Nothing Comfortable

I have only been at site for a little over two weeks and I am not going to lie, I am definitely going through a major case of “culture shock” right now. I went from living with 35 Americans to finding someone who barely knows English. It is overwhelming and exhausting having such a huge language barrier. The way of life here is so different than anything I have ever experienced. You can’t just go to your local grocery store to buy your food. Here the market is twice a week (every Tuesday and Saturday). Planning is very important and if you do not plan well, you will be eating oatmeal for a whole week straight (trust me). You pay a child to do anything for you for a small price. There is no sense of independence for me here, at least not right now. I am being better taken care of than I have ever been in my entire life. If I need to take a bus somewhere, I have someone walking me to the bus stop. If I go to fetch water (I have to 20 minute walk) people are there to help me carry it to my house. If I lose my phone, I am given one to borrow because I “cannot be without communication”. If I need help cooking, young girls are phoned over to cook me an entire meal!

One can imagine how wonderfully exhausting that must be. Hospitality is a huge part of this culture and I have to accept that. However, I know it will not help with my integration if I do not slowly nip that in the butt. I do not want people to treat me special here because I am a muzungu (“outsider”). I really think that people just feel sorry for me right now because I live alone which is definitely not common in this culture. It is going to take some creativity and assertiveness on my part to help them understand that I am not a muzungu but rather their equal.

I have come to learn that my idea of comfort does not exist here. I have surprised myself how much I have been able to adapt to that. I never know what the day is going to bring and what uncomfortable situation I am going to be placed in next! Somehow, I ended up joining a girl’s soccer team. I thought I was going to go watch a game and the next thing I know, I am running laps around the field warming up for the game. I asked a neighbor if she would show me where to buy minutes for my phone and found myself climbing a mountain to go meet people at the Catholic Church in my sector…hmmm. I may have had my first marriage proposal. I never know when people are going to show up to visit.

Just yesterday, I went to Umuganda (translated as “contribution”). It is a Rwandan tradition where communities get together to do some sort of community work at the end of every month.
I found myself carrying stones on my head while being laughed at by the locals, being swarmed by children asking if I knew Barack Obama, teaching the children “head shoulders knees and toes”, being invited to sit amongst the local authorities including the governor of the northern province, the mayor, and member of parliament (big deal) at the community meeting held at the end of Umuganda. Not only that, but of course, I had to stand at the microphone (all the authorities gave speeches) and having to introduce myself the hundreds of people there, in Kinyarwanda of course.

There is nothing comfortable about any of that. Yet, no matter how uncomfortable I have been, I have seriously had some of the most incredible moments I have ever had in my life.

Pictures!

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.

Site Visit (Also a month late)

So, this week was definitely interesting. I arrived in Kigali along with my other trainees. Peace Corps put us in a very nice hotel. We stayed in 2 person bungalows and ate like royalty. It was definitely the best food I have had since I have arrived here.

During the time in Kigali, I attended a two day conference/job fair, where I was introduced to members of WIF was and told more about my organization. I was fortunate enough to have multiple members of my organization in attendance including my director and community guide. I found out that the main office for WIF is located in Kigali and that the workers commute to Rulindo and its neighboring district Gekenke when necessary. They are excited to have me live in Rulindo and be a community based representative for the organization. There appears to be a lot of responsibility that goes hand in hand with that which is exciting to know.

Since my house in Rulindo has not been furnished, Peace Corps decided it would be best if I stayed with my director at her home in Kigali for the week with the idea that I would commute to my site everyday along with my community guide to get a glimpse into what my life will be like for the next two years. It was a little disappointing to not be able to live and sleep at my site but I at least was excited to go and see it.

Ultimately, it was a good week. I had a great time getting to know all of my future coworkers My director is a wonderful woman and treated me with such hospitality. I was so spoiled...it was wonderful. Her home was beautiful and it was so nice to be in a family settingg. I got my own room to sleep (much different from sharing one with 3 other people), got to eat a club sandwich and french fries (her daughters took me out for American food), and got to watch Dr. 90210, E! True Hollywood Story, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Life was pretty great for the week I was there.

There is still a lot that needs to be worked out regarding my housing and what exactly my job requires. I have only a vague idea of what my director wants me to be responsible for and what projects I will be working on. I know it will take time to figure out what my role will be in the organization and that probably will not even happen until I actually get there.

Of course, Rulindo is beautiful. It is a large district. I am living in the Bushoki sector which is quite remote and mountainous. Looking back, I wish I would have taken some pictures but I guess I have two years to do that. There are few people who speak English so I am definitely going to have to work hard these next few weeks to develop more of my language skills. I am glad to have four more weeks of training to work on that.

Site Placement! (About a month behind on this post)

I have been in Rwanda for over a month now and am halfway done with training. I found out on Thursday that after I am done with my training, I am going to be living in the Rulindo district of Rwanda. It is located in the Northern Province. I am going to be working for the local NGO “Women Investment Fund” (WIF). It is an organization that provides support to women, orphans and vulnerable children, child headed households, and care givers. It is an organization that focuses on gender and health issues. It works to improve the socio-economic conditions of families and empower women. My primary job duties are in the area of program development and administration. I am still waiting to find out more specifically what I will be doing and should know within the next few weeks when I am closer to moving.

This week is going to be a great week. I am leaving for Kigali today. I will be staying in Kigali for the next couple of days along with the other trainees. There, we are going to be attending a job fair where we will meet our community guides. I will then leave Kigali either Tuesday or Wednesday with my counterpart to go and stay at my site until the end of the week. I get to visit my work, meet my coworkers, and introduce myself to local officials and community members. I will also learn more about what I will be doing for the next two years at my organization. I will fill everyone in on that as soon as possible. Hopefully I will get the chance to visit the house I will be staying in as well.

This will be the first time I will be without the other trainees and my language teachers. It is a little nerve racking. I am really going to have to apply everything that I have learned so far. It will be a good test to see how developed my language and communication skills are. It will also show me what things I need to work on for the next half of my training.