This was my last week here in East Africa, and it has been a great week, but incredibly bittersweet. I have said good-bye to so many people, first in Kigali and now in Kampala. We had a few debriefing sessions at the beginning of the week, which were difficult for me. It is hard to know what I’ve learned and how I’ve changed. A new reality is going to set in when I arrive back in the States. I’m scared of being bombarded by a consumer oriented, individualistic society. I think I will welcome the dependability of services, such as electricity and running water, but I fear that I may become bored by the constancy after awhile. I enjoyed washing dishes by candle-light last night. I will miss pay-as-you-go cell phones and public transportation. Speaking of transportation, I was amused today by the quiet mirth on the matatu (taxi) when there was no conductor. Because of his missing partner, the driver had to turn off the engine, run around the vehicle, and open the door at every stop. He eventually appointed a young rider to open the door, after she was able to figure out how to work the broken handle.
Will I return here someday? I honestly don’t know. But, I do know that I will always carry a small piece of East Africa within me. My experiences here have been woven into the fabric of my being, and burned upon my heart.
For those of you who will soon welcome me back into my “home” community, I ask for patience and understanding. I want to share with you what I have learned, so feel free to ask me questions. I know that I will struggle with reverse culture shock, but I look forward to being back in Lancaster County. It is hard to believe that next week at this time I will be with my family, and I am incredibly excited. I’m not looking forward to our long journey home, but I look forward to seeing those precious faces that will greet me when I get off of the plane.
Until we meet again,
Roanna
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Goodbye Kigali!
Friends, sorry that it’s been a little longer than normal since I’ve written! We had a wonderful Easter here, complete with a ham, green beans, and potatoes dinner.
Monday morning the girls spent time doing laundry and washing shoes outside our rooms at the convent. Our friend monkey stopped by to grace us with his presence, and even caught a bird and ate it in front of us, in addition to the banana that we fed him. In the afternoon we departed for Rulindo, a district in the northern province of Rwanda. The mountainous beauty of this district was incredible. Our cars just kept winding up, up, up twisty dirt back roads until we came to Tumba College of Technology, nestled on the peak of the mountain. This two year old college was incredibly welcoming to us. We spent our mornings researching in rural sectors, our afternoons typing up data, and our evenings socializing among ourselves and with the students there. Wednesday evening we were able to join a group of students for worship, and they graciously translated from Kinyarwanda to English for us, so that we were able to really engage in worship. I enjoyed that immensely. That same night we were bombarded by thousands, perhaps millions, of termites that flooded the campus. I pulled my scarf tightly around my ears, making sure that the edges didn’t protrude too far around my face which would have trapped the insects and made them flap their wings against my nose and eyes. The best night by far was Thursday night, when we had a cultural exchange with the Rwandan students. They performed traditional Rwandan dance for us, and we sang songs and taught them line dancing. We even did “The Catch-All” skit with no preparation! It was a pretty big hit. But the best was the line dancing, with Sophie as our awesome instructor. We played some group games and just hung out until late in the evening.
Friday morning we came back to Kigali and spent the weekend writing up our reports from the research we did in Rulindo, as well as making trips to the market and to church. There have been rainstorms every afternoon, which makes the dirt roads quite slick. We went to a coffee shop for awhile, and did a few more sessions of aerobics. On Saturday afternoon we went to a soccer game of the team from Tumba College verses a Kigali Technical college team. It was really great to see a few of our friends again.
At 5:00 on Friday morning I will be leaving my life here in Kigali. I will miss waking up to the singing of the nuns and our fresh hot milk. I will miss the lizards that crawl all around our room and the cows that graze in the backyard. I will miss walking past the stadium everyday and hearing echoes of the concerts going on inside. I will miss the delicious grocery store lunches of Masaka vanilla yogurt, peanuts and chapatti. I will miss teaching English to the sewing students at PHARP. I will miss sitting right here on the Jackson’s porch, enjoying the cool evening air as I play games and check email overlooking the bright lights of Remera.
A little over a week, and then I will embark on the long flights home. I will try to write one last update in Kampala, but who knows how the internet will be there!
Grace and peace to all of you.
Monday morning the girls spent time doing laundry and washing shoes outside our rooms at the convent. Our friend monkey stopped by to grace us with his presence, and even caught a bird and ate it in front of us, in addition to the banana that we fed him. In the afternoon we departed for Rulindo, a district in the northern province of Rwanda. The mountainous beauty of this district was incredible. Our cars just kept winding up, up, up twisty dirt back roads until we came to Tumba College of Technology, nestled on the peak of the mountain. This two year old college was incredibly welcoming to us. We spent our mornings researching in rural sectors, our afternoons typing up data, and our evenings socializing among ourselves and with the students there. Wednesday evening we were able to join a group of students for worship, and they graciously translated from Kinyarwanda to English for us, so that we were able to really engage in worship. I enjoyed that immensely. That same night we were bombarded by thousands, perhaps millions, of termites that flooded the campus. I pulled my scarf tightly around my ears, making sure that the edges didn’t protrude too far around my face which would have trapped the insects and made them flap their wings against my nose and eyes. The best night by far was Thursday night, when we had a cultural exchange with the Rwandan students. They performed traditional Rwandan dance for us, and we sang songs and taught them line dancing. We even did “The Catch-All” skit with no preparation! It was a pretty big hit. But the best was the line dancing, with Sophie as our awesome instructor. We played some group games and just hung out until late in the evening.
Friday morning we came back to Kigali and spent the weekend writing up our reports from the research we did in Rulindo, as well as making trips to the market and to church. There have been rainstorms every afternoon, which makes the dirt roads quite slick. We went to a coffee shop for awhile, and did a few more sessions of aerobics. On Saturday afternoon we went to a soccer game of the team from Tumba College verses a Kigali Technical college team. It was really great to see a few of our friends again.
At 5:00 on Friday morning I will be leaving my life here in Kigali. I will miss waking up to the singing of the nuns and our fresh hot milk. I will miss the lizards that crawl all around our room and the cows that graze in the backyard. I will miss walking past the stadium everyday and hearing echoes of the concerts going on inside. I will miss the delicious grocery store lunches of Masaka vanilla yogurt, peanuts and chapatti. I will miss teaching English to the sewing students at PHARP. I will miss sitting right here on the Jackson’s porch, enjoying the cool evening air as I play games and check email overlooking the bright lights of Remera.
A little over a week, and then I will embark on the long flights home. I will try to write one last update in Kampala, but who knows how the internet will be there!
Grace and peace to all of you.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
He is Risen
There is a future for Rwanda. This past week was the 15th anniversary of the genocide. Despite the sadness, I caught glimpses of hope in various places. A brilliant sunflower nestled in the knee-high grass of a front yard, a double rainbow arching over the well-kept houses in Kigali, the smile on the face of a young woman as she proudly announces that she sewed the dress she is wearing.
I have continued to be energized by teaching English to the girls at PHARP. They have really enjoyed singing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, as well as learning different foods and market terms.
Speed scrabble has continued to monopolize the time that I am not spending on schoolwork. It is really quite an addicting game. I almost spelled “quixotic” one round, but didn’t have quite enough time!
April 7 was the day of remembrance, and there was a large gathering at Amahoro Stadium from noon to midnight. We went around 10:30 pm, and weren’t able to get in because it was full, but we heard some of the beautiful songs, and talked to a few people.
Today was an amazing day! I woke up at 4:30 to go on a SAFARI at Akagera National Park. It was a really neat experience. A lot of driving while sitting on top of a landcruiser with our hair flying in the wind. We saw hippos (and heard them snort), and got within 30 feet of a family of 4 beautiful giraffes. I never realized what majestic and gorgeous creatures they are. We also saw baboons, impala, and wart hogs. It was a gorgeous day, and I am exhausted at the moment.
I’m excited for an Easter Service at the Anglican church tomorrow, so I better go to bed so that I can wake up in time!
I have continued to be energized by teaching English to the girls at PHARP. They have really enjoyed singing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, as well as learning different foods and market terms.
Speed scrabble has continued to monopolize the time that I am not spending on schoolwork. It is really quite an addicting game. I almost spelled “quixotic” one round, but didn’t have quite enough time!
April 7 was the day of remembrance, and there was a large gathering at Amahoro Stadium from noon to midnight. We went around 10:30 pm, and weren’t able to get in because it was full, but we heard some of the beautiful songs, and talked to a few people.
Today was an amazing day! I woke up at 4:30 to go on a SAFARI at Akagera National Park. It was a really neat experience. A lot of driving while sitting on top of a landcruiser with our hair flying in the wind. We saw hippos (and heard them snort), and got within 30 feet of a family of 4 beautiful giraffes. I never realized what majestic and gorgeous creatures they are. We also saw baboons, impala, and wart hogs. It was a gorgeous day, and I am exhausted at the moment.
I’m excited for an Easter Service at the Anglican church tomorrow, so I better go to bed so that I can wake up in time!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Lake Kivu
It is incredible how quickly the weeks fly by here in Kigali. This past Monday Kristen, Suzy, and I began teaching English to a group of 20-25 young women at a sewing class. “What do you wear?” “I wear a black skirt” is repeated over and over as we try to instill basic phrases and words in these apt minds. They are so eager to learn and work very hard, despite our clumsy attempts at teaching.
Classes have continued to be thought-provoking and stretching. I am currently part of a group researching the impact that Education had on the carrying out of the Genocide. We also formed groups to prepare for our community research that we will be doing the week after this one. There is never a lack of schoolwork.
Thursday morning’s class was especially helpful to me. The guest speaker, a pastor at the Anglican church where I have been attending, spoke to our group. His faith in God, despite the atrocities that he personally witnessed and escaped from, was incredible. I have found it hard to understand why some people escaped, and others didn’t. He believes that he was saved because God has plans specifically for him. Therefore, he takes this as a personal responsibility to live rightly and be a positive influence in his community.
He even mentioned a question that I have been dealing with for a couple of years. “Why was I born into an affluent society, with a wonderful family to provide for me?” His response: I have a social responsibility to use what I have been given wisely. This is basically the conclusion that I had come to on my own, but for some reason it was just really good to hear it from his mouth.
On Friday after lunch we left for Lake Kivu. It was absolutely gorgeous. We went for a swim Friday night, and hung out talking on the dock for awhile. Saturday morning we swam again, then took a boat ride out to Napoleon’s Island (so named because it is shaped like his hat). This is also the home of hundreds of bats. We clapped loudly and they flew from their resting places in the trees. We climbed up the mountain and watched a hawk swoop at the bats in an attempt at getting his lunch. It was a gorgeous view- and we could see across the lake to the Democratic Republic of Congo. I even got to taste my very first guava, and jump from a tree into the beautifully clear water.
After a delicious lunch of African buffet, 8 of us went out on water skis. It was wonderful- and made me think of all the great memories I have of being out on the lake with my family. In the evening I played two new games- “In the manner of the adverb”, and “Speed Scrabble”. I also played a game of Settlers, which was fantastic even when a crazy thunderstorm came up and started blowing our cards around.
We went to church with Pastor Anastase (one of our professors) this morning, and were serenaded by another downpour of rain. The singing was beautiful, as always, and the service lasted less than the 3 hours that I expected. Anastase did a great job of translating the message, which was about using what is in our hands to serve God.
Our ride home was rather uneventful, except for the smelly bus. Also, I learned that “macadam” is a term known only to people from Lancaster County. Who would guess that the rest of the world has to survive only by using “asphalt” and “pavement”?
I’m preparing myself for a full week of projects and presentations. Pray for a positive attitude!
Classes have continued to be thought-provoking and stretching. I am currently part of a group researching the impact that Education had on the carrying out of the Genocide. We also formed groups to prepare for our community research that we will be doing the week after this one. There is never a lack of schoolwork.
Thursday morning’s class was especially helpful to me. The guest speaker, a pastor at the Anglican church where I have been attending, spoke to our group. His faith in God, despite the atrocities that he personally witnessed and escaped from, was incredible. I have found it hard to understand why some people escaped, and others didn’t. He believes that he was saved because God has plans specifically for him. Therefore, he takes this as a personal responsibility to live rightly and be a positive influence in his community.
He even mentioned a question that I have been dealing with for a couple of years. “Why was I born into an affluent society, with a wonderful family to provide for me?” His response: I have a social responsibility to use what I have been given wisely. This is basically the conclusion that I had come to on my own, but for some reason it was just really good to hear it from his mouth.
On Friday after lunch we left for Lake Kivu. It was absolutely gorgeous. We went for a swim Friday night, and hung out talking on the dock for awhile. Saturday morning we swam again, then took a boat ride out to Napoleon’s Island (so named because it is shaped like his hat). This is also the home of hundreds of bats. We clapped loudly and they flew from their resting places in the trees. We climbed up the mountain and watched a hawk swoop at the bats in an attempt at getting his lunch. It was a gorgeous view- and we could see across the lake to the Democratic Republic of Congo. I even got to taste my very first guava, and jump from a tree into the beautifully clear water.
After a delicious lunch of African buffet, 8 of us went out on water skis. It was wonderful- and made me think of all the great memories I have of being out on the lake with my family. In the evening I played two new games- “In the manner of the adverb”, and “Speed Scrabble”. I also played a game of Settlers, which was fantastic even when a crazy thunderstorm came up and started blowing our cards around.
We went to church with Pastor Anastase (one of our professors) this morning, and were serenaded by another downpour of rain. The singing was beautiful, as always, and the service lasted less than the 3 hours that I expected. Anastase did a great job of translating the message, which was about using what is in our hands to serve God.
Our ride home was rather uneventful, except for the smelly bus. Also, I learned that “macadam” is a term known only to people from Lancaster County. Who would guess that the rest of the world has to survive only by using “asphalt” and “pavement”?
I’m preparing myself for a full week of projects and presentations. Pray for a positive attitude!
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