It's official!

I know it has been a very long time since I have given an update and I will try my hardest to summarize everything that has happened in the last month, but before I do, I want everyone to know that I made it through training and have been sworn in as a volunteer! I am no longer a Peace Corps trainee and can now officially call myself a volunteer. I was sworn in this past Wednesday. The ceremony was held at the U.S. ambassador’s house. This was a huge accomplishment because language training was not easy for me. I had to pass the Language Proficiency Interview (LPI) in order to be sworn in. It was an oral conversation that lasted 15-20 minutes…all in Kinyarwanda. It is hard to believe that 10 weeks of language training would get me to a place where I could hold conversation with someone in Kinyarwanda but apparently it did because I was able to get through it.

I have experienced a lot since I last wrote a blog. It is hard to process everything now. I know people are curious about what life is like for me here. It is interesting because on one hand, there are so many things that are similar. Things like tears, laughter, gender roles, relationships, work value, giving affection, the love of music and dancing… there is a lot in common that Americans and Rwandans share. With that said, my life here so far has been very different. At my house in Nyanza, I had 16 roommates. I was lucky to have had a room that I shared with 4 other girls. Some rooms had more people in them. I lived with 4 of my teachers. My teachers were the same age as me. I take a bucket bath every night and it has not been a warm one. It surprised me how quickly I got used to it. I go to the bathroom in an outdoor pit latrine. I walk EVERYWHERE. I am ALWAYS busy and really have enjoyed it. I go to bed before midnight and wake up automatically around six a.m. every morning, including the weekends. I had school on Saturday. I ate the same meals every week. I get greeted by everyone I meet. Strangers know my name. Life is so different here. That is what makes it so wonderful. I still have moments where I have to pinch myself to remind myself that I am here.

The week after we returned from out site visits was the genocide memorial week. It started Wednesday, April 7th. In Rwanda, each district puts on its own events. From 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. everything shut down for the day and everyone in the community would attend the events. Most of them involved speeches given by local authorities. The speeches included topics on economic strengthening and dealing with trauma. Many people also shared stories about their experience during the genocide.

For me, the opening day of remembrance was incredibly intense. The whole community (ourselves included) marched together from the district office to the secondary school stadium in the morning. The walk was about three kilometers. Before we arrived, we stopped at one of the Nyanza grave sites. These plots appear to be all over Rwanda. They are literally big holes in the ground where bodies were placed. All are now covered with massive grave stones. People were able to place flowers on the stone at this site and a prayer was said. We then walked to the stadium where we sat amongst members of the community to hear multiple speeches given by local authorities and people who were affected by genocide.

It is difficult to describe the emotions I was going through during the whole week. The genocide was such a personal experience for everyone in Rwanda and to be invited to partake in remembering such an event like that was touching. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of togetherness this community shared. Yet it was heartbreaking seeing the faces of these people who survived such a horrific event. It is an experience I will never forget. I have so much to learn about the strength and tenacity of these people.

The last few weeks of training just consisted of more Kinyarwanda and cross cultural/technical training lessons. Our trainers really seemed to push us to in our lessons to prepare us for the LPI. I really became sad the more I realized training was coming to a close. It’s hard to believe I know, but I really bonded with the other trainees and staff in Nyanza. We were really like a large family. I had been so spoiled there. I thought training was going to be this horrible place where I was just counting down the weeks until it was over. It turned out to be the complete opposite. I feel lucky to have experienced that.

This is not to say I am not excited to go to my site. I leave this coming Tuesday for it. I am just sad to have had to say goodbye to the wonderful friends and mentors I have come to know. I said goodbye to all of my language instructors yesterday. I cried like a baby of course! They were so wonderful to me. I know I have made some lifelong friends. I cannot imagine what I will be like when I have to say goodbye to the other volunteers.