but it’s a beautiful spot. Two embassy guards came with us and we were all so jealous of their living situation. They have a pool, a pool table, a bar, hot water, clean water you can drink from the tap, movies sent to them monthly from the US, a refrigerator and freezer and a driver. I am planning on visiting them often! Buri gihe that I am in Kigali. I went on the little boat and had them drop me in the middle of the lake and swam back to the shore. I got a little scared after they left me cause I kept thinking a crocodile was going to eat me even though I knew there were no animals in the lake. I made it to the shore, but I might have gotten schisto. Our PCMO was not happy we were all swimming, but I can’t help it. I see water and I have to get in it. I had forgotten my bathing suit in Butare, but I went swimming anyways, in my pajama shorts and a tank top. One of the volunteers was knee boarding behind the boat and fell off and split his eyebrow open, so he had to go to the hospital and get 2 stitches. It was a wonderful day and a perfect way to celebrate and I finally got vegetarian sambusas!! I had been watching everyone eat sambusas the past 3 months dying to have one. Friday was our big shopping day and I went to the Chinese store, simba, nakumatt, the Indian store for more spices and brown rice, and to the bank to get my checkbook. I was able to get money out the day before, but wasn’t able to get my checkbook because I was at a different branch. The lines at the bank are ridiculous and I don’t understand why they are so crazy, but you have to wait for HOURS to get money out. It takes a few months for a checkcard to come and then you can use the ATM, but until then, I have to prepare for a good 2-3 hours in line at the bank before I can get money out. The Indian buffet we had for lunch was really good, but super expensive and they only had one vegetarian dish!
Saturday everyone started leaving. We had to say goodbye to most of the volunteers (only 10 of us were leaving on Sunday). After goodbyes, we went back to town to finish shopping. I had an iced coffee from Bourbon and it was amazing. I am so happy in Kigali because I get to have amazing food and drinks, but its expensive.
Playing in Lake Muhazi
This is how the Rwandese limbo
My fancy napkin at the ambassador's house
Me with 3 of my teachers getting ready to go to the ceremony
This week has been a whirlwind! We left Butare on Tuesday early in the morning and got into Kigali in the afternoon in which we had a short talk by the IT guy about using the computers at the Kigali office and our director talked to us about our jobs and went through the community assessment packet we have to do our first 3 months at site. And I cannot remember what we did that night… so much has happened since then. Wednesday, we had our swearing in ceremony, so we were all dressed our best and went to the ambassadors house. It was pouring rain and the ceremony was outside, but thankfully, the ambassador had the sense to put up tents. The minister of education, health and the former ambassador to the US were there to congratulate us and say a few words. The TV crew was also there and I got to see myself that night on the national news in English, French, and Kinyarwanda! The ceremony was really nice and it made me feel very proud to be here and be a part of this. We are getting so much support from the Rwandan government its amazing. Most PC countries do not have this much support from the government, our very first day in Rwanda the Minister of Health met with us, not just a representative, the minister himself! They are excited to have PC back in Rwanda and I am so happy that I get to be a part of this. We are also getting a lot of support from the US side of things. Many former PCVs are now working in Rwanda and they all are completely supportive of us and want to help us and are totally open to having us visit them and ask them for things. After our ceremony, there was some food and it was delicious! Mini pizzas, quiche, cookies, I was so happy I ate too much and got a stomachache. Our picture was in the paper the next day with a quote from me, which got pretty skewed and it said that another volunteer had said it. Our picture is also up on the PC website, if you all want to see it. The TV crew got a lot of me in their filming because I was in the front row and at one point zoomed in on my face so all you could see on the screen was my head!! Not the most flattering. Wednesday after swearing in, our PCMO took us around Kigali to a few different shops so we knew where things were and could check some prices before buying. My favorite store she showed me was a little shop with food and electronics and a few other random items, but it is owned by this Indian family and they are amazing. They are so nice and gave me free bottles to put spices in, a free jar of peanut butter and their prices on lentils and spices were the best. The other Indian store is awesome too with a really nice owner who lives in Texas for a while and they have an amazing lunch buffet (which I went to on Friday), but the prices are a little higher and they don’t give me free things. I bought very few things on Wednesday, mostly food. I got gelato from a German bakery and it made me super happy! Wednesday night, I went to a tapas restaurant that is owned by one of the volunteer’s friend’s boyfriends. It was amazingly good, but as soon as I sat down I saw they had mojitos and got sooo excited, only to find out that they didn’t have them that night! I almost cried. The food was so good and it came so quickly that I thought they must have given us someone else’s food. The restaurants here are crazy slow. Most places Rwandans eat are buffet style and they just go out to drink, so when we order food it’s confusing and it takes on average 2 hours to get food. I waited four hours once and had to call our director and tell him we were going to miss curfew (we had a curfew during training because the center we stayed in closed the gates at 10pm). Mom and Ricky called me to congratulate me on graduating from training, so that made me happy!
Thursday, we went to lake Muhazi for a celebration of sorts at the embassy house. The US embassy has a house on the lake that they use for various occasions, so we got to use it. its not much of a house, but it’s a beautiful spot. Two embassy guards came with us and we were all so jealous of their living situation. They have a pool, a pool table, a bar, hot water, clean water you can drink from the tap, movies sent to them monthly from the US, a refrigerator and freezer and a driver. I am planning on visiting them often! Buri gihe that I am in Kigali. I went on the little boat and had them drop me in the middle of the lake and swam back to the shore. I got a little scared after they left me cause I kept thinking a crocodile was going to eat me even though I knew there were no animals in the lake. I made it to the shore, but I might have gotten schisto. Our PCMO was not happy we were all swimming, but I can’t help it. I see water and I have to get in it. I had forgotten my bathing suit in Butare, but I went swimming anyways, in my pajama shorts and a tank top. One of the volunteers was knee boarding behind the boat and fell off and split his eyebrow open, so he had to go to the hospital and get 2 stitches. It was a wonderful day and a perfect way to celebrate and I finally got vegetarian sambusas!! I had been watching everyone eat sambusas the past 3 months dying to have one. Friday was our big shopping day and I went to the Chinese store, simba, nakumatt, the Indian store for more spices and brown rice, and to the bank to get my checkbook. I was able to get money out the day before, but wasn’t able to get my checkbook because I was at a different branch. The lines at the bank are ridiculous and I don’t understand why they are so crazy, but you have to wait for HOURS to get money out. It takes a few months for a checkcard to come and then you can use the ATM, but until then, I have to prepare for a good 2-3 hours in line at the bank before I can get money out. The Indian buffet we had for lunch was really good, but super expensive and they only had one vegetarian dish!
Saturday everyone started leaving. We had to say goodbye to most of the volunteers (only 10 of us were leaving on Sunday). After goodbyes, we went back to town to finish shopping. I had an iced coffee from Bourbon and it was amazing. I am so happy in Kigali because I get to have amazing food and drinks, but its expensive.
Playing in Lake Muhazi
This is how the Rwandese limbo
My fancy napkin at the ambassador's house
Me with 3 of my teachers getting ready to go to the ceremony
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
I'm all alone!!
Quick update:
Two of my favorite volunteers (a married couple from California) went home today. They are not going to be volunteers any more and my roommate at site, has moved to their site, so I have the big house all to myself now! I am a little sad and think it’ll be a little lonely, but think that my job will be much better this way. They didn’t really mean to put two people at my site, and we both had the same job! This way, I will have more to do and I am happy about that. So, now you really need to visit me because I’m going to be in desperate need of some American company!
Two of my favorite volunteers (a married couple from California) went home today. They are not going to be volunteers any more and my roommate at site, has moved to their site, so I have the big house all to myself now! I am a little sad and think it’ll be a little lonely, but think that my job will be much better this way. They didn’t really mean to put two people at my site, and we both had the same job! This way, I will have more to do and I am happy about that. So, now you really need to visit me because I’m going to be in desperate need of some American company!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Last week of PST!
Week 10:
LAST WEEK OF PST!!! I can’t believe it’s almost over. I just got used to and started really liking everyone and having everyone around all the time. It will be sad and difficult to leave everyone, but I am excited to start my new life in my own house and to be able to cook for myself. Monday I got another package of magazines (thanks dad and mary), everyone was jealous. I am trying to figure out how I am going to get all my stuff to site, I have accumulated more things and I am not sure how I am going to pack them all up…
Tuesday was the beginning of the week of mourning and it was not fun. At 9am, we went into town, everything was closed, and we joined the procession moving from the sector office to the memorial site and burial ground in town. It was really slow moving but amazing to see the diversity of people there. The street boys in their tattered, dirty clothes without shoes, the university students in their collared shirts and leather loafers, the moms with babies on their backs and us abazungu. At the memorial site, there was a speech and some singing for about an hour. It was all in Kinyarwanda, so I only got a few words and phrases here and there. Then the whole group of people moved in a pack to the stadium where there were even more speeches. Most of us left after lunchtime had passed, but I felt bad leaving and stayed. It was a bad decision; I was soo bored and wanted to leave so badly that I decided I’d just walk home alone. Well, I went to leave and they had locked the gates to the stadium because the radio broadcast with the president had started and no one was allowed to leave because it was disrespectful to the president. I tried to say I needed to use the toilet, but they just showed me where the one was within the walls. Kagame ended up saying a few words (30 minutes) in English, so I was happy to be able to understand something. It is really difficult to sit and listen to something for two hours when you don’t understand what they’re saying. By the time I got home, everyone pretty much had finished eating except for the small few of us who were stuck in the stadium (I found some others walking home when they let us out). When we got back we didn’t have anything else planned for the evening, so our director asked us if we had any movies to share. One of the volunteers brought Some Times in April and we all watched it at 3:30. Before then, a bunch of girls and I finished watching 27 dresses in my room and ate too much candy that one of the girls was sent in her package (they are way better at sharing than I am). Sometimes in April is a really good movie to describe Rwanda. You get to see how beautiful it is and hear some Kinyarwanda (which was fun for me because I understood a lot of it!), but it was so depressing and started up the water works again. It is just so messed up how we didn’t do anything. There were so many signs that it was going to happen and we all watched it happening and did nothing! Just apologized afterwards and promised we would never do it again, and here we go doing it again with Sudan. Its so messed up!!! Watching that movie made me angry and embarrassed and just so sad. I can’t believe nothing was done. The hardest part for me was watching the UN convoy load up all the white people into trucks to get them to safety and seeing all the Rwandans, knowing they were going to die, trying to get onto the trucks and them being pushed back. No one was after the white people, they could’ve cared less if we were there or not, but those who were truly in danger were just left to die when they could’ve been taken to safety. Not even one child got onto those trucks. They showed what was happening in Rwanda and then showed clips of the news broadcasts during that time in America. There was one clip that talked about when Kurt Cobain shot himself and I remember that clear as day, but I do not remember ever seeing or hearing about what was happening in Rwanda. I didn’t even know Rwanda was a country until Hotel Rwanda came out. This week is going to suck. I came back to my room and lay in bed and cried a while, then decided to watch Mean Girls, just so my mind would be somewhere else.
The rest of the week wasn’t as bad. I watched a documentary called Ghosts of Rwanda, which was really difficult, but really good. I had my final interview and am nominated to be sworn in as a volunteer! I got the highest grade on the cross-cultural exam, which I was really proud of. I feel more proud of that than if I would have gotten the highest score on the technical or language exam. I really should start packing, seeing as how I am leaving on Tuesday, but I don’t even know where to begin. My room is so tiny, it’s difficult to get things out from under the bed and out of the akabati and ameza (bureau and desk, I’ve decided to start adding some Kinyarwanda, so when you all visit you’ll already know some J).
Friday, I went to visit my host family to say goodbye and pick up my gifts. Mama’s cousin was in town and she had her baby with her, so I got to hold a little baby and it was wonderful. He smelled so good. The family gave me some fabric to make a shirt and pants, a pink t-shirt and two candies. I just gave them all chocolate (Queenie, one of the daughters, the first day I visited asked me if I had chocolate and I thought it was really funny and always meant to bring her some, but never got around to it until last week when I gave them gifts as a thank you and goodbye). I’m going to miss them, but I hope to visit and think they may come visit me sometime. Mama keeps telling me that she’s going to send baby home with me when I go back to America.
I got some shopping done this week, mainly for decorating my room. I got two baskets and two wall hangings. I might use the fabric mama gave me instead to make curtains. I don’t really want a matching pants suit…
Side note: The women here are amazing. They carry 30+ lbs children on their backs (I’ve seen 4 & 5 year olds being carried by the smallest women) while carrying another 20 or so pounds on their heads and walking miles! It amazes me every time.
Saturday, I ate breakfast and then took one of my teachers to the pool to teach her how to swim. I am a terrible swim teacher. I really should have had someone else do it. I’ve never taught swimming before, and teaching an adult is a lot harder than teaching a child. It was hilarious, and really flipping cold. We showed up right before the downpour and it was cloudy the whole time we were in the water. I was freezing!! Thank goodness two other people came to the pool and were swimming because I felt like everyone thought we were crazy, so I was glad to divide the craziness among 4 rather than just 2. I picked up my skirt on Wednesday and took it to get taken in on Saturday, but the guy just took it apart and then said he wasn’t able to finish it until Tuesday which is the morning we leave to Kigali, so I asked him if I paid him more would he finish it today, he said no and so I just took my ruined skirt from him and my teacher took me to a different tailor and they fixed it for me within one hour and it only cost me less than $1. So, crisis averted!
Next time I write on here I will be an official volunteer! Ndishimye :)
LAST WEEK OF PST!!! I can’t believe it’s almost over. I just got used to and started really liking everyone and having everyone around all the time. It will be sad and difficult to leave everyone, but I am excited to start my new life in my own house and to be able to cook for myself. Monday I got another package of magazines (thanks dad and mary), everyone was jealous. I am trying to figure out how I am going to get all my stuff to site, I have accumulated more things and I am not sure how I am going to pack them all up…
Tuesday was the beginning of the week of mourning and it was not fun. At 9am, we went into town, everything was closed, and we joined the procession moving from the sector office to the memorial site and burial ground in town. It was really slow moving but amazing to see the diversity of people there. The street boys in their tattered, dirty clothes without shoes, the university students in their collared shirts and leather loafers, the moms with babies on their backs and us abazungu. At the memorial site, there was a speech and some singing for about an hour. It was all in Kinyarwanda, so I only got a few words and phrases here and there. Then the whole group of people moved in a pack to the stadium where there were even more speeches. Most of us left after lunchtime had passed, but I felt bad leaving and stayed. It was a bad decision; I was soo bored and wanted to leave so badly that I decided I’d just walk home alone. Well, I went to leave and they had locked the gates to the stadium because the radio broadcast with the president had started and no one was allowed to leave because it was disrespectful to the president. I tried to say I needed to use the toilet, but they just showed me where the one was within the walls. Kagame ended up saying a few words (30 minutes) in English, so I was happy to be able to understand something. It is really difficult to sit and listen to something for two hours when you don’t understand what they’re saying. By the time I got home, everyone pretty much had finished eating except for the small few of us who were stuck in the stadium (I found some others walking home when they let us out). When we got back we didn’t have anything else planned for the evening, so our director asked us if we had any movies to share. One of the volunteers brought Some Times in April and we all watched it at 3:30. Before then, a bunch of girls and I finished watching 27 dresses in my room and ate too much candy that one of the girls was sent in her package (they are way better at sharing than I am). Sometimes in April is a really good movie to describe Rwanda. You get to see how beautiful it is and hear some Kinyarwanda (which was fun for me because I understood a lot of it!), but it was so depressing and started up the water works again. It is just so messed up how we didn’t do anything. There were so many signs that it was going to happen and we all watched it happening and did nothing! Just apologized afterwards and promised we would never do it again, and here we go doing it again with Sudan. Its so messed up!!! Watching that movie made me angry and embarrassed and just so sad. I can’t believe nothing was done. The hardest part for me was watching the UN convoy load up all the white people into trucks to get them to safety and seeing all the Rwandans, knowing they were going to die, trying to get onto the trucks and them being pushed back. No one was after the white people, they could’ve cared less if we were there or not, but those who were truly in danger were just left to die when they could’ve been taken to safety. Not even one child got onto those trucks. They showed what was happening in Rwanda and then showed clips of the news broadcasts during that time in America. There was one clip that talked about when Kurt Cobain shot himself and I remember that clear as day, but I do not remember ever seeing or hearing about what was happening in Rwanda. I didn’t even know Rwanda was a country until Hotel Rwanda came out. This week is going to suck. I came back to my room and lay in bed and cried a while, then decided to watch Mean Girls, just so my mind would be somewhere else.
The rest of the week wasn’t as bad. I watched a documentary called Ghosts of Rwanda, which was really difficult, but really good. I had my final interview and am nominated to be sworn in as a volunteer! I got the highest grade on the cross-cultural exam, which I was really proud of. I feel more proud of that than if I would have gotten the highest score on the technical or language exam. I really should start packing, seeing as how I am leaving on Tuesday, but I don’t even know where to begin. My room is so tiny, it’s difficult to get things out from under the bed and out of the akabati and ameza (bureau and desk, I’ve decided to start adding some Kinyarwanda, so when you all visit you’ll already know some J).
Friday, I went to visit my host family to say goodbye and pick up my gifts. Mama’s cousin was in town and she had her baby with her, so I got to hold a little baby and it was wonderful. He smelled so good. The family gave me some fabric to make a shirt and pants, a pink t-shirt and two candies. I just gave them all chocolate (Queenie, one of the daughters, the first day I visited asked me if I had chocolate and I thought it was really funny and always meant to bring her some, but never got around to it until last week when I gave them gifts as a thank you and goodbye). I’m going to miss them, but I hope to visit and think they may come visit me sometime. Mama keeps telling me that she’s going to send baby home with me when I go back to America.
I got some shopping done this week, mainly for decorating my room. I got two baskets and two wall hangings. I might use the fabric mama gave me instead to make curtains. I don’t really want a matching pants suit…
Side note: The women here are amazing. They carry 30+ lbs children on their backs (I’ve seen 4 & 5 year olds being carried by the smallest women) while carrying another 20 or so pounds on their heads and walking miles! It amazes me every time.
Saturday, I ate breakfast and then took one of my teachers to the pool to teach her how to swim. I am a terrible swim teacher. I really should have had someone else do it. I’ve never taught swimming before, and teaching an adult is a lot harder than teaching a child. It was hilarious, and really flipping cold. We showed up right before the downpour and it was cloudy the whole time we were in the water. I was freezing!! Thank goodness two other people came to the pool and were swimming because I felt like everyone thought we were crazy, so I was glad to divide the craziness among 4 rather than just 2. I picked up my skirt on Wednesday and took it to get taken in on Saturday, but the guy just took it apart and then said he wasn’t able to finish it until Tuesday which is the morning we leave to Kigali, so I asked him if I paid him more would he finish it today, he said no and so I just took my ruined skirt from him and my teacher took me to a different tailor and they fixed it for me within one hour and it only cost me less than $1. So, crisis averted!
Next time I write on here I will be an official volunteer! Ndishimye :)
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Week 9
Week 9
This week we were back to the daily grind of language. We did have one session with our associate Peace Corps director, but other than that it was all language! On April fools day we played some jokes on our teachers and our director (who’s worked with Americans many times before) joined in. First thing we did was to hide the bell that calls us to class, then we all switched classes. It wasn’t that funny because none of the teachers even realized and just went on with the lesson, but they were all looking for the bell and we started class 15 minutes late. Our director got a few people really good. He told one girl that she had a visitor waiting for her out front, so she went out front all excited and there was no one there. Then he called 3 girls into his office after our first language session because they switched classes, so we were all feeling bad for them for being the only ones getting caught, but it was just a joke. Lastly (of what I heard), he came up to one volunteer and told her that she had a large package sent from home and that she needed to call Francesca and give her more money to receive it. That one was mean! You can’t joke about packages! They’re too important! All in all, not much was done, but the morning was really fun.
I got a dress made and picked it up this week and gave them some fabric to make me a skirt with pockets. I love pockets. My dress is pretty and I’ll try to put a picture of it up so you can see it, its green, yellow and black. The fabric for my skirt is brown and green.
Thursday, I went to the orphanage in town for my practical activity teaching about the importance of hand washing and the important times to do so. It went pretty well and the kids definitely needed the talk. They knew they were supposed to wash their hands before eating, but didn’t know the other times or the reason why they should wash their hands. So I feel good about doing that and it was good practice speaking in Kinyarwanda and getting a feel for doing health activities in Kinyarwanda. It was definitely necessary for me to have a translator though. There were a few questions that I did not understand or didn’t know the right words to answer. We made them a poster with all the important times to wash hands on it so they would have a reminder. We had a language exam Saturday morning. I didn’t do amazing. We have to reach mid to high intermediate to be sworn in as volunteers; I will be swearing in! We lost power Saturday and by Sunday the water was out as well. The water turned on Monday afternoon and the power in the evening. So two days without power and one without water. It was awesome. They have huge tanks to catch rainwater here, so we still had access to water, but we didn’t have running water in the sinks, toilets or showers. We have been so spoiled here with our electricity and running water. I am super spoiled at site too, but there are a few who do not have electricity and whose water source is a ways away from their house. This is definitely not what I was expecting to have for PC. I thought I would be in a mud hut with no power and have to walk with a bucket of water on my head. I am really happy that I get to live so luxuriously, don’t get me wrong, its just not at all what I had been picturing these past few years when I was thinking of going into the PC. This will definitely make it a lot easier on me.
We had our LCF party Saturday night after the test at the Chinese restaurant in town. We each made a card for an LCF and had them read it aloud to the group. We have one teacher whom we have taught some American phrases to, such as; that’s what she said, chillax, you are terrible (which he pronounces tellible), who was soooo funny when he was reading his card aloud because they put in a lot of his sayings in there and he thought it was so funny and would do a spin after he read each one. It was a fun night and a good way to say thank you to all of our teachers (they wont be coming with us to swearing in in Kigali). Sunday was spent trying to entertain ourselves because the power was out and there was a huge wind and rain storm, so we couldn’t go outside and do anything. We tried to watch 27 dresses (9 of us in one room), but both computers died before we were able to finish it and everyone else's computers were already dead. So, Meredith, Anna and I played Phase 10 and a big group of us played catch phrase in the dark in the conference room (the sun went down while we were playing, but none of us had our flashlights with us so we just kept playing in the dark until dinner). After dinner, since it was so dark and we were all bored, we sat around a single candle and told ghost stories. I remembered one someone told me while we were in Kenya about a bride getting trapped in a secret door in the basement of a house while playing hide and go seek and dying there only to be found years later, so I told that one. One of the guys here from Chicago had some really good ones that his crazy grandfather told him and EVERYONE who grew up or had lived in Ohio at some point had some good ones. So I decided never to move to Ohio (sorry Em).
This week we were back to the daily grind of language. We did have one session with our associate Peace Corps director, but other than that it was all language! On April fools day we played some jokes on our teachers and our director (who’s worked with Americans many times before) joined in. First thing we did was to hide the bell that calls us to class, then we all switched classes. It wasn’t that funny because none of the teachers even realized and just went on with the lesson, but they were all looking for the bell and we started class 15 minutes late. Our director got a few people really good. He told one girl that she had a visitor waiting for her out front, so she went out front all excited and there was no one there. Then he called 3 girls into his office after our first language session because they switched classes, so we were all feeling bad for them for being the only ones getting caught, but it was just a joke. Lastly (of what I heard), he came up to one volunteer and told her that she had a large package sent from home and that she needed to call Francesca and give her more money to receive it. That one was mean! You can’t joke about packages! They’re too important! All in all, not much was done, but the morning was really fun.
I got a dress made and picked it up this week and gave them some fabric to make me a skirt with pockets. I love pockets. My dress is pretty and I’ll try to put a picture of it up so you can see it, its green, yellow and black. The fabric for my skirt is brown and green.
Thursday, I went to the orphanage in town for my practical activity teaching about the importance of hand washing and the important times to do so. It went pretty well and the kids definitely needed the talk. They knew they were supposed to wash their hands before eating, but didn’t know the other times or the reason why they should wash their hands. So I feel good about doing that and it was good practice speaking in Kinyarwanda and getting a feel for doing health activities in Kinyarwanda. It was definitely necessary for me to have a translator though. There were a few questions that I did not understand or didn’t know the right words to answer. We made them a poster with all the important times to wash hands on it so they would have a reminder. We had a language exam Saturday morning. I didn’t do amazing. We have to reach mid to high intermediate to be sworn in as volunteers; I will be swearing in! We lost power Saturday and by Sunday the water was out as well. The water turned on Monday afternoon and the power in the evening. So two days without power and one without water. It was awesome. They have huge tanks to catch rainwater here, so we still had access to water, but we didn’t have running water in the sinks, toilets or showers. We have been so spoiled here with our electricity and running water. I am super spoiled at site too, but there are a few who do not have electricity and whose water source is a ways away from their house. This is definitely not what I was expecting to have for PC. I thought I would be in a mud hut with no power and have to walk with a bucket of water on my head. I am really happy that I get to live so luxuriously, don’t get me wrong, its just not at all what I had been picturing these past few years when I was thinking of going into the PC. This will definitely make it a lot easier on me.
We had our LCF party Saturday night after the test at the Chinese restaurant in town. We each made a card for an LCF and had them read it aloud to the group. We have one teacher whom we have taught some American phrases to, such as; that’s what she said, chillax, you are terrible (which he pronounces tellible), who was soooo funny when he was reading his card aloud because they put in a lot of his sayings in there and he thought it was so funny and would do a spin after he read each one. It was a fun night and a good way to say thank you to all of our teachers (they wont be coming with us to swearing in in Kigali). Sunday was spent trying to entertain ourselves because the power was out and there was a huge wind and rain storm, so we couldn’t go outside and do anything. We tried to watch 27 dresses (9 of us in one room), but both computers died before we were able to finish it and everyone else's computers were already dead. So, Meredith, Anna and I played Phase 10 and a big group of us played catch phrase in the dark in the conference room (the sun went down while we were playing, but none of us had our flashlights with us so we just kept playing in the dark until dinner). After dinner, since it was so dark and we were all bored, we sat around a single candle and told ghost stories. I remembered one someone told me while we were in Kenya about a bride getting trapped in a secret door in the basement of a house while playing hide and go seek and dying there only to be found years later, so I told that one. One of the guys here from Chicago had some really good ones that his crazy grandfather told him and EVERYONE who grew up or had lived in Ohio at some point had some good ones. So I decided never to move to Ohio (sorry Em).
Thursday, April 2, 2009
more of the house
I cant seem to make this work properly, so i will keep trying. here are some of me on the top of my hill, thats the school and down from the school is my clinic. My kitchen is this awesome building at the side of my house and these are the tea fields on the way to my village.
week 8 and some more pictures!
My living room
me on the way
Week 8
This week was full of surprises; on Wednesday, we had to practice making malaria slides, so we had to prick our finger and make a thick blood smear and a thin one. I was sitting next to my future roommate and being a total wimp and not pricking my finger, when she pinned me down and did it for me. It didn’t even hurt. I bled a lot though, surprisingly. Some people didn’t bleed enough to make a good slide and I couldn’t stop bleeding! So, that was an interesting day. Thursday morning while sitting at breakfast, we had an earthquake! A few volunteers from the east coast and the south had never been in an earthquake before, so it was fun to be with them through it. The epicenter was in Cyangugu, my future home, and it was a 6.1. Here it was just a little bit of rocking, but I am interested to see how my house held up. Then, Thursday night during dinner, the electricity went out. During the day, I went to a clinic about an hours walk from where we stay to help out with the maternal and child health activities that are going on this week. We showed up at the clinic and the lady who runs the clinic, and apparently the only one who knew we were coming, wasn’t there yet; so we waited around until she came and then she told half of us to walk with a lady down the street (we ended up at a school) and she took two volunteers with her in the car to another school. We sat at the school for about an hour, cutting paper into small squares and making cotton balls and then I asked if we could help with anything else and she said no, so we left and went to one of our teachers houses for a fanta and to see her kids. While there, we got a call from the other two volunteers that they didn’t know where they were and the lady that drove them there took off and left them. So, they just started walking and we finished our fantas and went to the road to wait for them. After about 15 minutes of waiting we started walking in the opposite direction that we came hoping that it was the direction they were headed. We finally found them and walked back to the center together. We went to the orphanage where we will be doing our practical activities and spent some time with the kids and the house parents (nuns). Then came home and took a test on the technical trainings we received. After the test, it was one of the volunteer’s birthdays, so we went to a Chinese restaurant in town for dinner and made a betting pool on who did the worst on the test. If you have the lowest score, you win the pot. The food took almost 2 ½ hours to get to the table, and we had to call our director and let him know we were going to miss curfew (10pm). When we got back to the center, we had cupcakes with nutella frosting for him. It was a good day!
Friday was graduation at the National University of Rwanda where 9 of our teachers graduated. It was hot and long and boring, but afterwards I went to a few parties, which were somewhat fun. I am just upset that they were all at separate places, so I didn’t get to go to all of them. Two of our teachers had their party together at our director’s house and most of us went to that. The formalities here are crazy. There was a MC for the night and many speeches were made, all the while I was thinking this was going to be a fun celebration with a BBQ. I am learning a lot about Rwandan culture though through these interactions with my teachers. When you accept a gift, there is a formality to it in which the presenter gives a speech, then hands you the gift and while both of your hands are on the gift they sing a song, then you take the gift with both hands and set it back down on the table to be opened at another time. From the looks of it, you do not open gifts in front of people; you accept gratefully and open at another time. Kind of like a wedding in the US?
But the best part of this week was that I received my packages!!! I got a lot of magazines, so I can catch up on my smutty entertainment news (thanks auntie K and mom), I got new bath products which smell amazing, candy and protein bars! It was like Christmas, but so much better. We broke into our director’s office Thursday night after the cupcakes to receive our goods, because we cannot wait for such things, they’re too important. I got another amazing card from Cindy and a picture of my neighbor’s new baby! So, all in all, it was a good week.
Oh, and Saturday after a language session, we had a goodbye party with our resource families. I am still going to see them after the party (and did on Sunday), but it was the only time to have a formal goodbye. Two of the male volunteers played guitar and one sang a song (by Neutral Milk Hotel), and Meredith gave a speech in Kinyarwanda thanking the families. My mom didn’t show up until all the formalities were over and we were eating lunch, I was sitting at the orphan table when she came. She definitely is on Africa time.
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