Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
A Lesson on Time
One of my favorite things about traveling and going to new places is learning how to navigate that particular place. I usually pick on directions and understanding of how to obtain needed information to get around. Before I have that comfort feeling in a particular place, it's uncomfortable and unsettling for me. Knowing a place gives me independence in a place and ownership over what I want to do. I'm working on getting more comfortable in my surroundings here. It's taking longer to learn here than other places that I have traveled to because it's just so different from any of my other adventures. I'm getting more used to being surrounded by kids in the market, the stares I get on the street(when this happens, I usually wave and then get a big smile from the person), or having people call out to me (people like to yell out the words that they know in English which usually is good morning and I like to reply in kinyarwanda).
There are many differences here that I'm getting used to (not to say that one way is better than another, just different and something to get used to):
1. All of the grass to cut by hand using a tool that looks like a machete...enivronmentally friendly lawn movers...power of the people
2. Laundry is done by hand. I was excited to do it on my own when some of my roommates asked if I was capable of doing it. After watching me for a little while, they tried to convince me to pay someone to do it. I'm more determined than ever to do it on my own...even if it takes hours.
3. I was at the market today and there was a man sitting on the ground with his head down.
There was a crowd surrounding him. I asked the Rwandan I was with what was going on. He explained that the man probably stole something and people were taking turns hitting him. I explained to my friend that where I'm from, both the person that stole and the people that hit him will go to jail. We were both foreign to each other's systems.
4. There seems to be very little grey area here. There's good or bad, right or wrong. I had a long conversation (and continue to have it) with one of my Rwandan roommates about this. I'm sure I'll have a blog entry about this when I have a better understanding.
5. Men and women have different roles. Enough said...there will be plently more posts about this in the future.
And the biggest difference....time just works differently here
There's so much a want to say about this. I apprechiate it on one hand but also frustrated at times. Things just work slower here. I'm having to learn a balance between going at Rwandan pace and realizing that things need to get done. One of my favorite books is 3 Cups of Tea. In that book, the American is trying to get the school build and the leader of the village pulls his aside and says first we drink tea. It's about building relationships. I'm learning that to be very true...so I drink lots of tea! I working on taking things a little slower...and I bring a book where ever I go because it's rare that a meeting will start on time. There's a big emphasis at the village on time management. There are also other aspects of time that are different. I had a very interesting trip to Kigali yesterday (this was the 4th day I tried to get there...finally, success!) to get supplies for the chickens (I'm currently preparing for the arrival of 300 baby chicks). Another one of the volunteers also went to get supplies. We spent hours negotiating prices and payment for workers. In Kigali a daily worker gets 2,000frw. They get this price if they work 1 hour or 10. This was hard to work with since we only needed workers for 2 hrs and we spent that amount of time trying to figure out payment.
I love it here so far. I'm enjoying the process of learning and being in a new place. My job is great, my roommates and friends are awesome, and the kids are incredible.
As I was riding to market on the back of a bicycle, I was looking around. I saw a boy in front of a house singing and practicing Michael Jackson moves. There are so many funny sight all around. I'm excited to continue to keep my eyes open to all the wonderful, exciting, and new sights all around me.
I walked to the mango trees today and ate 6 mangoes in 1 sitting! I also had 3 passion fruit, 4 bananas, and half of a pineapple...
There are many differences here that I'm getting used to (not to say that one way is better than another, just different and something to get used to):
1. All of the grass to cut by hand using a tool that looks like a machete...enivronmentally friendly lawn movers...power of the people
2. Laundry is done by hand. I was excited to do it on my own when some of my roommates asked if I was capable of doing it. After watching me for a little while, they tried to convince me to pay someone to do it. I'm more determined than ever to do it on my own...even if it takes hours.
3. I was at the market today and there was a man sitting on the ground with his head down.
There was a crowd surrounding him. I asked the Rwandan I was with what was going on. He explained that the man probably stole something and people were taking turns hitting him. I explained to my friend that where I'm from, both the person that stole and the people that hit him will go to jail. We were both foreign to each other's systems.
4. There seems to be very little grey area here. There's good or bad, right or wrong. I had a long conversation (and continue to have it) with one of my Rwandan roommates about this. I'm sure I'll have a blog entry about this when I have a better understanding.
5. Men and women have different roles. Enough said...there will be plently more posts about this in the future.
And the biggest difference....time just works differently here
There's so much a want to say about this. I apprechiate it on one hand but also frustrated at times. Things just work slower here. I'm having to learn a balance between going at Rwandan pace and realizing that things need to get done. One of my favorite books is 3 Cups of Tea. In that book, the American is trying to get the school build and the leader of the village pulls his aside and says first we drink tea. It's about building relationships. I'm learning that to be very true...so I drink lots of tea! I working on taking things a little slower...and I bring a book where ever I go because it's rare that a meeting will start on time. There's a big emphasis at the village on time management. There are also other aspects of time that are different. I had a very interesting trip to Kigali yesterday (this was the 4th day I tried to get there...finally, success!) to get supplies for the chickens (I'm currently preparing for the arrival of 300 baby chicks). Another one of the volunteers also went to get supplies. We spent hours negotiating prices and payment for workers. In Kigali a daily worker gets 2,000frw. They get this price if they work 1 hour or 10. This was hard to work with since we only needed workers for 2 hrs and we spent that amount of time trying to figure out payment.
I love it here so far. I'm enjoying the process of learning and being in a new place. My job is great, my roommates and friends are awesome, and the kids are incredible.
As I was riding to market on the back of a bicycle, I was looking around. I saw a boy in front of a house singing and practicing Michael Jackson moves. There are so many funny sight all around. I'm excited to continue to keep my eyes open to all the wonderful, exciting, and new sights all around me.
I walked to the mango trees today and ate 6 mangoes in 1 sitting! I also had 3 passion fruit, 4 bananas, and half of a pineapple...
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Random Thoughts at 5:30 in the Morning
I have not been sleeping as much as I would like here. There's so much going on that I want to be a part of. I think it's finally catching up to me so as you can imagine, I was not happy when I woke up at 5:30 this morning. I've had many things on my mind so I thought that I'd share a few things....
As most of you know, there was a genocide here in 1994 that killed around 1 million people. Many people here are very open to share their experience...even when you least expect it. There have been many times that I have been in the middle of a conversation and someone will say something (many times just out of the blue) or an experience. This is something that I had to get used to. I'm used to the mentality of don't ask don't tell. I think about stories of people who survived the Holocaust. Many people had a hard time talking about their experience and tried to just block it out. When we were at the picnic on Saturday, I had a conversation with one of the staff members here. She began to tell me that it's hard for her to be close to water because all that she can think about is how her family was killed and thrown into a lake. What do you say when you hear that? I just put my hand on her shoulder and said that I know that it's not easy. I think that it is very healthy the way most of open to dicussion. I think that it has led to interal strength for many of the people around me.
All around me there's so much beauty both from the people and the landscape. As I have written about before, I was assigned to a family here at the village. There are 15 kids, 1 house mother, 1 counselor, and 2 volunteers (one of those that's me!) I love being around the kids. They have such beautiful smiles (that truly shows their internal beauty) and have a way of taking a hard day and making it a little sunnier. I'm amazed at their thoughtful questions, creativity, and how much they want to learn. Last night I went for a run around the village as the sun was setting. I wish that you could see what my eyes witnessed. Rwanda is truly a land of a thousand hills. As I ran around the school which is located at the highest point, I saw banana tree filled rolling hills and 2 lakes in the distance. The sun was setting so there were beautiful colors to paint the landscape. This country also has the most interesting birds. On my run I saw birds in about every color. I have big plans on Shabbat for taking pictures of the landscape.
Who likes mushy food and tea with their sugar....definitely the Rwandans. I made a stir fry for dinner and I felt the vegetable were cooked very well. My Rwandan roommates said that the veggies were too hard. I love their mushy food so I guess we'll settle on mushy food. I asked one of my roommates how much sugar he puts in his tea. He said not so much just 2 spoon fulls...a little I said. The sugar is much sweeter here and I only use a forth of a spoon.
Tonight, my house is hosting Kabbalat Shabbat. I had a dream last night where I forgot the words to Henei Ma Tov....
As most of you know, there was a genocide here in 1994 that killed around 1 million people. Many people here are very open to share their experience...even when you least expect it. There have been many times that I have been in the middle of a conversation and someone will say something (many times just out of the blue) or an experience. This is something that I had to get used to. I'm used to the mentality of don't ask don't tell. I think about stories of people who survived the Holocaust. Many people had a hard time talking about their experience and tried to just block it out. When we were at the picnic on Saturday, I had a conversation with one of the staff members here. She began to tell me that it's hard for her to be close to water because all that she can think about is how her family was killed and thrown into a lake. What do you say when you hear that? I just put my hand on her shoulder and said that I know that it's not easy. I think that it is very healthy the way most of open to dicussion. I think that it has led to interal strength for many of the people around me.
All around me there's so much beauty both from the people and the landscape. As I have written about before, I was assigned to a family here at the village. There are 15 kids, 1 house mother, 1 counselor, and 2 volunteers (one of those that's me!) I love being around the kids. They have such beautiful smiles (that truly shows their internal beauty) and have a way of taking a hard day and making it a little sunnier. I'm amazed at their thoughtful questions, creativity, and how much they want to learn. Last night I went for a run around the village as the sun was setting. I wish that you could see what my eyes witnessed. Rwanda is truly a land of a thousand hills. As I ran around the school which is located at the highest point, I saw banana tree filled rolling hills and 2 lakes in the distance. The sun was setting so there were beautiful colors to paint the landscape. This country also has the most interesting birds. On my run I saw birds in about every color. I have big plans on Shabbat for taking pictures of the landscape.
Who likes mushy food and tea with their sugar....definitely the Rwandans. I made a stir fry for dinner and I felt the vegetable were cooked very well. My Rwandan roommates said that the veggies were too hard. I love their mushy food so I guess we'll settle on mushy food. I asked one of my roommates how much sugar he puts in his tea. He said not so much just 2 spoon fulls...a little I said. The sugar is much sweeter here and I only use a forth of a spoon.
Tonight, my house is hosting Kabbalat Shabbat. I had a dream last night where I forgot the words to Henei Ma Tov....
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
I'm In Rwanda...
I’m currently sitting in Agahozo Shalom’s Kigali house (located in the capital city and about an hour from the village). I just sent a text message to Mara saying…I’m in Rwanda?!?!? I’ve been saying this to her ever since I arrived in Rwanda in a excited, unbelievable kind of way. It’s so hard still to believe that I’m actually here. It’s definitely a lot different from anywhere that I have ever been to before.
I want to give the highlights from the past few days. On Saturday, all the first year kids went on a picnic at a local lake. It took us 2 hours to walk there. Along the way, we walked through the local village. I got (as did the other volunteers this day and everyday that we venture out of the village) lots of stares and shouts of mazungo (white person…also translated as conquerer)…..
I began to get very tired and went to sleep here. I’m picking up the writing on the ride back to the village packed in a van with all of the teachers. In order to meet up with the van, I had to take a moto ride from the house. It was my first moto ride. I’ve been hearing lots of stories from the other volunteers about these rides on the back of the motos which are motor bike taxis. As I road down the street, the sun was rising up ahead. It was beautiful watching the sun come up for my first moto experience.
….Now I’m going to pick up where I left off from the night before. The walk was lots of fun. I walked with some of the girls that are in my family. We talked about life and we taught each other words. When we got there, Mara and I introduced some of the kids to frisbee. We’re excited to teach it at the school. Some of the kids sat around while others played cards or sports. A highlight of the picnic was going on a boat ride on the lake. I watched as the first group got in the boat and was amazed they actually made it back. The boat sat so low in the water. I also took part in the ride when it was my family’s turn. For many of the kids, this was their first time on a boat. There were many shouts of excitement throughout the entire ride. When it rains here, it pours. I experiences this on the walk back to the village.
I spent the rest of the weekend in Kigali. Mara showed me around so I have a better sense of where everything is located. We went to one of the markets. It was so overwhelming. There were many teenage boys that tried to show us around the market and find things that we needed. I even ran into some people that I met in the airport when I arrived. We exchanged numbers and I’m looking forward to hanging out with them.
Chaim Peri, the director of the village in Israel that Agahozo Shalom is modeled after, arrived from Israel and road back with us to the village. He spoke to the kids. He’s a very inspirational. He spoke to the staff about the idea that it takes a village to raise a child and took funny stories about his experiences.
I’m in Rwanda?!?!? On Monday morning, I worked in the field with the workers doing as they kept saying, cultivating the land. We were clearing some land to be able to plant more. There were many funny interactions. There are 30 workers. They tried out all their English with me. One even told me that I work just as hard as the men in a surprised way. Later in the afternoon, I asked one of the Rwandan counselors about what the workers must be thinking seeing me out in the field with them.
On Tuesday Salomon and I began collecting information to create a plan for the farm. We talked with the head of the kitchen about what and how many vegetables he buys every week. In the afternoon, I road into Kigali to meet with the man who is helping us with the chickens. The ride into Kigali was crazy and a little stressful. All the teachers packed into the van. I was to meet with the man at 6 and at 6:30 we were still dropping off the teachers. The only big frustration that I have so far is the language barrier.
This is an overview of what my days have been like. I'll write a post soon about my feelings and thoughts here.
I want to give the highlights from the past few days. On Saturday, all the first year kids went on a picnic at a local lake. It took us 2 hours to walk there. Along the way, we walked through the local village. I got (as did the other volunteers this day and everyday that we venture out of the village) lots of stares and shouts of mazungo (white person…also translated as conquerer)…..
I began to get very tired and went to sleep here. I’m picking up the writing on the ride back to the village packed in a van with all of the teachers. In order to meet up with the van, I had to take a moto ride from the house. It was my first moto ride. I’ve been hearing lots of stories from the other volunteers about these rides on the back of the motos which are motor bike taxis. As I road down the street, the sun was rising up ahead. It was beautiful watching the sun come up for my first moto experience.
….Now I’m going to pick up where I left off from the night before. The walk was lots of fun. I walked with some of the girls that are in my family. We talked about life and we taught each other words. When we got there, Mara and I introduced some of the kids to frisbee. We’re excited to teach it at the school. Some of the kids sat around while others played cards or sports. A highlight of the picnic was going on a boat ride on the lake. I watched as the first group got in the boat and was amazed they actually made it back. The boat sat so low in the water. I also took part in the ride when it was my family’s turn. For many of the kids, this was their first time on a boat. There were many shouts of excitement throughout the entire ride. When it rains here, it pours. I experiences this on the walk back to the village.
I spent the rest of the weekend in Kigali. Mara showed me around so I have a better sense of where everything is located. We went to one of the markets. It was so overwhelming. There were many teenage boys that tried to show us around the market and find things that we needed. I even ran into some people that I met in the airport when I arrived. We exchanged numbers and I’m looking forward to hanging out with them.
Chaim Peri, the director of the village in Israel that Agahozo Shalom is modeled after, arrived from Israel and road back with us to the village. He spoke to the kids. He’s a very inspirational. He spoke to the staff about the idea that it takes a village to raise a child and took funny stories about his experiences.
I’m in Rwanda?!?!? On Monday morning, I worked in the field with the workers doing as they kept saying, cultivating the land. We were clearing some land to be able to plant more. There were many funny interactions. There are 30 workers. They tried out all their English with me. One even told me that I work just as hard as the men in a surprised way. Later in the afternoon, I asked one of the Rwandan counselors about what the workers must be thinking seeing me out in the field with them.
On Tuesday Salomon and I began collecting information to create a plan for the farm. We talked with the head of the kitchen about what and how many vegetables he buys every week. In the afternoon, I road into Kigali to meet with the man who is helping us with the chickens. The ride into Kigali was crazy and a little stressful. All the teachers packed into the van. I was to meet with the man at 6 and at 6:30 we were still dropping off the teachers. The only big frustration that I have so far is the language barrier.
This is an overview of what my days have been like. I'll write a post soon about my feelings and thoughts here.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Tomatoes Between My Toes
Yesterday I got a tour of the whole farm from Salomon who runs the farm. The farm is quite large. There is one part behind the school and the other on the opposite side of the village. We took pictures next to some of the yummy fruits and veggies. I have to say that I'm getting spoiled. I get to eat delicious mangos and passionfruit everyday! I began to learn what we grow and how much of everything...and I now understand my role on the farm! I'll be working with Salomon to create a master plan for the village and document what, when, and how much we are planting. My first big project is to get the chicken coops ready. We'll be getting 300 baby chicks in the next few weeks. I'm meeting with someone next week to learn about what it'll take to take care of the chickens...that means in 6 months we'll have fresh eggs!
Last night I joined my assigned family here at the village of 16 girls. They are so cute. Another one of the volunteers, Michaela is also in the family. She taught them the umbrella song and talked about what the song means. She talked about the importance of friends. I'm excited to get to know the girls. Already the best part here is getting to know the kids. I was walking with some of the girls on the way to lunch today when it began to rain. One of them said that I could stand under her umbrella as she put her hand up in the air to symbolize an umbrella. All the girls began to say that to each other. Michaela, what a great song to teach them!
Salomon asked me to be at the farm at 6:45 to meet all the workers. I arrived then and was introduced to the 33 workers. I spoke to them and Salomon translated. I got lots of waves and big smiles. Many came up to me and said that they want to learn english and told them that I want to learn Kinyarwanda. I asked what I should work on and Salomon said tomatoes. Little did I know it was going to be one of the funniest and most awesome experiences...ever.
One of the female workers was also assigned to tomatoes. I knew that my knowledge of 2 words in Kinyarwanda and her 10 words of English was going to make for an interesting morning. She had 3 buckets to place the tomatoes. She tried to explain what went in each pile. At first, I thought one piles was for bad tomatoes, one for small ones, and another for the larger tomatoes. There were also 2 other girls working close by that kept coming to where we were. The girl I was working with kept moving the tomatoes that I put in the bin. I was confused and I think she might have been frustrated with me. Then she got a great idea...instead of showing me which ones go in each, she had me feel them. Then I understood. The distinction wasn't big and small, it was bruised and good tomatoes. Wow, I was so relieved when I finally understood (and I'm sure she was too). The experience became lots of fun as both of us (and other workers who kept popping in) and we began to teach each other words in English and Kinyarwanda. I decided to have a project where I put pictures up by the farm with words in English and Kinyarwanda. We were both in piles of tomatoes. I began to have tomatoes all over my feet. They even squished between my toes.
I was having such a great time. Then Salomon came by and asked if I wanted to go to market with him to buy some tarps. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave but then decided to go. I hopped on the back of his bicycle and we rode to the market. We passed through the village and he pointed out everything as we rode by. There were lots of people about and it was such an exciting experience! It was my first time out of Agahozo Shalom since I got here. People would waves as we passed and kids liked to shout out words that they know in english. I responded with some kinyarwanda. When we reached the village of Rubona, Salomon took me to his home and then walked me around town to see everything. People kept asking him who I was and he would say my boss. I kept correcting him and said that he was my boss. We came to an agreement that we were each other's boss. He told me that when he came home from work, everyone would ask about me and who I was. He was excited for it.
What great beginning experiences and people that I'm meeting!
Last night I joined my assigned family here at the village of 16 girls. They are so cute. Another one of the volunteers, Michaela is also in the family. She taught them the umbrella song and talked about what the song means. She talked about the importance of friends. I'm excited to get to know the girls. Already the best part here is getting to know the kids. I was walking with some of the girls on the way to lunch today when it began to rain. One of them said that I could stand under her umbrella as she put her hand up in the air to symbolize an umbrella. All the girls began to say that to each other. Michaela, what a great song to teach them!
Salomon asked me to be at the farm at 6:45 to meet all the workers. I arrived then and was introduced to the 33 workers. I spoke to them and Salomon translated. I got lots of waves and big smiles. Many came up to me and said that they want to learn english and told them that I want to learn Kinyarwanda. I asked what I should work on and Salomon said tomatoes. Little did I know it was going to be one of the funniest and most awesome experiences...ever.
One of the female workers was also assigned to tomatoes. I knew that my knowledge of 2 words in Kinyarwanda and her 10 words of English was going to make for an interesting morning. She had 3 buckets to place the tomatoes. She tried to explain what went in each pile. At first, I thought one piles was for bad tomatoes, one for small ones, and another for the larger tomatoes. There were also 2 other girls working close by that kept coming to where we were. The girl I was working with kept moving the tomatoes that I put in the bin. I was confused and I think she might have been frustrated with me. Then she got a great idea...instead of showing me which ones go in each, she had me feel them. Then I understood. The distinction wasn't big and small, it was bruised and good tomatoes. Wow, I was so relieved when I finally understood (and I'm sure she was too). The experience became lots of fun as both of us (and other workers who kept popping in) and we began to teach each other words in English and Kinyarwanda. I decided to have a project where I put pictures up by the farm with words in English and Kinyarwanda. We were both in piles of tomatoes. I began to have tomatoes all over my feet. They even squished between my toes.
I was having such a great time. Then Salomon came by and asked if I wanted to go to market with him to buy some tarps. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave but then decided to go. I hopped on the back of his bicycle and we rode to the market. We passed through the village and he pointed out everything as we rode by. There were lots of people about and it was such an exciting experience! It was my first time out of Agahozo Shalom since I got here. People would waves as we passed and kids liked to shout out words that they know in english. I responded with some kinyarwanda. When we reached the village of Rubona, Salomon took me to his home and then walked me around town to see everything. People kept asking him who I was and he would say my boss. I kept correcting him and said that he was my boss. We came to an agreement that we were each other's boss. He told me that when he came home from work, everyone would ask about me and who I was. He was excited for it.
What great beginning experiences and people that I'm meeting!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
A Rwandan Welcome from the Ambassador
After 3 flights and many hours, I landed safely in Kigali, Rwanda. One of my favorite things about flying is sitting next to interesting people on the flight. On my first two flights, Atlanta to Newark and Newark to Brussels, I didn't even sit next to anyone. The plane was empty and I was bummed not to have someone to talk with on the flight. It was made up for on the flight from Brussels to Kigali. I sat next to this awesome woman from California. She's been living in Rwanda for over a year and I was able to ask her many questions. She writes text books on how to teach english and travels the world. She was very interesting to talk to and I hope to see her again soon. To top it all off, when we arrived in Kigali, she introduced me to many people in the airport including the American ambassador. He was very friendly and talked about how much he enjoyed his trip to Agahozo Shalom. He even introduced me to some people. It was a great introduction to the country.
It was 9pm by the time to got all my luggage. I was picked up by Shimon a staff member from the school and we went out for pizza. It was dark as we drove back to the village. He kept saying how beautiful the area was all around us which made me excited to see it in the light. When we arrived at the village, Shimon took me to my house. I was shocked when I saw my room. It's a lot bigger than I imagined...I even have my own bathroom and shower. I'm living in a house with 4 guys and I'm excited to get to know them. Many people that I meet and some of the volunteers keep saying that I'm in the coolest house!
My first day consisted of a tour of the school and an introduction to the farm. I got to eat fresh mango and passionfruit from the farm! One of the cows just had a baby and it's soooo cute! I'm going on a big tour with Solomon who runs the farm tomorrow. I plan on taking lots of notes and pictures.
It was 9pm by the time to got all my luggage. I was picked up by Shimon a staff member from the school and we went out for pizza. It was dark as we drove back to the village. He kept saying how beautiful the area was all around us which made me excited to see it in the light. When we arrived at the village, Shimon took me to my house. I was shocked when I saw my room. It's a lot bigger than I imagined...I even have my own bathroom and shower. I'm living in a house with 4 guys and I'm excited to get to know them. Many people that I meet and some of the volunteers keep saying that I'm in the coolest house!
My first day consisted of a tour of the school and an introduction to the farm. I got to eat fresh mango and passionfruit from the farm! One of the cows just had a baby and it's soooo cute! I'm going on a big tour with Solomon who runs the farm tomorrow. I plan on taking lots of notes and pictures.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A New Year Means New Adventures!
Today starts my journey to Rwanda! It's so hard to believe that it's finally here and I'm actually going considering 2 months ago I had no idea where Rwanda was located. It all started with Mara and Yoshi convincing me over Sukkot to look into applying for the position. I told Mara (another one of the volunteers and my friend in Rwanda) to stop. She asked if she was bothering me with all the talk of Rwanda. I said no and that if you keeps talking to me about it, I actually do it and that I'm not sure if I'm ready for a big move like...well I guess here I am, headed to Rwanda...all the rest is history...
I'm thankful to the JDC for giving me the opportunity to have this experience! They have been great. I will be working at a high school called the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village doing environmental education and farming. I know little more about what I'll actually be doing but I'm okay with that...just excited for the opportunity and a year of learning and adventures!
Since finding out that I got the position, I took out a map and found where Rwanda was actually located. After doing that, I read everything that I could find about the country. The history is not a pretty one. It's been a hard read. I've been thinking alot about hatred and what convinces one to kill another? After all the reading, I'm ready just to be there and see the hope and rebuilding taking place in the village.
Next big question...how do you pack for a year abroad? I have to say that it was not a fun process...should I bring this or will I need that? I think most everything I brought is camping gear so I might be wearing the same shirt many times but at least I'll be ready for any adventure!
I'm thankful to the JDC for giving me the opportunity to have this experience! They have been great. I will be working at a high school called the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village doing environmental education and farming. I know little more about what I'll actually be doing but I'm okay with that...just excited for the opportunity and a year of learning and adventures!
Since finding out that I got the position, I took out a map and found where Rwanda was actually located. After doing that, I read everything that I could find about the country. The history is not a pretty one. It's been a hard read. I've been thinking alot about hatred and what convinces one to kill another? After all the reading, I'm ready just to be there and see the hope and rebuilding taking place in the village.
Next big question...how do you pack for a year abroad? I have to say that it was not a fun process...should I bring this or will I need that? I think most everything I brought is camping gear so I might be wearing the same shirt many times but at least I'll be ready for any adventure!
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