I realize I’ve been a little off the grid lately. When I see that my last entry was a whole three months ago I’m amazed at how quickly the summer has flown by, and on top of it, just how busy I was. So much has happened and yet sitting down at the computer to write about it all seems like such a difficult task. I’ll try to summarize as best as I can.
In the beginning of June I headed to Kigali with some other
PCVs to take the Foreign Service Officer Test. The test, which is offered twice
a year, is a computer based test that quizzes you on your knowledge of currents
events, random trivia, the English language, etc. It’s hard and the truth is
that there no way to study for it unless you consider reading The Economist everyday studying. This was also my first trip to the
US Embassy in Rwanda, which I have to say, is posh. The bathrooms were
so…clean! Despite showing up almost an hour early, there were some technical
issues, and after waiting another four hours we were told to come back the next
day. It really shattered my but everything is perfect in America
bubble and reminded me that yes; even in
America there are technical issues. After returning the next day we were
finally able to take the test, and three weeks later I learned that I had
passed and was being sent to the next round for consideration.
The next day of few of us were off to VAT Training. VAT
stands for Volunteer at Training, and
they assist Peace Corps staff to train new groups that enter the country. I was
excited for the opportunity but the quick two-day training on how to be a VAT
turned out to be a bust, which seems to be the only way Peace Corps knows how
to run a training. Staff was late, unorganized, and there really didn’t seem to
be any reason for dragging us all the way out of our sites. The first day I was
feeling a little light headed, and by the time I went to bed I broke out into
an all out fever. Luckily Darren was there to pile blankets on me, but no
matter how many clothes I slept in I was freezing! After vomiting several times
throughout the night, I finally caught a little bit of sleep. The next morning
I called our Peace Corps Medical Officer, who sent a car out into the country
to bring me back to Kigali. Luckily, the initial fear that I had malaria turned
out to not be the case. I had some kind of viral infection coupled with a low
white blood cell count. I stayed in Kigali for a couple of days and then was
released to go back to my house. What followed was about six weeks of off and
on fevers, and a constant cough that took almost two months to subside!
The first week of July it was finally my turn to head to
Kigali and meet the new Health training group. I stayed at the training site
for a week and helped assist in teaching the trainees about nutrition and
gardening. All in all it was a very successful time and meeting the new group
was refreshing (PCVs tend to get a little negative after a while).
Unfortunately for me, I picked the week that had two national holidays; July 1st
(Rwanda Independence Day) and July 4th (Rwandan Liberation day, the
day the RPF overtook Kigali, effectively kicking out the old regime and ending
the 100 day genocide). I spent most of the Fourth of July alone trying to find
out how I was going to eat, as all the shops and restaurants were closed. Not
the best planning on my part…
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| Preparing for our cruise! |
After a week back at home, I was once again racing across
the country to head to our Mid-Service Conference. That’s right, I’m over
halfway done with my Peace Corps service! As a special treat, we were being put
up in a nice hotel in Kibuye, Rwanda, overlooking the mountains as they plunge
down into beautiful Lake Kivu. Yeah…the hotel wasn’t that nice, in fact it was
pretty disgusting. Our toilet leaked everywhere, we had bed bugs, and the ice
water came out of the shower in a trickle. But I suppose for a Peace Corps
volunteer that is luxury. The conference
went all right, most of it was tackling issues related to future groups, and so
despite it being our Mid Service
Conference, it didn’t always feel
that way. There were a few good sessions where we were able to reflect on our
successes as volunteers, as well as point to the failures and come up with
solutions as a group. During the conference our Program Manager kept telling us
we were going to finish the conference with a ‘special cruise’ around the
islands of Lake Kivu. We were all excited about this special little treat, as
Kibuye is jawdroppingly, breathtakingly beautiful. Of course, we later found
out, Peace Corps simply reserved the ‘cruise’ for us, we had to pay for it ourselves.
Weird. But it was worth it. We took the boat around and headed to an island
named ‘Napoleon’s Hat’ (mostly because of it’s shape), which happens to be home
to thousands of bats. And yes, our guide was nice enough to descend into the
cave and wake them all up so they could fly around us! After our conference was
finished I headed back home for about a day, only to leave again for our annual
GLOW Camp.
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| Cristina, a fellow PCV, teaching girls important life skills |
GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World, and is a leadership
camp for girls that PCVs put on all around the world. Our camp was being held
at the Kayonza Modern School where we were able to teach health and life skills
to around 80 high school aged girls. The week was fun and exhausting, but I
think most volunteers would agree that teaching girls at GLOW and boys at BE
(Boys Excelling) are some of the most rewarding parts of service. Of course,
the camps are more than just classes; we also do campfires, talent shows,
career panels, sports, and this year we were even able to bring in some local
artisans to teach the girls how to make traditional Rwandan art (which I should
add is made out of cow poop).
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| Teaching about the biology of HIV/AIDS |
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| Playing games with mosquito nets to teach the importance of malaria prevention |
I’m finally back home now and in less than two weeks my dad
will be here in Rwanda! I’m excited for a our trip and I’m sure the next entry
is going to be pretty entertaining.
