My Farm Family

I feel that it’s only appropriate that this blog is written on family. I have not been feeling well these past 2 weeks. Last night, I decided to go to sleep at 6…so then I woke up at 2…at lease I got 8 hours of sleep! At first I tried to go back to sleep, but I just laid there. After a little while I got up and brought my laptop to bed. I got to talk to my sister, both my parents, my brother (for the first time since coming to Rwanda!), and my uncle Marvin! It felt so great to talk to family and hear the tales from home. My uncle Marvin told me that many people in my family were over to his house last Sunday for father’s day…this made me really miss everyone and wishing I was there. I’ve been thinking lots about family recently…mine at home and the different ones that I belong to here.

As I wrote in earlier blogs, family is defined differently here than I studied in school. It seems that everyone and anyone can be family. In the Agahozo Shalom family I find myself in 2 families…Family 7 and the farm worker family. I find myself pulled between my 2 families many of the times. I wish I had lots of time to spend with each. I love them both so much! The family that I want to talk about in this blog is my farm family.

I didn’t realize how much I was a part of this family until a couple of weeks ago when 2 brothers who work on the farm had a sister that died. When it was time for the funeral, Solomon couldn’t find me so I missed it…I was very upset that I missed the funeral. I asked Solomon what I should do since I was not at the funeral and what’s the custom here to honor the family. I told Solomon about the Jewish custom of sitting shiva for a week and honoring them by going to their house. Solomon explained that there’s not the time to sit that long because maybe of the people are very poor and need to return to work as soon as possible. He explained that its customary to visit the family one time. It can be the day of the funeral or in one month. It’s just important to pay your respects. You wish the family patients in getting through their pain…they also drink LOTS of banana beer. Solomon suggested for me to buy the family banana beer and invite over all the workers. He also advised me to get a gift for the mother to help her be patient….we both went to Rubona and bought some fabric for her to make into a skirt.

The house of the family is right across from the village. We arrived and everyone sat around drinking the beer. Solomon kept insisting that I give the gift to the mother when everyone was there. I told him that I wanted to wait until it was private but I finally gave into his insisting (he said that it’s important for everyone to see their boss doing good things…I didn’t realize until this have much everyone looks to me as the big boss…more on this later). I gave a speech (in true Rwandan fashion) and then presented the gift. The mother was very grateful and I have enjoyed to get to know her. This past week the worker whose sister died invited Solomon and I over again because his father-in-law was visiting (they are expecting a baby this week!)
5 days ago the wife of the man who works with the chickens had a baby. I was so excited today when I got to go over and visit!

An Afternoon with Gedeo

A few weeks ago, I was talking with someone that works in the village about completing projects. He was saying to me that the kids are only here for 4 years and we want to make those the best years with as many opportunities as possible. I like this mentality…it has helped to build an amazing village with many opportunities for all the kids. The administration is also open to new ideas and likes when different people bring ways to improve the village. This idea has also been a challenge for me when it comes to balancing my life here. There’s so many projects that I want to accomplish while I’m here and I’m enjoying the learning process that I’m going through to gain all this new knowledge.

The problem is that I think that sometimes I’m not feeling well but I continue to work and then realize later that my head has been hurting all day. I know now that I need some rest. I was in Kigali this past weekend and planning to leave early Monday morning and when I woke up, I really didn’t feel well. I decided to stay in Kigali to rest at a friend’s house. It was nice to decide to take the time to just rest. It’s not easy for me, I enjoy to stay busy…I think I take after my father on this one. It’s a good thing I wasn’t in the village because I would surely make my way to the farm like I had been doing for the past 2 weeks while I was sick.

While I was in bed at my friend’s house, we got a visit from Gedeo…a 3 year old little boy that I swear is a 30 year old in the body of this young boy. I have gotten to know Gedeo very well. He usually pays a visit to my friend while I’m there. You never know when we’ll show up. He’ll come at anytime during the day. Gedeo lives differently than most kids that I know his age. He is completely free. We just does what we wants. You see him roaming the streets. My friend even saw him standing outside a neighbor’s party with a big chicken leg in his mouth one day. From what my friend has gathered from talking to him (and once you get him talking, he just doesn’t stop) he comes from a very poor family. His mother has told him that his father is in jail. While most kids his age in the US would be taking a nap, he is roaming the streets looking for food or something to use as a toy. Whenever I see him, I always insist that we give him a bath. My friend usually gives him something to eat. He told us that the only time that he ever gets milk is when he comes over…I think it’s one of the reasons he loves to come and the fact that he is taken care of.

There are many kids here with the same story as Gedeo…it’s very sad to see firsthand. What makes us want to help him when there are many kids in his situation? This is very easy, he’s a special kid. Whenever he’s over he’ll sit and talk to you for hours…about anything. When I say anything, I mean anything. My friend had a conversation with him about the upcoming elections and thoughts about Rwanda. Each day he comes with his aspirations for the future and his current thoughts. When he came to visit yesterday, he told us that he got a job being a security guard for the neighbor’s car. He promised to buy my friend a Primus (my friend’s favorite beer…my friend had no idea how he knew he liked Primus) with his first paycheck. We also get crazy stories from him that can go on for hours. I always tell my friend that he’s changing this boy’s life. He has become his friend, has taught him to say thank you, and washes him up.

Meeting kids like Gedeo really puts life into perspective and helps me to appreciate how I was raised.

A Weekend of Camping

I love camping and it had been a long time since I went. I enjoy the whole process of it especially in a new place. I like the setting up of the tent, building a fire, cooking, hiking, and waking up in the morning to see a great view. On this trip, I was not let down on any of these. There was a long discussion on where we would go and finally we decided to go to Byumba in the north, about 50km from the Uganda border. I went with 4 of my good friends here…one of them has a car which makes travel much easier. We all packed into the German car and headed for the hills of Byumba. As we got closer, you could feel the temperature drop and the hills getting steeper. On our ride there, we stopped along the way to admire the views…it was so beautiful. We stopped in the town before finding our sleeping site to get some more food. I was excited when we walked into one of the stores and they were selling popcorn. As we were walking back to the car, it began to rain…

As it was raining, we drove around trying to find a place to set up camp. I got worried because our plan was to use fire wood to cook and setting up camp in the rain is no fun. I fell asleep and after about an hour, we stopped. I stepped out of the car and got a little worried again. This area was very hilly so I was just imagining sleeping up a hill. We finally found a great spot and it felt like the whole community came over…at one time I looked around and counted close to 40 kids looking on with wide eyes. We began to set up camp and the rains stopped. Cooking started. This was uncomfortable. Surrounding us were many children that you could tell were very hungry and here we were cooking a good meal. It got dark and the children began to leave. We ate our delicious meal and then crawled into one of the tents for a night of talking.
We woke up at day light and all the kids gravitated back to our camp. Our spot was so beautiful in the morning light. 2 of my friends took the 1 hour round trip journey to get water. It was so steep and I couldn’t believe that these people have to make this journey everyday.

We packed up the car and drove a little distance to begin our hike. On our trip, there were only 2 of us that we not Rwandan. As we began our hike, both of us had a long conversation about our frustrations with being foreign and figuring out our role in this poor area. This conversation started because we didn’t know what to do with the fact that we were able to eat 3 good meals and there were people around us that sometimes don’t even get one. It was a very heavy feeling.

The hike was so beautiful. We climbed up the terraced hills and saw many great views.

Ups and Downs

Some days are just hard…and I guess that’s life
Do you ever have those days where nothing seems to go right? This happens a lot here. Days just don’t go as planned. Being in here adds a whole new meaning to this.

The day before our basketball team played in the regional finals. We have a very talented team. On the way back from the game, the bus hit a cow and flipped. Luckily, no one on the team was seriously injured. We are very grateful for that. These kids have been through so much and it’s hard that life continues to be a challenge.

Many times, people just don’t come to meetings or they’re very late. It’s very common here and everyone sense to do it. I even get in the habit of saying I know they’re going to be late so it’s ok. This drives me crazy…I like to be on time and also others to be on time. You would think that with all that we talk about time management, that things would be a little different. Events get created and cancelled at the last minute…I’m definitely learning to be more flexible. I was supposed to lead night hikes for 2 visiting groups and both were cancelled. It’s hard when you work hard on something and it just doesn’t happen. That life and I’m learning to be flexible.

I’ve also definitely had more highlights that more than make up for all the frustrations. Work successes include finishing installing the irrigation system and getting the chicken business plan approved. I really enjoy being with the workers on the farm. They even give me kinyarwanda lessons which always turn into everyone laughing. We got new hats for all the workers. It was one of the best moments. They were sooooo happy...they still continue to wear them everyday.


There are 2 new farm volunteers that are here for a short time. They are a big help with the cows. One of the workers got married while I was in Israel. I was very sad to miss the wedding because I hear they turn into fun parties. I decided to go to visit his family. He lives over an hour away from the village and has to walk to and from work each day. The views along the way are incredible though. It was fun to meet this wife and child. I feel like I really get to know them when I meet their familes.


There are so many highlights...many more to come!

Pictures!!!!!!!

I have posted some new pictures from my birthday and a visit with my family. You can also see more pictures at picasaweb.google.com/amyprice33.

Finishing the 10K at the Kigali Marathon:

A Day in Kigali

A day in Kigali...is finally over...sigh

Today started out as any other day, very early. Lately I have been waking up naturally around 5:30. Solomon and I caught a ride to Kigali today at 6am on an escapade to buy supplies for the arrival of more chickens on the farm. One of the best things about getting up early is that you get to see the sun rise over the Rwandan hills. The past few mornings, the sun has also been joined by a thick fog. We hopped into the car and headed to Kigali. Our first stop was the bank. We got there an hour before opening. I didn’t eat anything and was hungry. Solomon asked a few people where we could go to get breakfast. The only places they mentioned were hotels. I kept telling Solomon to tell the person that we want the cheap Rwandan places and not the fancy muzungu places. We finally found a place and got money from the place.

Our first visit was to BrasAfric to get a quote for a grinding machine to help in making the chicken food. We got on the back of a moto taxi. Before we got on I asked Solomon if the drivers know where the place is located. Everyone ensured me that they know where it is located. An hour later we were still searching for the place. Our search took us past the Canadian Embassy…a good 3km from the actual location. Everyone we meet thought they knew…this is very common in Rwanda where people say yes and they really have no clue. I finally got the number of someone who works there and he pointed me in the right direction. We actually past the place on our initial moto ride. Solomon and I decided to split up in order to get everything done. I went to BrasAfric and Solomon took all the sacs that we brought to the wood market to get filled with wood chips for the floor of the chicken house.

From the moment I stepped into BrasAfric, I was appalled by the lack of customer service. The lady at the front spoke English real well and was part of the department I was buying in but didn’t know anything about the product. They brought out the technician who was the only friendly and nice person in the whole place. He showed me the machine but said we need to go to a different store of theirs for the motor. I think the lady was happy to get rid of me but I’m not sure what I did to make her mad. When we got to the other store, the grinder were on display but broken with dents….sure makes you want to buy them…right? The technician said that we could buy one of the broken machines and then he’ll fix it. If we’re paying that much money, not sure I want to buy a broken machine. I did enjoy hanging out with the technician. We was impressed with my use of Kinyarwanda. When the second store didn’t have what we needed, it was back to the first store. Another women came in that was ruder than the first lady. I asked for some information on 2 machines that looked very similar to me but were very different prices. No one in the store could tell me the differences. I asked for the proforma invoice which states the price and they refused to give me one. They said I must buy and then they can tell me the price. I kept telling them how can I buy it, if I don’t know the price? Finally the man who I talked with on the phone arrived to help save a little credibility for the place. This man even gave me a ride to town and apologized for the way I was treated by those ladies. He says that it happens to many customers and many complain about them. How can a company keep employees like that? Especially in Rwanda where it’s difficult to find jobs. I went to another agro machinery store called Tasha. It was a much better experience with a much better product. They had no trouble giving me the proforma invoice. So, which company do you think I’ll go with?

I met back up with Solomon and we headed to a place to buy water drinkers. They were all out and insisted there were no places to find them (except for 1 grocery store) in all of Kigali. I heard this story from many of my endeavors to Kigali. There are places to find everything that you need. ..the challenging part is just finding those places. Next we went to the place where we’re buying the heaters to give them an advance. It’s not as easy here as going to a place to buy the heaters. They actually have to make them from scrap metal.

Our next adventure took us to Nyabigogo. We called the truck driver and he said that he would meet us in 30 min. We decided to visit a friend of ours who owns a seed store. He was not there but the people in the store told us where to get the water drinkers! An hour later, the truck driver was not where he told us he’d meet us. We called him and he said that he was too busy to come even though we called him the day before and told us he was on the way. He said that he’d send a friend that never showed. We finally found one. We were at the store were we buy ingredient to make chicken food. I asked all the questions to know when the prices are high and low. It was very helpful but different from what others told me. I guess I should have just asked the seller to begin with.

Next we went to our house in Kigali to pick up luggage from the group visiting from Tuffs University. We went back to the wood market to get our sacs of wood chips. I was bombarded by 20 Rwandan women shouting, muzungo…hello…give me money. It was too overwhelming and annoying. I even called a Rwandan friend to ask how to say, leave me alone. I saw a lady who is related to someone at my village and I was relieved to go sit with her. At the wood market we went to buy a scale and wire. I think I taught these men a lesson…don’t sell someone a scale who is also buying something by the kg. You buy wire by the kg and they gave us 5kg. I told them I want to test out the scale and weight the wire. I found they were giving us only 4.5kg! Don’t think they’ll try that trick again. I even tried to weigh Solomon and everyone was laughing.

Finally it was back to the village after a very long day. When we arrived, we were greeted by all the farm workers cheering. It was a great arrival. The workers were singing and dancing as we drove up. It was already 1.5hr after they usually leave. Some climbed into the truck and began to unload. There were close to 100 sacs. They all got into an assembly line to put the sacs into storage. I even got into the line and they began to cheer even louder. Boy to really love interacting with the farm workers.

Life is Like Fruit

You know you’ve worked on a farm too long when…this is not some stupid joke. I started to think about my time here in fruit metaphors and compare the kids to the chickens. I will explain. I love fruit and I consume lots of fruit in Rwanda. It’s all so delicious and cheap. The only sad part is that the fruit goes in and out of season. When I arrived, one of my favorite fruits was in season…the mango! I would go on walks to find all the mango trees above the farm and consume many of these delicious fruits. That being said, my arrival and being of my time here is the mango period. In the beginning my time here was very sweet and exciting. The next and current phase would be the guava (I’m actually eating one as I write this). I never had a guava until coming here. It’s definitely something that’s still new and exciting with some buts. The first time I had it was when I went a walk with the cows around the village. One of the farm workers introduced me. When I was first trying it, I had no idea what this fruit could be but was told to pick the large green ones. I was then told to use my teeth to take of the green outside and then just to eat the inside. The outside was very bitter but I enjoyed the inside. I later learned that if you wait, then the outside turns yellow and edible….and so delicious! With this fruit I’m learning patience and with time you can learn all how and where to get what you need. It has taken me these 4 months to get a better understanding about life here. There are also many bitter and sweet moments that take me on a roller coaster of many emotions. With time I’m even learning from those bitter moments. I wonder which fruit will be next!