Settling Into Site and Christmas

Well, it’s been two weeks at site and I think things are progressing well. I’ve already found an umodozi (tailor) and got a new shirt made. I can make it to the market and back without getting lost, and I found a good bakery and a boutique that sells big bottles of Coca-Cola. I’ve also met with my headmaster a few times and I am looking forward to the school year.

And, of course, I’ve had the pleasure of cat-sitting Lucy. She is quite the snuggler.

Also, those two weeks included Christmas. I honestly don’t remember Christmas Eve or Christmas that well, as I was hit with a bad bout of diarrhea and stomach cramps. I spent most of the holidays in bed, but I did travel on the 23^rd to see other PCVs in my region. We had a good meal and marveled at the beautiful Lake Kivu.

And so 2017 is coming to a close. I hope everyone has a wonderful 2018!

My living room

My kitchen

My bedroom, with an appearance by Lucy

My yard/laundry area

My bathroom

Chillin with the homies on the 23rd

View of Lake Kivu

More Lake Kivu

More chillin with the homies

Swear In

It’s official! I am a Peace Corps Volunteer! We swore in on Tuesday, December 12^th and moved to site on Wednesday! This will mainly be pictures from swear-in, as my site is still a bit of a mess. I still have some organizing and cleaning to do!

If you want my new address (aka if you want to send me snacks) just ask!
 

Nigel giving a speech in English.

Lia giving a speech in Kinyarwanda.

Sydney giving a speech in English.

Tarsheen giving a speech in French.

Kai giving a speech in French.

Alexi giving a speech in Kinyarwanda.

Before swear-in!

We're Volunteers now!

The milkshake I had after swear-in.

End of Training

Well, that’s it! In the past week, I and the other trainees have finished model school, passed our language exams, and said thank you to our host families, teachers, and the amazing staff that have seen us through Pre-Service Training. And now the time has come. On Tuesday, December 12^th, we will swear-in as Peace Corps Volunteers, and on the 13^th, we will move to our new homes. Here’s to the next two years!

Jess and I with our Kinyarwanda teacher, Gerardine! We passed!

Blaine and I reppin' the SEC!

College t-shirt day!

Me with my host Papa!

Joelle and I choreographed our amazing American dance to Thriller!

Last day of Model School!

Jess and I with our Rwandan co-teacher Hawa!

Model School, Week 2

It has been another super busy week! We had another great week of Model School, followed by a belated Peace Corps Thanksgiving on Saturday (yesterday). In between all of that, we’ve had dance practice. We will be performing a Rwandan dance at our host family farewell party and our swearing in, and we’ve finally decided on “Thriller” by Michael Jackson for our American dance. And I’m helping to choreograph. Now, I’m no dancer, but it’s been really fun coming up with the dance!

Only one more week of training left, then it’s off to Kigali and site installation!

My Superlatives!

Our Thanksgiving Dinner

Model School, Week 1

What a week it has been! So many things to do, so little time!

This week marked week 1 of model school. That means the all of us Peace Corps Trainees got to teach in Rwandan schools for the week. Now, school is currently out here, so all of our students are volunteers who wanted to come in and learn more. Think of that, students who are actually excited to learn, even on break! Plus, all the students who attend receive a notebook and pen, which is a big draw when school supplies are scarce.

My partner and I were paired with a local Rwandan primary teacher, and it was incredible to be back in the classroom! Even with between 80 and 95 students on any given day, they were still some of the best behaved students I’ve ever had. I taught about hygiene and health, concentrating on food groups and healthy eating for the first week. Do as I say students, not as I do.

Now, as any teacher knows, kids carry a lot of germs. And sometimes you get sick. For me it’s usually just a cold, but the germs combined with the stress of PST and, you know, adapting to a new country, climate, culture, and cuisine meant I had an interesting latter half of the week. I had a super upset stomach on Wednesday (I made it outside, but it was bad), taught until 10 AM on Thursday then went back to my house and slept, and finally made it back to almost normal on Friday. There was lots of Pepto-Bismal involved.

But now it’s Saturday, which means it’s my birthday! And my lovely cohort got me a cake which I shared with Kai, another trainee whose birthday is the 26^th!

I looking forward to model school next week and can’t wait to get to site! Two weeks and counting!

My birthday cake! Well, the cake I shared with Kai.

Family gathering on Sunday! Still not sure what it was for.

Back to teaching!

Our students!

Modeling hand-washing!

The Countdown Begins

We have three full weeks of training left. Next week and the week after we have model school (so excited!), then there’s one week of wrap up before we head to Kigali to swear in! Our time in Rwamagana has been fast and slow at the same time. Days dragged on (especially all day language class!), but the weeks flew by. I feel like I finally have a routine here, but I am also super ready to swear in and head to site. I will definitely miss the other trainees, but I think it’s time for us to leave the nest.

In addition, over the past few weeks, I have been buying things for site and, thankfully, my list is starting to dwindle. There are few things I will definitely have to get in Kigali, but I’m hoping I will have enough move-in allowance money to spring for a toaster oven (just think of the possibilities!). And there have been a few comments about starting really early, but I must remind people that I spent about 3 months packing for college, 2 months packing for Peace Corps, and 1 month packing for a six week Europe trip. I like to be prepared.

Also, I already through this out there to the Arlington Middle School community, but are there any teachers out there who want to set up a pen pal thing with my students and their students! Just let me know!

Happy early Thanksgiving and here are some pictures!

New clothes!

Tour de Rwanda Action

My haul for site so far.

Return to Kigali

Yesterday (Saturday), I was able to return to Kigali for a very different reason than last week. This time, the other trainees and I were able to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which acts as as a memorial, a place of information concerning the 1994 Genocide Against Tutsis, and a mass grave for 250,000 individuals. It was an overwhelming visit. In addition to information about the 1994 genocide, the Memorial also featured an exhibit on other genocides, such as the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, etc. The most moving exhibit featured profiles of child victims, some as young as 9 months. Overall, these exhibits reminded me just how much we as people have yet to learn from our mistakes, and we desperately need to. After the Holocaust, there was a theme of never forget and never again. Well, it happened again, several times. And though some may feel “removed” from these events (it happened so far away, well, I can’t do anything about it, it’s not my problem, etc.), I think we do all have a responsibility to make “never again” a reality more than an idea. Be nice to people. Embrace diversity. Listen to new ideas and new perspectives. Talk to someone different than you. Treat others they way you would like to be treated. Do something and say something. We live in an increasingly global society, and we have to work together and support each other in order to make the world a better place for those who come after. We have to open our hearts and minds to make sure never again stays never again.

Okay, sad and serious part done. It was an important and emotional experience, and I just wanted to share my thoughts.

But in other, happier news, we got to visit Kigali City Center after our visit! That means we got to scope out things we may buy for our homes at site and check out prices. I found ice cream too, and it was a nice treat.

However, Kigali doesn’t have everything, and if anyone wants to send me a combo birthday/Christmas present, I would be more than open to the following:

            Fitted twin sheets (fitted sheets aren’t a thing here)

            Decorative pillows or seat cushions

            Wash clothes, cleaning rags, and towels

            A blanket or two

            Hand sanitizer

            School supplies of any sort

            Various non-perishable foods (cliff bars, spaghetti o’s, boxed pasta, etc)

            Spices and sauces

My mailing address at site will be:

            Brooke Terry

            BP 15

            Kibuye, Rwanda

And, last but not least, a few pictures:

View of Kigali from the Memorial

Some of those hills

More of those hills

Ice cream!

Mini Med Break

So, I thought I had an ear infection. My ears hurt, they felt like they were full of water, and I couldn’t hear well. I called the Peace Corps Medical Officer and he told me to come to Kigali to look. I left training Tuesday around 2 PM and got to the medical office around 4 PM, where I waited for 30 minutes. Turns out, I didn’t have an ear infection, just a lot of buildup and was given some ear drops. BUT because it was getting late and the doctor wanted to check again on Wednesday, I got to stay overnight in Kigali! It was amazing. I had a hot shower, I ordered some pizza, and I watched a ton of America’s Next Top Model. Then, because no one could take me back to training until noon on Wednesday, I was able to order more food (chicken strips, fries, and honey mustard this time) and talk to some of the lovely volunteers who are about to finish their service. It was worth the ear pain.

In other news, we had a small Halloween get together and heard from the amazing US Ambassador to Rwanda!

Us with the Ambassador

Our Halloween Party

Post ear drops

My Kigali dinner

Site Visit

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit my future wait and I officially cannot wait until December when I return. My site is located in the sector of Mubuga, in the district of Karongi, in the Western Province. My closest town is Kibuye, located on the shores of the beautiful Lake Kivu. I will be teaching at GS Mubuga in the primary school. Right now, the plan is to teach a combination of English, math, and ICT, while doing teacher trainings, running English Clubs, and working on some longer term projects such as organizing the computer lab and hand washing stations. 

As far as my living situation goes, I live in my own separate house in a convent with eight nuns, who are the bomb. And I must say, I have a pretty nice set up. I have three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen area, multiple sinks and mirrors, and, best of all, a flush toilet and (cold) shower! Plus, I have a little yard with a big water tank, and the nuns have a fridge and an oven in their kitchen. And speaking of the nuns, they’re the best. They are super nice, and they said I could always join them for meals. They even made me pizza!

Now, it’s back to the grind of training, but I’m really excited to get to site!

And for future reference, here is my new address at site:

            Brooke Terry

            Peace Corps Volunteer

            B.P. 25

            Kibuye, Rwanda

I won’t be there until December 15^th, but it does take at least a month for packages and letters to arrive. Here is the current wish list: hand sanitizer, baby wipes, Clorox wipes, peanut butter, honey, sauces (Chick-fil-a sauce, honey mustard, bar-b-que sauce, etc.), pasta mixes that don’t require milk (or just packs of Velveeta cheese for macaroni), cans of Spaghetti O’s or soups, and various snacks (pretzels, chips, cliff bars, Combos, etc.)

And now, pictures!

The school cows

My living room

Umuganda

Umuganda

My shower!

My toilet!

My kitchen

My bedroom