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| From 2011-01-23 |
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| From 2011-01-23 |
All my love!
Annie
Monday, January 24, 2011
My new home!
Well my house is finally starting to feel like home! I was getting a little frustrated because my things were all scattered in random piles across my floors, I didn't realize how much I appreciate a little organization and I was getting a little sick of squatting on the floor to cook, wash dishes or do pretty much anything. But finally, last Thursday I got my furniture and it was worth the wait! I had it custom made (as pretty much all the furniture here is) and got a bed frame, bookshelf and table/counter which was probably one of the best purchases I've ever made. Kitchens in the traditional sense don't really exist here and people cook often times on the floor or whatever empty space they can find but I wasn't too keen on that idea so I had a table made that is at the height of a counter top and I had them put a shelf on the bottom to store food and dishes. It turned out perfect and now I'm excited about cooking again. I spent some time decorating and finding a place for everything so I finally feel like I'm getting settled in. They just finished my fence today along with a clothesline. Everything is starting to come together very nicely!
This is my bed with my mosquito net and the few decorations I have, send me pictures so I can fill my wall!
My bookshelf and the one little window I have in my place
My "kitchen" filled with my purchases from the market including a huge pile of plantains in the corner
The view from my front door and my fabulous fence!
All my love!
Annie
All my love!
Annie
Friday, January 21, 2011
Expectations
Throughout the entire application for the Peace Corps they talked about flexibility and expectations. I've learned things rarely turnout as you expect them to in life but when they say this in the Peace Corps they mean it. This wasn't going to be an issue for me, I was a nurse, a pediatric nurse at that, flexibility was my middle name. I prepared myself for anything and truly thought I was going into the PC without any expectations and ready to take on whatever came my way. Turns out...I had expectations.
I obviously expected things to be difficult and there to be challenges which of course there are, but I was caught off guard when the challenges were not the ones I expected. It's funny how things work like that.
First off, I was smacked in the face with homesickness. I really honestly didn't think this would be an issue for me and wasn't until my last few days at home and I began to realize just how difficult it was going to be to be so far from everyone I love. I've also come to realize that this will be an ongoing struggle for me but talks of friends and family coming to visit and possible a trip home makes 2 years much more manageable.
I remember having a conversation with some family members before I even knew where I was going in Africa and I told them I was most nervous about the bugs and the heat. And now here I am, in the middle of Africa, right next to the equator in sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt and using my 15 degree sleeping bag at night. Don't get me wrong, the sun here is strong and when it's out it is really hot but when it's cloudy it can actually get chilly (I mean 60 degrees not -25, sorry Minnesotans I'm one of those people now) We are in the rainy season now so I do expect it to get worse during the dry season. And as far as the bugs, I'm knocking on wood here as I type this, but they haven't been too bad either. There was about a week where we were invaded by locust/grasshopper looking bugs that were everywhere and seemed to have no navigation as they flew into anyone and anything but I made it out alive. Incidentally, however, the bugs did not as people here in Rwanda love to fry 'em up for a tasty snack, and yes, I even tried one! This is how desperate I am to integrate!!
So while I've managed to escape those challenges for the most part there is the unexpected challenge of living in a post-conflict country. Most know about the tragic history of Rwanda but more important however is the present and future of this country. The courage and wisdom Rwandans have to forgive and move forward is truly astounding and is an example to the rest of the world. Because of their resilience I'm not necessarily faced daily with the history but it is still there and there are occasional reminders. For example, April 1994 was when the genocide occurred, I gave my students a survey on the first day of class and found that most were born the same year and one can't help but wonder what their mother's were going through either pregnant or with new little babies.
Teaching I, of course, expected to be hard because, well, teaching is hard no matter what country you are in. What I didn't expect were the ways it would be hard. When I found out I was going to be teaching biology I freaked out a little, I've been working in a hospital for 4 years and honestly, some of the stuff I was going to be teaching I hadn't learned since I was in 8th grade. So I was worried about not knowing the content and that there was a good chance I wouldn't have a book to use as a reference. I have learned now, first of all that I do have a book (plus the internet) and that if I'm going to help any of my students here it's not going to be because they memorized each step of mitosis. What the students need here are critical thinking and problem solving skills. They have spent years memorizing facts and definitions but obviously that doesn't do any good. I need to teach these kids to think, to understand and apply...easier said then done. The other unexpected challenge related to teaching and currently the toughest is the language barrier. Two years ago the Rwandan government mandated that all classroom instruction go from French to English. This happened rather suddenly and without much prep so consequently the students are still lacking in their English vocabulary but they also have a very difficult time understanding me. They've all been taught English by non-native speakers with thick accents but to them, I'm the one with the thick accent. So I'm training myself to speak uncomfortably slow, pronounce my "T's" very clearly (it's waTER not wader) and repeat myself, over and over. It's quite frustrating ad at times it can feel like I don't have control of my class. They are all very well behaved but for example, the other day during phy ed the boys were playing soccer and some other students were nearby in a circle playing with a volleyball. The boys kept following their ball into the circle and kept playing with total disregard of the others and I was worried someone was going to get hurt but in order tell them to stop I couldn't just yell at them to stay on their own side of the field. No, I would need to stop their game completely, gather them, stand in front of them and tell them not to come into the circle all the while acting out what I was saying and shaking my head vigorously and hope that I got my point across. Sometimes it's just not worth it and I end up confusing them more than anything so I'm leaning to choose my battles. Everyday at least one of the other teachers asks me if the students understand what I am saying, I tell them no and they all say that in time they will learn and it will get easier. I hope so, for their sake and mine.
Honestly, I could go on and on about the expectations, mistakes, assumptions and challenges. I keep reminding myself though that this is all part of it and that now I can truly call myself flexible, ha!
All my love!
Annie
I obviously expected things to be difficult and there to be challenges which of course there are, but I was caught off guard when the challenges were not the ones I expected. It's funny how things work like that.
First off, I was smacked in the face with homesickness. I really honestly didn't think this would be an issue for me and wasn't until my last few days at home and I began to realize just how difficult it was going to be to be so far from everyone I love. I've also come to realize that this will be an ongoing struggle for me but talks of friends and family coming to visit and possible a trip home makes 2 years much more manageable.
I remember having a conversation with some family members before I even knew where I was going in Africa and I told them I was most nervous about the bugs and the heat. And now here I am, in the middle of Africa, right next to the equator in sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt and using my 15 degree sleeping bag at night. Don't get me wrong, the sun here is strong and when it's out it is really hot but when it's cloudy it can actually get chilly (I mean 60 degrees not -25, sorry Minnesotans I'm one of those people now) We are in the rainy season now so I do expect it to get worse during the dry season. And as far as the bugs, I'm knocking on wood here as I type this, but they haven't been too bad either. There was about a week where we were invaded by locust/grasshopper looking bugs that were everywhere and seemed to have no navigation as they flew into anyone and anything but I made it out alive. Incidentally, however, the bugs did not as people here in Rwanda love to fry 'em up for a tasty snack, and yes, I even tried one! This is how desperate I am to integrate!!
So while I've managed to escape those challenges for the most part there is the unexpected challenge of living in a post-conflict country. Most know about the tragic history of Rwanda but more important however is the present and future of this country. The courage and wisdom Rwandans have to forgive and move forward is truly astounding and is an example to the rest of the world. Because of their resilience I'm not necessarily faced daily with the history but it is still there and there are occasional reminders. For example, April 1994 was when the genocide occurred, I gave my students a survey on the first day of class and found that most were born the same year and one can't help but wonder what their mother's were going through either pregnant or with new little babies.
Teaching I, of course, expected to be hard because, well, teaching is hard no matter what country you are in. What I didn't expect were the ways it would be hard. When I found out I was going to be teaching biology I freaked out a little, I've been working in a hospital for 4 years and honestly, some of the stuff I was going to be teaching I hadn't learned since I was in 8th grade. So I was worried about not knowing the content and that there was a good chance I wouldn't have a book to use as a reference. I have learned now, first of all that I do have a book (plus the internet) and that if I'm going to help any of my students here it's not going to be because they memorized each step of mitosis. What the students need here are critical thinking and problem solving skills. They have spent years memorizing facts and definitions but obviously that doesn't do any good. I need to teach these kids to think, to understand and apply...easier said then done. The other unexpected challenge related to teaching and currently the toughest is the language barrier. Two years ago the Rwandan government mandated that all classroom instruction go from French to English. This happened rather suddenly and without much prep so consequently the students are still lacking in their English vocabulary but they also have a very difficult time understanding me. They've all been taught English by non-native speakers with thick accents but to them, I'm the one with the thick accent. So I'm training myself to speak uncomfortably slow, pronounce my "T's" very clearly (it's waTER not wader) and repeat myself, over and over. It's quite frustrating ad at times it can feel like I don't have control of my class. They are all very well behaved but for example, the other day during phy ed the boys were playing soccer and some other students were nearby in a circle playing with a volleyball. The boys kept following their ball into the circle and kept playing with total disregard of the others and I was worried someone was going to get hurt but in order tell them to stop I couldn't just yell at them to stay on their own side of the field. No, I would need to stop their game completely, gather them, stand in front of them and tell them not to come into the circle all the while acting out what I was saying and shaking my head vigorously and hope that I got my point across. Sometimes it's just not worth it and I end up confusing them more than anything so I'm leaning to choose my battles. Everyday at least one of the other teachers asks me if the students understand what I am saying, I tell them no and they all say that in time they will learn and it will get easier. I hope so, for their sake and mine.
Honestly, I could go on and on about the expectations, mistakes, assumptions and challenges. I keep reminding myself though that this is all part of it and that now I can truly call myself flexible, ha!
All my love!
Annie
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Ups and downs
So pretty much everyday since I've gotten to my site I've woken up a little sad and homesick. One morning this was triggered by a dream I had where my mom, dad and I were going to my grandpa's to eat Booya (soup) my dad had made which in reality happens fairly often and I would do just about anything to make that happen right now. Another day it was after I watched the sildeshow my sister had posted on her blog, (check it out! She is ridiculously talented!! www.everydayextraordinary1.blogspot.com) it's absolutely beautiful but it had me crying like a baby!
But just as consistent as my mood in the morning, I go to bed each night with so much happiness and excitement energized from the day and the kindness I am shown by the people around me. I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful community (I hope I'm not jinxing myself here!). Even though the things I do probably seem crazy and my vocabulary is less than that of a 2 year old, everyone is so kind, generous and patient with me. If this is any sign of what is to come I'm going to have an amazing 2 years here!
A fellow volunteer described it best when she said that Peace Corps is like being bi-polar. Here there aren't good days and bad days, there are good minutes and bad minutes. Things change so quickly and the highs are so high but the lows can be pretty low too. I'm sure overtime things will even out and truly they have begun to already. After 2 months of training learning about the do's and don'ts of Rwanda and of Peace Corps I came here worrying about every move I made; what would PC think, what do the villagers think, is it ok to hang out with that person, etc, etc. If I tried to follow all the recommendations PC made I would either never leave my house or offend everyone in my village. So now I'm working to find a balance somewhere between keeping my boundaries but still being genuine and honest with people. I'm confident that my own judgment and good intentions will lead to good things and if not then it was out of my control anyway but at least I will know I did what I could. This change in perspective has taken a lot of the pressure off that I was feeling initially and made things much easier.
So even though this emotional roller coaster can be exhausting I'm actually grateful to experience both ends of the spectrum. Missing home has made me appreciate all the things I took for granted and will make it all that much sweeter when I return and of course the highs are what keep me here.
All my love!
Annie
But just as consistent as my mood in the morning, I go to bed each night with so much happiness and excitement energized from the day and the kindness I am shown by the people around me. I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful community (I hope I'm not jinxing myself here!). Even though the things I do probably seem crazy and my vocabulary is less than that of a 2 year old, everyone is so kind, generous and patient with me. If this is any sign of what is to come I'm going to have an amazing 2 years here!
A fellow volunteer described it best when she said that Peace Corps is like being bi-polar. Here there aren't good days and bad days, there are good minutes and bad minutes. Things change so quickly and the highs are so high but the lows can be pretty low too. I'm sure overtime things will even out and truly they have begun to already. After 2 months of training learning about the do's and don'ts of Rwanda and of Peace Corps I came here worrying about every move I made; what would PC think, what do the villagers think, is it ok to hang out with that person, etc, etc. If I tried to follow all the recommendations PC made I would either never leave my house or offend everyone in my village. So now I'm working to find a balance somewhere between keeping my boundaries but still being genuine and honest with people. I'm confident that my own judgment and good intentions will lead to good things and if not then it was out of my control anyway but at least I will know I did what I could. This change in perspective has taken a lot of the pressure off that I was feeling initially and made things much easier.
So even though this emotional roller coaster can be exhausting I'm actually grateful to experience both ends of the spectrum. Missing home has made me appreciate all the things I took for granted and will make it all that much sweeter when I return and of course the highs are what keep me here.
All my love!
Annie
Friday, January 14, 2011
Market Day...
To adequately describe the market here in Rwanda is an impossible task. It is an experience unlike any other I have had full of new things, people, sounds, and smells. The first time I went to the market was just days after arriving in Nyanza, I was completely overwhelmed and wanted to leave immediately. I did not think I would ever actually be able to buy things there and now it's what I look forward to all week long.
The market is where you buy everything, food, dishes, clothes, tools, purses, etc, you name it, it's got it (that is if they even have it in Africa). There are some small shops in towns where you can purchase food but mostly just packaged items, all the fresh foods you get at the market. In Kigali there are a couple places that are similar to Target or Walmart but they are outragously expensive and really only the foreigners shop there. So everyone goes to the market. Every city/village has one, in Rwamagana (the biggest city nearest to me) there is one everyday but Wednesdays and Saturdays are the good days when more vendors come in especially with more clothes.
The market in my village is a particularly unique experience though. It's only once a week, it opens at around 4pm and everyone in about a 2 mile radius comes. Like I said in my previous post , everyone that is out on Friday evening is going to the market and as moved with the crowd I could hear the hum of voices before I could even see anyone. The market is packed with vendors selling their items on makeshift tables made of cut branches and covered with straw mats. The is row after row of people fruits and vegetables, they are selling tomatoes stacked in prefect little pyramids ready to be sold along with onions, peppers and garlic. Then you move to the tables full of fruit; bananas, bunches with 12 little half sized bananas, lots of mangoes because they are in season now, huge ripe pineapples, passion fruit and limes. There are other tables where they sell salt, several types of flour and oil. Then there are the tables with small dried fish which I assume to be sardines, you know from the smell you are getting close to theses tables far before you approach them. They look like they were pulled out of the water, left to dry in the sun for a few hours and then brought to the market. I honestly don't know how they are cooked as I haven't had the misfortune of being served them yet. Along the periphery there are dozens of potato sacks filled with potatoes, rice, dried beans, and sweet potatoes.
Then there is my favorite part of the entire market, the clothes piles. There are huge rice sacks of used clothes that are thrown on to piles to be rummaged through. This can provide hours of entertainment looking both for things you would actually wear and the most ridiculous clothes you can possible imagine. Sometimes some of the clothes are hung up but the price goes up significantly and by that I mean a shirt goes from $0.15 to $1.50.
Today was my second time at the market in my village and both times I went with my neighbor. She and her husband own the shop next to my house and she has taken me under her wing. She is probably in her mid 30's and quite beautiful. She has 3 kids, the oldest being 10 and youngest about 3. She has been very kind and generous and I'm so grateful to have her looking out for me. She doesn't speak much English so we have to rely mostly on my Kinyarwanda to communicate which is definitely lacking. It's good though because she is my motivation to improve my language skills.
So while I don't mind shopping in the market by myself it's nice to have her take me. In the larger cities it's not that unusual to see a muzungu in the market but in my village it's likely never happened before so I an even bigger spectacle than usually. So we get to the market, I pull out my list and she literally holds my hand and leads me to each vendor to purchase all of the items. Then there is the whole bargaining process. When we arrive at a table with pineapple for example, each and every one is examined to find the best one then a price is negotiated. This is expected you can pretty much always talk them down. They give you a price that's way too high, you follow with one that's way too low and then you meet somewhere in the middle. If they won't go down and it's too high you simply walk away and sometimes they will come running after you to accept your price which feels like a small victory.
The market is jam packed full of people, men and women, old and young. There are young boys everywhere with their bikes ready to transport big loads for people. There are women with their babies tied to their backs and 20lb misshapen bag of potatoes on their head (how they manage either of those tasks is beyond me). And there are people just socializing, talking about their families, who has the best tomatoes and where they can get the best price on beans. It's all real and genuine and I love it!
The market is where you buy everything, food, dishes, clothes, tools, purses, etc, you name it, it's got it (that is if they even have it in Africa). There are some small shops in towns where you can purchase food but mostly just packaged items, all the fresh foods you get at the market. In Kigali there are a couple places that are similar to Target or Walmart but they are outragously expensive and really only the foreigners shop there. So everyone goes to the market. Every city/village has one, in Rwamagana (the biggest city nearest to me) there is one everyday but Wednesdays and Saturdays are the good days when more vendors come in especially with more clothes.
The market in my village is a particularly unique experience though. It's only once a week, it opens at around 4pm and everyone in about a 2 mile radius comes. Like I said in my previous post , everyone that is out on Friday evening is going to the market and as moved with the crowd I could hear the hum of voices before I could even see anyone. The market is packed with vendors selling their items on makeshift tables made of cut branches and covered with straw mats. The is row after row of people fruits and vegetables, they are selling tomatoes stacked in prefect little pyramids ready to be sold along with onions, peppers and garlic. Then you move to the tables full of fruit; bananas, bunches with 12 little half sized bananas, lots of mangoes because they are in season now, huge ripe pineapples, passion fruit and limes. There are other tables where they sell salt, several types of flour and oil. Then there are the tables with small dried fish which I assume to be sardines, you know from the smell you are getting close to theses tables far before you approach them. They look like they were pulled out of the water, left to dry in the sun for a few hours and then brought to the market. I honestly don't know how they are cooked as I haven't had the misfortune of being served them yet. Along the periphery there are dozens of potato sacks filled with potatoes, rice, dried beans, and sweet potatoes.
Then there is my favorite part of the entire market, the clothes piles. There are huge rice sacks of used clothes that are thrown on to piles to be rummaged through. This can provide hours of entertainment looking both for things you would actually wear and the most ridiculous clothes you can possible imagine. Sometimes some of the clothes are hung up but the price goes up significantly and by that I mean a shirt goes from $0.15 to $1.50.
Today was my second time at the market in my village and both times I went with my neighbor. She and her husband own the shop next to my house and she has taken me under her wing. She is probably in her mid 30's and quite beautiful. She has 3 kids, the oldest being 10 and youngest about 3. She has been very kind and generous and I'm so grateful to have her looking out for me. She doesn't speak much English so we have to rely mostly on my Kinyarwanda to communicate which is definitely lacking. It's good though because she is my motivation to improve my language skills.
So while I don't mind shopping in the market by myself it's nice to have her take me. In the larger cities it's not that unusual to see a muzungu in the market but in my village it's likely never happened before so I an even bigger spectacle than usually. So we get to the market, I pull out my list and she literally holds my hand and leads me to each vendor to purchase all of the items. Then there is the whole bargaining process. When we arrive at a table with pineapple for example, each and every one is examined to find the best one then a price is negotiated. This is expected you can pretty much always talk them down. They give you a price that's way too high, you follow with one that's way too low and then you meet somewhere in the middle. If they won't go down and it's too high you simply walk away and sometimes they will come running after you to accept your price which feels like a small victory.
The market is jam packed full of people, men and women, old and young. There are young boys everywhere with their bikes ready to transport big loads for people. There are women with their babies tied to their backs and 20lb misshapen bag of potatoes on their head (how they manage either of those tasks is beyond me). And there are people just socializing, talking about their families, who has the best tomatoes and where they can get the best price on beans. It's all real and genuine and I love it!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
"First" Day
School has begun! Well sort of. The date given by the Ministry of Education for school to start was January 10th but as we were previously warned this really isn't the case. It's not like in the states where teachers begin preparing their classroom weeks in advance. No, here most of the teachers didn't even know what subject they were going to teach for the year until Tuesday. So Monday really nothing happened, I went to school for a while, some of the students began arriving and I met most of the staff and that was it. Yesterday (Tuesday) I was at school at 8:30 and waited until about 2 for a staff meeting (not quite the respect for time like in the states either) where we received the schedule of classes. I found out I was teaching Senior 2 Biology as I had expected, as well as Phy Ed which I had not. It's only one hour a week but I'm going to have to get creative since the only equipment we have is a soccer ball and volleyball. Any and all ideas are welcome! I have to say though, I have a pretty sweet schedule with Fridays off which will leave me more time to work on secondary projects.
So I was told that today (Wednesday), classes would begin and I was to teach 2 classes of biology and one phy ed. I had all my lessons prepared and got to school early to find only a few teachers there. The students were all out doing chores around the school and when 7:30 rolled around they continued to work. Eventually they all were all told where their classrooms were but they all just sort of milled about. There are supposed to be two S2 classes but since not all the students have arrived they were combined for today. I was told that I should go to class and "converse" with the students but that was all I needed to do. I think I was the only one that actually did this though as I never even saw many of the teachers at school today. So I went into my class and introduced myself and had the students do the same (learning all of their names will be quite the challenge, let me tell you!) and then that was it. I didn't bother teaching my 2nd biology or phy ed class because there wasn't really anything to do with them since half the students weren't there and I would just have to repeat myself later. So I ditched school and I went shopping instead! (I did have permission though of course) I went to town to pay for the furniture I ordered and to the market to pick up some odds and ends I still needed and some work clothes. This is the first time I've had to wear "real" clothes to work and not just scrubs. Luckily Rwanda is a place where it is perfectly acceptable to wear the exact same outfit 2 day in a row and where you can buy a perfectly good Banana Republic shirt for $0.15. No lie.
Tomorrow I'm hoping there will be a little more structure but not really counting on it. Until all the students are all here, which will likely be next week, I really don't think much is going to happen.
Sending love from Rwanda!
Annie
p.s. I updated my address and here is the link to some more pictures! Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/AnniePexa/TheLastDaysOfTraining?authkey=Gv1sRgCN3skcTh5e3geg&feat=directlink
So I was told that today (Wednesday), classes would begin and I was to teach 2 classes of biology and one phy ed. I had all my lessons prepared and got to school early to find only a few teachers there. The students were all out doing chores around the school and when 7:30 rolled around they continued to work. Eventually they all were all told where their classrooms were but they all just sort of milled about. There are supposed to be two S2 classes but since not all the students have arrived they were combined for today. I was told that I should go to class and "converse" with the students but that was all I needed to do. I think I was the only one that actually did this though as I never even saw many of the teachers at school today. So I went into my class and introduced myself and had the students do the same (learning all of their names will be quite the challenge, let me tell you!) and then that was it. I didn't bother teaching my 2nd biology or phy ed class because there wasn't really anything to do with them since half the students weren't there and I would just have to repeat myself later. So I ditched school and I went shopping instead! (I did have permission though of course) I went to town to pay for the furniture I ordered and to the market to pick up some odds and ends I still needed and some work clothes. This is the first time I've had to wear "real" clothes to work and not just scrubs. Luckily Rwanda is a place where it is perfectly acceptable to wear the exact same outfit 2 day in a row and where you can buy a perfectly good Banana Republic shirt for $0.15. No lie.
Tomorrow I'm hoping there will be a little more structure but not really counting on it. Until all the students are all here, which will likely be next week, I really don't think much is going to happen.
Sending love from Rwanda!
Annie
p.s. I updated my address and here is the link to some more pictures! Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/AnniePexa/TheLastDaysOfTraining?authkey=Gv1sRgCN3skcTh5e3geg&feat=directlink
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Let the fun begin...
I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer! After thinking, planning and imagining for about a year and half here I am, it's real now! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least and honestly I can barely remember what happened but I'll do my best to sum it all up.
After Christmas we were all in a frenzy to get ready to go to site and more importantly pass our LPI (Language Proficiency Exam - I don't know what the 'I' stands for) and a few other random policy tests but the LPI was definitely the most important. I was quite anxious about it as I didn't do well the the mock LPI we had the week before. I spent the entire week devoting all my free time to studying and thankfully it paid off and I passed my test with flying colors. New Years was actually pretty uneventful as we were all quite exhausted and had to force ourselves to stay up until midnight. On New Years Day, myself and 6 other trainees hosted a party to say goodbye to our resource families. We cooked a modified version of fajitas as well as some Rwandan food. There were approximately 35-40 people who came but miraculously there was enough food for everyone. It was complete chaos as there were people everywhere and the neighboring children kept jumping the fence and running in to steal food. All in all though it was a complete success and everyone had a great time!
New Years was also the day I skyped with my Grandpa who turned 101 on Christmas Eve. It was so amazing to actually see him and I think he was in complete awe of the entire thing. The changes he has seen in his 101 years are remarkable. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing role model in my life. Family has always been the most important thing to my Grandpa and he has instilled that in each of us but being away from home has truly taught me just how much my family means to me. I am so grateful to come from such a strong supportive family. Before I left and I had such a difficult time saying goodbye and my mom said to think of those that didn't have any trouble saying goodbye. I've often thought how true those words are, if I didn't care that I was leaving then my life and what I am doing here would be far less meaningful. I am overwhelmed with love in my life and there is nothing better to do than to share it.
Anyway...sorry to go off on a tangent, on the 2nd we went off to Kigali for some last minute shopping for site and swearing in. Then on Monday I, along with 64 others were sworn in as PCVs. The ceremony was hosted at the U.S. Ambassador's home which was beautiful of course. There were speeches given by trainees, the Ambassador as well as the Minister of Health here in Rwanda. After the ceremony we were treated by the embassy to some amazing American food which incuded lasagna, quiche, cold pasta salad and there was even ice for our drinks! Afterward we headed back to Nyanza and cooked the last meal with the far-side crew. This was the group of girls I lived with and the boys who lived nearby. We got the "far-side" nickname because we lived a significant distance from the rest of the trainees and were a little isolated from the others. As a result though the 8 of us spent a lot of time together cooking and just hanging out.
On Tuesday, bright and early people started leaving and the goodbyes began. On Wednesday it was my turn and 5 of us set out for the Eastern Providence to each of our respective sites. In the days leading up to this I had been feeling really good, I was done, I mean DONE with training and have been craving some independence and free time desperately. So honestly I wasn't all the nervous or sad to go mostly just excited. I had been feeling this way all day even until the Peace Corps van pulled away with the others, it all suddenly felt real and I was alone. After a few deep breaths I mustered up the courage to go outside. I needed to speak with my Headmaster so I decided I would see if I could find him. I walked to the school (which is 100 yards away) but couldn't find him. I decided to attempt to ask someone so I approached a man sitting on the side of the road that was trying to get my attention. When I got to him he grabbed my arm and pulled as if to pull me to the ground so I pulled back and he stood up and immediately began to grab and pull at me and continued as I said no and pushed back. Of course there was a crowd watching this entire interaction and after I finally pushed him off and stormed away I was informed that this man had some mental issues. So happy this was the first person I chose to greet!
After this I was feeling a little flustered and wanted only to run home as quick as I could and shut myself in but thankfully out of nowhere, like and angel, a colleague I had met earlier in the day swooped in to rescue me! She took me to meet some people and get dinner and thanks to her I went to bed that night with hope and excitement rather than the fear and frustration I had been feeling ealier.
I've had 3 full days now here since. Thursday I met some of my neighbors. I guess you could say my house is in the center of town and by that I mean there is a small bank and 3 little shops but there are always people moving around the area. So I've hung out a little in each of the shops and have gotten to know the owners. Friday I stopped by one to say hello and finally got back home 5 hours later after I was taken to the other store for a fanta and then ended up at one of the woman's homes. After I made it back I then went to the market in my village with one of the shop owners. The market is only on Fridays and it was obvious it was market day just by the shear volume of people walking outside, it's the Rwandan version of rush hour. After about a 15 minute walk we arrived at the market which was actually much better than I had expected, there were clothes, shoes, school supplies and of course all the standard market food (potatoes, avocado, tomatoes, onion, bananas, cabbage, etc.) We didn't stay long as it was quite crowded so I didn't have a lot of time to explore but I'm excited to check it out more in the future. Today (Saturday) I went into Rwamagana the large city nearby. I met up with some other volunteers to do some shopping. There are about 7-8 volunteers that are all within an hour of Rwamagana. It's pretty crazy, I definitely thought I would be much more isolated and that it would be months before I would see another volunteer. I guess that's pretty much impossible when you cram 120 volunteers into such a tiny country.
My house is small but really nice. When I arrived on Wednesday they were still painting (a nice bright blue in case you were wondering) so I stayed next door but moved in on Friday. My place used to be one big room but they put in a divider so now I have two. I have a brand new latrine and shower just behind the house. I'm not too keen on venturing out at night to use the bathroom, right now at least but thankfully my days as a nurse taught me I can go a long time without going to the bathroom. I don't have any furniture yet so in the next few days I will find someone who can build me some of the basics. (bed, table, chairs, etc.) I'm really looking forward to unpacking, decorating and just getting settled in.
Although my days are filled with awkward moments and miscommunication I'm actually starting to feel at home. Places and people are starting to look familiar and let me tell you seeing a face I recognize here is just about the best feeling in the world! Today I was thinking about the exciting life changes that happen in the course of 2 years, births, weddings, etc. and I get to be a part of them while I'm here. I guess that's one of the main reasons I chose to do the Peace Corps and live here for 2 years. I want to really feel part of my community, not just an outsider that comes and then leaves again a few weeks or months later. Two years is a long time but I know it will be well worth it in the end.
All my love,
Annie
p.s. I do love getting mail, however please hold off sending any for now. I will be getting a new post box here at my site. I'll update soon!
After Christmas we were all in a frenzy to get ready to go to site and more importantly pass our LPI (Language Proficiency Exam - I don't know what the 'I' stands for) and a few other random policy tests but the LPI was definitely the most important. I was quite anxious about it as I didn't do well the the mock LPI we had the week before. I spent the entire week devoting all my free time to studying and thankfully it paid off and I passed my test with flying colors. New Years was actually pretty uneventful as we were all quite exhausted and had to force ourselves to stay up until midnight. On New Years Day, myself and 6 other trainees hosted a party to say goodbye to our resource families. We cooked a modified version of fajitas as well as some Rwandan food. There were approximately 35-40 people who came but miraculously there was enough food for everyone. It was complete chaos as there were people everywhere and the neighboring children kept jumping the fence and running in to steal food. All in all though it was a complete success and everyone had a great time!
New Years was also the day I skyped with my Grandpa who turned 101 on Christmas Eve. It was so amazing to actually see him and I think he was in complete awe of the entire thing. The changes he has seen in his 101 years are remarkable. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing role model in my life. Family has always been the most important thing to my Grandpa and he has instilled that in each of us but being away from home has truly taught me just how much my family means to me. I am so grateful to come from such a strong supportive family. Before I left and I had such a difficult time saying goodbye and my mom said to think of those that didn't have any trouble saying goodbye. I've often thought how true those words are, if I didn't care that I was leaving then my life and what I am doing here would be far less meaningful. I am overwhelmed with love in my life and there is nothing better to do than to share it.
Anyway...sorry to go off on a tangent, on the 2nd we went off to Kigali for some last minute shopping for site and swearing in. Then on Monday I, along with 64 others were sworn in as PCVs. The ceremony was hosted at the U.S. Ambassador's home which was beautiful of course. There were speeches given by trainees, the Ambassador as well as the Minister of Health here in Rwanda. After the ceremony we were treated by the embassy to some amazing American food which incuded lasagna, quiche, cold pasta salad and there was even ice for our drinks! Afterward we headed back to Nyanza and cooked the last meal with the far-side crew. This was the group of girls I lived with and the boys who lived nearby. We got the "far-side" nickname because we lived a significant distance from the rest of the trainees and were a little isolated from the others. As a result though the 8 of us spent a lot of time together cooking and just hanging out.
On Tuesday, bright and early people started leaving and the goodbyes began. On Wednesday it was my turn and 5 of us set out for the Eastern Providence to each of our respective sites. In the days leading up to this I had been feeling really good, I was done, I mean DONE with training and have been craving some independence and free time desperately. So honestly I wasn't all the nervous or sad to go mostly just excited. I had been feeling this way all day even until the Peace Corps van pulled away with the others, it all suddenly felt real and I was alone. After a few deep breaths I mustered up the courage to go outside. I needed to speak with my Headmaster so I decided I would see if I could find him. I walked to the school (which is 100 yards away) but couldn't find him. I decided to attempt to ask someone so I approached a man sitting on the side of the road that was trying to get my attention. When I got to him he grabbed my arm and pulled as if to pull me to the ground so I pulled back and he stood up and immediately began to grab and pull at me and continued as I said no and pushed back. Of course there was a crowd watching this entire interaction and after I finally pushed him off and stormed away I was informed that this man had some mental issues. So happy this was the first person I chose to greet!
After this I was feeling a little flustered and wanted only to run home as quick as I could and shut myself in but thankfully out of nowhere, like and angel, a colleague I had met earlier in the day swooped in to rescue me! She took me to meet some people and get dinner and thanks to her I went to bed that night with hope and excitement rather than the fear and frustration I had been feeling ealier.
I've had 3 full days now here since. Thursday I met some of my neighbors. I guess you could say my house is in the center of town and by that I mean there is a small bank and 3 little shops but there are always people moving around the area. So I've hung out a little in each of the shops and have gotten to know the owners. Friday I stopped by one to say hello and finally got back home 5 hours later after I was taken to the other store for a fanta and then ended up at one of the woman's homes. After I made it back I then went to the market in my village with one of the shop owners. The market is only on Fridays and it was obvious it was market day just by the shear volume of people walking outside, it's the Rwandan version of rush hour. After about a 15 minute walk we arrived at the market which was actually much better than I had expected, there were clothes, shoes, school supplies and of course all the standard market food (potatoes, avocado, tomatoes, onion, bananas, cabbage, etc.) We didn't stay long as it was quite crowded so I didn't have a lot of time to explore but I'm excited to check it out more in the future. Today (Saturday) I went into Rwamagana the large city nearby. I met up with some other volunteers to do some shopping. There are about 7-8 volunteers that are all within an hour of Rwamagana. It's pretty crazy, I definitely thought I would be much more isolated and that it would be months before I would see another volunteer. I guess that's pretty much impossible when you cram 120 volunteers into such a tiny country.
My house is small but really nice. When I arrived on Wednesday they were still painting (a nice bright blue in case you were wondering) so I stayed next door but moved in on Friday. My place used to be one big room but they put in a divider so now I have two. I have a brand new latrine and shower just behind the house. I'm not too keen on venturing out at night to use the bathroom, right now at least but thankfully my days as a nurse taught me I can go a long time without going to the bathroom. I don't have any furniture yet so in the next few days I will find someone who can build me some of the basics. (bed, table, chairs, etc.) I'm really looking forward to unpacking, decorating and just getting settled in.
Although my days are filled with awkward moments and miscommunication I'm actually starting to feel at home. Places and people are starting to look familiar and let me tell you seeing a face I recognize here is just about the best feeling in the world! Today I was thinking about the exciting life changes that happen in the course of 2 years, births, weddings, etc. and I get to be a part of them while I'm here. I guess that's one of the main reasons I chose to do the Peace Corps and live here for 2 years. I want to really feel part of my community, not just an outsider that comes and then leaves again a few weeks or months later. Two years is a long time but I know it will be well worth it in the end.
All my love,
Annie
p.s. I do love getting mail, however please hold off sending any for now. I will be getting a new post box here at my site. I'll update soon!
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