Tuesday, December 22, 2009

"You are proof that there are people who will do something." -SS

I am officially a United States Peace Corps Volunteer! We swore in on Saturday in a beautiful ceremony at the Ambassador’s residence in Kigali, and even made it onto the news! We got to watch ourselves on TV from our hotel Saturday night.

Swearing in was surprisingly bittersweet.  Even though training was only 10 weeks long, it feels like I just graduated college again and am going to be thrown out into this world that (let’s be honest) I still don’t really know much about. I won’t have my new friends around, and what's even more frightening is that I won’t have the teachers and trainers around who have made Rwanda everything that it is to me. Training is the Rwanda that I know, and that’s all about to change.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I am definitely still excited about moving to site, especially since I got to go check it out on Friday! I was able to meet a few teachers that I will work with, as well as both the Director and Vice Director of my school. I also got to see the school itself and the house that (I think) I will be living in. I also have reason to believe that I was destined to be in Mukamira, because there is a TEXAS SALOON there! Now, before you get too impressed, I should clarify one thing: saloons here, though spelled with the double ‘o’, are actually salons. The Texas Saloon is, unfortunately, not a hang-out reminiscent of swinging doors and cowboys, but a place to get your hair done. Nonetheless, it’s named after Texas and that makes me happy! I’ll try to get a picture of it after I’ve been there a while.

So, back to being a volunteer. Now that training is behind me I thought I’d post a few thoughts I haven’t yet expressed about the whole thing, a few of which are in response to questions many of you have asked me in personal emails.

The genocide. We did visit genocide memorials during training, and they were, as I’m sure you can imagine, extremely difficult to see. In Kigali, the memorial has an extensive historical account of Rwanda up to, during, and after the genocide, as well as videos and pictures of victims and their families. There are a few rooms dedicated solely to children who were killed in the genocide, and I can’t think of many moments in my life that I felt more sorrow than when I was standing in those rooms. I was told that many people were killed at the site that I’m moving to, and I know I will be teaching and working with survivors, orphans, and people who have experienced tragedies I can’t even begin to fathom.

Poverty. My living conditions during training have been extremely comfortable, and a lot of that won’t change when I go to site. Peace Corps does a great job of making sure we are able to have everything we need to live here.  We wouldn’t be here, though, if everybody here had everything they need. When I went to the Eastern Province to visit a health volunteer a few weeks ago, one of the things we did was play with the kids in the local hospital. I was really nervous about doing this, because hours after I arrived at her site a doctor told her that a little boy she had been playing with that morning had just passed away. He died of malnourishment, and the doctors were struggling to keep his mother alive. Although the children I played with were very, very sick, they exuded a joy that penetrated my soul. Their faces lit up at the sight of bubbles, crayons, and toy cars, and being a part of their day was an invaluable experience to me.

Now cheer up because this post is not meant to bring you down! I just want to make sure that I offer a small dose of reality every once in a while, because it’s important to remember that there are real, crucial reasons for Peace Corps being here.  I’m sure you’ve been able to gather from my previous posts, though, that despite some of the low points, I absolutely love the experience I’ve had here so far. In ten weeks, I have seen some of the most beautiful sunrises, sunsets, and night skies that my eyes have ever met. I have begun to learn a language that will forever connect me with people and a place that will be my home for the next two years. I have seen hills so high and green that it seems like the entire rest of the earth is right in front of me, and valleys so low that driving past them feels more like flying over them. I have played with kids who greet me in four languages and climb so high into trees it's like they're just standing on top of them. I have met women who spend every day selling fruits and vegetables in the market, and women who do all of their farming with their babies tied to their backs. In ten weeks, I have met people I will know and love for the rest of my life. And, remember, this is only the beginning!



A couple of friends and myself at our swearing in ceremony! We all had our dresses made here (except, of course, that silly boy).


Some of the amazing traditional dancers that performed for us.


Those of us going to the Western Province, with our Governor! Sorry about the quality.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

“They say where there are bananas, there are no secrets.” –JR, CD

This past week was essentially our last week of training as we know it!

Two other trainees and I worked last weekend to organize an all-day Tech workshop for Wednesday where we could tie up all the loose ends that were left after nine weeks of training. I’m happy to report that the workshop was a success! I think most of us left feeling much more confident about walking into a new school all alone and establishing ourselves with our co-workers and students. Most importantly, we drafted a 12-week curriculum to use for our first trimester. Whew!

On Thursday we had a small ceremony to bid farewell to our resource families, which also went really well. My resource mom gave me a huge bag of delicious avocadoes, mangoes, papaya, and pineapple! After nine weeks together everybody was much more comfortable than when we first met our families, and it was great to see the relaxed dynamic.

And the best news of all: we found out our sites Friday! I will be in Mukamira, Nyabihu district, which is in the Northwest. I know that doesn’t mean much to most of you, but I am so excited because I’m really close to the volcanoes! Our Country Director said you can definitely see them from my house on clear days. Now if that’s not enough reason for you to come visit I don’t know what is!

We’re tying up a few administrative loose ends this week and then on Thursday we’re off to Kigali to swear in on Saturday!

Love and miss you all. Thank you, Tanya, for sending me a picture of the Shaw Christmas tree!



My resource mom and I at the Farewell Party.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Winning and Rainbows

I thought things would slow down and I would be desperately bored once Model School ended, but that was definitely not the case this week! On Monday morning two trainees and I began a 4.5 hour trip east to visit some current volunteers in a town called Kibungo. We were all anxious to explore a new part of Rwanda and to see what life as a volunteer in Rwanda is really like.

First observation and favorite thing about Kibungo: LIGHTNING BUGS! There were so many. It reminded me of being a kid in central Texas, where we used to catch dozens of lightning bugs in a jar and just sit around watching them flash.

The volunteer I stayed with was really sweet and made me feel very comfortable in her cozy little apartment. She gave me some delicious tea and bagels for breakfast, and then she made zucchini, banana, and almond pancakes for supper one night! Besides the excitement of delicious food, one thing I was really encouraged by was her ability to communicate in Kinyarwanda. She didn’t seem to have any trouble at all talking with anybody. It was so motivating to see an American use the local language so effectively!

All three of us in my travel group were very excited to spend some time in Kigali on the way back. We hadn’t been to Kigali since our arrival in October, and we couldn’t wait to go shopping and eat at some of the restaurants we hear so much about from other volunteers. When we got to Kigali around 9:30 Wednesday morning, the first thing we did was get ice-cream! I’m sure my mom is cringing at the thought of me eating ice-cream for breakfast, but I have a legitimate argument: I got the mocha flavor! Therefore, it really wasn’t much different than having a cup of coffee at breakfast!

After our nutritious start to the day, we set out to explore the supermarkets. And supermarkets they were! They had everything from toothbrushes to refrigerators to barbeque sauce! You should all be proud, though, that I managed to walk away from our shopping trip with nothing more than a glue-stick. Who knew I had it in me?

For lunch we ate at an incredible pizza restaurant called Sun and Moon. They had white pizza! I didn’t think about missing spinach and cheese pizza much when I left, but my love for the treat was rekindled immediately upon finding it on the menu. (Note: I realize all of this food talk isn't really very exciting from your perspective, but it is a BIG DEAL here so just embrace it!)

Language and tech classes resumed as usual when we returned, and I quickly realized that Nyanza really is starting to feel like a home. We’re leaving soon so it won’t be home for long, but it was just so good to have something here feel familiar.

My great week quickly turned into a fantastic week this morning when I found out that Texas won the Big 12 Championship! I called my friend David Saturday morning (here) and told him to be ready to answer his phone with updates throughout the game, and my roommate had also asked her sister to call us during half-time.  Because of the time difference, the game was still happening in Texas when it was already early Sunday morning here. Around 4:30 a.m., my roommate’s sister called and told her Texas was ahead 7-6. At 6 a.m. I called David, and he told me it was 10-6, Texas, early in the fourth quarter. I was so nervous! I managed to fall back asleep for a bit, though, and when I called back at 6:45 David told me we won by ONE point with ONE second left! What an exciting game! I’m kind of glad I was asleep, though, because if I had been watching it I would have been a wreck!

Then, as if winning weren’t exciting enough, David was watching the game with my friends Shelby, Miles, and Patrick, and I got to talk to them for a few minutes! Quite an exciting morning I’ve had, indeed.

Two more weeks of training left, and then we swear in as volunteers! Love and miss you all.





One of the biggest, brightest, and most beautiful rainbows I've ever seen! That little building is a kitchen/outdoor latrine.