Saturday, July 10, 2010

Project Inspiration

On Thursday I got to visit Mpanga vocational school which is about 30 minutes from my side. It is a school teaching hotel management, carpentry, welding, mechanics, electric, and culinary. CHF is hosting about 25 students and their mission is to talk with organizations in the area to provide internships for these students. So after the visit to the school we went and talked to a mechanics shop and a hotel. During these visits with CHF we were accompanied by an RPCV from Mali who now works in Washington DC with CHF and is visiting Rwanda for 2 months. It was really inspiration to hear about how she got started with projects and she informed me that the most rewarding projects for her were the ones involving youth. She also told me its ok to just start walking into schools and saying you want to do something. I have been re-inspired to do so many things here in Rwanda. I want to start teaching English at the vocational school, I want to start an after school kitchen garden club at a school, I want to start and Anti-AIDS club at the local university. And of course I want to help with camps. There will be a holiday camp in August that Duhamic Adri asked me to help out with. And the first group of health volunteers created Camp GLOW last year and we (the new group) will be helping with that and taking it over next year. Camp GLOW is a girl’s empowerment camp. I am excited about all these idea but implementing them is the biggest challenge especially in a country very set in their ways and not willing to make change even if it makes more sense. So wish me luck and let me know any ideas you have for me and this country.

The Dry Season

So it is well into the dry season now. The dry season started in June and will last until October. I am just starting now to notice the extreme differences between the wet season and the dry season, (beside the obvious lack of rain issue). Every day for the past week I have been waking up with extremely dry lips, an awful sore throat, and feeling very congested. My faucet only has water before about 8:00am and then no water for the rest of the day. Today I didn’t even have water in the morning. It’s time to start hoarding water in buckets and jerry cans. The rivers have started to dry out. The dust is really bad; it is hard to breathe sometimes because of all the dust around. The instant you walk outside your shoes change color and you have to squint your eyes to keep out the dust as trucks or people walk by. Food prices have risen and produce is not as easy to get. Anyway to say the least I can’t wait until it rains again. It has not rained since June 5th. Not that I’m counting or anything. Speaking of counting my close of service is in 685 days, but who’s keeping track. So the good news during dry season,, it’s a lot easier to dry your clothes, you don’t have to deal with rain or mud, not need to carry an umbrella or raincoat anywhere. At least you can guarantee it will be sunny everyday with not a cloud in the sky, so what is there to possibly complain about.

Ndi umunyarwanda

Last night was how I always imagined my Peace Corps experience to be like. It all started on Friday night, I had 2 friends staying over my house and we were making tortilla chips. Which were amazingly successful so we realized they would be great with beans? So we set off to town to find some cooked beans. After asking a number of stores and restaurants, a women tells us to follow her. So we did and she leads us to her mother’s house where there are cooked beans. She gives them to us and tells us we must come visit her again. So on Monday after my friends had gone back to their sites I go visit her. I bring my laptop so we can watch a movie and I decided to watch Charlie and the chocolate factory. There were maybe 10-15 people gathered around my laptop watching me more than the movie because it was in English and they could not understand it. After a while we moved to my friend’s bedroom to escape from all the kids. It was me, her and 5 children. I don’t know her relation with any of the children there are just always tons around everywhere. She wants me to put in a DVD of her aunts wedding, so I do and we watch that for a short while until my laptop runs out of battery. After that we go for a walk. First by a church then to a house that turns out to be her house apparently, that’s when I learn the house we were at earlier is her mother’s house. To get to the house we have to walk between houses where the spacing is so small I had to walk sideways and have the children hold my arms so that I did not fall because it was pitch black outside. We see her house then leave back for town again. I am basically just following this group of kids around the whole town stopping into shops to say hello to people. I eventually say that I am very tired and want to go home. But they insist I stay for dinner, which here in Rwanda typically eaten at 9:00. You will not see people eating in restaurants until this hour and at home they do not serve food until this time. The reasoning is possibly because it takes a very long time to cook food over a fire especially beans, rice and meat. Long story short I stay for dinner that night and every night since that I have been available I have been eating dinner with my new Rwandan family.
Side Note: Rwandan’s eat the same exact food every week all over the country no matter in restaurants or people’s homes it’s always the same.
Meal 1: Beans and Rice sometimes with avocado
Meal 2: Plantains and Spagetti
Meal 3: Umugati- bread made form cassava that is very sticky and earthy that you dip into a sauce
If the family has enough money goat, cow or chicken is also eaten with these meals. Another cultural note, they mix everything together and eat with their fingers some of the time and they pile their plates very high with food and its all carbs these people should all be over weight but with all the walking and heavy lifting they do everyday I guess it evens out.

The Hardest Job You'll Ever Have

As most of you already know, doing the Peace Corps has been a dream of mine for a long time. I don’t remember the exact moment I found out about its existence but I know as soon as I heard about it I wanted to do it. It seemed perfect for me since I not only love traveling but I love actually living and getting involved in other countries. Meeting and befriending the nationals. Traveling is one thing but living there is a whole new challenge. Exchanging culture with neighbors and attempting to help even if by help all you’re really doing is teaching a child to stop saying “good morning” at night time or trying to teach children that not all white people have a lot of money. Also in America there are poor people and dirt roads … who knew??
So now that I am about 4 months into my 27 months of service what have I done? Well nothing, yet. That said I’m not giving up hope, it’s just much harder than I imagined figuring out what I am suppose and how to help. I am assigned to work with a Rwandan NGO which is partnered with an American government organization, you would think I should know exactly what to do, but that is not really true at all.
I work with two Rwandans, one is an education advisor the other is an economic strengthening advisor. I have been out in the field visiting sites everyday for the past 2 weeks now. And I am so grateful that I’m not stuck in some office job. But at the same time I am not much help in the field because I do not speak the language. And I can try and practice all day long but even if I get good at this language I’ll never be able to run field visits alone. So what is the point? Riding around all day with my co-workers, tagging along when all along I know if I was not there, this would all still be happening just the same without me.
Don’t get me wrong I know this isn’t suppose to be easy, they don’t say it’s the hardest job your ever love for nothing. And I do really enjoy living in this country. I know I can and will make a difference. I mean today I told a school the point of composting was for it to go in the garden not in the woods 100 feet away from the garden. Slowly by slowly I guess…buhoro buhoro.
Well luckily for me this country is the size of Maryland so it is very easy to visit friends. 3 weeks ago I traveled to Rwamagana to visit a friend. Then 2 weeks ago traveled to Musanze. Last week I went to Gatsibo. Weekends away are amazing and it’s great that it is so easy to get together with friends here. I really think I might love that most of all about this country.