The last few weeks I’ve been typing reports for them and I realized as I struggled over reading their cursive writing, that I learned how to type on computers in school, while they learned to write cursive. Never thought I’d regret not remembering to write cursive. Haha! Anyways, it’s been nice to jump into something. I also have my community needs assessment that I’ve been working on. I just had my co-worker edit my questions in Kinyarwanda, and I feel like I’m incapable in writing in any language now! But my Kinyarwanda is definitely coming along really well. A lot of the time I can have an entire conversation in Kinyarwanda without saying “sinbumva” which means either I don’t understand or I don’t listen, depending. They always think I mean the I don’t understand one though, which isn’t always the case. It’s so easy sometimes to just space out everything that is being said as they speak at their normal pace during meetings and stuff. Then they say my name and I smile and nod. Not always the best method, I’m sure, but I always ask for clarification after the meeting. (To my credit, our meetings are at 7am daily, and I can barely think in English, let alone in a foreign language!)
The above picture was taken at the Assumption Day Ceremony. It was raining, just a little bit, and I loved all the colors of the umbrellas. It was a lot of fun, although I believe the rain was unintentional!
Anyways, the rains have begun to return. It’s been really cold at my site, which is really nice. I was reading the introduction to Rwanda material they gave us at staging in Philadelphia that I never bothered reading, and it mentioned that the average elevation in Rwanda is about 4,000 feet, and the Virunga Volcanoes to the north get up to 9,000 feet. Just outside of the national park here, our elevation is also pretty high, so we get colder weather, and more rain. Funny how that happened… I thought I left the Willamette Valley?! So I’ve taken to sleeping in my sleeping bag, partly in response to the cold, and partly in response to Bedbugs II, The Sequel With a Bite! Hahaha. Anyways, hopefully they are subdued again, the jerks!
We had a regional meeting in Butare the other weekend and many of us converged on Inzozi Nziza (Sweet Dreams) an ice cream shop run by a women’s cooperative. We had our meeting and then stayed the night, going out for dinner, and some dancing. It was a lot of fun to get a tour from people who knew where they were and to be around another group of volunteers. It was a much enjoyed break, and yes I did eat ice cream again for breakfast in the morning! It was epic! Hahaha! Another weekend, I went for a bike ride, which was ridiculous, in that the hills here are completely ridiculous. So I made it probably three quarters of the way on my bike and then walked it the rest. I was super tired afterwards and it was awesome! I rode the six kilometers out to the tea factory and then back. It was pretty.
This picture was taken on my walk to the tea factory with my friend Adele. These are baby tea plants and they are sitting in water that sources the Nile!
Ironically the next week, Adele (my co-worker and manager of the Community Health Workers) and I walked out past the tea factory to visit some of the health workers. It’s really cool to explore this area, and it’s more and more beautiful every time I find somewhere new. When I was a little kid I always dreamed of finding secret trails that no one else knows about, and a lot of the time that’s exactly what exploring here feels like! It’s always like a secret pirate adventure on land, and in Kinyarwanda. And I live next to the jungle. Speaking of which! So, Adele’s husband works for RDB which stands for Rwanda Development Board, and they manage Nyungwe National Park. So they have told me that I can’t go walking by myself on the trails in Nyungwe because the animals, the monkeys, will eat me! I mean seriously! Did someone make them aware of my monkey fears before coming here!? Haha. I am allowed to walk on the road though and there’s a bee cooperative not too far in and they manufacture honey that is really great! So, death by monkey versus really awesome honey?
A week ago was a holiday in Rwanda. It was Assumption Day with the Catholic church, so I went to the ceremony with one of my roommates. (I’ve taken to calling my three male roommates as my older brothers, even to other people in public. It seems to help squelch wild community ideas, but maybe not!) But we went, and being a foreigner has it’s perks. They had us sit under the tarps in the plastic lawn chairs, which are much more comfortable than the wooden school desks they had pulled out. So, partway into the ceremony it starts raining, but the choir just keeps singing, and these poor girls dressed in white dresses with blue ribbons, continued to dance in the rain. Then it started pouring, and people brought out their umbrellas and everyone made a valiant effort to stay in place and celebrate the assention of Mary to heaven. As it continues to pour, puddles began forming on the tarps above us, and people in the crowd began scattering into school buildings.
These are some of my coworkers picking carrots at the health center garden. Mama Inyoni to the left, Teoneste in the middle, and Teodozie on the right.
We stood strong for a good ten minutes and then I turned to Alphonse and told him that we needed to go. He shook his head, and I glanced back at the developing puddles. Suddenly one of the ropes holding a tarp further back broke and water came rushing down. Fortunately I wasn’t hit, but as muddy water began circling my sandaled feet, I gave a last look at Alphonse and turned and ran under the protection of the school roof. I couldn’t stop laughing. Men continued to go around and push the puddles off the remaining tarps and several times it came down in buckets on the people seeking shelter. This just made me laugh harder. It was really great! The whole time the priest was still speaking into the microphone trying to bless the sacrament but it really felt very much like a lost cause.
I’m very happy here, and the time is flying by. To be clear, my close of service date is July 13th, 2013. That seems pretty far away, but I’ve been in Africa for almost four whole months already, which is almost half a year! WHAT? Hahaha! Little crazy! It’s going so quickly already! So hopefully my mom will visit in May and then my dad in the following December, and maybe Felice and whomever else would love a semi-local guided tour of this beautiful part of the world. And, after I’m done being a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer – they love their acronyms!) I plan to take maybe a month trip south to explore some other parts of Africa before returning state-side and figuring out what the heck to do next!
As you can see in the above pictures, the rains have come, although today was in fact really sunny and hot. The true rainy season isn't supposed to start until September! But, to close, Friday is Lindsey Jackson’s birthday! She would be 23! That seems so old for her! Haha, but I will be celebrating as always, and I wanted to wish Happy Lindsey’s BDay to all my wonderful friends back home missing her as well. I have my album turned to her picture standing in my room right now, and I can’t help but look back on who I was when I was 18 and how much I’ve changed in 5 years! Lindsey definitely helped me get to where I am today. She instilled so much confidence and genuine all-encompassing happiness in me, and those have helped guide me so far in life. So happy Lindsey birthday August 26th!
Finally, although I am unsure if it has been mentioned, but I thought it was the best possible ending point! I AM AN AUNT! Gracelynn Haley Foster was born on August 3rd and she’s so freaking cute. I’ve been showing all my co-workers pictures of her and my family. I never thought I’d be so freaking excited to be an aunt, but I definitely am! I can’t wait to meet her… in two years! Bummer, I know, but I’m so excited to know her and see how our lives grow. I was talking to a friend the other day about how we ended up at the point where our siblings were having kids. What happened to college? How’d I end up in Africa? It feels so much like I was in high school just the other day, and now I’ve gone through so many stages in my life already! Does this mean I’m getting old? Haha! I’m so happy that Gracie is now a part of this world and a part of my family! Much much love as always!
