Global Wanderlusting

It has been exactly one week since I have been at my site in Kabarore, Rwanda.  It is in the Eastern part of the country near the Akagera National Park.  I am living on the campus of a high school boarding school which was not really what I had envisioned, but I am making the most of it.  The school has provided me with a very spacious house on campus and I spend most of my time in one little room in the middle.  There is a basketball court right outside my front door and much activity at the back of the house so I just stay in the middle. I have just finished my very first week teaching at the school.  It has been a bit confusing as the teachers expected me to "teach" and I had no idea of the curriculum nor the style of teaching.  They are so very kind and understanding that we have spent the week organizing the material so that we "co-teach" in an effective manner.  I am quite exhausted at the end of the day since the day begins at 7:20 AM and ends at 5:00 PM. 

I loved going to the market in Fayetteville, AR to get my weekly regimen of the apples that were available.  There was an apple kiosk with apples only and all of the people knew that I eat apples every day with peanut butter. AND I MEAN EVERY DAY!  I so loved how the young woman there told me which apple was the best one for the season. But now I am Kigali, Rwanda, where apples are rare and are a luxury.  When I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho, I was told by the PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) to eat apples to be able to move things through my digestive system...., but I have no issues at all. But I LOVE APPLES. And they are not easily found here. There are, however, other wonderful fruits to enjoy including bananas, pineapples, etc.  I have yet to go to the local market, but I look forward to what I can find. "The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U. S. Government, the Peace Corps, nor the Rwandan Go

It is Sunday, January 19, and it is the first day that we have not had meetings from 8:00 - 5:00.  It is intense as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer, but there is no other choice and we are all fine with it.  It does not allow us to communicate more so with our loved ones at home, but we hope that these little blog posts make up for the lack. We have been living at a convent here in Kigali which is where Jesuit priests are housed when they come to Rwanda/Kigali.  It is simple but clean and sufficient.  I have to say, however, that I have not slept well here.  I am constantly struggling with the mosquito net and we are surrounded by praise music at all hours of the night and day.  Last night at 12:45, there was a praise group singing right outside my window.  I am fine with praise-singing, but not at that hour.  As I write (4:45 PM on Sunday), there is praise-singing practice right outside my door.  I hear thunder, so here's to some percussion added to the music. Yesterday was a

These two young girls met their family members with beautiful flowers.  Beautiful bouquets are found everywhere and it is a cultural tradition to greet someone with a bouquet. It is January 15 today and I have been in Rwanda for exactly two days.  Yet we have had two full days of language and culture training.  The Program Manager feels that it is best to "throw us in" as we eventually settle into the sleep schedule and daily routine.  I can tell you that I slept very little last night as I was told to drink a LOT of water during the day, was versed on issues with malaria, had to get up more times that I had wanted because of all of the water that I had consumed and I could not get my mosquito net back in an orderly fashion for solid sleep.  Oh, the joys of the nightly predatory life of a mosquito dictating my sleep habits! “The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps , nor the Rwanda Gove

AND I AM OFF TO RWANDA! Today is departure day and I have been up for hours making sure that I had not packed too much so that the two big bags did not weigh over 50 lbs.  My good friend and neighbor, Mary, drove me to my storage unit where I dropped off my car and then drove me to the Northwest Arkansas airport.  I wanted to be early because another PC Volunteer had posted that he had had some issues with the contents of his bags earlier in the day.  I can tell you that the Delta check-in fellow could not have been nicer and he helped me transfer some contents of my bag so that I did not incur any overage fees.  Good vibe, don't you think? “The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps , nor the Rwanda Government.”