9 october 2009
Here we are, it's 9 o'clock, Friday night and after spending a fantastic evening at our country director's home, drinking, snacking and getting to meet & greet one another (new PCTs - Peace Corps Trainees) as well as current volunteers (PCVs), we are all tuckered out.
Let me sum up my first day and a half in Kigali, Rwanda.
We arrived Thursday (? - we have lost all concept of time) night.. what you would think was incredibly late at night, however it was probably closer to 7pm, but it gets dark here every night around 6:15, so taking that into account along with the fact that we'd been traveling for a solid 24+ hours, 7pm seemed much, much later (I get the feeling life here will be much like at summer camp - driven by the rising and falling of the sun). John, our Country Director, greeted us before customs where we were swarmed with H1N1 forms and asked to promise that we weren't feeling feverish, had a cough (which I did from a straggling cold), soar throat, ect ect. Customs went smoothly, we gathered up our luggage and went out to the buses where crowds of Peace Corps Rwanda staff were awaiting our arrival. It was one of the warmest greetings of my life. Everyone was so so happy to see us. Huge smiles, excitement in their eyes, I instantly felt awake and so glad to be there. Africa! It sounds silly, and probably a bit naive, but I had the feeling I would never want to leave. I suppose I'd much rather feel that way than instantly want to hop back on the plane for the States, right?
We arrived at St Francois d'Assise where they filled our tummies with delicious beans, green beans, rice and passion fruit. Mmmm. I wish I could say that that meal helped to cradle me to sleep like the exhausted little monkey that I was, but anxiety kept me tossing and turning most of last night. They gave us malaria meds.. side effects include, among many: upset stomach, stomach pain, nausea, insomnia, vivid dreams.. ect. Although I did not get much sleep last night, I do recall having many dreams. Malaria Dreams, I think that's what I'll call them. I hope that tonight I'll have a much more peaceful slumber.
Waking up at 4am, I put in the ear phones and listened to Taylor Swift for a bit then around 5 decided to get out of bed and take a shower. BURR!!! Let's just say I was selective about which body parts to warsh because that water was COLD! Felt rather refreshed though and climbed back into bed until 6 or so when everyone was up and about getting ready for the day.
This morning we went to the Peace Corps office in Kigali. On the way we drove past so many stores and signs, most of which is written in either English or French (I think knowing the French that I do will be especially useful until i learn some more Kinyarwanda as just about everyone we've met so far speaks French better than they do English for the most part). Anyway, the PC office is a beautiful building, where we talked a bit about Rwandan history and the history of Peace Corps in this particular country. We are the first group of teachers to be back since the genocide, there are currently 29 or so health volunteers who've been here since January.. and they are bringing in another group (50 next time I think) of teachers early next year. The Rwandan government had been requesting the return of the Peace Corps several years prior to their 2009 program reestablishing date, but due to a lack of funding and the gross amount of money needed to completely rebuild a program ground up, things weren't able to get underway until just recently. The ideal goal is to have about 100 teachers here at all times. In Rwanda, a quickly developing country, they just changed national standards requiring that all classes be taught in English, so they need as much help as they can get!
We got shots, spent some time hanging out, got our "walk around" allowance to cover the next few days (I think it was something like 1,700 Rwandan francs.. it's about 500 francs to $2, so you do the math, that much money to get us through the next 5 days) and a group of us went to the store to buy sim cards for our cell phones. On the way back, a group of little boys hustled their tiny legs to catch up with us as we made our way to the Peace Corps office. They walked right beside us and when we tried to make conversation, they did not respond but only whispered to one another. Our language skills are zero to none to say the least.. we tried walking a bit faster to see if these little guys were indeed following us, and they were.. trailing behind, and then right along side. Once we reached the PC Office, us trainees went to go our own way and one of the little boys said "see you tomorrow". We all just kind of stood there staring at one another. "You can understand me?" we were thinking to ourselves. We approached the door, but could tell that these kids wanted something more. Digging in my purse, I brought out my camera and asked if they wanted a picture. We snapped a couple of ourselves with them in front of the PC logo on the gate (very typical PC picture, I must admit - and I'm surprised by how quickly this photo came into existence). I required that we all make the peace sign (gotta start young, right??) for my photo with the kids. And think about it, this is Kigali, the capital.. probably the biggest city in Rwanda, and we attracted this attention just because we're "muzungus" (spelled phonetically - and not even that is correct), but because we're "white". Makes me wonder how many heads we'll turn when we get into the small villages of the country.
A group of us went to the super market (imagine - a store where you can purchase a dryer, an iron, beauty supplies and food all in one place!). We were told it's the best store in town.. kinda like a Walmart or Meijer, but on a much, much smaller scale. I picked up some shampoo and a comb (that's the only kind of brush they carried). Afterwards we came back to "camp" as I always want to call it where I crashed and took a nap for a bit until we were picked up to go to the party at our CD's home. We arrived to this welcoming home that overlooks the city. a tent and many bevies were set up in the backyard. Quite the celebration, it was great!! Getting to talk with current volunteers, we were able to get a bit more of an idea about what we're getting ourselves into. Mom - you'll be happy to hear that even if we're in a village on our own, this country is so small (about the size of Mass. or so) that the nearest volunteer may be only an hour away. So that's good news, none of us will be too too far from each other, and it also seems like transportation within the country itself is very accessible and affordable, making many trips to Kigali (where apparently you can find the best Indian food in the world) on the weekends possible. (PS I've heard that round trip flights to India from Kenya are out there for as little as $500 - for one reason or another, I'm feeling some pull towards India these days and maybe I'll consider taking a trip there, either during my service or as a part of a tour around the world after - but let's not get ahead of ourselves..)
Tonight, this PC get together, makes me think that I am so fortunate. How on Earth did I end up here, partying in Kigali (in AFRICA!) with all of these other wonderful Americans? How was I chosen to experience this great adventure, and on someone else's tab?? Gosh damn. Gotta count your blessings. I know this is just the honeymoon stage, but I am meeting some really warm, great people and I am feeling very excited to have this opportunity at my finger tips.
mmm, feels good to be here.
Tomorrow we're going to the Genocide Memorial. I am a bit nervous about how real this will make the Genocide feel for all of us, but it feels like it's constantly a (what's the expression?) huge elephant sitting in the corner of the room. It will be good to learn more, to understand a bit more as this part of history defines much of Rwanda's current situation as they work towards reconciliation and peace.
Later this weekend we will be going to Nyanza where we will spend our 10 weeks of PST (pre-service training). I think it was we will be split up into groups of 6, living in homes throughout the city with language trainers while being paired up with host families we will spend time with outside of class. PST doesn't seem to get good reviews, but I am looking forward to learning more Kinyarwanda (our bus driver taught us some little phrases today).. it will be very cool to actually work towards becoming a part of a community.
That's it for now, it's nearly 10 o'clock now. Time for bed.
Please write me!
much love,
nicole
ps the mosquito net over my bed makes me feel like a princess sleeping under a fancy a canopy.
&& I've decided that when I move to a village after training, I want to have my own garden and adopt a pet goat (I hope that one doesn't conflict with the other!! - but feel free to send some seeds of yummy vegetables this way).
Also - don't be surprised if I develop a rice/banana beer belly. it happens.
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