3 days - 1 post

10 / 08-09 / 09

Muraho!

Hello from Rwanda!  I must say the trip over here had its ups and downs.  We flew on a 757 from JFK to Brussels and I did not sleep because the timing was all crazy.  Fortunately, the flight from Brussels to Kigali was bigger, and we were all seated near each other.

We landed to a very excited welcoming committee with posters and hugs and two busses for us and a truck for the luggage.  We drove through a dark night looking out the windows lit by thousands of tiny lights on the hillside.  We were housed at the Centre de St Francois Assisi.  A convent.  =)  Our first dinner was delicious.  We had a buffet of some kind of lentil soup, meat, green beans, beans, and a Rwandan passion fruit that reminds me of fig with a solid shell.

I crashed early, but we All slept until about 3:45 as our time clocks were unadjusted.  Most of us decided to give in and get around 6:30 and headed to breakfast.  They had GREAT coffee And tea, and a nice simple meal of bread and butter, scrambled eggs and onions. 

We all headed to the Peace Corps headquarters on our busses to meet our country director.  We received more shots, filled out immigration forms, and had our first opportunity to get online!  The American Embassy provided us with simosas, sandwiches, and drinks across the day. Many people went out to exchange money and buy phones, many more of us went back for an afternoon nap.  In the evening, we went to the CD’s house for a reception to meet the Health Volunteers that were already in the country.  Many of my fellow PCT’s started picking up on the language right away.  I am having a little more difficult time without seeing the words written down.  We were all excited to be eating mini pizzas, pigs in a blanket, quiche, and more simosas! 

10 / 10 / 09

This morning we visited the Kigali Genocide memorial.  There are many genocide memorials across Rwanda, but this is the largest and most visited site.  They have three sections to the grounds.  There are many mass graves where people can bring remains of family members they have found for a proper burial.  We started here and lay a bouquet and individual flowers in remembrance.  The second section was the history of their genocide, and education on other genocides around the world.  I really appreciated that they integrated international atrocities to help drive home the idea of “Never Again – Anywhere”.  The third section was a picture gallery of victims and personal stories of children who had been slain.  This place affected many volunteers and really made it a personal connection for them.

We went back to the PC headquarters for a debriefing afterwards.  We discussed the current Rwandan process of reconciliation.  There are levels of courts and justice that start with communities and grass roots trials.  Depending on the level of violence committed, the accused may move up in the court system and earn harsher consequences.  They start here to give the victims a sense of involvement in the justice and an opportunity for reconciliation within the community.  Because of the history, many people were displaced before the incidents of 1994, and many people have been displaced because of those incidents.  The current population is a blend of survivors, committers, and people who weren’t involved at all.  The President of Rwanda has called all citizens to renounce vengeance and strive for coexistence – to live in the understanding that “we are all Rwandan”. 

We were also encouraged not to be the first person to bring up the history to any nationals.  Rwanda has always been a reserved people, who will be friendly, but open up very slowly as you earn their trust.  It is not appropriate to ask if people are Hutu or Tutsi as the labels have been eliminated from any official process in country.  If you find out one is Tutsi or Hutu, you cannot assume that they are survivor or perpetrator.  Many people will want to share their stories, but we are not to investigate.

In the afternoon, a few girls went back into town and I finally got my phone!  It costs 180francs per minute to call from here to the US – which equates to just about $3.  But, it doesn’t use any minutes to receive calls.  =D   We all stopped at a cute café and I ordered Hot Cocoa.  I don’t think I’ve had cocoa in a long time.  This was also delicious.  I was also able to pick up a small bag so I can have a place to carry around phone, camera, ID, books, writing utensils, etc. because I often need all these things going fro one meeting place to another. 

Saturday evening was grand because we took the ipod and speakers over to Avery’s room and had a little party.  Jen, Bobby, Kevin, and Ian all came over and we played Indian poker betting candy, and invaluables like “the twinkle in Kevin’s eye”.

10 / 11 / 09

I was very appreciative to have Dad’s James sermon series from when he was at Edwards on my ipod.  I had my own church service in my bed, and may expand it next weekend (depending if anyone in the house is interested).  This morning we all packed up and drove 2 hours south to our training site.  I was able to take many pictures of the beautiful countryside on the journey.  Chris counted 27 “mazungu”s - which is the word for “foreigner” but more often ‘white man’ - called out at us, mostly by waving children. 

The neighborhood was highly intrigued as we pulled in with our vehicles and luggage.  We divided into 4 houses which are labeled by tasks: the Laundry house is the biggest, and farthest away from the center of town, the Language house is the smallest (oddly), the Tech house, and my house; the Kitchen house.  So far, all the meals have been here, but they are talking about having more meals at our school.  The children that gathered to watch us leave highly enjoyed Nicole’s knee-wiggle dance she learned as a camp councilor. 

When we got to our house, our rooming assignments were on the doors and we unloaded our luggage.  We have 8 girls, 2 boys, 2 female language trainers, 1 male language trainer, and 1 male driver in our house.  We have two bathrooms where you pour water from a bucket to flush the toilet, and use “jerry-cans” (?) to hold the “clean” water for bucket bathing and washing hands.  All the food is prepared in the backyard behind the avocado tree.  Our first afternoon here we got a dancing lesson, which was great because it prepared us for our evening!  We all had lunch and then explored the town center and open-air market. Sunday is definitely the best day to go because it is the least crowded.  Maggie and I found the internet café, but the connections are slow, and sometimes sketchy. 

In the evening, we gathered at our Technical Director’s house for a Welcome reception, and were treated with a traditional song and dance with costumes and props.  They had a sound system and played many of the American songs they enjoyed as well.  I was able to see the notebooks with the agendas for our training and I am excited to have a solid schedule ahead of us.  Training starts Tuesday, and we’re all ready to go!  =)