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!
Friday, January 14, 2011
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!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
love actually is all around...
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all enjoyed time with those you love!
My Christmas was definitely different than past years but we all made the most of it. The festivities began Christmas Eve with a white elephant gift exchange. This place is a gold mine for gag gifts so it was quite entertaining. Then we had our talent show and let me tell you this wasn't just your average talent show. I was blown away by my fellow trainees, there is some real talent in this group. There were multiple songs beautifully sung, a story told by a trainee (who is a professional storyteller) and her husband about the secret to a lasting relationship (they've been married 42 years) and a rendition of the 12 days of Christmas which was rewritten to be the 12 days of model school. It was all absolutely amazing and my cheeks ached the rest of the night from smiling so much! I participated with my house and the boys who live near us. We did a song called Crayola Doesn't Make a Color. It's pretty much the cutest song ever mostly because I think of my nephews and niece everytime I hear it. I recommend checking it out, you'll love it too! My essential role was to keep the beat using my fanta bottle and a knife and then I chimed in during the chorus. My roommates are quite talented so it turned out well and was a lot of fun! The night then turned into one big dance party! We had a blast but I think the Rwandans watching us the whole night were even more entertained! When I thought the day couldn't have gotten any better I watched my family open their Christmas presents via Skype. It was truly the best Chrsitmas present ever and there were lots of tears but lots of smiles and laughter too! It was a magical night!
Christmas was much more low-key. We did a little baking in the morning and had delicious lunch of chili and cornbread. Some very generous trainees donated their recipes and spices from America to the cause and fed all of us! It was definitely one of the best meals I've had since I got here! Then I spent the rest of the day in a food coma watching movies, it was just like home! We were able to clear out one of the classrooms and put about 12 matresses on the floor and projected the movies onto the wall. We all brought pillows and blankets and lounged around, it was fabulous! Best of all we got to watch Love Actually which is not only the best Christmas movie but definitely one of all time favorites! All in all it truly was a wonderful Christmas.
Now we just have about a week and a half before we all scatter across the country to our respective sites. On January 3rd we will swear in as volunteers in Kigali, between the 4th and the 7th (I go on the 5th) the Peace Corps will deliver each of us and all of our things to our sites and on January 10th school begins. I am really looking forward to teaching. It has always been something I wanted to do and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. I'm absolutely terrified though as well and know the first trimester will be a complete mess but with timehopefully it will all fall into place! I'll take any advice from any of the teachers out there though!
Other news since my last post:
There isn't much else going on otherwise. This next week we will all be busy studying our Kinyarwanda, on Thursday we will be tested on our proficieny and could potential not be sworn in if we are not at an intermediate-low level. Keep your fingers crossed I won't get a one way ticket back to MN.
All my love!
Annie
My Christmas was definitely different than past years but we all made the most of it. The festivities began Christmas Eve with a white elephant gift exchange. This place is a gold mine for gag gifts so it was quite entertaining. Then we had our talent show and let me tell you this wasn't just your average talent show. I was blown away by my fellow trainees, there is some real talent in this group. There were multiple songs beautifully sung, a story told by a trainee (who is a professional storyteller) and her husband about the secret to a lasting relationship (they've been married 42 years) and a rendition of the 12 days of Christmas which was rewritten to be the 12 days of model school. It was all absolutely amazing and my cheeks ached the rest of the night from smiling so much! I participated with my house and the boys who live near us. We did a song called Crayola Doesn't Make a Color. It's pretty much the cutest song ever mostly because I think of my nephews and niece everytime I hear it. I recommend checking it out, you'll love it too! My essential role was to keep the beat using my fanta bottle and a knife and then I chimed in during the chorus. My roommates are quite talented so it turned out well and was a lot of fun! The night then turned into one big dance party! We had a blast but I think the Rwandans watching us the whole night were even more entertained! When I thought the day couldn't have gotten any better I watched my family open their Christmas presents via Skype. It was truly the best Chrsitmas present ever and there were lots of tears but lots of smiles and laughter too! It was a magical night!
Christmas was much more low-key. We did a little baking in the morning and had delicious lunch of chili and cornbread. Some very generous trainees donated their recipes and spices from America to the cause and fed all of us! It was definitely one of the best meals I've had since I got here! Then I spent the rest of the day in a food coma watching movies, it was just like home! We were able to clear out one of the classrooms and put about 12 matresses on the floor and projected the movies onto the wall. We all brought pillows and blankets and lounged around, it was fabulous! Best of all we got to watch Love Actually which is not only the best Christmas movie but definitely one of all time favorites! All in all it truly was a wonderful Christmas.
Now we just have about a week and a half before we all scatter across the country to our respective sites. On January 3rd we will swear in as volunteers in Kigali, between the 4th and the 7th (I go on the 5th) the Peace Corps will deliver each of us and all of our things to our sites and on January 10th school begins. I am really looking forward to teaching. It has always been something I wanted to do and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. I'm absolutely terrified though as well and know the first trimester will be a complete mess but with timehopefully it will all fall into place! I'll take any advice from any of the teachers out there though!
Other news since my last post:
- We went to a national park here in Rwanda a week ago, after a 3 hour ride there we hiked for about and hour and half when it began to down pour and then hail! Who knew it could hail in Africa! Then we got on the bus soaked through for a 3 hour ride home. I wore my hiking boots and when I got home I was able to wring out the water from my socks. It was ridiculous, however the scenery was beautiful and we saw 2 monkeys so it was worth it.
- We learned to bake here in Rwanda with basically a dutch oven over our charcoal stove. We tested it last weekend and made pumpkin chocolate chip bread, it was heaven! It baked perfectly and didn't even burn a bit! There were 6 of us sharing it and we didn't even bother to cut it we just dug right in with our forks! The fact that it is possible to bake here is a comfort and I can't wait to experimenting with it. My roommate (who's site is close to mine) and I have already made plans for weekends filled with baking!
- I had clothes made for the first time! Here everyone has many of their clothes custom made by a tailor, you just buy the fabric and tell them what you want. In Nyanza there is a tailor that is well known to all the PCV's to be the best around so we have all been overwhelming her with orders. I had a dress and a wrap skirt made, they both fit prefectly and look great. The total cost, approximately $13! Seriously!
There isn't much else going on otherwise. This next week we will all be busy studying our Kinyarwanda, on Thursday we will be tested on our proficieny and could potential not be sworn in if we are not at an intermediate-low level. Keep your fingers crossed I won't get a one way ticket back to MN.
All my love!
Annie
Sunday, December 12, 2010
More pictures
I'm spenidng my day at the PC center working on lesson plans for next week I figures I would take advantage of the free wifi and post some more pics! Enjoy!
 |
| One of our many cooking adventures in our backyard (and my fabulous roommates!) |
 |
| The view from the PC center |
 |
| Dancing at the wedding |
 |
| The view from the back of my house |
Thursday, December 9, 2010
A couple pictures finally!
 |
| Here's one from one of the weddings I attended |
 |
| Here is one of the classrooms I will teach in, it will hold 50-60 students |
 |
| This is my house (so far) the middle door is mine. They are building a fence around it for more privacy |
 |
| This is a view of the lake that is about a 1 hour walk from my house |
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Long over due...
I’m alive! Thankfully my lack of communication does not mean I have died or am gravely ill but that things have been insanely busy here lately.
I’ll start at the beginning.
About 3 weeks ago now I had my site visit. It was quite an extraordinary feat of coordination that all 68 of us were sent to all ends of the country, managed to find someone who knew we even existed and then made it back again in one piece. The purpose of the site visit was to explore where we will be living and meet our co-workers and other important people of the community. The biggest thing I got out of the week was some motivation to keep going. Training is getting long and grueling, like my sister says, “it’s Peace Corps boot camp” and I needed to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Site visit was just that. I was able to see my school which is a boarding school and there are about 260 students in levels S1-S3 which is about the equivalent of 8th, 9th and 10th grade. I was told that I will be teaching S2 Biology which is exactly what I want. I’m fearful it’s a little too good to be true and that when I get to site in January they will surprise me with chemistry or physics classes. Keep your fingers crossed this doesn’t happen!
My site is about 1 hour east of Kigali. I took 2 buses to get there and then had a 15 minute moto ride to get to get to my village. Let me just paint a picture; by moto mean dirt bike and I’m riding on the back to my village through an area where it is likely many people have never even seen a white person. I have my large backpacking backpack and best of all the Peace Corps issued helmet. This is not the ordinary motorcycle helmets the Rwandans wear, no this is a shiny, black and white dirt biking helmet complete with a jaw protector and a visor which rammed into the driver’s helmet every time we hit a bump. Needless to say I was quite a spectacle. The only comforting thought was that at the same time there were 67 other muzungus all over Rwanda having the exact same experience.
I was in my village for 5 days and was hosted by the head teacher of the school. The school has some dorm rooms for teachers that live far from school to stay in so that is where I stayed. It was a nice place but I gained a new appreciation for the luxury I am currently living in. Thankful I didn’t find cockroaches in my luggage as other volunteers did but I didn’t have to listen to the bats in my ceiling all night long. Normally I would have freaked out but each night I climbed into bed and tucked my mosquito net under the mattress as tight as I could and slept like a baby. It was fabulous!
The area my village is in is quite populated making it difficult to tell where one ends and another begins and there are people everywhere. But the large population means more resources. Directly behind my school there is a large Catholic Church and convent where the nuns run a small orphanage where I can hopefully become involved. One of the best things about the village is the health center that is about a 5 minute walk from my house. I was able to get a tour and was quite impressed with the programs they already have in place such as vaccinations, family planning, pre-natal care, malnutrition clinic, etc. I met the director and he seemed interested in me helping out there so I’m really looking forward to that.
Side Note: There is a Partners in Health (Paul Farmer’s organization), health center about an hour away from me. Check out the book Mountains Beyond Mountains if you haven’t heard of him.
My house is still under construction. I will be living in a compound of sorts with my headmaster and another teacher. I will have my own entrance and bathroom (latrine). They are currently building a wall in my room so I have 2 separate rooms and fence outside for some privacy. The house is directly next to the school so I won’t have far to walk each day. I will have electricity (thank god!) but no running water which really isn’t a big deal. I think it will be great and I’m already thinking about the furniture I need and how I can decorate!
All in all is was a great visit and I’m really excited about my site. Since I even began thinking about the Peace Corps I’ve been picturing what my site might look like and now that I know it is so wonderful to picture myself in a real place and think of all the possibilities. It all seems real now.
After we got back from site we immediately began planning Thanksgiving. We are normally served 3 meals a day at the center but for Thanksgiving we decided to cook a traditional dinner ourselves (about 100 people). The menu included Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, gravy, and apple crisp for dessert. Not too complicated, I’m sure most of our mother’s have done it before, however; we had to make this meal without a stove or oven. I was put in charge of team mashed potatoes and we began peeling all 45kg (95lbs) the day before then cooked them all on charcoal stoves. The Turkeys (11 of them) were wrapped in foil and buried with charcoal and left to roast for 12 hours. Miraculously they cooked and were actually quite tasty. It was a Thanksgiving unlike any other but we had fun and enjoyed a good meal nonetheless.
Last Sunday I attended not one but two weddings with my resource mother. I knew we were going to one but with my limited Kinyarwanda and her complete lack of English after the 1st wedding, I unknowingly agreed to go to another. It was a long day but a great one. The best part was that my resource mother insisted I wear a traditional Rwandan dress. It is basically a one shoulder, flowy, draped dress, it’s simple but very pretty. When we arrived at the wedding and I walked the tent the other guests already there literally applauded because they were so excited to see me in my dress. It was just slightly awkward.
Needless to say Rwandan weddings are drastically different than traditional American weddings, it was also a Muslim wedding so that was a new experience as well. All the guests were seated outside under a tent, there were seats from the bride and groom and the wedding party in the middle. I really don’t know what exactly was happening most of the time because no one there spoke English to explain it to me but there was some exchanging on gifts and money so I assume that was the dowry then nearly everyone there gave a long speech which I have discovered is a common occurrence at organized events. They exchanged vows and rings and then they handed out plates of food to everyone and we sat right where we were and ate our food. Then we left, there was no reception to greet the bride and groom, dance or anything. The second wedding was basically the same but far more entertaining as there was lots of traditional dancing a singing during the ceremony. I absolutely love the traditional Rwandan dance. The art, music or dance of Rwanda is not something we see here on a regular basis so I forget about that aspect of the culture then every time I do experience it, it reminds me of the rich history and culture of the country. It is the stereotypical idea of Africa that I had in my head before I came here and seeing it reminds me that I really am in Africa. It moves me every time.
Now my days are dedicated to model school which is basically student teaching. The students are currently on break so Peace Corps gathers all the local kids and invites them to come to school 5 days a week from 8-12pm. This is completely voluntary but we have about 600 kids that come because they can stay home and work or go to school. (this would never happen in the states!) So I am teaching Biology 4 days a week to kids that range in age from 12 to about 16. The first week went well but was definitely eye opening. It is not only challenging to try and teach biology and keep the kids engaged but English is a 2nd and often 3rd language for most kids so simplifying the language so they understand is difficult but they also have a very difficult time understanding out accent so blank stares mean can mean they don’t understand the info, the language, or simply how I am speaking. It’s not easy but model school is an invaluable experience and I have learned so much already in just 4 days of teaching.
Other than that I’m continuing to adapt my new Rwandan life. Today (Sunday) is my day off. Sundays have never been as sweet as they are here. We run all week long so I keep a list of things to do on Sunday and I love when the day comes and I can just cross them all (or most of them) off. It reminds me of days at home. This morning we made a breakfast of toast, scrambled and hard boiled eggs, and bananas. We had planned to make French toast but when I went to crack the eggs I had bought were actually hard boiled so we modified our meal but it was great. Next on my list is to wash some clothes, clean my room, write some letters, study Kinyarwanda with my resource brother, make lesson plans and paint my toes. Tonight we are making grilled cheese for dinner and watching a movie. With the sun shining outside and some good music playing it makes for a truly fabulous Sunday!
All my love from Rwanda!
p.s. I will post some pictures soon, I promise!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)