better late than never....

This blog was started in April…guess I’ll finish it now…soooooo much has happened I might as well put it out there…it’s long, but try to read it!

So I’m in Singapore. Ahh.

Last I wrote was in Rwanda with the rat/mouse situation. Megan came over and threw her in the yard for me. The big black birds had a field day with her on my roof. Yep, it was a her. I’ll get to that. So Megan came to my site and made some bomb Thai food while Bugsy and I supervised. He musta been out in the rain for hours because he was soooo stinky but I still let him hang. I enjoyed the last few days of my cast at my site reading Twilight and watching Prison Break. I planted some sunflowers Jeff had sent and was successful, but not without a little ridiculousness. The shovel that was once in my yard was nowhere to be found and of course the neighbors denied seeing it. I cut up a water bottle and tried to scoop the wet dirt with it which was hard in itself, plus my cast running vag to toe. My phone rang inside and as I scurried to get it I fell on cement and was stuck like a turtle, other leg bleeding and all. Thank god no one saw me stuck on my back for a minute. Now I know how Tonka feels.

The next day Peace Corps came to get me to go to Kigali and get my cast off and then me head to Asia. Megan was also going to swing the free ride so I told her to get there before Peace Corps so she could investigate my trunk because I was still hearing noises in there. The Peace Corps driver told me I was crazy and nothing was making any noises. I informed Alphons that I have bionic hearing, and that something was definitely in my trunk, with all my dishes and cleaning supplies. My Ugandan neighbors came over, also didn’t hear anything and proceeded to prove me wrong by taking everything out of my trunk. Oh cool. Babies. THREE. Ugh. They had been squeaking since I accidentally murdered their mommy and were still struggling to stay alive! I couldn’t believe it. I’m not sure where they got put but finally I was off to Kigali.

I got my cast off the day before my flight and wow. It was weeeeeird. My leg was just deflated and white and hurt so badly to walk on. I went and took the longest shower ever and shaved and let hot water run on me. I cant say it was a waste of water after I hadn’t really bathed in over a month. The next morning the new PCMO tried to have me come in even though I was packing, bathing (again) and eating before. I would have never made it to Peace Corps and to the airport in time and said I couldn’t go, so I got written up. Moving on.

My trip to Singapore was amazing. I had to fly to Nairobi first which was only an hour or so but my flight was full of muzungu NGO workers and rich people traveling. I was annoyed at all the conversations I overheard about all the work they were doing just because a lot of it is just contributing money. Sure, that’s wonderful, but it’s not sustainable and seeing so much firsthand I know there needs to be more than just money given. Anyway. I had a 7 hour layover in Kenya which was sure to be a nightmare until I got free wireless!!! You know how at almost every airport there are duty free stores so everyone loads up on booze and cigarettes? Well, all the stores at this airport had ‘duty free’ in their name so I guessed that as the airport password and sure enough. I was sooo pumped. I sat by a bathroom that had an outlet and imed for hours and watched the Tiger Woods press conferences and the Lady Gaga videos I kept hearing about. I had coffee with a random man from Lesotho and people watched like no other. When I landed in Bangkok it was heaven…like, indescribable. It was so shiny and pristine almost and there were Asians! And Muzungus! The sight of fast food was of course awesome also. There was Starbucks, Mcdonalds, Dairy Queen, Burger King and all these random Thai food places. I was so overwhelmed I sat down and skyped Jeff telling him I didn’t even know what to eat! I also called Rwanda to brag about all my options. I settled on Dairy Queen, the cheapest choice with the most appealing pictures. Chili cheese dog and a blizzard? I think so. That layover was 4 hours or so also which, sucked, but I was almost there!

As I said before, Singapore was just amazing. John lives in a really nice building, with a ridiculous pool in a great location. He is just 2 blocks from the major shopping road lined with stores like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Burberry etc. Also, other random stores and TONS of food places, even Coffee Bean and CPK! I lived it up of course and was spoiled rotten by my stepdad. I had a mani/pedi, massages, and free reign of purchases at the bookstore. I laid in the pool most days and read. Even though I was in an amazing place, it was sill lonely as John works everyday. I was used to it, and we enjoyed dinners and dvds together at night.


My vacation went by quickly and after I returned to Rwanda I was still having a hard time…with my leg, my school, the culture…it was a let down when our PCMO left, and then the country director emailed saying he was leaving also. I replied with my decision to go home. Jeff knew I had been having a hard time, and the week following was very awkward between us. He was obviously disappointed, and that was very hard for me as he had been my rock during the previous 7 months. I was scared to go home…and excited, and confused, but I did…(obvi) It is still one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made and I hate it…I miss it so much, but know it was right at the time. I got home the first Sunday night in May and started back to work on Tuesday. Wednesday morning Jeff flashed me and decided to break up with me. Cinco de mayo. My grandpa’s birthday. The end of 2 years together. Devastating. Shocking. Hurtful. Just shitty. The timing couldn’t have been worse…but is there really ever a good time? I of course assumed another person was involved or soon to be, and duh, I was right. Thank you Peace Corps Albania and certain biatch. Guess I always thought Jeff was different.

So coming home has been hard. Roller coaster of emotions daily. Jeff and I are still friends. We still talk. Still email. Argue more now. Its just hard to share something with someone for 2 years including plans for the future, and have it taken at a time when I was already down. Maybe it seemed harder that i had to return to El Segundo. I start waiting tables and people say "oh you quit? how's jeff?" I want to cry, but I save it for later. I have had drama with friends, been uninvited to a wedding, and felt alone more times than not. But coming home has brought me happy times also…I have made new friends, new plans for the future, I am taking trips and have learned a lot about myself and others. I am living for myself and no one else, and am excited for what’s to come. Plus, I’m home with Tonka, and she’ll never break my heart.




Going to try and keep blogging about life…well see if I actually do. One year ago tonight I was in Philadelphia on the phone with Jeff crying about leaving…tonight I am sad I’m not there. Grass is always greener on the other side…

love. ♥

These are my grandparents last December before Jeff and I went to India. I love this picture of them. They're so happy. Married 55 years. Does anyone stay married that long anymore?


I woke up this morning and checked my American cell phone's voicemail. Yep, I still have it if anyone ever wants to leave a message...anyway, my mom called saying my grandpa had died. When I said goodbye to him before Rwanda, I knew it would be the last and these last few weeks I knew it was coming, but it's still the worst feeling ever. It's even worse that I am here, and my family is there. What's even worse than that is I am here doing nothing, because I have a broken leg. I wish I coulda been with him these last few weeks...and he wished too. He told me to come home and we could go for walks, even though neither one of us can walk right now. That thought makes me laugh, but sad too. My grandpa was cool shit and used to love photography like me. That makes me happy.

ew.

I am back at Bumba. I came back to my site yesterday after being in Kibuye for almost 2 weeks. It was nice, but I am glad to be home. Sure they have wireless internet, but they also have SOOOOOO many mosquitoes I dreaded going to bed every night. I didn’t sleep well at all there, and today slept in till 1 pm. Whoops. Bugsy came over yesterday and watched me unpack for a bit. I didnt finish because the hobbling around became too much. I have a lot of stuff too, as these past 2 weeks I was blessed my the care package gods. I got a total of 8 boxes, from Singapore, Texas, and El Segundo. One even had trash in it thank you, you know who you are. But I got all sorts of goodies like flower and vegetable seeds, already baked brownies, books and magazines including 3 Twilight books, new movies like Avatar, Precious (wtf?!), 2012 etc. I got a valentine’s package from Jeff after I had 2 Turbo Kings, and got all emo looking at our photo book and cards. It was awesome though.

Like 10 of us went to Nyanza this weekend to see Mup and each other. I would write more about our time there, but Peace Corps thinks we behaved like assholes and sent us an email about it, so I’ll leave it at that. Bunch of nonsense if you ask me, so don’t ask. It was awesome having yogurt again though! Sooooo good!

I finally got to talk to Jeff in Albania and that was thrilling, obviously. We are trying to figure out calling because its super expensive on both ends. He tried to call me and it was $2.50 for ONE minute. Obviously, that’s not gonna work out. He just found an internet café so hopefully that will help out. He is living with a host family who doesn’t speak any English, and not gonna lie, I’m a bit jealous. He will definitely learn the language that way and I kinda wish I had that on my side. I have had an amazing experience anyway, just saying.

Last night I was reading the longest book ever, Pillars of the Earth, and I kept hearing this noise in my sitting room. I realized it was coming from my trunk and I figured it was just a lizard because when I came home there was poop everywhere. There were also a bunch of spiderwebs. Ew. But I opened the trunk and didn’t see anything so let it drop shut and thought I’d deal with it today. I opened the trunk today, didn’t see anything at first, and then I did. And then I screamed like a baby. Haha. There was a baby mouse or rat smashed where I dropped the lid! He was almost out before he was killed. I didn’t inspect it much, and closed the lid again. Megan says she’ll take care of it when she comes over tomorrow. My bad.

That’s about it. Singapore next week! Going to finish my long book so I can start some new stuff. Had bad allergies all day and ate oreos and hot chocolate. Loooooove care packages. I’ll try to add pictures in a few. xoxox

No more Mr. Brown Eye

this has nothing to do with Rwanda but its pretty hilarious and my dads response was even funnier. here is the article:

I've always had dogs with long, straight tails that conveniently keep their more "unsightly" parts under wraps. But for pets with stubby, curly-cue or non-existent nubs, there's Rear Gear to the rescue.

Rear Gear is a decorative cover for your dog's, cat's (or ferret's) um, anus. There, I said it.

For all of you news junkies out there, I realize that Rear Gear has been on the scene for several months, but it wasn't until this weekend that I witnessed a real-live pooch sporting one (in the disco-ball design) at Dolores Park. I tried to snap a picture, but the little guy tore off at lightning speed as soon as I managed to fish my iPhone out of my bag — I can only imagine his humiliation.

Previously, I only thought of these as a kind of "pet product mythology" — and the perfect gag gift for the prudish friend who almost didn't get a dog because of the pooper-scooper factor. But no. Rear Gear is real. In the word's of the product's founder:

Is your pet feeling left in the dirt because of his/her unsightly rear? I've got them covered... Rear Gear is handmade in Portland, OR and offers a cheerful solution to be-rid your favorite pet's un-manicured back side.


While miniature pants just wouldn't be practical, Rear Gear (available on Etsy) does the trick by dangling from the tail to block certain bits you'd rather not see. (Sure, dogs might wear one to please their owners, but I honestly can't picture a cat putting up with something flapping around on their tails for longer than about two seconds.)

Practicality aside, in addition to the disco ball, fans can choose from an array of designs including a tree-shaped air freshener, fuzzy dice, sheriff's badge, heart, flower, cupcake, #1 ribbon or biohazard-symbol. And for just five bucks a piece, you can get three! You can even customize one for your pet, so there's truly a Rear Gear for everyone.

here is my dad's version of a rear gear on tonka:

jeff!

Today Jeff leaves for Peace Corps Albania. He is serving as a community and development organization facilitator. I have had sooo many emotions about him leaving but I think its because I know exactly what he is going thru. It’s a crazy time and I am SO excited and happy for him. I know things will be hard with communication during training but I am confident we will figure it out. Good news is time difference is only an hour! How cool is that?! So far it sounds like he has a pretty good group of people, including a handful of folks from California. I think he is definitely at an advantage with all the knowledge he has from me being here and visiting a PCV abroad. He even met a girl who served in Albania just this past year. She said in the capital there are many amenities to be purchased and lots of foods familiar to home so that sounds promising. And supposedly there are lots of western toilets. I am one of the only volunteers here without a squatty potty. Lucky for me and my broken leg! Anyway, I am so anxious to hear all about his Peace Corps experience. I am so very proud of Jeff and love him very very much. I hope he loves Albania and his time there. ♥

fml

I have wireless internet and plenty of time so here’s another. Plus, I like my new green background. I went to the doctor last Wednesday and he said yea my tibia is fractured. Then he told me where it should hurt, and made me squeal. He also asked if I would teach him English even though his English was good, and I don’t live in the capital. I kept saying no, and he said, “ So you’re telling me you aren’t going to teach me English?” That’s right doc. Glad we got that settled. I was told 4 weeks in a cast, but was able to bargain down to 3 because I don’t want it in Asia with me. I went to another guy and got this big ass Dodger blue cast. He informed me “Blue is for boys.” Umm…okay. They sent me away without crutches and I awkwardly hobbled to the car. But, I was able to walk and wear sandals. Every time I got up the cast slid down and dug into my ankle and hurt badly enough that I wouldn’t be moving around at all. We went back to King Faisal Hospital (featured in some genocide movies) and met with the guy again. He said he could add another cast on the foot and I said okay pink. He said you cant have pink and blue! But I just figured, I already look like an asshole I might as well get the most obnoxious color. He kept saying no and I asked if he had pink the day before, and he said yes but that he liked blue. After much weird arguing about MY cast, he gave me an entire new pink one because thas more logical than trying to add a 2nd bootleg one just on my foot. That’s how I ended up in hot pink. I had to go back and have part of the foot cut because I couldn’t step down at all and could only use crutches. I continued to stay in Kigali until Friday and had a very unsuccessful attempt at a bath. I ended up almost falling with my wet sandals and had to yell for a friend to come help from down the hall. Ridic.

dont worry, this is tonka with her fake injury.


Peace Corps gave me a ride to my site on Firday to grab some stuff and then took me to Kibuye. Bugsy came and met me for a quick snack and my neighbor said he has missed me very much. I am sad I am not there to feed him. ☹ 20 people came to Kibuye last weekend for 2 birthday parties. It was chaos with so many people here trying to sleep and live. Too much. But everyone thinks I should stay here because I’m a gimp and can’t get food on my own. So, I am in Kibuye, right on top of Lake Kivu. I have wireless internet, a kitten with ringworm, and a room full of buzzing mosquitoes. I hate sleeping here, but it is probably better than being alone. I got 4 packages since my arrival, 3 from my stepdad and 1 from Nick and Kari. Got lots of awesome goodies!!! Thanks guys. Mark (on of the guys I'm staying with), started a March Madness pool. It's called 'Maggie is Disabled. And Mean. Bless her heart.' Nice roommates huh?

cribs!

here is the video jeff made of my house in case you havent seen it! thanks babe!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Vz-Oe42CY

lots and lots!

Well, I figured I better sack up and begin this blog because it should be a long one. Been over a month since I’ve really written a good one. I think about it often, and sometimes take note of a story, but just been lazy and busy and blah…school started 2 days after Jeff left and that has been pretty hectic and to be honest, not that fun. I have 7 different classes that are 6 different levels. If you ask me, I think it’s pretty ridiculous that they would give me that many levels to teach because planning is very hard. Its like teaching 7th-12th grade English. A bit obnoxious if you ask me. I do enjoy some of the kids of course, and love when they ask questions about America. I was showing something on my computer and I there was a picture of Jeff, and this kid ran up to the front to see and slipped and fell. The whole class erupted in laughter and even I was dying. I felt bad for the kid, but it was nice to see some enthusiasm! A lot of my kids seem very tired and sometimes put their head down in class. They go to school from 8-430 and they are not fed breakfast even though it’s a boarding school. I feel bad and sometimes bring candy. I don’t vibe well with a fair amount of the teachers, who are all male. They know my name and call me muzungu, or pagan because I don’t sit at church for 5 hours on Sundays. Get over it. They also like to talk about me in their presence which is annoying, obvi, so when I’m not teaching, I’m not at school.


I mostly hang out at my house with Bugsy, my dog neighbor who comes over everyday. I feed him and talk to him but don’t pet him much unless I can immediately wash my hands afterwards. Some of his favorite treats include sambosas, amandazi, and the occasional beef jerky or slim jim. He is scared of the water spout outside and prefers to drink from the water in streams or puddles from the rain. A few weeks ago my day had already been ridiculous when in the morning I slipped down my hill and was covered in mud. I know I shouldn’t even chance the shortcut after it rains but its so much faster! I was 30 minutes late to school because I had to go home and clean up and change. The kids were very amused when I drew them a picture to explain my fall. That afternoon I was going to teach the teachers when Bugsy showed up and started to follow me. I called his actual owner to get him but there is no fence he can’t get out of. I called the other English teacher saying I couldn’t come in because of the dog, but he told me to enter anyway. For 2 hours, I taught English while Bugsy slept in the front under the chalkboard laying silent but deadly farts. Musta been all his treats! Ha! The school director wasn’t amused, but he knows its Africa and animals wander…Last week I again leave to teach the teachers, and like clockwork Bugsy was at my gate. I was like NOOOOOO you can’t come today! Of course he followed, but I found out the class was canceled. I instead decided to walk to Congo Nil where I can get bread and such, and he followed me the whole time, even into the bank! The guard told me no dogs allowed, but I told him he wasn’t mine and the guard was okay with it. Bugsy and I walked around for 3 hours that afternoon and it was really nice company. Tonka would have been better, but Tonka also wouldn’t have lasted for that long. We stopped and watched my students play soccer on the way home and the kids were loving the dog. We also ran into some students in town, and they were washing something in the stream. They asked if I knew what it was, and I said yea sugar cane. Then a store worker threw Bugsy something, and I’m like really? Dogs don’t eat sugar cane. So I look closer and and it’s a freaking goat leg! I almost shit myself. I mean, not really but it was pretty gross considering the hair was still on it and everything. Ugh. Pictures of this are on facebook. I still let Bugsy nap in my house after. ☺


Other animals visiting my house include many spiders, fuzzy black caterpillars, and LOTS of lizards and iguana guys. I had a very big spider in my room and seriously thought I might puke. I was able to knock him and after he fell on me, I never found him again. I was pretty worked up about him for a week. I am pretty used to the lizards, but they still creep me out a little bit. I hear them at night because when they come out of the walls cement from in between the bricks come with them. And they leave lizard poop everywhere! Sometimes when I’m outside I hear this plop which always scares me, and I turn and there is this iguana that drops off the wall. He has a blue head and tail and green and yellow body. He looks pretty cool, but always runs away from me.


Last week a bunch of us came to Kigali because we needed money and the new health volunteers had just arrived so we all met them at a welcome party. On the way to Kigali I had to stop the bus to use the restroom on the side of a hill in the rain. Also, I may have been on my period. Sorry for tmi, but it was just one of my rougher moments. Most people got pretty sloshed at the party and we went out after also. The following day was the mandatory umuganda so all businesses including restaurants would be closed. I got some pastries the day before to prep, but Saturday morning was rough on everyone. Most people hadn’t purchased food or drinks and nothing opened till noonish. Also, the water at our hotel didn’t work at all so everyone was dirty and gross and hungover. The sinks and toilets didn’t work either, so the group bathrooms were gnarly as people had the rhea and were throwing up. Gross.

On the way back to site I got off my bus at the bottom of my hill like always before the 2nd leg. I was ready to pee my pants so I went to a bathroom at a little restaurant that I always use. The bathroom is in the back where they wash dishes and its very wet. It was also raining. I came out of the bathroom with backpack and princess bag and slipped. Hard. It was SOOOO embarrassing. I had just talked to jeff and immediately called him back as I was mortified and in a good amount of pain. I was covered in water and dirt because I fell partially into a drain thing. Omg I was so humiliated. So I couldn’t walk Sunday night, Monday was rough and im still swollen and sore. I saw the PCMO (peace corps medical officer) on Saturday and she informed me my knee wasn’t hurt, but below my knee. Oh. My bad. I just know when I bend and straighten my leg it makes this horrible crunching sound “like cereal” the PCMO said. Its pretty gross and I hate that I hear it everytime I go up or down stairs too.


Eww. So anyway, she made me go to the ER in Kigali on Saturday morning. The doctor I had didn’t have the best bedside manner, and was kind of a bitch. Things got better when her phone rang and the ringtone was Prison Break! So pumped. I just finished season 2. ☺ anyway, I had x-rays done and I chipped my tibia. There was no orthopedic person on duty so I was due to go Monday for an appointment. Well, like 4 days ago they declared Monday a national holiday so my appointment got moved to Weds afternoon. So now I’m just in the capital eating good food, spending way too much money and being lonely and bored out of my head. It is definitely nice to have a few days off of school, but we have a long break coming up in April. It’s the end of the first term and also genocide memorial week so it’s a pretty intense time here. My stepdad knew I was having quite a hard time and has arranged for me to come visit him in Singapore and relax a bit. I am SOOOOOOOO excited. I mean, there are Asians and culture in Singapore, but there is also a Coffee Bean, CPK, 7-11, Subway, etc. I couldn’t be happier to get out of Africa for a day, but 2 weeks, I’m THRILLED.

I came to Kigali this weekend because Operation Smile was in Rwanda. This is their first time doing a project in this country and we were asked if we wanted to volunteer. I missed Saturday because of my sudden trip to the hospital, but was able to go for a bit Sunday and it was awesome. And sad. And hurt my heart. Some 500 people came to be evaluated in hopes of getting a surgery. Many people were bused in from villages all over the country and others came and waited on the street in hopes of getting seen. Priority went to children 6 and under, but I saw one lady that must have been 70 years old. It was a scene like nothing I could imagine, and so sad to think that people have lived their whole lives like that. In some parts of the world these people are hidden away, kept from socializing, and even attending school. I hear they chose over 200 people to operate on, and that is going on starting today. It was nice to help and be there and talk to people and just help with a project that will have such a HUGE impact on these people. I think it's an awesome organization and if you ever have the chance to help with it, you definitely should.

In other news, Tonka had snow in Texas and she and Lula Belle had a wonderful time. I miss her a lot, but am glad to have a new doggy friend in my life. I have had 2 official mail items that seemed to be lost forever, but they both showed up in the same week! My mom’s package from October arrived, hot cheetos still intact, and a flat envelope with grammar books also arrived from Singapore. That one had been declared “lost in Nairobi” by the Singapore post, but it actually made it here! I am hoping other stuff trickles into Kibuye, and am sad I thought it was a good idea to use that mailing address. What a bummer. Megan is waiting for a package at that address and it contains hot cheetos. When it arrives, we will have a hot cheeto off. We were planning to walk down our mountain the next day which is an hour by car, but im not so sure my leg will be up for that. More random news, Jersey Shore has officially taken off in Rwanda. Jeff brought 6 episodes with him and after I kept talking about it, other people gave it a try. They all LOVE it, and equally agree on how ridiculous it is. Ridiculously good! Pretty sure we spent like 20 minutes discussing it over dinner last week, so then other people wanted to see it also. Everyone’s a fan! In Kibuye I treated Mark and Matt to a Taco Bell kit my dad sent in the mail. I don’t; eat meat unless I’m at Indian food, but decided this was a treat so…yea….we had goat tacos and I had the worst stomach ache the whole night. Bad move? Nah. The tacos were amazing! Aftermath, not so much.



Hope everyone is well at home. Thanks for all the love and support ♥

whattt up

soooo the new post office in kibuye seems sketch to me so Im reverting to the old address in kigali. I am anxiously awaiting stuff sent to kibuye over a month ago, and against peace corps hopes, Id rather have stuff just sent to kigali. sooo back to it:

maggie fogarty
peace corps volunteer
BP 5657
Kigali, Rwanda

I know I havent been writing much, because I dont want to write anything negative, so I am just not writing at all. One good story though, I had to take a long ass moto up to a friends site and the driver was super nice and spoke very good english. I thought well Ill get his number because if Im here again and need a ride...perf. So hes dropping me off and I ask whee he learned english. He tell me in school but he didnt finish because of his eyesight. umm what?! He says he has poor vision and doesnt see well! WHHHHHHHHAT?!!! SHIT! you just drove me on rocky terrain for 45 minutes and cant see. FML.

from jeff. other new entry below also.

special guest blogging by maggie’s boyfriend, jeff…just wanted to give everyone a visitor’s perspective aside from the joint blog maggie and I both wrote…some of the biggest questions/concerns I had about Rwanda were regarding maggie’s safety…in my short time here I’ve seen many rwandans go out of their way to help maggie…whether it was getting on the correct bus or getting items at the market, or even getting to the market…as long as maggie is smart and follows simple common sense things like not being out late at night by herself, or out drunk late at night (just like in the US), all indications are that she will be fine…maybe I should knock on wood, but I think maggie will be just as safe in Rwanda as she would in the US…especially as she becomes more well known in the community…

all and all I think maggie will do great in Rwanda and I’m excited that her schooling is starting soon so she can get to work and get even more involved in the community…I think she will do a great job and although it will definitely not be an easy adjustment she can certainly do it (she can always use our phone calls also) ..

as for Rwanda…maggie has been blessed with a beautiful site (with electricity and running water/I found out today there are some volunteers with neither who don’t have nearly the view or luxuries that maggie has….when I initially heard maggie was going to Rwanda this wasn’t the terrain or the climate I had envisioned…geography class was so long ago…I figured the equator would be hot and dry…but that isn’t even close..it rained many of the days I was here in short strong bursts…this rain keeps the countryside green, and the weather nice…some days were hot..but not nearly what I was expecting (ie. Palm spring hot)…maybe that season will come, but it didn’t while I was here…


the people were nice as well…as I mentioned, many people helped us out, and not once did I feel like they were trying to take advantage of us..maybe it had to do with the fact that we didn’t spend too much time in the “touristy” places (mainly Kigali)..but I did appreciate that fact regardless…I also enjoyed the “hustle” displayed by many of the people of Rwanda…of course all countries have beggers, but most people that I watched were hard at work….and doing hard work as well…it was refreshing to see and actually made me want to go out there and work with them..i hope to be able to participate in some form when I get to Albania as one of my secondary projects…I really haven’t done much manual labor and think it’s about time I started to do a little bit just to get the feeling…

its so cliché, but being here really helps put things in perspective…the people here deserve so much more than they’re getting, and I think that is part of what draws people to organizations like the peace corps…it’s clear to see that there isn’t a thing I deserve more than any of these hard working rwandans so it’s feels almost like a responsibility that we help out in any way that we can after seeing what a huge head start we’ve had in terms of possibilities… 

jeffff!

Jeff and I are writing this blog together…YAY! After 37 hours of travel, Jeff made it to my site, Bumba, Rutsiro Disrict, Western Province, Rwanda. When we were waiting for a bus to my site there was a crowd of about 25 people (mostly kids) crowded around me, Jeff and all our bags. It was funny and awkward at the same time and I had Rainy’s care package that I got in Kigali so I gave the kids some tootsie roll pops. What a mistake. They all started fighting over them and some guy tried to pass them out in an orderly fashion but it was mayhem. Jeff gave away his sunglasses from India and 2 kids almost fought over them with one picking up a rock to throw. It was an eventful wait.



Even though I didn’t do the long trip like Jeff, I couldn’t sleep Jeff’s first night and with his jetlag also, we were up at 4 am starting the day boiling water for drinking and just doing household chores. Once the jetlag and afternoon naps subsided, we began to venture out and see some of Rwanda. We went to Kibuye for a night and hung out with 10 other volunteers at the house where I spent New Years. It was nice to have wireless internet and show Jeff the lake up close, but sleeping there was horrible. There was a hole in the mosquito net and I was freaking out the entire night. On our first leg home from Kibuye we packed into a van with 20 other people for a 30 minute ride. When I say packed, they really jam you in there. These vans are the size of VW campers. During this ride our driver hit a goat but he was able to run away. No one else even flinched! Ha!

After a few trips around my site and other cities in Rwanda, Jeff realized that being a Peace Corps Volunteer is much more challenging than he anticipated with the crowds, language barriers, and cultural differences and decided I earned a few more care packages before he leaves for Albania! WIN! But he also decided I hadn’t spent enough time studying the local language and I got a scolding and needless to say, the last few days we have been dorkin it up with our language flashcards. I passed the language test he gave me! J Oh yea, we are both taking Mefloquine for malaria and it can cause crazy dreams and weird stuff and one night Jeff woke up yelling, “Where the fuck am I? What the fuck? Where am I?”. Yea. No lie I was a little bit nervous.


Fresh food was a little scarce for a few days as we went to town last week and bought eggs, bread, and carrots and then went out of town. On our way back to my site we had anticipated being able to get something to cover us until market day but all the stores were closed. Now I know not to try and shop on Saturdays! So Saturday and Sunday was pretty limited with food and we pretty much just ate care package goods like beef jerkey, macaroni and cheese, premium crackers with peanut butter, Pringles, peanut m &ms, and bananas. I know, really good diet. Today we walked to town and the market and it seemed to take forrrrrrever. It was hot today also and it was market day so there were hella people out. My favorite. NOT. A 16 year old chatted us up and walked with us all the way to the market and helped us navigate through the veggies and the herd of 30 kids following us. We bought Patrick Rwanda’s version of donuts and milk to say thanks and we also got some. OMG is all I have to say about the milk. I have tried it once but the guy poured us this huge mug and it is so gnarly. It’s really chunky and not cold and I watched Jeff try to drink it and his lips and hand were shaking. Seriously nasty. Last time I checked you weren’t supposed to chew your milk. I gave the milk to the next customer that came in. Jeff says,” I think I’m coming down with something. Some African virus and I’ll be out of commission for like 3 weeks.” He is fine though. His thoughts so far are that I have a nice setup, nice neighbors, and a nice view. We actually filmed a video for everyone at home of my site and Jeff turned it into Rwanda Cribs and it’s awesome! He’s going to upload it to facebook or youtube so make sure to peep it.



On Wednesday we went to the genocide memorial in Murambi which is about 3 hours away from me. It took us 6 and a half hours to get there so as soon as we were finished we had to turn back. I wanted to show JeffNyanza also, but there wasn’t enough time. Murambi is the memorial I wrote about before where there are bodies there still preserved in lime. It is super shocking to see and something hard to put into words. 50,000 people were killed there in 2 weeks and to see some of it still is just crazy. And when we were driving back we saw prisoners, most from the genocide, walking on the roads or working in the fields. Weird.

Yesterday we came into Kigali to have some good food and meet up with some people before Jeff’s departure tomorrow. We had to wait for the bus for an hour and a half and like usual, we had a little crowd around us, mostly kids and teens. I can understand enough to chat with them and hang. Anyway, so one starts making these fighting gestures and stances and is alluding to the fact that Jeff must do karate because of his arm muscles. They were even looking at his knuckles for battle wounds. It was hilarious. Then 2 others were showing off their arm muscles also and Jeff decided he was still in first place! Way to shatter dreams!! Then the topic of a foot race came up and the kid said let’s go but Jeff pussed out. He didn’t want to create a scene which I understand, but it would have been amazing! The kid was banking on winning Jeff’s shoes. Haha.


So we get to Kigali after a long morning, walk to St. Paul’s with all our stuff in the blistering heat, get a room, get some waters, and walk up to the mini buses to get a ride towards Peace Corps. These are the same vans as before, where they smash 20 people in. Jeff sat behind me and it was already hot compounded with other hot bodies. Gross.A teenager gets on and sits next to me and closes the window! In my head I’m like COME ON! What the hell is this kid thinking?! So we leave and the kid has his head down in his lap with the window closed. It’s obvious he doesn’t feel well but I’m still dwelling on the closed window and how I am sweating. He begins puking in his book bag and I make it known the window needs to be opened. A different guy reached over and opened it thank god. So he’s sitting with his puke bag and I feel something drip on my foot. I turn to Jeff and tell him oh my god something is on my foot. I tried telling myself it was sweat from my knee or something but I knew it wasn’t. I guess the kid took notice because he looked at his bag and there was orange throw up dripping through it. FML. We got off at Peace Corps and yep, I had orange puke on my heel. Jeff said I did such a good job of not freaking out. Good job me! 

Not much else to write...Jeff encountered one of the big spiders at my house but it wasn't as big as the others. He tried to kill it with his sandal and I told him watch out they jump and sure enough the spider jumps and Jeff lost him! I don't know what I was thinking trying to let him be the hero. He also tried to catch numerous lizards and on one occasion it ran up the wall and then Jeff jumped at it and then the lizard fell down and Jeff got scurred. It was good stuff. Sad he's leaving tomorrow but it's been awesome. 

happy happy happppppppppy!!!

     So my birthday was on Tuesday. 25. OLD LADY. On Monday I got on the bus heading to Kigali where 21 other volunteers were headed so we could all hang out. I knew my ride wasn’t going to be enjoyable or relaxing, but must they all be absolutely unpleasant?? When I got on there was no room about 9 people ago, so of course they’re going to fit me in also. I sit in between 2 men on my left and a man and woman on my right. My backpack was in my lap also. Randomly, the old man to my left who smelled of booze at 8:15 am had a white hat on. The man in front of me also had a white hat. And the guy to my right? Well of course, he had a white hat too. Is this important? Not at all. I just found it silly. Let’s see. So I my left ass was on a seat lower than my right ass and my spine was like sideways and definitely in pain. There was a baby crying and fussing the ENTIRE 2 hour ride to the point where I just wanna be like “can I hold your baby please?!”. About 2 rows back someone was throwing up and it started to smell and thankfully, even with cold weather people opened the windows. Then there was someone who kept coughing up crazy amounts of phlegm for what would have been the fattest loogie, but no, they swallow it instead so the whole bus gets to keep hearing chunks of snot in their throat. Sooo nasty and since I had to listen to it, you get to read it. When we were 30 minutes from Kigali I seriously thought I might freak out because my knee was in so much pain but I couldn’t move it anywhere. On top of all the madness, our driver must have been the slowest driver in history. I felt like he was just enjoying cruising so slooooowly.

     Didn’t do much that first day in town. 5 of us went to Peace Corps HQ to use the free wireless and get packages. I had one from my mama and one from Singapore and both were full of goodies! Dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds from Trader Joes=amazing. Got some more drink mixes, obs, food and my favorite vball shoes from high school! Natasha, if you’re reading this, my mom sent my Nike’s with the poofy baby blue laces!! We knew Monday night was trivia night at Sun and Moon, a pizza place where a lot of white people go. About 10 of us went and our 2 Peace Corps teams got the lowest scores! Haha. The environment was pretty annoying and most of the people there were expat douche bags. I was happy to leave.
    
Tuesday about 10 of us went to breakfast which is just not a good idea in Rwanda. I’m not sure if I ever mention this, but restaurants are pretty ridiculous. It’s like you should definitely eat a snack before you go to the meal because after you order it’s at least going to take an hour. It’s brutal. And even then you are lucky if your food is right or ever shows up. One girl waited and waited and her breakfast bun never came. Sad. Then I did a little shopping and had a beer with some people at St. Paul’s, the place we stay. Mandy, my roommate in Philadelphia at staging gave me a pair of seashell leggings she found at her local market. She got a pair for Christmas and we decided it best if we wore them to dinner that night. If you haven’t seen the pictures, check facebook. I’m also wearing a tie-dye shirt and a crown that says ‘princess’. It was a pretty good look. We had Indian food for dinner and although it was expensive, it was soooooo good. Seriously, it was up to Par with food I had in India. Delish!


Wednesday I headed back to site with Megan and Austin and we got a ride in the Peace Corps car! YES! Super clutch because I had bought a few things and got 2 packages so a bus ride would have been a mess. Megan just received some her luggage from Mauritania and they were delivering our bikes so we swooped a ride. They also gave us a moto helmet which is seriously the most obnoxious thing you have ever seen. I need to take a picture. I put it on when Megan and Austin came over yesterday and I felt like Buzz Aldrin about to go to space. It’s ridic.

Today I just cleaned up a bit, hung some more picture frames and am prepping for a short trip to Kigali tomorrow. I am staying the night and picking up jeff Monday morning!!!!! I can’t even sleep I am so excited!!!!!!

new address

ok, so I have a new address! Let's hope it works. I posted it on the left side but here it is again:

Maggie Fogarty
Peace Corps Volunteer
BP 15
Kibuye, Rwanda

I am a bit sad as the nearest post office is 2.5 hours away. I was sending letters pretty frequently before, but now, not so much. I learned again today that getting out of my site isn't exactly easy. I tried to get on the 10 am bus this morning so i went to the road and was there by 930. the first bus came by at 1030, covered in Ludacris stickers and just drove by because it was full. COOL. Next bus comes 25 minutes later, also full. So, I didn't make it off the mountain today. I walked to town to get minutes but almost every boutique is closed and I realized I didn't really know where I was going. I walked back home with no minutes, and got Ernest my neighbor to take me back to town, further in where most the stores were closed and we finally found some credit! WHEw. We took the shortcut home which is straight up hill and I was sweating profusely and panting. Really awesome. 

my house at the top!

words.

     Well look at this! Another blog! So I have just been hanging out at my house, slowly unpacking. I’m not doing it all at once because I need activities to keep me busy! 2 nights ago there was a wedding in the room attached to my house. I was the weird girl watching from behind the curtains. It was loud. Oh yea so my house! There are double doors I use as an entrance and those go to the sitting room. This room is where I eat and stare at walls too. The walls are brick so there are no pictures or anything. I just zone. I have a little cupboard with my food and dishes and there are pictures taped on. To the right there is a hallway with a western toilet and douche to the left and a western toilet and douche to the right. The bathroom on the right also has a door to the outside and at the end of the hall there is a door out too. To the left of the sitting room is this really tiny room that has a single bed in it and a mosquito net I put up, ya know, in case someone visits! Connected to that room is my bedroom with my nice full bed and princess mosquito net with Mickey Mouse sheets that don’t fit. I have some clothes hanging on a nail in the wall and a cupboard shelf thing for clothes and toiletries. There is a door to the outside in my room but I closed it off because really, how many doors do I need?! Outside I have a room that should be used as a kitchen but right now it just has my bags and boxes. I don’t have any furniture for that room and I don’t want to leave my food on the floor so I’m just waiting. My walls are all turquoise, besides the brick ones, and the doors are all blue. The windowsills are painted green and I have the butt ugliest curtains. It’s pretty great! One of my bathroom windows won’t close and the most obnoxious spiders have been coming in. Honestly, they are HUGE. They could be small frogs. For real. Of course they scare the shit out of me so I have to hunt them till they’re dead. Its great. They jump too. The other night I moved a bucket to get one and there was a lizard chillin too. I’m like really?!


     Yesterday I had a date to go to the market with a Rwandan who works at the school where I will be teaching. We planned to meet at 9 so she showed up at 945, just as a man who is going to put screens in for me came to measure. We were all on the road by 1045 and literally walked 40 minutes uphill and got to the center of town I guess it is. Or maybe the district center? Seriously, it is BEAUTIFUL where I live. I have taken a few pictures and will upload when I can. There isn’t a cyber anywhere near me and it’s expensive to do it from my own modem. But anyway, the view is breathtaking. It is SOOOOOO green it’s really unfathomable. And I am on top of a mountain so I overlook a lot of land. And the lake! So we walk to the center where I’m told I can buy whatever I need. I just wanted to get some bread, flour, bananas, eggs, screen, nails and a hammer. Nobody had much of anything! It was super frustrating and I left with screen, eggs, and nails. I am told Mondays and Fridays are market days so maybe it was just bad timing? I’m not sure but it was definitely an experience. Watching The Hangover made things better. Today was nice but maybe it was because I spent the day with myself and didn’t leave my yard. Haha. I had breakfast, did emails, hung all these really cute pictures on my wall with my nails and a lock. You should see me on this chair beating nails into my turquoise walls with a small metal lock I bought for my trunk. The pictures look nice though so that’s exciting. It was pretty sunny so I sat outside for awhile (with sunscreen!) and then had lunch, and have been reading The Tipping Point. I was visited by 2 dogs, which is super rare considering I have seen like 3 dogs total in Rwanda. One could be related to my dad's dog Sydney but he is super skinny and has a bunch of thorns in him. A girl came along too, also skinny but may have recently given birth...I did see a puppy running around the other day. Now it’s raining and I’m writing. Tomorrow I have to wait on the road for that never coming bus to go to Rubengera. A friend is meeting me and she’s in Kigali so she is bringing me yogurt and cheese! VICTORY! Still have a leaky water filter with a bucket of brown water though. Eeek. Saving that till I absolutely have to take care of it. Jeff arrives in 13 days! WEEEOOOOOWWW! ☺

happppppy new year!

Yea, yea it’s been forever. I’ve been doing stuff. Let’s see, I passed my language, medical, cross culture, safety and security, and tech tests so I was able to swear in! We went to Kigali for 5 days right before Christmas and swore in at the ambassador’s house. Ceremony was mellow and we had lots of food after and watched dancing.


The time in Kigali was nice because it’s a big city so there are lots of good restaurants and places to shop, but it’s pretty expensive, especially with the living allowance we are on. I got a coffee that I couldn’t pass up and it was $8! Sometimes you have to splurge! The first day in Kigali I got a package from my mom from Nov. 13 but still haven’t received one from Oct. 28. Guess the mail isn’t as reliable as we thought. The day we left Kigali I got a package from Singapore filled with Oreos and mac n cheese and goodness! After I write this I am going to make some of that goodness. J

We got our moving allowance so we got to do hella shopping which was fun and a nightmare at the same time. There were 35 of us all buying similar items from 3 major stores. We had to buy everything from dishes and food to bedding and appliances. Sure was a nightmare dragging all of my crap back to where we were staying in the city. Peace Corps rented trucks to take all our stuff back to Nyanza where we would spend Christmas and then leave to site. The 2 hour ride back to Nyanza seemed especially long because I had some beers before and almost peed my pants on the bus. Oh life.

Christmas was fun. It was different without family and friends, but still enjoyable with new friends. Everyone came over to the kitchen house in the morning and started cooking brunch made up of macaroni and cheese, eggs, no bake cookies, hash browns, fruit salad, eggnog and hot chocolate. It was good stuff! One of my housemates, Nicole, really wanted a chicken for Christmas and she didn’t get one from her secret santa. On Christmas morning I heard lots of racket and Katy had snatched a chicken from outside and given it to her in bed. Nicole was thrilled! Some of us felt bad however, because the chicken definitely belonged to someone and its not like people around here have a ton to spare. So we let Santa go. The next night I was making grilled cheese and could barely see because the lights were out so I swung open the curtains all obnoxiously and almost shit myself. There was Santa in the window, more than 24 hours after he had been set free. I let the other girls swing open the curtain also and there was lots of flapping and screaming all around. The few days around Christmas were spent packing, hanging out with everyone before leaving, and watching 4 seasons of Sex and the City. Bethel left to site before I could watch the other 2 but it was fun considering I had never seen an episode before.



People started moving to their sites on Monday the 28^th. I moved on the 30^th with Megan and Ian. Our driver Verdaste, and our APCD Rukundo could not believe how much stuff I had. Seriously, it was pretty ridiculous. There is a picture Rainy posted of me with 2 bags and I will post this one. I saved most of the food I had received in care packages for when I moved knowing it would be a rough first week. Thankfully I saved as the market is a 40 minute walk away. Well, that’s what I’ve been told. They pointed somewhere up the mountain. I plan on venturing out tomorrow and it needs to happen as yesterday I ate peanut m & ms (thanks rain) and Pringles, and today I had macaroni and cheese with Cajun powder. Haha. I spent a long time setting up my water filter and its just leaking all over the place. I put a towel I bought under it and a bucket on the floor and now my bucket is filled with brown water. Guess I bought a cheap towel. What a mess. Gives me something to do tomorrow!




So I got here Wednesday and was greeted by all sorts of people and they made us “especials” which are omelettes with French fries. I’m a pretty big fan and they have them at most restaurants. Oh yea, the ride here is BRUTAL. I am literally on top of a mountain that is reachable by unpaved road with a bunch of rocks and potholes. It’s about an hour ride up and I got a bit carsick. The trip to and from may be just enough reason to keep me at site more! After a bunch of awkward greetings and staring at each other, I walked with my school director and his assistant to the school I will be teaching at. It’s a boarding school and it’s about 15 minutes away. On Thursday morning I went out to the main road to catch the bus Megan was on and head to Kibuye for New Years. I got to the road at 8:20. I stood waiting in the hot sun with flies swarming and at 9:50 Megan and the bus finally arrived. About 20 minutes down the hill we got a flat tire, of course, but the man with the Lakers sweatshirt fixed it. We made it to Rubengera where we needed to get on another bus to Kibuye. And when I say bus, I mean Volkswagon type van that they load with 20 people at least. We waited another hour as buses don’t leave until they fill up. We made it to Kibuye where 2 other volunteers are living in a house on the lake. Their place is ridiculous. It came fully furnished with deep freezer even and has WIFI! Uhh, last time I checked a ton of people in the US don’t have wireless. We made chili and spent New Years there and I left in the morning to get back to site.


I was anxious to unpack! I thought waiting for my first bus ride was annoying but on my second bus a drunk guy with 6 fingers on one hand and none on the other kept harassing me. Literally, rubbing his stub on me and putting it in my lap and saying stuff in Kinyarwanda. Even other people on the bus were telling him to stop. I put my ipod on trying to ignore him but after 30 minutes of waiting and being prodded at my ipod died and I got off and took another bus.

Getting back to site was nice but living here is obviously going to take some getting used to. The first day I didn’t have running water for awhile, yesterday I didn’t have electricity most of the day and it’s lonely! I have never lived on my own before! My house is attached to a room where people knit and such and just last night there was a wedding there! Being the new girl in town and a muzungu, people have been showing up to my door and its super awkward like when I’m in bed still. Also kids come wandering in just to stare and yesterday I was asked for my sandals by a girl who was barefoot. So, I had a gate built. Problem solved for now.I was going to write more but Jeff said no one will read it if it’s too long. Sorry guys. I’ll do better at keeping up.