happy Halloweeeen!

 Today is Halloween. It is also umugande here in Rwanda which is once a month community service that is mandatory for all Rwandans. We went to the school where we will be teaching around 8am and helped with building of the school. It was us carrying a lot of dirt basically but still enjoyable. It rained on and off and at the end the mayor gave a long speech which we didn’t understand but mentioned us because we got a lot of stares in the crowd. He also mentioned that men should ask for our phone numbers because we would make good wives. All the stores are closed during umugande and reopen around 11. We are having a party tonight at our center where we have classes and there is going to be a talent show. Yesterday I went with our training director, Mupemba to the market to find a costume. Neither of us had any ideas so we just bought matching outfits. To find 2 pretty similar shirts at a market of hand me downs was pretty clutch. We have matching orange skirts and then found 2 similar polo shirts that are blue and red striped. The shirts don’t fit either of us. Then, he was looking at Obama watches and got us matching ones. They are HUGE. Pretty awesome. A few people have purchased Obama jeans here also. He said, “Twins! Like Arnold Schwarzanegger!” His stature is more like Danny Devito though. Hehe.


Pricked our fingers the other day and learned how to make slides for malaria tests. Turns out, people REALLY hate needles. Got my second package that I packed yesterday which was exciting, minus the fact that I didn’t pack food! I don’t know what the hell I was thinking but I got my blanket with Tonka and Tommy on it so that made me happy. Friday also marked the end of micro teaching which was nice but Monday we start teaching big groups of kids. I really wouldn’t mnd if there weren’t people sitting in the corner observing and taking notes. Also found out that Jeff is coming in February and I couldn’t be more excited! I will be at my site by then and have my own place. Apparently, when I get to site I should say I am married or engaged because people will literally try to make you a wife of someone and present men to you. Awkward. Plus, don’t want haters for having a boy spend the night. I am so excited and think the countdown will be a nice thing I can look forward to and not be sad here. My room turned into Twlight mania and I finally caved. There is an Edward posted above one girl’s bed which I think is hilarious. Jana, you would love it. That’s all for now. Party tonight.

Daddy

I had to write a new post because the other was making my words into wingdings. Not sure what's goin on. We just started back towards Nyanza and realized Alphons didn’t get the officer’s number so we went back. I had already told the police that my dad was police and he smiled and what not. So we got his number and I asked his name and…..FRED. Of course. Funny.

best.day.ever.

Well, today was undoubtedly the best day I’ve had in Rwanda and it’s only 10:05 am. I bought a modem this weekend that wasn’t working, so our training director arranged for the Peace Corps driver Alphons to drive me and an LCF to Butare to get it fixed or return it. We were supposed to leave at 7, but due to a jam shortage we left a little later. I had my buttered bread with eggs and the 3 of us were on our way. Butare is only a 30 minute drive so I should have been back in time for most of my first class, a cross cultural session with a guest speaker. Anyway, the car we are driving in is like an old school landcruiser and the backseats are 2 bench seats facing inward. I had my seat belt on but still face forward a bit so I don’t get car sick. I saw a bigger truck on the right side of road and then BOOOOM sooo loud in my ear the truck hit our side mirror and window and door! I was like OH SHIT. The truck, with 3 teenage boys kept going up the dirt road it turned on and our driver reversed and boned out after them. They boys kept looking back and the driver was trying to lose him but obviously not happening. The driver of the truck stops and jumps out and starts running up the dirt hill! I am like HELL YEA this is classic! So then our driver jumps out and is right behind him but then the other driver turns into the fields and bushes and Alphons lost him. So Alphons just gets in his truck and drives it down the road. I am like what the hell is going on? Hit and run=take the other person’s car??  By the way, this all happened at 7:59 am and there are like 50 people crowded around watching all of this, half the eyes on me, the muzungo. SO bummed I didn’t bring my camera! The actual owner of the other truck came and I guess the driver didn’t have a license and that’s why he took off. He was trying to convince Alphons to just say he was driving the truck but Alphons said no. I imagine because there are a ton of witnesses and he’s driving a freaking car that says Peace Corps. No reason to lose his job for some other guy. Claudine, the other lady we are with goes to Butare, about 10 minutes away by mototaxi to get the police. A motocop comes, but can’t do anything and leaves. So Alphons and I drive with the truck owner to Butare, go to the MTN store and fix my modem while the dude waits in the car, then we go to the police station and drive the officer and owner back to crash site. Of course on the way to the site a rock got deflected from workers on the side of the road and put a crack in the windshield. Alphons and I just look at each other and start laughing. He must think I’m bad luck. So, I am now at the site, sitting in the car just waiting. I was told the Peace Corps was like this. You will hurry hurry hurry and then wait. And wait. And wait. I don’t think they meant in these circumstances, but this is comical to me. Alphons, the officer, and the owner are going thru everything right now but the best is the 27 men surrounding them like they have anything to do with it. And yes, I counted. Not sure where Claudine went because haven't seen her in like 2 and a half hours. Wish I had pictures of the crowd earlier.  Oh well. I teach my first lesson this afternoon! Even if I bomb, today was great. J

gnarbones...literally

     Had a busy weekend which was both nice but also draining. I like staying busy so I’m not thinking about home and whatever else but I am always down for a lazy day off too. Saturday we took our Volcano buses to Butare and went to the National Museum (boring) and then went to Murambi genocide memorial and it was super intense. From what I understand, Butare was always a place where both ‘races’ could live in peace and so many people fled there for safety. Butare ended up having one of the highest amounts of people killed. So, at this memorial there were some 50,000 people there that are preserved in lyme (sp?) and there for people to see. It was awful. All the people were in the same position as when they died and I mean there are no word to describe the sight. There were so many skeletons of little kids and then a room that just had a bunch of skulls neatly lined up and piles of bones. The smell almost made me throw up so my dry heaving took away some of my emotions. But it was just crazy to see. It is hard to imagine that the world stood by and let something like that happen.
     On a lighter note, Sunday was supposed to be free day but I went to my host family’s house around 10 am to prepare food for lunch. When I get to site I can now successfully prepare green beans, carrots, rice, and French fries. That’s a good enough start I suppose! I was there for about 4 hours and Noella played more music videos. They are SO random from Shaggy to Avril Lavigne to Alicia Keys to Kinyarwanda rapper to High School Musical. Definitely enjoyable.


This week I start teaching in the model school that was set up for training. Pretty pumped. NOT. I still feel very unsure about what I’m doing as far as writing lesson plans so it should be interesting to say the least. I figured I should sign up for the first group and just get it out of the way. Pray for me! I'm mortified to do what I came here to do. Perf. 

cloudy with a chance of rain, but mostly just pretty clouds :)

I am OBSESSED with the sky here. It’s blue, not like blue gray in Los Angeles but blue and it’s gorgeous! And the clouds are AMAZING. Anyone who has been around me on vacation or when taking pictures knows I am in love with clouds so that’s been a real treat. The last few days have been so pretty it’s made my days better. Happier. And makes walking so much more enjoyable. Walking is nice except for most Rwandans have never seen a white person before so they stare or talk to you and after the initial greeting it turns really awkward really fast. But they still walk right next to me or right behind me and I feel them touching my backpack or touching my skin because it’s white skin. Today I was walked home by literally 12 kids. It’d be totally fine if I didn’t have the thought in the back of my head that they’re gonna jump me. I know, I know, 10 year old girls are probably the least of my worries but one can never be too cautious these days!


We had a medical session yesterday and for the entire hour and a half we talked about diarrhea. Floyd? But just talked about how it’s gonna happen all the time and ways to avoid it and a little cup to put it in and just a gross talk. Then the transfers from Mauritania informed us we will all shit our pants during our time here and it’s no big deal. Thankfully my dad called to interrupt the poop talk because their stories were getting pretty detailed. So yea, that happened. Reading a few new books. Bitter is the New Black and Three Cups of Tea. I am not enjoying the first one because the chick sucks. Total biotch.

this is from a different med session where we put sex in order.


Guess who got shelves in our room? Yep. The other houses didn’t but I like to think I’m a good negotiator. When we first moved in Mup said he would get shelves then he was like oh no you don’t need them so I said okay fine I’ll just take the tables from the dining room and he said okay okay you get shelves. We each have one shelf to put our stuff on and have hooks on the wall for towels and coats. I guess I need to take a new picture for all you haters that talked shit on facebook.


I updated my list of supplies but that’s pretty much for the next 2 years. My package arrived in Kigali that was sent before I left so approximate package time is 3 weeks. Not bad. Once I move to my site I will be living alone (YES!) and I couldn’t be more excited. Except for the whole cooking thing. And no fridge. I need to figure out that whole scenario. But, we were told by the current PCVs that everyone has a house girl who does their shopping and laundry and will cook for you if you want also. Of course we all thought this was crazy but apparently it’s totally normal and everyone has one. So that sounds fun. It’s like buying a friend in my new town. Downfall is that they apparently like to steal clothes and/or wear your stuff while working. One girl said she pulled her earrings out of her house girls ears. Tough crowd.

On a side note, in case anyone was wondering, Tonka is loving her new home in Texas. She and Lula Belle, another English bulldog are very good friends and wrestle over Tonka’s bed and other various items. My dad says Tonka doesn’t take crap from the other dogs which is funny because she was always battling Pistol who is 60 pounds heavier than her. I will add a picture of her new fam to facebook if I can but it took me forever to upload the few pictures of Nyanza. Sorry the pictures aren’t all crazy cool, I am still pretty wary of taking pictures of people and carrying my nice camera around so I’m sticking to scenery with my little camera. Jeff, you can have your camera back when you visit. Maybe. J

writing in class...

not much new to report. one girl that left for home came back after a momentary freak out. I let her know she's not the only one homesick and feeling lost. I can't think of this in terms of 27 months anymore. I just go day by day. Supposedly training is the worst time and once you get to your site things are way better. I hope so! Had a medical session yesterday. We've got all kinds of coverage but if I'm sick, don't bother calling Washington DC mom or dad because they won't tell you anything!. We get to learn how to prick our fingers to make slides to test for malaria. Yes please. Went on a field trip yesterday. UGH. I think since studying abroad I am just over being lead into buildings in large groups of people. Someone fainted. I've skipped lunch the last 3 days so I could be away from people for a little bit. I just buy bread in town and make a pb & j. plus, the lunch food is same as dinner so it's getting old. But there was a nice sunset last night and had a nice, long walk home. I was able to download Skype (mfogarty123) for when I have my own internet (I hope) and then there was another city wide blackout. WE got a teapot to heat up our yellow water which is soooooo amazing. It makes a tremendous difference as you can imagine. We start model school next week so were actually going to be teaching. Totally have no idea what I'm doing as I've never taught a foreign language. Also, it's a bit intimidating that the kids range in age from 12 to like twenty something adults...I'll give more details when I have them. I went and saw my host family again today. I brought my ipod and speakers and showed em what's up. On the first day we met I told them I liked bananas so she gave me like 30. no big deal. We chilled, had some convos about my pictures and planned on making food Sunday. I am going to go over in the morning and help her prepare a rwandan meal and then we'll grub. That's it. trying to post some pics on facebook. xoxox


roomies & housemates

quickie

Just writing a quick one at the internet cafe of a few things I have forgotten to write...I am pretty sure all the buckets in our house are bright colors so we can't see how yellow the water is. once you dump it from the bath..OH MAN. its gnarly. Just want all of you to envision not having clean water. ever. People ask for my bottled water all the time. its crazy. Also, as apparently fake choking my host mom was awkward for some, I think someone else did me one up. A boy in our group was at his host family's house for the first time and the mom thought his toenails were too long so SHE CUT THEM! now, tell me my story was more awkward. He said there was nothing he could do. ahahhahahahah. Also, 2 people have gone home. So you get a sense of how things suck here. They do. I definitely miss home I am just hoping as time passes and we finish training things will get better. cross your fingers! That's all for now. Trying to download skype. Last night I was halfway finished and the whole town lost power. drat. xoxoxox

pandas!

Haven’t written in a few…things have been busy and days kinda blending together with language training, cross cultural and safety sessions, and tech. trainings. We had 3 current volunteers working in the health sector come talk to us about their time so far in Rwanda. All 3 of them teach English also, I think because the demand for that is much greater. They filled us in on American taboos and random Rwandan things like when you yawn people think you’re hungry. We did our laundry outside the other day in buckets with the same nasty yellow water we bathe with. Our clothes had only been hanging to dry for like 2 hours when we thought rain was coming so we took them all down and tried to hang them inside. Just a big mildew mess. And when scrubbing the clothes I’m pretty sure they are already getting worn out so feel free to send more. Turns out bringing a bunch of white clothing for heat purposes wasn’t the best move as they get crazy dirty and Rwanda isn’t “Africa hot”. Plus, we’re in rainy season and when it rains, it pours. Haven’t got my rain boots in the mail so my good ole rainbows are getting it done. Kinda…Random thought, someone in my group told me he didn’t think he would be carrying many conversations with me as I had bleached blonde hair and wear coked out glasses. Guess I wasn’t the only one judging people based on their facebook pictures.


Yesterday we met with our resource families who we will hang out with to learn Kinyarwanda and exchange cultures. My host mom is Immaculate and she has 2 kids, Noella, 14 and Cardinal, 10. My host mom and I went to her work at the pharmacy and the only thing I could read in English was vaginal tablets. They came in a box of 3. Little kids kept stopping to see me and I got a picture of a kid with a Los Angeles, CA shirt. Then on our walk to my host house I saw a little kid with the most amazing shirt EVER. Before my grandma passed away I took her pajama pants and a red, crewneck sweatshirt she had from the San Diego Zoo with the 2 pandas on it because she just adored them. So yesterday, I’m walking and a little boy had the same shirt. I almost started crying just because it was so amazing. So good to see.




When we got to the house it was definitely awkward for a little while because they speak little English and I speak little Kinyarwanda. We finally went the culture exchange route and Noella started playing dvds she had with music videos from Rwanda, India, and the US. We watched Thriller, Timbaland and One Republic, but the best was when Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World” Super Bowl edition came on. I was soooo pumped. So good. SO good! Noella had never heard of Rihanna but then a Chris Brown video came on so I tried to explain that relationship by fake choking my host mom. HA. Yep, I’m awkward. All of us volunteers were supposed to be back to our site by 4 to go to the museum but at like 230 it started raining like crazy. Of course I had a tank top and shants on so I was already freezing. My host mom kept trying to tell me I needed to take a mototaxi but we aren’t allowed to ride them but of course I can’t say that in Kinyarwandan. I just kept saying, “Oya! Ndi umustagiyeri wa Peace Corps! Oya! Oya!” That only means no, I’m a trainee with the Peace Corps. No. No. She finally got the point. A Peace Corps car came to collect some of us volunteers who had called and of course getting in I hit my elbow so friggin hard. 10 minutes later when my elbow still hurt someone was like yea you know you have blood on your purse. OH. Cool. Last thing I wanna hear about is blood in Africa. Elbow shout out to Floyd. J

Our museum trip was rescheduled due to the chaos of collecting everyone so instead we all went to get a beer. The 40s cost $1. Then as we started to leave to find food there was a city wide blackout but thankfully we have our Nokia Torches which have a little flashlight on top of the phone. We found a spot down the road still serving food off their verbal menu. Power came back within 45 minutes, followed by our food 15 minutes later. Ah well.


fish at restaurant.

Today is my first day free and only day free for at least another 2 weeks. I was all pumped to walk into town to upload this and some pictures but its pouring again. Gonna be a mellow day and then busy week. Write me! If you have Skype or a phone card call me! My number is: 250785328366. For Los Angeles people, just subtract 3 and change the color of the sky for the time change. Miss you all. 

I found chocolate!

Yesterday was a big day for me. I’m pretty sure I almost perfected my bucket bathing which is definitely exciting and something to be proud of. The water is cold and there’s not an endless supply but the best part is I didn’t get the floor all wet. Hey, it’s the little things in life that keep us going right? know I mentioned before that we live at the Kitchen House so food is prepared here but we no longer have every meal and tea break here! THANK GOD. There is still a lot of traffic since we have the closest bathroom to the school (I live across the street!) but when people were here all the time we didn’t have any space and Mupemba, our training director made some changes. It also sucked that our toilet was gnarly messed up the other day and some men had to use tree branches and sticks and what not to plunge it. My whole room smelled like stank. So now no toilet paper down the toilet. Imagine that guys…Some of the transfers from Mauritania just wipe with their hands. I’m not that gnarly yet. We have no furniture besides our bunk beds so I got some cardboard boxes from the backyard and made 2 little cases. I wouldn’t call them shelves but one just has clothes in it and the other has books but its better than just a cluster on the floor. Okay, there is still quite a cluster but its organized.


Yesterday was also the first day of training classes and it was hard. Besides being out of school for 2 years it is just sooo long. 8-5 and it’s intensive learning! The Kinyarwandan teachers teach in ONLY Kinyarwanda. It’s ridiculous trying to learn verb tenses being explained in a foreign language. Ugh. I am not yet being proactive and using the index cards I brought to study but it will happen. After having hours of the language you kinda just want to get away from it. We also had our first medical training sesh and we got these medical kits that have everything from Tylenol to ace bandages to condoms to chapstick…they are pretty intense not gonna lie. Best part is they were packaged in EL SEGUNDO, CA. Says right there on the label! I mean really? Do these coincidences happen to anyone else? So weird. We also get to practice pricking our fingers so we can put blood on slides to see if we have malaria. How fun does that sound?


I am trying to enjoy the free time I have by llistening to music, journaling, and reading. I am currently reading Emptiness Dancing by Adyashanti (thanks Grahams) and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (thanks Jana) in case anyone wants to have fake book club meetings via email. We also started a book co-op in our room so we can exchange books. I also walk into town when I can which is nice and I fould a little shop with these fake blow pops twice the size and some milk chocolate. I tell ya that chocolate never tasted so good.  I actually walked someone there after dinner so he could get into the candy boutique also. One of the workers asked how much the suckers were and I said 100 and all the people laughed because I knew how much and the one guy didn’t. Ooops. Forgot to mention in Kigali we went to a little bar (I think it was someone’s house) to try banana beer. It’s 14% alcohol and it is nasty! It burns your throat. We weren’t doing well drinking it so a group of us played ‘never have I ever…’ we learned a lot about each other real quick! I tried to upload pictures to the blog but it literally was taking forever. I don’t think it was ever going to go thru so I just put 4 pictures on facebook. I was very rushed and yea…that’s all I got for you guys to look at for now. Be peaceful.

muraho!!

Haven’t had much internet to explain what’s been happenin...even when I come to the “cyber” cafes the internet is pretty dodgy. I am actually copying this from my computer. We are now in Nyanza where we will be training for the next 10 weeks. Training is from 8-5 everyday and covers language, technical, and cross cultural issues.


classroom

I hear it’s pretty intensive and since I suck at language I’m not too excited but I have no other priorities than here so I have to focus focus focus and remember why I am here. This whole experience is really what I make it and they say it’s the hardest job you’ll ever love…

When we left the nunnery we drove about 2 hours to our training site where we are sharing 4 houses called the laundry house, kitchen house, tech house and language house. I live at the kitchen house where all the meals are served so pretty much there are people here all the time. The food is prepared on the grass outside my window. The dishes are also cleaned in the outside buckets. We have to bring buckets of water in to flush the toilets and to bathe. Pretty much unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The other houses have names, but nothing is done there. I washed my underwear in a bucket and hung it dry in my window for all the kitchen staff to see. I share a room with 3 other girls. We have 2 bunk beds, all with brand new Mickey Mouse sheets and intense mosquito nets. I feel like a princess, but not. Oh yeah, when leaving the nunnery we had all our stuff to be brought to the bus but also had our carry-on type bags. I left deodorant, tp, and my sandals on my nightstand to put in my bag. I cam back a minute later and it was gone. I was like oh helll come on. I mean yea it’s $15 worth of stuff, but probably 3 of my most important items here! So I saw the staff guy leaving my room and I’m like pointing like where’s my stuff?! And he obviously doesn’t understand so I keep pointing and repeating myself and then he gets on the floor and had hidden it under the bed so he could go back and get it later. RIDIC!



Only been here a week but thought I’d mention thoughts/truths about Africa. People do carry stuff on their head all the time. Heavy, awkward items but they pull it off. Mad skills. Shoes/sandals are too big on a lot of kids if they have them. Babies are tied to mommies and siblings backs. Cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I keep sayin I got to get me one of those! Akon is huge. So is Celine. We asked our driver to play us Rwandan music and we got a cd of Rihanna. Pretty sure those shirts you donate to Africa do actually make it here. I’ve seen some good, worn out ones on kids like Hollywood, Ca, Drink Like a Champion today, KC Chiefs (jeff), UFC, etc. Everyone has a cell phone. Everyone’s job is to sell MTN cell phone credits. People call us umazungu all day which means white person, because we don’t know we’re white. There are a lot of mosquitos. Most of my group speaks French. Good for me not knowing any! Rwanda is suuuuuper green! On our drive from the city it was crazy how green and lush everything was. Lots of different trees and plants. Luc if you’re reading it’s like Cambodia tropical times waaay more. It’s really a beautiful place and very clean. No plastic bags allowed. 

here!

It's only day 3 in Rwanda but feels like we have been here a bit longer...maybe because we are living in tight quarters and are getting to know each other pretty well. Got here 2 nights ago and it was pouring rain and lots of lightning. Carrying our bags into the nunnery we are staying at was a nightmare to say the least. The ice cold showers with no water pressure at 6 in the morning are pretty brutal too but gotta stay clean! Yesterday we came to Peace Corps headquarters here in Kigali to get shots and fill out some paperwork. A group of us cruised to town to get phones and I ran into Emily Roberts. yea. in Rwanda. crazy! We had a reception with the current health volunteers at the country directors house which was pretty awkward. It was like a college party where you know 2 people but really, you know nobody. I was hoping someone got wasted and made an ass of themselves but it didn't happen. There was a nice little American dog running around which made me smile. Definitely not as cute as Tonka though. Today we went to the Genocide memorial where almost 250,000 Rwandans are buried. Super sad. Heavy. Saw Emily for the 2nd time! Nothing more exciting than seeing a familiar face and someone who actually knows me! Back at Peace Corps headquarters again for more shots and American food. Pretty sure 3 of our 5 or 6 meals have had french fries. pretty funny. Haven't taken many pictures as we haven't been wandering the city much. Can't upload the ones I do have as this isn't my computer. Sorrry. Tomorrow we head to Nyanza where we will be training for the next 10 weeks. Peace Corps has rented 6 houses where we will live during that time. After training we will all head out to our sites for the next 2 years. Intense. Overwhelming. Should be interesting to say the least...love you all. email me! xoxox

first leg

i claimed claustrophobia this flight as my one in the states sucked. so i landed the emergency exit row and had no seat in front of me. holla. in brussels. not sure when i'll have internet again. peace. 

almost there...kinda

ready for lax with 80 pounds of my life.

So I'm in Philadelphia in what seems to be a pretty ghetto neighborhood.  That's based on walking 2 blocks and seeing no signs of food but plenty of graffiti, whistles at us (my roommate mandy), and an opened condom wrapper on the corner.  We turned back to the hotel and ordered pizza.  My flight yesterday was pretty much a nightmare.  To start, I had a window seat and get pretty claustrophobic but decided since I am trying all these new things I would suck it up. bad move. The 2 men next to me didn't give on the best vibes and I had to muster up the courage to finally ask to go to the bathroom.  Oh yea, that was after the first medical emergency.  A guy 3 rows up hit his head and was bleeding enough for the steward to announce an "emergency" and ask if there were any doctors.  Because of all that mess, only the first 12 rows got food and drink! Then about an hour later the guy behind me says he feels sick and is literally yellow. His wife is bawling and the doctor and nurse are back in action.  They had a hard time reading his pulse and were giving him oxygen and then gave him a friggin iv!  Pretty cool considering we are flying.  Since this seemed a bit more serious we had to make a medical emergency landing in Pittsburgh.  We stayed on the plane for what seemed like forever (prolly 45 min) but the plane was off so it was super hot! And all I had eaten was a power bar!  We eventually made it to Philadelphia and just chilled last night. Cried a bit, not gonna lie. Just turned in paperwork and will be meeting everyone in an hour. Oh yea, I have brown hair.