A time for Reflection

Muraho once again!

It has now been three weeks since I hugged my Rwandan family and friends goodbye and left Kigali. I am back in New Hampshire and things have been quite busy here since my return home.

My first week back was filled with some much needed quality time around family and friends. The B-day/coming home party was a blast in which Anna and Ayden ( for lack of better words my little sisters) filled up a GIGANTIC bag of candy from the town parade that took place. Since my voyage to Rwanda, my mom moved to a great place in Downtown New London.

Kara and I made a few trips down to the Cape to see the Hyannis Sound, and I was even able to make it to Nantucket to see my Nana and Uncle as well as spend some time playing on the beautiful beaches.

Unfortunately I was unable to go down to Adventure Links to finish off my summer at camp, but I was able to land a sweet job at Harvard First Year Outdoor Program for two weeks, thanks to my best friend, Christa. So, presently I am up at my prof's condo below the whites acting as basecamp and support staff for the 35+ trips that went out on Saturday.

Oh yea, I almost forgot!....MY BROTHER JOE WAS MARRIED THIS WEEKEND! This meant that I got to spend my weekend in Nashville, TN rocking out to country music with my cowboy boots. The wedding was beautiful and perfect in every way.

Perhaps more importantly, I have tried to be as aware as I am able of myself during this important time of re-entry. Reflection is one of the most important steps to an experience, and here are some of the things I have noticed:

1) I have been very family oriented. Kara and I were literally attached by the hip my first week back, and I was ecstatic when I saw my grandmother.

2) Random moments have struck me in random ways. I have found myself tearing up to weird moments as well as having a rush of different emotions. Often times these come with a memory, but sometimes I have to ask myself " Seriously, why am I crying right now?"

3) Thinking about the Genocide here has been harder for me than when I was actually in Rwanda.

4) Every time I see a black child I want to go over to him/her and pick them up.

5) I am making a big effort in trying to use my Kinyarwanda because I already started loosing it.

I will let you know how these things change over time and when I get back to school,

-Rach

The Dream

I dream of the plains in tales of old

Where cockspur ferns stretch to the sky

Where the hoof beats of herds have measured the passage of time

Where the cool of the evening carries the songs of shepherds

Where the music

Of the evening breeze accompanies the conversation of friends

Where the lion grunts

And roars in the night

Where the noise of the war

Is silenced forever

 

I dream,

I dream of waking

Beneath a morning moon, lost

Under the endless sky

Of Umutara

 

 

 

 

 

Rwanda Nziza

“A treat for the eyes”

The ribbon of tarmac snakes,

Flows into the hollows, climbs the slopes.

The drunken eye trying to find some steadying detail

Merely looses itself in a thousand hills

The furrows of terraces, the chess board of crops

The plumb line valley bottoms.

 

A visual Symphonie Fantastique

From the behind leafy screen of banana trees

Points the rusty red of roofs

Mounted on the white of a thousand tiny houses

A magic garden for tropical gnomes?

 

Far distant where the sun sets

Where the line of mountains stands

Dressed in every shade of blue

Reaching for the heavens

Remains a last elusive plot

Eluding the hand of Man

The spade of man

To the very last.

 

Each stage of the journey unfolds

Sky of Kamonyi, Gitarama

Kabgayi the seat of Bishops

Nyanza, home of Kings

Fountain of mysteries

Where lovers quench their thirst

Rubona, Save, Butare

Each seeming glimpse of elegance

Is merely part of daily life

 

Take the journey again

This time in your mind

All is colour and light

 

The spirits of the martyrs are my witness

Beneath the value of the eternal sky

Land of sweetness and of pain

Just as in the proverb I say

God may spend his days elsewhere

But this is where he lays his head

God’s house is here

 

 

Rwanda's History and Genocide Memorials

Mwaramutse (Good Morning),

 I can’t believe that I return to the states in just two weeks time. I get a little sad whenever it passes through my mind, but the thought of ice cream has helped to sooth the anxiety. The last two weeks have been packed, hence the reasons why I have not given a detailed update for quite some time.

 I would like to share with you my experience at one of the memorials I visited, but first I think it is necessary to give a brief history of Rwanda for those of you who may be unfamiliar with it.

The Belgians and French colonized Rwanda. Before this time, the Rwandan people lived together in unity, sharing the same culture, language, and traditions. When the Belgians took over, they began to create an ethnic divide between all Rwandese, creating two ethic groups: Hutu and Tutsi. The ways in which the Belgians divided the people came down to simple tactics such as the number of cows a person owned. If you owned more than ten cows, you were Tutsi, less than ten, you were Hutu. The Belgians also tried to give certain physical features to the Hutus and Tutsi, specifically the for-shape of the nose. The Belgians decided that the minority, the ethnic Tutsis, was to be the superior group. They were given the best government positions and jobs, as well as the support of the Belgians.

After Rwanda’s independence in 1962, extremist Hutu groups started to stand up against the “superior” Tutsi. Thus started the gradual killing of the Tutsi people. From 1962 -1994, sporadic cleanings of the Tutsis took place.

In April 1994, after much planning and preparation, a Genocide against the Tutsis commenced. In just 100 days, 1 MILLION people were murdered. The goal was to have a complete ethnic cleansing of the Tutsi people. Men, women, and children all over Rwanda were slaughtered. Thousands of people took refuge in schools and churches where safety had been guaranteed, only to be road blocked, deprived of food and water, and then killed. During this time, almost no foreign aid or intervention took place, including the United States.

 I arrived in Kigali during the 100 days of commemoration of the Genocide. Since my arrival, I have visited the Kigali Memorial Center, Nyatama and Ntarama Churches, as well as Murambi memorial.

 Last weekend I visited Murambi, a school where 50,000 people took refuge during the Genocide. Out of the 50,000 people who went there, only 4 survived. Having been to three memorials already, I figured I was fairly prepared. This feeling stayed with me until I entered the first classroom, where low-lying tables held rows of bodies. Although each body has been covered in lime, they have not been preserved in any other way. While visitors have been viewing these bodies for the last 15 years, they have been rotting right before their eyes. Some still have hair, some clothes, and some teeth. One can see the injuries they concurred.

After spending about an hour walking through all the classrooms, our guide showed us the mass grave that the bodies had been dumped in by the French, some still alive. Now the grave is empty for viewers to see. Before we went through the memorial, we were given a testimony of our guide, one of the four survivors. He had a visible round indent on the top of his head where a perpetrator had tried to shoot him. His wife and children laid in one of the classrooms.

The last two months have definitely given me a powerful perspective on what took place here in Rwanda 15 years ago. This week I attended a conference on reconciliation, where I was able to hear more testimonies of both survivors and perpetrators of the Genocide. Wether it be at Gisimba, the memorials, or just conversing with friends, I continue to learn everyday about this difficult process.

I hope that this blog has given you a little insight on this very special country and the time I am spending here.

Umunsi mwiza (have a good day!),

 -Rach

 

 

 

Another year older in Rwanda!

Muraho!

So my birthday here will definitely be one to remember:

I was sung to by 50 Rwandeese in English, French, and Kinyarwanda.

I had frosting smeared all over my face by a friend that said it was tradition....I think it was more because it matched my pink shirt.

I had my first experience with Ethiopian Food that made for quite the dinner night.

My Brofro called me with 20 minutes to spare, although it was six hours back in the U.S.

I GOT TO SPEAK TO KARA THREE TIMES!

All in all, it was a great b-day.

Amahoro,

-Rach

Pics are up!

Hey everyone!

I have finally posted some pictures on my facebook because google blog is too complicated for my simple mind. If you don't have a facebook account (Mom), just ask the person next to you because there is a 99.999% chance that they do...

Half of the pics are sideways but it takes so long to fix them that I figured it would be quicker for you all to to just tilt your heads...

Love you all,

-Rach

No thankyou, No Merci, Oya Morokoze....no, seriously, I don't want to buy that.

So there is this one man in town that has tried to sell me the same ugly map everytime I walk by him. You would think that he would get the message by now....but he hasn't.

This last week as been filled with some great learning experiences and adventures.
On Tuesday, "the group" of us ex-pats went out to celebrate two birthdays: Michelle's and Karens. While enjoying a lovely meal of Iitalienne food and South African wine ( I know, silly us) the group somehow managed to get into a very heated discussion on family planning, growth population, and westernized humanitarian work. Oh to have been one of the nearby tables listening in on 8 muzungus trying to justify their stand point on anthrapological theology. It was all in good fun of course. It has been great to be surrouned by so many inspiring individuals with such diverse backgrounds, yet the common passion to be here in Rwanda.

Friday was a very special day at Gisimba. Proclamation Day! Being the last day of school before holiday, all the parents came in with their children. The kids performed the songs they have learned this term (including the ones that I taught them) and were given back their "exams" for their parents to awe over. We also put coloring books together of a Kermit the frog story that the children had learned to recite. It is so cute to hear little children try to read an american story in their African accent.

I was very honored when after school ended the teachers asked me to join them for fanta (soda) and beer. We spent almost 2.5 hours together which was largely filled up with them giving speeches about me. Father Gisimba also joined us, telling stories about the orphanage and his time he spent in Ohio. His quiet presence and witty humor added to the afternoon celebration. Anne Marie (the principal), also asked for my presence at her sons graduation party on August 1st, which is also the same day that Saundra (a young woman from Gisimba) will be getting married at the orphanage. I am looking forward to both.

This weekend the group is going to Nyungwe National Forest to go Monkey trekking and camping. 7 people. One Tent. I may be the only one who brought a sleeping bag to Rwanda. Should be a blast!

-Rach

When you are comletely lost and have no idea what to do.........cry until something happens.

This was my theme for the week. I know that I have not updated in quite some time, so lets re-wind a bit.

Last Tuesday a group of us met up to have lunch at a very African, very local, hole in the wall spot near Gisimba. Kevin, Yvette, a new volunteer Jayna, Kyo (in the Japanese version of the peace corps working at Gismba) and myself all got together. Its a great place, and you can get a meal for under 700 francs which is about USD $1.50. AND, I didn't get sick...woop woop!
After lunch I went into town with Yvette and Jayna. We took the ever so crowded "bus" (15 passenger van that squeezes in about 20-30 people). We then proceeded to the internet cafe. By the time I had got there...someone had stolen my wallet.
Needless to say I was a mess the rest of the night. Ironically, 5 minutes after it all happened, Jean-Paul called me. His solution for the situation...send me on a bus to Kampala, Uganda for the weekend to see him! This definitely made me smile again and with some ice cream that Yvette treated me too, things started to shape up.
The following day we all went to the airport to send-off Yvette, which I am still crying about. Then Nishank, Gabby and I went to the Genocide Memorial Churches about 30 minutes outside Kigali. Yet another powerful-words can not describe- experience that I shall write about in my next blog.

Okay, fast forward to Friday morning. I had planned to leave at 8am for the 9-15 hour bus ride to Kampala. I have learned that time is something that Africans don't pay much attention too... I finally got on a bus at 11:30am. Soon after my journey began a young Rwandan sitting across from me handed me his phone with a message on it: " Hi, good to see you in my country. You are welcome and I wish for you a safe journey." We messaged back in forth for a bit and I soon found out his name was Olivier.

When we made it to the border I started the long process of going through immigration. Exiting was fine, but Entering Uganda was not. When I got the counter I was surprised by the kindness that the border patrol man offered (When I went through Russian customs in December I thought the women was going to stare me down with her lazer eye!).
I had to pay 50 USD for my visa, and when I went to hand him the money, the man replied" Rachel, this twenty dollar bill is ripped, so I can not accept it. May I have another bill?"
Okay, lets re-cap: My wallet had been stolen on Tuesday, I had NO money, therefore I did not have another bill. (I had to borrow the 50 dollars from Jean-Michel). The man's response:" Im sorry but I can not give you a visa today."
So, I decided to do what I do best....step outside and start to bawl hysterically. I have found that this works in my favor often, because not soon after, Olivier came up to me and asked what was wrong. After explaining the situation he agreed to lend me the money I needed and I would repay him in Uganda. Horray for traveling Angels!
After finally buying my visa I walked with Olivier to re-board the bus that had been waiting on the other side. Yup, you guessed it......the bus had left. Without us. Only in Africa.

Act One Scene Two commences: Enter Rachel crying again. At this time JeanPaul calls to see how everything is going. He got the hint of how things were pretty quickly. Luckily my traveling Angel was still with me, and after a long heated discussion with the conductor of another bus, we were able to bribe him to let us on and take us to Kampala. I held my breath at every rural town we stopped in for fear that we were going to get Kicked off out of lack of seats on the bus.
15 hours and two very swollen eyes later....I stepped off the bus into a hug of a smiling and dancing Samputu.

Ukoze!

-Rach

p.s.- It was completely worth it to see Jean Paul and take a real shower with hot water!!!

Salsa Dancing in Rwanda?...sure, why not.

Muraho,

I had my first taste of Primus beer last night, Rwanda's finest. Yup, you guessed it....tastes like bud. A bunch of volunteers that I have met and I decided it would be fun to go Salsa dancing last night. We were blown away by everyone's salsa moves and needless to say we had no idea what we were doing......

Things have been going really well here. I found a balance of Gisimba time, exploring, and connecting...soaking it all up. Six of us are going to go to Akagera National Park this weekend on the border of Tanzania. We have all been looking forward to it all week! I am very anxious to get out of the city back into the hills of hypnotic beauty again.

Today I went to another orphanage called Mother Theresa's with my friend Yvette (From LA). Although she did well at preparing me for the day, I still found myself bewildered and in disbelief during my time there. Alongside the 50+ children under the age of 5, there are also around 40 peoples with disabilities. We are going back this afternoon and I am interested to see what will unfold....

On a side note, on a very very sad note, Ice Cream is very very expensive here. I know, it sucks. But don't worry to much, I have still managed to get my fix.

with love,

-Rach

The Perks of living with the Minister of Sports and Culture: Free Football Matches at Amorha Stadium!

Muraho,

So our trip to the Naming Ceremony was a success, thanks to some new friends I made the day before ;) I traveled to Ruhengeri with 5 other people that are volunteering in Kigali this summer, one of whom works at Gisimba with me, Kevin. The day started off with a rocky, but BEAUTIFUL ride through the hills to Ruhengeri, where we then had to wager six motobike rides to the actual place where the ceremony was taking place, about 20km away. It was an all day event filled with traditonal dance and drumming performences, naming baby Gorrillas, and a speech from the Prime Minister. We also got a free fancy lunch out of the whole deal....yay for us!
We decided it would be fun to walk to the nearest town instead of take mototaxis. Six umuzungus walking down the road tend to draw some attention, so needless to say we had quite a crowd playing with us as we walked. Did I mention Ruhengeri is beautiful?

When we got back to Kigali that night I went over to the Guest Hhouse and had dinner with my newfound umuzungus. Yesterday we all went to the market in Remera and I bought fabric to get a traditional dress made. I also got a certain something for a certain someone who happens to have the same birthday as me...

This evening I am going with Jean-Michel and the crew to a football (soccer) match at the Amorha Stadium. It is a charity match for the One Dollar Campain, and luckily I am going to have the opportunity to see some great players at the game......
So it looks like Akagera National Park may be happening this weekend...bring on the Lions!

Mwiriwe,
-Rach

Yes, I just said hello to you in your language...so stop staring!

Mwiriwe,

I have taught my kids at Gisimba (yes Kara in Kigali) three songs:

1) The Shark Song...you know..."Baby Shark Do Do Dodododo". If you don't know which one I mean than silly you.

2) If your happy and you know it clap your hands...they already knew it in Kinyarwanda.

3) The Hokey Pokey...yes I'm for real. 

The whole school sings songs outside for about an hour in the morning, and these have been my contribution.

Today a young Women, Queen, who works at Gisimba with me, invited me to her home for lunch. We walked for about an hour to get to her small home that holds a family of 8. I could tell she had put a lot of effort in to making rice and beans for me, it was all prepared for when we arrived. Afterwards, her brother, Strong, showed me his artwork. He is about my age, and I was blown away by his work. He had a painting of two lions that took my breath away. While there, I commented on how I liked his bracelet he was wearing. When we were leaving to go back to Gisimba, he said he had a gift for me, and gave me the bracelet.

I plan to go back to Queen's home with here again next week and will give Strong a bar of Hershey's chocolate that I brought with me.

with love,

-Rach

rushing=bad spelling.

Wow, I am actually writing again on the same day. Crazy! So, my last blog was full of spelling mistakes, which was a result of me trying to write before my computer died. I am going to apologize in advance for all the spelling mistakes I may make while blogging...no time to proofread.

Yesterday I decided I would go for a run around the area where I am living. It started off as a nice, easy jaunt, but I soon "ran" into two obstacles:

1) People are not used to seeing a white girl running by herself. Or maybe it is just seeing a white girl. This lead to curious followers every so often. I felt a little bit like Forest Gump. I did not feel threatened, more just annoyed with the fact that I have no idea if they are harassing me or sincerely interested in whom I am/what I am doing.

2) Rwanda is called Land of A Thousand Hills for a reason.

Ah, silly Rachel.

I have discovered African Tea. As far as I can gather, it is Rwandan tea steeped in Milk with Ginger. The first time I had it was in Butare with Jackie and it was very good. 

Tonight I had it again...wow ginger.

-Rach

Wait..so I'm living with the Minister of Sports and Culture of Rwanda? I see.

Mwiriwe,

So I am now volunteering at an Orphanage called Gisimba. The orphanage is named after a man named Gisimba who started hiding orphans in his home during the Genocide of 1994. He is named one of the 7 heros of Rwanda. After he died, his son carried on the orphanage. It is a great place. There are over 186 children. They kids love me, I honestly have to pry children off of me when I have to leave. It is exhausting work, but very rewarding.

There is one boy, Joshua, who was left at the gate of Gisimba a year ago. It is believed that he is around 3 years old, and he is an absolute angel. The other day we kicked around a volley ball together and his aim is quit remarkable.

On Monday a group from CT came to Gisimba. Their school is funding a project to build a school and health center in a remote village outside of Kigali. They were traveling their that day, so I asked if I could join. It was a wonderful experience. We hiked into the village, which I loved, the other group members did not. When we reached the village their was a community assembly to present the project to the village. The sang to us and we blessed a house.

At one point, I casually took down my pony tail that was getting quite annoying and the whole community cheered and clapped. Oh umuzungus and their long luscious hair.

On Saturday I am going to have the once in a lifetime opportunity to attend the naming ceremony of the baby Gorillas in Ruhengeri. Oh, and JeanMichel is the MC of the event..a natioanal honor. Did I mention he is kind of a big deal? Well...he is kind of a big deal.

with love,

-Rach

p.s.- Dad, if I don't get a change to talk to you next Sunday...HAPPY FATHERS DAY! MWA!

African tea...not what I expected.

I made it to Butare safefly. We arrived around 8 last night, after a two hour bus ride from Kigali. I traveled with the usual crew of JM, Karim, Nadie, and Yannick.
Jackie was at the bus stop to meet me. She is staying in a hostel for the summer, so we were able to catch up in the quiet of our own room.
This morning we are enjoying breakfast together in town, then plan to explore for the day. They have a unique cathedral as well as a museum here, and Jackie wants to take me to the rice patties that she stumbled upon yesterday that she thinks I will enjoy.

mwiliwe,

-Rachel

Jambo!

 Finally...I am able to write. First, let me clarify: Jambo is actually greetings in Swahilli, not Kinyarwanda, but is still used here, so I am allowing myself to use it.

 I can't believe that I will have been here a week tomorrow.

So, where to start...

My journey to Rwanda took exactly 24 hours, and I was quite surprised to find that I still had enough energy to wait an extra hour for my bags to arrive in the Kigali airport. My travels were definitely made more enjoyable by the company of some fellow Africa-travelers that I met boarding my plane in JFK. Once in Belgium, I reunited with them and spent a good four hours Saturday morning eating Belgium Waffles together. Emily, Heather, and Megan, going to Guinea, and my fellow outdoor climber, J-Man who was going to Cameroon. ( I just made up J-Man to add some  hype to his character).

On the plane from Brussels to Kigali, the last 8 hours of my trip, I talked with a charming Southern Baptist from Greenville, SC. She was on her way to Uganda. Before we landed, she gave me a bracelet with a quote from my mom's favorite poem "It was then that I carried you..."

By this time I am sure that Karebear is getting annoyed that I have not talked about my actual time in Rwanda yet. Lets speed up. To recap the week that just passed:

I was, and still am very jetlaged.

It took me until Sunday night to realize that French is used frequently, but it is nearly impossible to understand.

Kinyarwanda is a very intriguing language.

Yes, it is hot.

I went to a Rwandan Wedding on Sunday, my first day here. Beautiful.

I am living with a fairly well-off family, in a fairly well-off part of Kigali: Jean-Michel, (Friend of Jean-Paul who invited me into his home) Host Mom: Justine. Twin brothers: Cedric and Eric (18 years old), and Host dad: Joseph.

My favorite food so for: Ibitoki. Green bananas cooked in a special way that makes them taste super good. Good description huh?

Jean-Michel has a lot of friends. I don't know if this is a Rwanda thing, but there are always new people with him when he comes to meet me. JM is part of an organization called "PLP: Peace and Love Proclaimers" whose members are planning the conference in July. Given that this is soon, the days for Jean-Michel and his crew are very busy.

On Monday, Yannick, one of PLP's members, took me to the Genocide Memorial Center. I am amazed that I made it through the whole museum without 1) Closing my eyes 2) Crying  3) Deciding not to go into a room for fear of seeing something I wasn't strong enough to see.

The last exhibit was a room filled with pictures of children. Under the picture it had: 1)Their name. 2) Something about their short-lived life 3)How they were killed in the Genocide.

 I lied before....I cried during this exhibit.

On Tuesday, JM and his crew brought me to Gisimba Memorial Center, where I would be volunteering, to meet and greet. On Wednesday I went back to meet the children. On Thursday I started my volunteer time. Every time I walk into the courtyard, at least 20 children run up and grab onto me. They call me "Umuzungu" which in this sense means white person. I honestly can't walk two inches without 20 children attached to me.

Tomorrow I am going to Butare with JM and the crew for the weekend. I will get to see Jackie, which I look forward too. We are also going to go to another Genocide Memorial.

I am still waiting to see Jean-Paul, he is in Uganda being the amazing man that he is.

I love you all,

-Rach

Test. Test. One. Two.

Okay, here we go I guess.

Aside from the weekly journal entries that I need to submit to the IA department, my hopes is that this blog spot will provide a space for me to keep in touch with you all, and with myself. Anna reminded me this morning how therapeutic it is to write down one's thoughts, and I am pretty sure that this journey will be one worth documenting.

Finally...I'm going to Rwanda.

-Rach