Mwiriwe (greetings) from Butare! The title above means "Peace Corps volunteer," though I suppose I am only technically an "umustaygeri."
I safely arrived in Rwanda last Thursday and spent several days in Kigali (the capital of Rwanda) going through introductions and getting injected with shot after shot. Kigali appeared almost as a Western city transplanted into the heart of Africa, complete with (almost) everything you could ever want- from coffee shops to malls. No, no Starbucks and (amazingly enough) no McDonald's- thank goodness!
After several days in Kigali, we made the journey by bus to Butare, the second largest city in Rwanda. The infrastruture in Rwanda is phenomenol- erase any thoughts of the typical unpaved roads you envision when you think of Africa. However, Rwanda's name of "land of a thousand hills" really couldn't be any more accurate- you either seem to be going up a hill or back down it. Thus the roads too go up and down and wind around and back again. I went for my first run yesterday and I was exhausted after only 18 minutes, between the altitude and all the hills. So much for my endurance, although if I keep this up I could rock Boston by the time I get back!
Typically, Peace Corps volunteers stay with a host family during training, which is their first 10-12 weeks of service where they learn a language, the culture, and go through technical training. Because we are the first Peace Corps group back in Rwanda since 1994, however, we are staying in a convent and just visiting our "resource families" every week. We have been so pampered by the nuns- they feed us all our meals and even do our laundry. It is great, though, because we are all exhausted from all the Kinyarwanda lessons. Should be an interesting transition to living on our own, especially since I requested a rural site!
I hope to have a phone soon once the network straightens out- Rwanda just added a number to all their telephone numbers, so many of the phones people bought aren't working. In the meantime, please please please email me (or keep emailing me if you have already.) It really makes a world of difference to open my inbox and see all your emails.
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Very fitting that you are living with nuns. Sounds just like you!!! :)
ReplyDeleteHey Emily,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you arrived safely! Aubrey wants to know if you got her letters and when you get a cell phone she wants to call you ASAP. Also she told me that you changed your hair color back to your "natural color" I need a picture. I am sooo tried I had dance practice for 8 hours today. I know it is not the same as running for 18min in the Rwandan mountains but still my buttie is beat! I hope you continue to have an awesome time. Ask the nuns some questions for me (ie--1st timothy might be a good conversation point)! Hope all is well stay safe!
Coco