Beautiful Rwanda...

I fell in love with Rwanda this break.  It's such an amazing country!  I literally went from one end to the other and was in awe of the diversity and beauty in each place.  I traveled to the far East near Tanzania where the landscape is filled with rolling hills and savanna.  Then I went to the opposite side near the Democratic Republic of Congo where I was surrounded by green, lush mountains and beautiful Lake Kivu.  How could my vacation be any less than amazing! 

I started the break by making a trip up to the Northern Provence to visit some friends.  The North is known it's volcanoes and the mountain gorillas that live on them.  I didn't not go to see the gorillas, it costs about $500 but is worth every penny I've been told but did hike up a mountain that's literally in my friends backyard. There was a group of 6 of us and one Rwandan leading the way.  We Americans were of course huffing and puffing the whole way up while my friend's Rwandan collegue climbed in his traction-free dress shoes while carrying 3 bags and stopping often waiting for us to catch up.  I now understand why Africans  win all the marathons.  We took a break at the top to have a picnic lunch.  We sat overlooking the village in the valley and had a perfect view of three of the five volcanoes in Rwanda.  Going down was nearly as challenging as going up but thankfully we all made it back safely.  The funny thing is that while this was a difficult hike that went nearly straight up over rocks and uneven terrain, this is just the road to many people's homes and fields. 
After the hiking trip I headed back home.  It was actully seemed a lot quieter in my village without all the students which was nice.  I spent time reading, playing with the kids, visiting friends, and just relaxing. 

After about a week at home I had a few other volunteers come visit and then I went with a group of about 20 other PCVs to Akagera National Park.  All of us decended on a small town outside Akagera and then piled into a matatu which are small vans that are used as buses all over the country.  If we were in the states it would seat 15 comfortably but since we are in Africa we cram in 19 and for this trip we had 21 along with all our backpacks and supplies.  It was an interesting ride to say the least but we only broke down once and made it there safely.  When we got to the park we went to our camping site for the night.  It was dusk when we got there and they had already started a fire for us.  The site was right next to the lake and all through the night we could hear the hippos grunting and snorting in the water.  Apparently hippos can be quite vicious but the ranger assured us that as long as there was a fire they wouldn't go past it which thankfully seemed to work.  The next morning we were picked up by 1 van and 2 land rovers to drive us through the park.  The vehicles each had roofs that popped up so we could stand and get a good view of everything.  Periodically someone would shout "tree" and we would all quickly duck back down into the car to avoid getting hit by an overhanging tree and I still have bruises from being bounced around but it just added to the adventure.  I got lucky because I was in the car with the ranger so we had to go first so he could direct where to go. As a result we were able to see a lot of the wildlife before we scared it off.  We were so excited every time we saw a new animal and we really did see quite a variety.  There were hippos, crocodiles, lots of impala, baboons, monkeys, warthogs, and many of different birds.  Then when we were getting towards the end we came to an area of open savannah.  We could see in the distance there were giraffes and we thought this was the best we could do but the ranger took us right up to them.  We drove through the field where there were giraffes, zebra, impala, spring buck, and others just grazing and milling about.  We stopped about 50 yards away from the giraffes and they just sort of looked at us and kept doing their thing.  It was pretty amazing.  The only thing we didn't see were the elephants and of course we hoped to see lions but the ranger said he has worked there for 12 years and has only seen a lion 3 times.  Even if we hadn't seen any wildlife at all I would have been satisfied by the scenery alone.  It was absolutely breathtaking! 

So after Akagera I, along with all the other volunteers from my training group met in Kibuye for our in-service training.  It's the first time we were all back together since swear-in.  It was strange seeing everyone at first but then it quickly seemed as though we had never been apart.  We stayed at a beautiful hotel right on Lake Kivu.  Our days were spent in sessions talking about our challenges, successes and sharing ideas.  At night we sat on the beach in the moonlight listening to music, talking and just relaxing.  In the distance across the lake a volcano that's in the DRC (Congo) is visible and at night you can see a red glow from the lava.  On our last day we took boats out to an island on the lake.  We ate, drank, and relaxed in hammocks.  I could have sworn I was on a tropical island!  It was a great week and I came away from it feeling energized and excited with new ideas to start the next term.  It was reassuring to hear that other volunteers are having the same struggles and challenges that I have and learn some new solutions and coping strategies. 

Tomorrow the term begins.  I wish I had prepared my lessons a little bit more but I feel pretty good about things and look forward to seeing all my students again. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and is celebrating with those they love! 

All my love,
Annie

Here are some pictures, if you aren't already convinced you need to come to visit me here these should do the trick!

Break

A hard-knock life...

I received an e-mail a couple weeks ago from my nephew Henry.  In his class they read a book called Flat Stanley which is about a boy who becomes flattened when a filing cabinet falls on him.  Since he is now flat he is able to be mailed anywhere in the world (or in my case, e-mailed).  So Henry sent me his Flat Stanley and asked me to take pictures of him around my village to share with his class.  It was actually a fun little project for me even though everyone thought I was completely nuts making them take pictures with a paper doll.  Doing the project made me think about just how different my student's lives are from students in the U.S. so I thought I'd share what it's like to be a student in Rwanda (or at my school at least).

As I've mentioned before I teach at a boarding school so all the students live at school and go home only for breaks or the occasional weekend.   There are 4 dormitories, 2 for boys and 2 for girls. Each is a large (actually not that large) room that is filled with bunk beds each about 2-3 feet apart.  The students each came with a mattress pad and a small bag or trunk with all of their things and there really isn't room for anything more.  They use latrines and shower rooms outside the dorms and wash their clothes on the field in front of the school then lay them all out on the grass to dry in the sun. 

The students wake up each morning somewhere around 5am-6am, get themselves ready for the day then eat breakfast which is always the same, porridge. If they choose to purchase it themselves they also have sugar.  Classes begin at 7:30 so the kids head into their classroom to begin the school day.  The teachers move from room to room and the kids stay in the same classroom with the same students.  There are eight, fifty minute classes each day.  The students have English, Biology, Chemistry, History, Geography, Kinyarwanda, Swahili, French, Computer Science, and Physics, Math and Entrepreneurship, but obviously not all in the same day.  They have each class a certain number of times each week, for example I teach Biology 3 class periods per week and English 5 times per week.  Resources of course are scarce.  The classrooms are bare with only desks and a chalkboard. We have a library but is really used just to store the textbooks that are provided by the government for each subject.  For some classes there aren't enough for each of the kids so they aren't allowed to keep them for more than a day or 2 so most often they aren't used because it's time consuming getting them in and out each day.  There is only one computer at the school which is used by the secretary so the students learn all about computers for 3 hours each week without even touching one.  There is no copy machine so when I give assignments or quizzes I write them on the board then the students copy their answers on a piece of paper.  There is some lab equipment but like the books it mostly just sits in storage in the library.  I'm hoping to find a way to incorporate what we do have into my teaching and hopefully encourage other teachers to do so as well. 

I'm so used to not having anything to work with I can't imagine having an endless supply of construction paper or an overhead projector.  It's a good challenge though to get creative, I've used a Tupperware container to represent the heart, a water bottle to show how the heart pumps blood and have discovered my inner artist by drawing models of the digestive system and heart on rice sacks. 
While there are clear disadvantages, the students here have the one thing that is worth more than any book or computer, which is motivation.  These kids know the importance of education and understand that if they want a better life they must go to school.  Last week we had exams for the end of the trimester and I went to give some make-up quizzes at night and all the kids were studying, not talking and goofing off but really studying.  Education here is considered free for 9 years but in reality each school has fees the student must pay to attend whixh are unaffordable for many families.  It's a real privileged for those that can go and their families have to make big sacrifices for their education. 

So anyway...after school it's always a mad rush to the water tap where they line up with their buckets to get water to bathe or wash clothes.  They also have chores they must do around school either cleaning the classrooms, dorms or the school grounds.  There are some clubs that gather to sing or pray as well.  Every night at 6 the students go back into their classrooms and study for 2 hours.  After that they eat dinner, which is always rice and beans (the same as lunch), then they go to bed.  On the weekends they fill their time doing chores, playing volleyball or soccer or just hanging out.  Even without T.V. and video games they seem find plenty to keep themselves busy and  out of trouble. 

Exams have finished and I'm left correcting them and entering grades.  So far most of my students did alright and nobody has failed the class which seems like a success to me.  All of next week is allotted for us to finish reporting grades and then the students will leave school on Friday when break officially starts.  I have a list going of things I want to accomplish during the break which most importantly includes working on lesson plans for next term.  I have also committed to giving English lessons to the employees at the health center and made plans to spend a day with one of the community health workers making visits.  For fun, a large group of volunteers including myself are going on a camping trip/safari in Akagera National Park.  After, we have almost a week of Peace Corps training.  I'm looking forward to this and dreading it at the same time.  After being on my own for about 3 months now I think it will be quite overwhelming to suddenly be back with 64 other Americans.  It will, however, be good to see everyone again and to get some fresh ideas and inspiration for next term. 

In general things have been going well the past few weeks.  I've been spending a lot of time at my site, for a while it seemed like I was going somewhere every weekend even if it was just for the day.  So the past few weekends I haven't gone anywhere and it's been a nice change.  I remember when I went to college my freshman year my mom told me that I couldn't come home on the weekends for the first few months.  This seemed a little harsh  at the time when I was homesick and just wanted to see my family.  She had her reasons though and it was not just because she finally wanted an empty house.  She said the weekends would be the time when I would really make my friends which proved to be true.  I feel like it's sort of the same here, I don't want everyone to think that I head to the city or to other Americans the second I get the chance and I want them to know that I'm here to really live here.  So this weekend instead of running off to Kigali to eat good food I made my own at home.  Last night I had fajitas with homemade tortillas and today chicken noodle soup (minus the chicken) with homemade egg noodles and focaccia.  It was the first time I've tried to bake bread here and it turned out surprisingly well so I look forward to experimenting more in the future. 

So while things have been going well here things haven't been so great back home.  I found out on Tuesday that my uncle Joe, my dad's brother, had passed away.  He was diagnosed back in February with lung cancer that had spread to his brain.  He underwent some radiation but only palliatively. Thankfully he spent the past 2 months at home surrounded by his children and grandchildren who brought him some much joy on a daily basis.  My uncle was a kind person who spread his love generously.  When I think of Joe I picture him with his grandchildren with a look of sincere happiness.  The love he had for his family was so evident.  While it has been difficult to be away from family now I think his loss will really hit me when I go back home and he isn't at holiday celebrations or at breakfast after church every Sunday.  He will surely be missed by many.  


As always, all my love!
Annie

p.s. I've included some of the pictures I sent to Henry

This is Lake Muhazi near my house where many people get water, these kids were at the lake filling geri cans to take back home

These are my Senior 1 English students and the classroom where I teach

Some of the students (with Flat Stanley) in the courtyard at school

The kids carrying their water back home

A Birthday to remember...

Well I knew my birthday would be nothing like any other birthday I've had but it was even more eventful then I could have predicted.

The day started out great. When I woke up my e-mail inbox was flooded. I had e-mails from so many people I never expected to even know my e-mail address let alone that it was my birthday. Turns out my mom had e-mailed everyone she knows to tell them it was my birthday. Since I've gotten here I've realized just how much support from everyone back home means to me and it was especially wonderful on my birthday! I told my mom it was like an electronic surprise birthday party! It was fabulous!

I didn't have to teach until 10 so I had a leisurely morning and made breakfast, drank coffee, did some yoga and prepared myself to have a wonderful day. I arrived at school to teach my 3 classes of the day back to back. Just before my first class the kids have a 15 minute break so they usually just wonder around the school grounds until class begins again. Often times they take their time heading back to class after the bell has rung (just to be clear, by "bell" I mean the student who bangs an old wrench on a piece of old rusty scrap metal) so some teachers have begun punishing them if they are late. This day the kids saw a couple students get into trouble so they all took off running to their classes. In the midst of the chaos 2 kids collided and one girl hit her head on the cement and was knocked unconscious. I didn't see it happen but came outside about a second later and saw 2 kids lying on the ground. Long story short, some students came and carried her to the health center nearby and she was then transferred to the hospital.

I've been afraid of something like this happening since I got here and knew it was just a matter of time. I'm in a difficult position because I have the background in health care but PC does not allow me to provide any medical care, even health volunteers provide health education only. I went with the student to the health center which was an extremely challenging experience for me. When someone is sick or injured I'm used to taking action and for the first time wasn't able to. I felt helpless. I wasn't sure of my role, I wanted to help and make sure the student was ok but I didn't want to seem like the know-it-all, bossy American so I found myself biting my tongue a lot. I ended up staying with her until she went to the hospital and did my own little assessments so I could at least tell someone if things started to get worse and for my own peace of mind. After spending the weekend at the hospital the student came back to school and is thankfully just fine but it was definitely a learning experience for me.

So after that whole ordeal I went home and began preparing dinner. I had invited some of the other teachers from my school over and I had warned them I was going to cook American food. I made a simple dinner of spaghetti (technically Italian) since tomatoes and garlic are in abundance here and I even baked a chocolate cake. It turned out to be a wonderful night. They sang "Happy Birthday" to me more than once and actually enjoyed the food. Rwandan's are used to a very limited diet in terms of variety so they are often not too excited about new foods but the spaghetti seemed to be a hit, the cake however was another story. The 3 guys that came each took a bite but that was all because they said it was too sweet. The girls on the other hand loved it and even finished what the boys didn't! Just goes to show we girls can't help our addiction to chocolate!

The day really turned out great. Everyone was so kind and it really made me feel more a part of the group and not just an outsider. I hope it made them realize I am here to be their friends and a part of the community just like them. With the night being such a success and all the messages and love sent from home, I went to bed that night feeling so excited for all the possibilities and overwhelmed with love and joy. It was an amazing day!

One of the best parts of my birthday, however, came the following day. As I said before I'm fairly close to a larger town called Rwamagana. This is where I go to do all my banking. I think it was the first time I went into the bank the man working said he liked my name and wanted to know what the meaning was but he meant my last name not my first. I told him I wasn't sure if it even had a meaning but I would ask my mom. He told me he would name his baby Pexa if he knew what it meant. I didn't actually think he was serious so I pretty much forgot about it. He asked again when I went back but it slipped my mind again.

A side-note about names in Rwanda; parents choose 2 names for their children, a Rwandan name which is sort of like a last name and another which is usually like a first name and typically something a little more recognizable in English or French. Sometimes they give all their children the same Rwandan name but not always.

So the day after my birthday I received a text from a friend that lives in Rwamagana, she asked if I knew the man from the bank because he had name his daughter Pexa! Turns out another volunteer had been in the bank and he was telling her that he gave his daughter an American name, Pexa, but she said she had never heard of it. I couldn't believe it! The next day I had to go to the bank and saw him. He confirmed that he did indeed name his daughter Pexa and that everyone asks where he got the name. I saw a picture of little Pexa and she is of course precious as can be. I was really hoping she had been born on my birthday but she had been born a couple weeks earlier. I told him that I hope I can one day meet her and that I would actually find out the meaning of the name!

The weekend after my birthday I went to the northern part of Rwanda to visit my friend Nicole and enjoy a little mini-vacation (I did have some official PC business though as well). It was about a 4 hour trip to get there through the beautiful landscape of Rwanda. I felt like I was really going "up North" too. It's is cooler, greener, hillier (mountainous actually), and there is a huge lake similar to Lake Superior, all just like in Northern Minnesota. It was a strange and comforting feeling. My friend lives near Gisenyi which is a really beautiful city on the shore of Lake Kivu. There is a gorgeous beach and a park-like area which is not something you find often around here. It was a great weekend of cooking, watching movies, talking and laughing. It truly made my entire birthday week perfect!

All the events of the week were exactly what I needed. Sometimes I get caught up in over analyzing things, wondering if I'm doing enough, and if I'm doing the right things, that I end up putting so much pressure on myself and lose focus. I needed to take a step back and breathe a little. I felt like myself again, relying on my own judgment to make decisions and not letting all the questions and doubt cloud my mind.

Thanks again to everyone who sent birthday wishes! It was so great to know you were all thinking of me! It made my day so special!

All my love!
Annie


More Pictures! They are from my trip to Gisenyi and are meant to entice you all to come visit me!
https://picasaweb.google.com/AnniePexa/20110225?authkey=Gv1sRgCNTJ2ZjS8bKmFg&feat=directlink

Well my trip to Kigali was quite successful and I accomplished all I had set out to do. I left early Saturday morning and met up with another volunteer on the bus. When we arrived in Kigali we were walking away from the bus stop when I thought I heard my name. I turned to see 2 other volunteers that had come in for the weekend. We ran to each other and made an embarrassing large scene for all the Rwandans around us to watch. We never noticed a thing though, we were so happy to each one another. After we settled down we proceeded to Bourbon Coffee which is Mecca to a foreigner here in Rwanda. You can get everything from iced mochas, burgers to ice cream and wireless internet. Needless to say we spent a lot of time there over the weekend! I had come to Kigali with a huge list of things I needed to buy and places I wanted to go but most of my time was spent sitting around catching up with the other volunteers. I did manage to get a few things I needed though and most importantly went to the PC office. Since we came to Rwanda all of our mail has been going to the PC post box in Kigali, occasionally during training they brought mail to us but I had only received one card that my mom had sent the day after I left. I had been told there were some things on their way so I was anticipating a nice pile of cards and packages when I got to the office and I was not disappointed. I was literally shaking with excitement opening all the letters and packages. It was so wonderful to have things from home and it wasn't so much about what the things were but just that they were from home. My sister sent some beautiful pictures made by the kids, spices and some other treats but in one of the packages was a plastic bag with leaves from fall. She said that Anna picked them out to send to me and I know this sounds completely ridiculous but I love the idea that she was the last one to touch them and now I had them and was touching them. (So cheesy, I know!) It was so fun to read all the cards and notes from everyone back home.

The rest of the trip was spent just hanging out, eating some good food and laughing about all the bizarre and awkward situations each of us have found ourselves in on multiple occasions. It was a much needed weekend to relax and recharge.

I was talking with a friend today about how great it is to go to Kigali but it's also such a strange feeling. We talked about how as PC volunteers we sort of live dual lives here but don't quite fit into either one. We have our lives in the village where we interact with Rwandans daily and integrate into the culture and community but clearly we are always on the outside to a certain extent. And then there is the ex-pat community in Kigali. These are the people that live in Rwanda but don't really live in Rwanda. They spend all or most of their time in Kigali, have electricity and running water and spend their free time shopping at the "muzungu" stores and eating at the expensive restaurants. As PC volunteers we definitely indulge ourselves and enter this world when we can but still are never fully a part of it. It's an interesting contrast that I'm still trying to figure out and feel comfortable with.

In other news, I found out Friday I will be teaching English. The Rwandan education system is rather complicated and the S1 students (freshman) just began classes last week. The school had planned the schedule for 3 sections but ended up getting more students than they had anticipated so they decided to add another section and asked me to help with English. I'm actually really excited about it. Unlike Biology the national curriculum for English is very vague (Example, Objective: Speak interestingly) which leaves a lot of room for creativity. I will be able to do fun activities with the kids since we won't have specific material we have to cover and I can take my time to make sure the kids really understand what I'm teaching.

I'm off to bed now, I have my first visitor coming tomorrow. Another volunteer who lives nearby is coming for the day. I'm looking forward to showing her my village and introducing her to my friends here and to seeing their reaction to her. Should be interesting!

All my love!
Annie

A little of this and that

I was on a roll there for a little while but have fallen behind on my blog posts. I'm not sure if that means I've gotten busier or that my life here has started to seem more routine, a little of both probably.

I have sort of fallen into a routine here which is nice and the days pass by quickly. Teaching is going well. The kids don't seem quite as intimidated by me and are more willing to talk and ask questions. I'm also beginning to learn some of there names which is really a much bigger deal then I would have thought. I gave one of my classes a quiz the other day and most did pretty well so hopefully that means they are actually learning something.

I've been here at site for almost a month now and to celebrate a bunch of us are going to Kigali (the capitol) to meet up, use wireless internet, sip iced lattes, eat American food and in the process spend a lot of money! Kigali is great because you are able to find many of the foods and luxuries we enjoy in America but it definitely comes at a price. Here in my village to eat a meal at a restaurant it cost about 600-1000 francs ($1.00-$1.50) but in Kigali it's pretty easy to spend 5,000-10,000 francs on one meal. It's worth it though for an occasional treat and I can't wait to relax and spend time with other PCV's. The best part of going to Kigali is that I will FINALLY get to pick up my mail. Some of it was sent in November and I still haven't gotten it so I'm dying to pick it up!

So nothing terribly exciting or noteworthy has happened in the past couple weeks but here are some of the highlights.

- Last Saturday was Umuganda, it is an event that occurs the last Saturday of each month. Everything closes and everyone in Rwanda is expected to participate in community service. People help build schools, repair roads, pick up trash etc. When I told a couple people in my village I wanted to help they laughed at me but I did convince one of my friends to let me tag along with her. The events are organized in each village and the current project was to build a house for a family. So we when we got to the site we helped by bringing mud bricks from an old building that had been torn down to the new one that would be built. The bricks were surprisingly heavy so my friend and I used a rice sack to carry one brick together, however most of the others were transferring bricks one at a time on their head. So while we, and most of the other women brought bricks the men mixed mud with their feet which was used to lay the bricks, a process just slightly different than in the US!

- Today I didn't make it to the market because a major rainstorm came through and when it was over everything was terribly muddy. A friend was visiting and I told her I had wanted to buy bananas and plantains. We were sitting outside my house which is on the road to the market so there were many people passing by with their items to sell so my friend began to flag down everyone walking by to see if they had any of the items I wanted. One woman had a huge bunch of plantains she was carrying on her head, she came over to where we were sitting and spun in a circle so we could see the quality of the bunch. I felt like I was in the dressing room with my mom or a friend who was modeling some item of clothing. It ended up that she wanted too much for them so she continued on. My friend then made a phone call and afterward she pointed to a bunch of trees near my house and said "how do those look?" At first I wasn't quite sure what she meant and then realized she was pointing and the bunch of plantains still hanging in the tree. She had called the owner of the trees and negotiated the price and on Monday she said I will be able to pick them up. Later a woman came by with bananas I was able to buy. So I managed to buy everything I needed from the market without even leaving my front yard.

- Today all over Rwanda local elections were held for village chief, secretary and other positions. I was out walking this morning and ran into a teacher from my school who was on her way to vote so I went along with her just to see what the process was. We went to a huge open field where there were 3 large groups of people gathering each representing a different village. People gathered around a few people talking who were apparently the candidates. After the spoke for a little while each positioned themselves in front of everyone a few feet apart. Everyone in the crowd then lined up behind the candidate they wanted to vote for. Once everyone was in a line there were a few voting officials that went through and counted each person. This was done for each open position and apparently continued all day long. I was told for other elections they do have private ballots but at the village level this is how they vote. An interesting process to say the least.

All my love!
Annie

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! 

From 2011-01-23

This is my bed with my mosquito net and the few decorations I have, send me pictures so I can fill my wall!

From 2011-01-23

My bookshelf and the one little window I have in my place

From 2011-01-23

My "kitchen" filled with my purchases from the market including a huge pile of plantains in the corner

From 2011-01-23

The view from my front door and my fabulous fence!

All my love!
Annie

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