Tuesday there was a campaign going on for child vaccination, so we had a big line of kids first getting medicine to rid of intestinal worms and vitamin A, then I gave polio drops and then they got a shot of measles. This went on all week and it was just utter madness. Children screaming and kicking; it was for all kids 5 and under, and let me tell you, 5 year olds who do not want a shot are DIFFICULT!!! I got kicked, punched, spit on, peed on and almost bit a few times. The kids made it so much worse because they would start squirming when the needle went in and we couldn’t hold them down and it would bend the needle or just scrape across their arm. I ended up pretty much hog tying some of the kids. There were at least 5 people trying to hold this one girl down. She was hitting and kicking and writhing, spitting and biting. I gave her the medal for the craziest of the week. In between the holding down of children and the giving of polio drops, I took the deworming meds to the schools in the village. I got to hand out the meds to all the kids in every classroom. Some kids really liked the medicine and asked me for more; I think it was cherry flavored. Thursday, we were planning on getting a ride into the capital with a friend, but he texted and told us the car broke down, so we had to rush and get a ticket on the bus early Friday morning. We got on the 6:30am bus, so we had to leave the village on the moto by 5:45. We woke up super early and got everything together, we remembered to lock up the house and walked down to the “road”. The moto driver had called and said he was coming and so we waited at the juncture at the bottom of our hill because there are two paths he could take. It was still dark out, but there were surprisingly a lot of people out and about. We waited there for quite a while and then I called him again and he said he was in the office and said “come”, so we walked to the clinic and got on the motos. After about 5 minutes of driving, the moto driver stopped and I saw that the accountant was walking, so she jumped on the moto with me and I rode on the metal part on the back again. I almost broke my ankle at one point because he turned and there was a rock sticking up and I don’t have a foot rest, so my feet were just dangling and my foot got caught on the rock and twisted backwards. It was completely loose though, so no damage was done, but it scared me so the rest of the ride I held my legs up. My bum was sore the entire weekend from holding my legs up the 25 minutes I was on the moto. We got into the capital and went to drop our bags at the hotel and then went to the office. A bunch of people were there and we ended up getting a ride to the directors house for the party. The new group of trainees arrived Thursday night, so we had a party for them at the director’s house. He had lots of wine and delicious food, so all the volunteers took advantage and we made a very interesting impression on all the newbies. Party ended around 7:30 and I got a ride home in the bus with all the trainees. I was in bed and asleep by 8:30pm, after being harassed by the Rwandan women’s soccer team who were staying in the same hotel as us. The next morning a group of us (we all usually stay at the same hotel when in the capital) went out to breakfast and then I went back to the office to try and finish up posting pictures, etc. I then went to the bank and pulled out some more money. After the bank I just went back to the hotel and lay in bed with a friend and we took a nap then went to the store and I got some cold grape juice!!! It was delicious!
Mutzig fest was starting at 6pm, so we just had to rest up until then. I went and met up with one of my trainers and he said he would come to the fest with us and he would bring a few trainees. We didn’t get onto the bus until about 7:30, but when we got to the park, I was blown away! It was a beautiful park with gardens and they had hung up strings of lights and there was a huge stage with a band and dj and there were tents everywhere with food and beer. About half the people there were white! It was so crazy to see so many white faces in one place. I kept trying to find my friends and i usually just look for the glowing face, but there were so many that I couldnt find them! It was all you can drink and all you can eat for the equivalent of about $10! Totally worth it! I had a wonderful night dancing and hanging out with friends and making new friends. I got home around 3am and woke up at 6:30 and had to get packed and eat breakfast and on the bus by 9:30. I had lost a friend during the night and so I was trying to call her and get in touch with her, but my phone had died and the power was out, so I went and banged on another volunteers door and we ended up figuring out where she was and that she was safe. The drive home was hellish! I was not feeling so well and was super tired and the bus driver stopped and yelled at a few passengers and made them switch seats and kept stopping the bus to rearrange bags and to get milk and ask for a worker and pick up a random Indian man on the side of the road. It was just ridiculous. I just wanted to get home and go to sleep! I got my own moto on the ride home, so that made me happy, nice cushy seat with foot pegs. All in all, it was an amazing weekend and I am definitely going to Mutzig fest next year!!! Oh, and the new group seems pretty cool. Already picked out the one who i want living near me.
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