Site Announcements!

October 7, 2012

Site Announcements. The two words on out training schedule that could elicit extreme excitement, fear and anxiety all at once. This wasn’t just finding out the name of our village, it was finding out how much we were going to sweat everyday, how far we were going to be from our friends, if we would be roughing it without electricity and what kind of school we would be teaching at.

Site announcements were Friday, October 5. It was a hub day, which is where twice a week all 34 trainees gather at “The Hub” (aka training center) to do sessions on cross culture, medical, safety and security, and technical (learning how to be a teacher). This hub day the nervous excitement was palpable.

After lunch, the staff and VATs (Volunteer Assistant Trainees, PC loves dem acronyms) brought out the map of Rwanda with pins in it to signify the locations of the previous two education groups. One by one, they pulled a name from a box and announce that trainees soon-to-be home for the next two years. The name of the village doesn’t mean much until you put it in the larger context: who else you are around, what side of the country you are on, how far off the main road, distance to cheese, etc.

The country is divided into 5 sectors, North, South, East, West and Kigali. The North is the most mountainous, it is cooler and has abundant green tea fields (along with the huge tourist attraction in the volcanoes, where the gorillas live). The South has rolling hills, a good fruit selection, but it known to be a little poorer. The East is what you think of when you hear the word Africa. It is a grassland savannah with safaris, but it is at a lower elevation, so it is hotter. The West is dominated by Lake Kivu, which also forms a larger border with the Congo. Kigali encompasses the area surrounding the capital.

I feel so fortunate to have received my site. I will be in the Northern Province in the Rulindo district. As such, it gets chilly at night (!!!!) but can be quite warm during the days. It is an hour bus ride North from Kigali and then either a 15 minute moto ride or a 45 minute walk to my village. My village is in a valley of tea fields so it is green AND flat! The closest volunteer to me is a 30 minute moto ride/ 3 hour trek up a mountain from me. She also happens to be a wonderfully good friend of mine. I am also at the junction of two roads so I can easily go up to the volcanoes to visit a friend or out to the NE to visit others. The best part of all… I am a 45 minute walk to a place that sells cheese. I can die happy now, I am so lucky.

My school is a day school with a small secondary school (where I will be teaching up to 300 students that are approximately middle school ages) and a caring headmaster. Tomorrow (Monday, October 8) we head to Kigali for meetings with our headmasters/ headmistresses and then from Tuesday- Saturday we will be visiting our sites. More info to come (and hopefully pictures as well)!

My Daily Commute

September 30, 2012

My commute has changed so much within one year. A year ago, it went something like this. Before leaving the house, make sure my iPod is fully charged as, God forbid I don’t have music to listen to on my way to work. I walk to the Metro while making as little eye contact as is physically possible. Before getting on the train, I pick up a newspaper to read so I can be as up to date as possible on current events. I can probably count on teo hands the times I spoke to strangers the entire year. In DC, the commute is just a way to get from Point A to Point B. It is something to be endured, not enjoyed.

Oh how different my commute is here in Rwanda. Forget the iPod; I am pretty sure I left it on the airplane, not that I would even need it for my commute here. I make sure I say goodbye to my Mama before leaving the house, ensuring that my knees and shoulders are covered for the 45 minute walk up a mountain. The  moment I walk out the gate I begin greeting anyone and everyone: school children, Mamas, people on their way to work. You see, Rwanda is a VERY community centered country and not greeting can be seen as a rude gesture.

I am the first leg of the carpool (as we so named our walking group) as I am the farthest out trainee in my area. I meet up with the Smiths, an awesome young, married couple who have become great friends, at the well where our respective roads fork. As we walk up the main road through the village center we pick up Mike, Eliza and Julia in that order, greeting as we go while dodging bikes, motos and buses.

Once we turn off the main road we are constantly reminded of our location. The red, dirt footpaths and numerous green banana trees are juxtaposed against the stunning backdrop of rolling mountains. Every once in a while a goat or chicken will run across our path, just in case we forgot we were in central Africa for a second. We pass the always populated water pump, where children balance jerry cans of approximately their weight on their heads, something that astounds me every time I see it. We eventually make it to our training center, sweating out all of our preciously bleached and filtered water. Every time. Without fail.

The way back home is always better as we make our way down the mountain. We stop for our daily cup of ichai (tea with milk and sugar) at our favorite place, sometimes springing for the more expensive cold coke (or warm, depending if the electricity is out). After this we drop off the carpool one by one until it is only me for the last ten minutes or so. As I turn off onto my road my normal greeting crew runs toward me, led by the outstretched arms of my 7-year-old host sister, Glasse. As I swing her into a hug, I realize how very fortunate I am to be having this unique commuting experience.

The First Weekend

9/16/12

 

I have never been so happy to see water… But we have to start before there. We had been in Kigali for a few days before we jumped into out CBT (Community based training- characterized by living with host families while having 45 ish hours of in-class training per week). We all had 20 words of Kinyarwanda under our belt and one bag with us that contained all we held dear. PC Rwanda had a small ceremony for us to introduce us to our new families. It went like this: They would call the name of the host family and the representative would stand. Then they would call the name of a PCT and everyone would clap and yell, while the new families exchanged many, if not slightly awkward for the more reserved Americans, hugs, before our new parents grabbed us by the hand and took us to our new seats together. This happened 32 times. One word comes to mind: overwhelming. By the times all the names were called and we were dropped off at our houses, it was full dark. Now mind you, full dark hits at about 6:15 PM and lasts until 6AM everyday. We pulled up to my new house and I immediately knew I was not one of the lucky ones that would have electricity. Pair that with the zero English my family knows and I was more overwhelmed than I ever thought possible. I awkwardly got through dinner while still trying to figure out which of the 15 odd kids in the courtyard actually belonged to my parents (pretty sure it’s only 3).

In Rwanda it is taboo to cry in front of people so I made my excuses after eating and holed up in my room. Thankfully I have already met some wonderful people, that cheering up was only a phone call away. Calling AJ, a third year who helped us our first few days in Kigali, was just what I needed. She let me know that yes, the crazy emotions were perfectly normal and that yes, this was one of the hardest nights. I got my cry on with her and then attempted to pass out. However, there are infinitely more strange noises here in Rwanda 1) Rwandan radio playing at all hours 2) Drunk, young men walking to and from the bars 3)Cows 4) Roosters. Needless to say it was a long night, but when I woke up(at 6AM no less, who have I become? A morning person?!?!?!) I felt hugely better. I ate a breakfast of tea and bread with my Papa and then we were off to church. I desperately hoped others from my training class would also be in attendance, but alas, I was the only American. As such, I got the seat of honor on the stage where all the action was (Ohh hello fish bowl of stares). After church I phoned some PCT friends and they all reassured me we were all in the same boat of being super unsure of ourselves and being scared of the situations we were all in. Thank Goodness! My Papa also handed me the phone to speak with one of my family’s previous host daughters. I don’t know why but this conversation put my in the best mood.

It also didn’t hurt that when I walked in, PC had finally delivered our promised drinking water (our water filters take a day to set up completely and PC was supposed to leave 5L of water at our host families to tide us over. Needless to say, they forgot). Magic. So one week in and I am already riding that PC roller coaster of emotions I had heard so much about. I am so thankful for the support system I have here, within our training class and with the current PCVs.

 

“That’s so PC” Checklist Accomplished

1. Made a baby cry because she had never seen a white person before (she still won’t look at me without crying)
2. Successfully used a pit latrine!!! (Huge mental hurdle)
3. Took a bucket bath
4. Had a HORDE of children follow me around while I made faces at them

Taught my host sister and her friends “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”. If I can ever get intern

Welcome to Kigali, Welcome to Rwanda

9/14/12

Tuesday morning (September 11) my Peace Corps adventure began. Saying goodbye to my family and dogs was the worst. I was already so drained from saying goodbyes over and over and I don’t think I quite realized how mentally and physically exhausting the whole process of leaving would be. I was glum through the flight to Atlanta (where our staging event was held overnight), trying not to cry so much that my face would be a red, splotchy mess while meeting my group.
All of my tears instantly dried when I boarded the shuttle to the hotel and met 10 members of my training class. We were all suffering from the post-goodbye blues but you could feel the excitement we all generated. WE got to the hotel with enough time to check in, change and meet downstairs to officially begin staging. With the signing of the check in paper, we were officially PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees). Forms upon forms upon forms. And then what can be called “Peace Corps Bootcamp” full of generic information about the PC and Rwanda. Besides ice breakers and mind numbing information, it was great to finally meet my stagin class. We all went out for some American fare and draught beers for dinner, as we knew it would be awhile until our next cold one.
We made our way to the airport the next morning to begin the 24 hours of travelling. KLM way outdid Delta but both flights were pretty much uneventful. The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the plane was the smell, the smell of wood fires. Absolutely wonderful. PC Staff and third year extenders were there to meet us at the airport and the PCV 3rd years stayed with us for te first couple of days in Kigali. They were fantastic, answering the thousand of questions we all had without getting frusterated. Tomorrow we head to our host families in the district of Kamonyi. We are all excited to get out of the Peace Corps compound and actually see Rwanda with our own eyes!