Saturday, May 30, 2009

Will update on past days as soon as I'm home...just wanted everyone to know that I'm in London!!! :-)

Love and hugs!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Up very, very early for mass at the Cathedral. It is such a beautiful place, and I love that we're able to walk there. The mass was beautiful and I loved being able to follow along even though I didn't understand a word they said! After mass we packed up and headed to Murambi. Once again, I felt like it was even more moving the second time. The reality of the events that occurred sink in more and more every day. How they can get past it is a miracle. I was honestly okay until Guillaume patted my back while we were walking. It's so sad that he has to comfort this little American who doesn't really know true pain, when he (and all of them) experienced it first hand.

After Murambi we headed straight to Kigali. We had about 45 minutes at the hotel before we went to Elizabeth's (the headmaster at FAWE) house for dinner. It actually ended up being at one of the teacher's houses, I think because it was bigger. When we got there my friend Anita was there – I was so happy to see her! We also got to meet the Peace Corps and World Teach volunteers that are working at FAWE. Before dinner one of the FAWE girls said grace and then after a while all the lights went off and they came in with a cake and candles and sang Happy Birthday to Josh! It was SO neat! They sang in both Kinyarwanda and English. They kept singing after he blew out the candles and he finally realized he was supposed to cut the cake. Then they still kept singing and finally one of the girls came over and FED him his piece! It was SO funny! Apparently you're supposed to eat your piece while they sing – learn more about the culture every day! Then we ate our cake and then had dinner. It was amazing! They had to have been cooking all day! After dinner Elizabeth said that we were going to have some entertainment. Anita and the two other FAWE girls stood and she said that they were going to sing a song for us. She talked about how much they enjoyed and appreciated our work at Gisimba and they sang the song 'When You Believe'. It was amazing. They were all wonderful singers – and it was all a Capella! I couldn't believe it – everyone was so impressed. After that everyone introduced themselves and gave a little of their favorite things about Rwanda. Almost all of them were original, and I of course agreed with all of them! It was wonderful. Then we came back to Chez Lando and got ready for the club for Josh's birthday! Everyone had a wonderful time, and even some of my friends from last year came!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Up relatively early to head to Butare. The drive is long, but once again SO beautiful. Long drives also make for great conversations for Guillaume and I. I've learned SO much from him, lots of things I'd never thought of before. On the way there I got to see the school where he went to Secondary, which is also where he met his wife. Anyway, when we got to Butare we had lunch and went to the National Museum. Then we went to the National University of Rwanda (NUR). As we were driving through the campus we saw a whole bunch of monkeys! It was so neat! We also got a short walking tour of part of the campus too, which was nice. We caught the tail end of a soccer game and saw a whole lot of students on campus, especially for a Saturday. Then we went back to our hotel for a relaxing evening. Well, it was relaxing for everyone but me, because I played more games of igisoro than I think I have in my life! Guillaume and I ended up 3-4, which I think is pretty good, since he has about 27 years of practice on me! I keep using that as an excuse, and when I win it makes it all the more exciting! :-) Oh, and by the way, there are a few rules that I'm quite certain Aloys never told us, so my skill level is changing with those too! After our games we were off to bed for a VERY early morning.

Friday, May 22, 2009

This morning we met with John at the U.N. We took a tour there and then went shopping AGAIN. Then we met with the Minister of Education. Before our meeting we met the Minister of State as well, WOW! The meeting went very well. She was very happy to hear about our work and about the program. She was also very happy that I kept my word and came back to Rwanda! Then we went back to the orphanage to clean up. We got everything sorted through and put away and had time to play with kids as well. John took us to supper at his Africana restaurant and then came with us to the club! It was a blast – I actually forgot how much fun it was! It was so great to experience it with some people from the new group! Oh, and by the way '08 girls – Cadillac was definitely all it's cracked up to be!!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Today was at our full day at the orphanage. In the morning some people went to the nursery school and the rest of us sorted through all of our donations. It was intense to say the least. However, it was a great feeling, since we knew it was well worth the headache! We got everything sorted, bags packed, and supplies distributed to the nursery school before noon. Then when we were leaving for lunch Guillaume told me he had my 'stuff' in the car – he had finally been able to locate me a PRIMUS shirt!! I was one happy camper, and he worked awful hard for it! Have I mentioned he's awesome??
After lunch we went back to Gisimba. We planned out the most effective way to distribute bags. It of course did not work that way at all, but about four hours after beginning we were finally done. We would NOT have been successful without the help of my friend from last year, Moses. He did a great job and we will never be able to thank him enough. Guillaume waited for Nakeesha, Lori, and I to hand out all the bags and then we finally made our way back to Chez Lando for a well deserved rest.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

We left Paradise around 8:30 and headed to Mwiko. The drive was just as beautiful as I remembered, and the people just as friendly and happy! We observed in a P2 class. The whole school has just switched to English, so everyone at least knew some. It's hard that they are forced to do that, especially when there is no time or funding for training. At lunch time they did a dance which was amazing of course and then we gave them all the supplies we had collected for them. We also gave the teachers hats and Iowa State shirts. They LOVED it! Even Guillaume commented on how happy they all are. The car rides are always so tiring but SO beautiful. When we arrived 'home' to Kigali we checked into our rooms and headed across the street to the market. People are always entertained by the muzungus trying to cross the street! Pretty uneventful day...just patiently waiting for tomorrow at the orphanage!!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Day of rest today! Up kind of early relaxed, had breakfast, and lay on the beach! We went to the hot springs which are very near our hotel. They were so cool! People were using the water to bathe in, to make tea with, and to use for cooking. They said that the government is continually testing the water for safety. It was very neat to see the water bubbling up from the earth – there's so much about our planet that I will never understand! Then we relaxed by the lake some more and headed in to Rubavu for the market. Also, a couple of the girls go their hair braided...it looks awesome! I was jealous there was only time for 3 right now! Then we went and saw the DRC border again. We wanted to jump across so bad! It was crazy that we could actually see Goma! We had stopped at one of the more touristy markets on Sunday and they had igisoro (the game) but it didn't have a design on the outside so I was going to wait and buy it later. When we stopped there again they had it for cheaper and with GORILLAS!! I was SO excited! And then when Guillaume set it up and found out I really did know how to play he was SO impressed! It was funny, he was very proud! We had supper in town again, and I even beat him one game! We had fun. Then when we got back to the hotel Josh and Nakeesha wanted to play since they had learned from watching us. We had a blast!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Up early to head to the forest to plant trees for the Great Ape Trust. We had told the hotel we'd all be leaving early so to just make eggs for everyone. When we came up they already had the table set. They brought delicious tea, fruit, crepes, and eggs. We were ready for a long day! We drove the hour and a half to the Trust's field office where we got out to look around. Madaline said we had another 20 minutes to drive and then and hour walk to where we'd be planting. Sometimes they get confused.... The drive was INTENSE to say the least. At one point we had to back up to try the muddy steep hill again, we were definitely sliding, it was scary! Not only was everyone silent...no one was even breathing!!Guillaume took care of us though! Then we got out for our 'walk'. Apparently there is no need to differentiate between 'walking' and 'hiking'. A lot of it was straight up hill! However, the view was amazing. It was pretty embarrassing because as we're huffing and puffing and taking breaks, these girls are walking right next to us with our trees on their head, and running most of the way up. Out of shape Americans! We used the excuse of the altitude and our not being used to it. We were above a lot of the clouds after all! It was so beautiful looking out at all the hills and fields. We finally got to our planting site and there were about 20 people there already digging holes. I can say that I have 7 trees in the Gishwati Forest in Rwanda! It was a great experience. One of my trees I planted with a young man named Andrew. He spoke a little English and he had walked with us the whole way from the village we started at. On the way back we stopped at some cow that were right next to our path. I asked Marshall (one of GAT's research assistants) to translate for me, and I showed the men with them some pictures of my cows. They loved it! There was even a woman who was just passing by who had a load of sticks on her head. She dropped them and came running to look. They can never get over that G is SO big, but we don't drink her milk! After we got back we made the long drive back to the hotel and rested. I found out later that the province we started out in was Karongi (Kibuye) which is where Immaculee is from. It was cool to have that connection with her, beyond just being in the country and enjoying Lake Kivu.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

I got up early once again, but I relaxed in my room. I was just going to relax but Leah came and said I was going to church in town. I got ready and met the drivers outside. Josh came with me too. When we arrived at the church we could already hear the singing from inside. We felt very late, but the drivers said that they are there all morning singing and dancing and then the service starts around 9. We had arrived right at 9, but the priests didn't come in for at least a half hour. All their songs were so beautiful and happy. Jeremiah would tell us what the songs meant and we clapped along. It was so amazing to see all the people. If singing is like praying twice as I've heard this should be the most blessed community in the world. I was very emotional thinking about their faith through everything they've been through. One of the most prayerful and joyful people I saw was a young man who clearly had nothing. His clothes were far too small and very dirty. But he danced and sang with so much passion. I envied his faith and his love of life. Imagine not knowing where your next meal might come from but knowing for sure that there is a God in heaven. Imagine having missing limbs because of a war you had nothing to do with, or not knowing where any of your family members are, but believing with everything you have that God is in control. They have a faith we can't imagine, because they have been through things we can't imagine. But through all that, surviving so many difficulties, and dealing with circumstances so foreign to us like not being able to care for yourself or your family, they praise God with a faith and passion we could never compare to. We complain about trivial everyday things and they literally have nothing and are thanking God for just being alive. And to top it all off, they welcomed us with open arms. They came out to the truck before we'd even stopped to welcome us and see us in. We represent everything they don't have, there wasn't even a car in the parking lot. But they were so happy to see us, not a sign of resentment. They even recognized us and sang a song to welcome us. The whole service was songs and joyful dancing and praise. No sadness or sorrow. Everyone was so into the service. Not one person was dozing off or being distracted. Even the children, who didn't leave for Sunday school until two hours into the service. It was simply amazing and I wish everyone could experience what I did in that tiny 4 wall tin roof chapel. They are strong in ways we could never be.

After church we came back for lunch and then headed back to town for our day in Rubavu (Gisenyi). We toured the Great Ape Trust of Iowa's office and then went to the market and to an internet cafe. Then we went to the border of the DRC to check that out and headed to the Serena for supper. It's so beautiful there. Yes, girls, I did have one of our AMAZING drinks, but it was quite different :-) Supper was good, and after we went to go see the Congo's glowing volcano, Nyiragongo. Another busy busy day!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Happy Birthday Kaley! Today, I woke up at about 2 am since I've only been getting about 6 hrs of sleep per night. It ended up being lucky because just after I woke up it started to rain. It was so amazing! It was a complete downpour, unlike any rains we have at home. We needed to be outside at 6 to leave 6:20, and we woke up before the alarm so we were kind of moseying around starting to get ready when Cortney came and said everyone else was at breakfast. It took us a while, but we realized our alarm hadn't gone off and were late! We packed quickly and headed out. We arrived and split into our groups (the groups that had been in trucks) and learned about our gorilla families. We were visiting the Sabinyo family. It boasts the largest silverback in the world weighing between 220-250 kilos. WOW! In fact, our guide, Hope, described him as a 'hill' There was the silverback, six females, and three babies, one only nine months old. One of the females was pregnant. We drove quite a ways to our drop site, about a half hour or forty minutes. At first the roads were good, but our last road was VERY bumpy. We drove through a little village, so we got to see all the people out and about. We walked about twenty minutes to get into the park and about 25 minutes once we were in. Our guide was always making jokes and after we climbed a hill just inside the park the trackers were at the top! He told us they were just meeting us and we still had 2-4 hours to hike, but we knew better! We dropped our bags and our sticks and headed out of the clearing. We first caught site of the silverback! He was HUGE. He moved and we watched the mom with a young baby before they realized they were crossing out of the park. So we made our way back over the wall to meet them. It was so cool! They were all spread out and we were actually walking between them! They were feasting on bark the whole time. We never actually got charged, but I was scared a couple times when the females were 'playing'. Our silverback's name was Guhonda, which means 'beats on chest'. We saw that a couple times! After our super-short hour we headed back. On the way up there had been some kids with drawings and colorings of the gorillas and we decided we would buy some on the way back. When we came out we saw them, but everytime Hope came over they ran away. He told us not to buy anything because then they rely on that as an income and chose not to go to school. It was heartbreaking, they followed us all the way down the hill! After we did our graduation ceremony we headed into town for lunch. We thought the other group was done, but we ate and sat there for two hours before they got there! They wanted the group to stay together so we decided to walk around town. It was such a great experience! We walked from the hotel to downtown. When we were about halfway there we realized it would rain soon, but no one was running yet so we figured we had some time. We reached a shop just in time and bought some very cool stuff. Then we decided to brave the rain...as if we didn't stand out enough, being the only people on the street REALLY made us obvious! When we got to the end of the block we had to cross a little river of water. We assessed the situation and eventually jumped across. As soon as we got over there were a bunch of guys clapping for us! It was pretty funny. We had a great walk around, we even stopped to buy a Fanta. While we were there trying to deal with the language barrier and finish it because you can't leave with the bottle, we drew a crowd of over 20 people. It was so funny. We headed back on our long walk to the hotel, met up with Guillaume and got on our way to Rubavu (Gisenyi). When we arrived at Paradise Nakeesha and I sat out on the grass by the lake. Then when we came to supper they had Intore dancers! It was so cool! We had our supper by the fire and had a good night's sleep.

Friday, May 15, 2009

We visited Green Hills Academy in the morning. I went to Teacher Gladys's P1 (1st grade) class. I had so much fun! Gladys is from Kenya and she just came to Kigali in January. First they read a Corduroy book and then they had a math lesson. They were learning about tens and ones and when they did their exercises she had me correct them. They are all so cute and their English is so good! There were two muzungu boys in my class as well. Then we had tea and then they started their Kinyarwanda lesson. It's so good that all the students learn the local language. They did a dance for me and it was so funny to watch the foreign students attempt the dance! Then they decided to teach ME some Kinyarwanda. They asked questions and I did my best to answer. I used my pictures, and they learned all the names of the people in my family! Then they had one more lesson and we went to lunch. I sat with the class – they are just so fun! After Green Hills we headed to KIE to see our friend John. He was so excited to see me, his 'daughter'! We met with the vice rector and got a little tour. Then we headed out for our long drive to Musanze (Ruhengeri). The ride was long but SO beautiful. I've really been appreciating that more this year. The ride is also good, because I'm always learning new things from Guillaume. We stopped and gave some pens away, which is always fun because they're so excited! We stopped and had a Fanta in Musanze and then finished to our guest house, Kinigi. We checked into our rooms and had an amazing dinner – accompanied by a PRIMUS!! :-) Then we headed to our rooms to rest before our big day on Saturday!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Today we got up early and headed to College St. Andre, a secondary school here in Kigali. When we were pulling out Guillaume said that it was going to rain 'seriously'. We knew we were in for it! It was funny because when we left the hotel it hadn't even started raining (it didn't for about 20 mins) but people were already running from place to place – they knew what was coming. By the time we got to St. Andre it was POURING and I had no coat...fun! We met with the chaplain and then observed in an S4 math class. Then we headed to the market! It is always such a bustling place, even in the rain. It was so great to see the students interacting, and I'm sure the shopkeepers were glad to see them as well! After the market we had lunch and then attempted to sort through all the donations we have! It was a chore. In fact it was once described as “World War III in Nakeesha and Ashley's Room”. We got some stuff sorted and then headed out to the orphanage. We brought American footballs and some jump ropes. Everyone had a good time! We also dug some frisbees from last night out of the mud and played that as well. We had such a good time just relaxing and playing in the room. Lori also tried to do some work in the sewing room, but it sounds like we may need to put a little more effort in on that! Leah and Lori also gathered information about all the children so that we can begin to prepare all of their bags for them soon! I also finally got to see Ishimwe the little boy that arrived at the center while we were here last year. I wish I would have seen him earlier because he kept grabbing for me when I was trying to leave. It broke my heart! After we left we were going to Sole Luna for dinner. On the way there it was decided that Guillaume's baby would be named Ashley :-) Because he likes me the best....and because my name was the one drawn out of a hat! We'll have to see about that one! Unfortunately we won't be here for the baptism to hold him to his word! We had a wonderful dinner at Sole Luna. It was so great to be able to walk home. I love walking in Kigali – except we looked like a rather ridiculous train traipsing along the streets of Kigali! When we got back we had to pack everything up and get ready to check out tomorrow. We have a VERY long weekend ahead of us! And, once again, it's now 12:30 and we have to be up by 6:30! We will be in the north until Wednesday, so there will probably not be any posts until then!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

So, I'm actually writing this on Thursday because last night was SO late! On Wednesday we had to be at FAWE very early and I went to an S2 class. When we got there they were changing and we headed up for 'sports'. We played volleyball – I have bruises to prove it. Then we observed in a math class as well. After we were done I got to see my friend Anita who I've been emailing for a couple months. She is SUCH a sweetheart and I'm so happy I was able to see her again. Then we headed to a clinic near FAWE that one of the teachers suggested. It was a very small clinic and our 15 person group was a huge inconvenience. They would never say that, and they kept pushing us along, but I felt very uncomfortable. It was a good place for us to go and experience but it was not somewhere we should spend a lot of time. If we were able to DO something I would have loved it, but I felt so helpless. Then we had lunch and headed to the Women's Center. It was as amazing as I remembered. We went to the shop and then the national coordinator came to talk to us. We were going to go out and go down to their little classroom. On our way we went past the trucks and Guillaume told us that his wife had just had their baby! It was so exciting! We made plans so that we could let him go early and just take two trips everywhere. He was such a happy daddy! So we headed down to quickly finish our visit so he could get on his way. When we got down there they had chairs set up at the front of the room and about 20 women there. The director introduced our group and then introduced the center to us. They told us their stories and we told them ours. They are SO passionate and friendly and their stories are so wonderful. We are hoping to go back before we leave so we can learn more from them. Then we headed back to FAWE for our informal meeting with the girls that Anita set up. We cleaned out the truck so that Guillaume could go see his firstborn! He was so excited!
The meeting at FAWE was so great. The girls are all so intelligent and friendly. Everyone had a friend. Anita and I talked the whole time. She remembered everything from our emails – asked me about my job and graduation and everything. We had such great conversations. I gave her the journal and she LOVED it. She was so happy. She also gave me a BEAUTIFUL necklace which she bought. She is SUCH a doll. While we were talking she told me about how she loved to sing and she said she was in a little choir at FAWE. They sing when visitors come and they just sang for the Senate! They even write and compose their own songs! While we were leaving she asked if we were coming back and I said I didn't know. She said she wanted to sing for me before I leave. So she came to the car and sang to us. It was such a beautiful song. She is very quiet and reserved, but as soon as she started singing she shown like the sun! She sang loud and clear and SO beautifully. We were all impressed – some were in tears! Nakeesha took a video, which I'm SO thankful for! After FAWE we headed back to the orphanage. Because of sending Guillaume home early only one group went. It was kind of nice to have a smaller group. We brought soccer balls and frisbees...what a night! They loved it. We were there until well after dark, and after a while I had an excuse not to ever catch the frisbee – I couldn't see it! I also got to spend lots of quality time with Jeanine and Aimee...just what I've been needing! :-) My goodness I love those two girls! Then we made the long journey back to the hotel. You know you're in a good place when the hardest part of the whole day is saying goodbye!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Okay, this is going to be a VERY shortened version of today, because it's nearly midnight and this girl needs to be up before 7! Today was another amazing day in the Land of a Thousand Hills. We got up to head out to see the rest of the city. It has changed so much and I'm so happy to be able to see it all as it happens. We got to visit a youth center the government has established. It has many sports fields and an education center. It was created to help children see that they are all Rwandans, there are no tribes and no differences. They were all playing soccer and they were having such a great time. I'm hoping we will be able to go back and also give them some of our soccer balls!! We saw so many other amazing sights. I saw a small child with a stuffed animal tied around their back with a towel – just like Mom! It was SO adorable! Also at one point our other car hit a pothole and splashed rainwater on a man. We stopped and our driver (we were behind them) quickly asked me to roll down my window. He apologized profusely, but the man just kind of shook his head and walked away. Jeremiah, the other driver, jumped out of the truck and ran over apologizing to this man for getting him wet. It was so nice – that would NEVER happen in the States! Both of the drivers are so wonderful. Don't say anything, but Guillaume is giving Alloys (our driver last year) a run for his money!! :-) Then we had lunch with John (ISU grad who works at the U.N.) at a restaurant near the U.N. Finally we went to the Genocide Memorial.
I felt like it was almost more moving this time, maybe because of the connection I feel with the culture and the people now. It's such a beautiful place and they are so fortunate to have it. The gardens are the perfect place for people to go and reflect and the museum tells the story so well and so thoroughly. It was great to see the students learn so much about the events. It is obviously such an important part of the history and the culture. It's important to see the country through that 'lens'.
Then we got back to the orphanage. We met with Ildo to talk about our project and what we should do while we're here. Then we got a little tour of the facilities – with a child on each hand of course! :-) I just love being there and seeing their smiles and hearing their happy little laughs and screams! Then we headed back to the hotel (home) for the night. It was a very long day, but well worth it! There is so much that we want to do and so little time! I wish we could stay all summer.....

It's FINALLY Monday, May 11, 2009

Muraho! We have officially arrived in Kigali! We arrived at 10:30 this morning. Our flights from DM>Chicago and Chicago>London BOTH landed early, so we were off to a great start. London was very good once again, lots of sights to take in! We were lucky enough to have Barbara Smith, who grew up in Ames and now lives in London, help us around for the day. The big highlight of Sunday was that we got to go to the Rwanda Embassy and meet the ambassador! It was so amazing! It was a beautifully set up office and they had a wonderful little reception/meeting set up for us. Then London>Nairobi landed early as well. It was a GREAT flight. There were tons of empty seats so we were able to spread out and really get comfortable! That did not stop the final flight from seeming to drag on forever! Of course our Nairobi>Kigali flight didn't board on time, and then once we got on we realized we had a stopover in Burundi! More time separating us from our destination! However, it was very cool to see the Burundi airport – maybe I'll just go there someday! Then, 36 hours after leaving Des Moines, we FINALLY landed in Kigali! I couldn't believe it! All the familiar sights were such a relief! I was FINALLY back! We got off and appreciated the sights and smells of Africa. ALL of our 30 bags made the tumultuous (some were misplaced, mislabeled, and even broken) trip all the way from Iowa. How lucky! Then we of course couldn't fit all of them and all of us into the cars, so Nakeesha and I waited for them to be dropped off and our driver to come back and get us and the rest of the bags. We made a great friend who happened to have been supported by our orphanage (Gisimba) through secondary school – what a small world! Anyway, when our driver Guillaume got back, it was a struggle to even fit us two and all the bags in the truck! But we finally made it and cruised through the city to get to Chez Lando. When I was talking with our driver he informed me that Alloys (our driver from last year, who we loved and miss so much) got married AND had a baby over the year! He is on leave right now, but he said he was excited to see us at some point while we were here. Once we got to the hotel we showered and ate lunch and then we headed out for the mini city tour. It has changed SO much! So many new buildings and so many old ones disappearing. I was SO happy to be back! Then we got Leah and headed to the orphanage! I was so excited the whole way I couldn't even pay attention to conversations! I couldn't wait! As we were coming around the corner I saw some damage to one of the buildings. As we got closer I saw that one of the classrooms at the nursery school had been completely smashed in! It was crazy! When we pulled in it was SO good to see the kids. I couldn't believe it – it still seems like a dream! I saw every one of our close friends from last year. I was able to talk to Ildo (the patron) on the phone while scheduling our visit and he was so excited to see us when we pulled in. He's always so appreciative of everything we do, and so involved. When I asked him about the classroom he said a truck went off the road and smashed into it! It was during the day, but earlier the lights had gone out so the students had moved to another classroom! What a blessing! That conversation didn't last long with the kids around, though! Jeanine, Aimee, Joshua, EVERYONE was there! And they were so happy and playful as always. It was great to see everyone else getting to meet them and see how wonderful they are. I can't believe it's all happening! Obviously I could talk about this all day (or all night) but I've had enough of 4hrs/night of sleep! Early, busy day tomorrow! Hopefully I'll be able to keep updating regularly! LOVE!