First Day in Kigali

Friday, May 14, 2010

Today was my first day in Rwanda. For those of you who do not know I am staying with a host family here in Rwanda. Leah, my teacher from last years Rwanda Service Learning trip, helped place me with a family we had met last year and let me be the first to say- they are WONDERFUL. My new host parents picked me up last night from the airport, they even had a handmade sigh that read, “Elizabeth Dorr” as they waited anxiously in a crowd of what looked like half of the country of Rwanda behind a belt just outside of baggage claim. They were very welcoming and happy I was finally here. As we drove home the three of us talked, my host mother doesn’t speak much English so she made that clear in the car, she said she was anxious to learn from me and would be a whiz in two months. As we arrived at the house, I realized how close I would be living to the hotel we stayed at last summer, literally, right across the street. I found great comfort in knowing that I was back in the same neighborhood I had spent my time in last summer. Their house is gated (as are all the others along the block) so when we pulled up Jotham, my host dad, honked his horn until one of their two house keepers came to open the gate.

[I am typing this early Saturday morning, I haven’t been able to sleep very well so I decided to write for my blog, anyway…my “mom” just woke up and she and one of the house keepers are talking outside my window in Kinyarwanda…She’s probably requesting her bath water or asking him to prepare breakfast…it’s always a game for me to guess these kinds of things]

Anyway- after we arrived last night I came into the house (it was around 8 PM once we finally arrived home) they brought me to my room and I set my stuff down. Then I saw their two daughters peeking through the hall, when I walked out of my room they both jumped back in hiding as if they were nervous or scared of me. My host parents called them out and they introduced them to me. The older daughter, Paulaa (which sounds like "Porra" with their thick Rwandan accents), is seventeen and the younger daughter, Siserra, is ten. They’re both shy, sweet girls. Paula then gave me the grand tour of the house. They have four bedrooms, I am using Paula’s so her and her sister are sharing one for the time I’m here. Then mom and dad’s room, and my host brother, Bruce, has his own room too. They have one other son, but he is away in the dormitories. They have three bathrooms, a family room/sitting area with the TV connected to the dining room, and then a kitchen. Then they have their back yard, and then beyond that is another kitchen type area- this is where they prepare the food. Outside was Bruce, so we met then and introduced ourselves (Bruce is 20) Afterwards I sat down with Jotham in the family room for a bit, we watched TV, it was news coverage on the presidential elections that are to take place in Rwanda soon. The show was in Kinyarwanda but Jotham translated much of it for me in little stories. Then, about twenty minutes later, dinner was served. We had pumpkin (a first for me, MUCH like squash- which mom and dad, I actually enjoyed!) we also had french fries, rice, beans and fish. It was a huge dinner and then afterwards they brought out fruit for us to enjoy. I drank hot milk with my meal, another first. After dinner was finished It was around 9:30-10 PM so I went to my room, unpacked my things, and laid in bed.

Last night as I lay in bed, tired from jet lag and exhausted beyond belief I tossed and turned and wondered to myself, what have I done? I had a hard time coming to terms with being away from my mom and dad for seven (mom)/ eight (dad) weeks. As I lie there I told myself, you’re away from them all the time, you live 30 miles away from home, this will be easy. However, there is something to be said for being in foreign country…all alone. Last year’s trip we were two trucks full of mazungu (white person in the local language here, Kinyarwanda) celebrities, but this year, I’m just a target. I calmed my nerves by texting mom and dad…it’s so nice to know they’re just a phone call away. (still halfway across the world, but a phone call away) They were both extremely comforting, and in that moment- lying in my bed finding comfort in mom and dad…I remembered why I’m here. I’m here to love people the way my parents have raised me to…I looked at how much love, support, encouragement and comfort I find in my parents and I quickly remembered I came here to show that same love, support, encouragement and comfort to others. Needless to say, a few tears shed, but I made it through the night. I woke up this morning, or sat up in bed to my alarm, as I did not fall asleep the entire night, the sun was up and it was shining into my bedroom. I told myself I could not drag my insecurities about my journey out of bed with me and that I was going to start the day off with a new attitude. I opened my door and my host mom was near, she went to get my bath water from the housekeepers and Into the bathroom I went. There is a lack of running water here so we put a large bowl of hot water in the bath rub with us and use it to clean, another first for me. After I washed up we all met in the kitchen. Jotham and I were the first to sit down for breakfast. Then slowly Siserra came, and mom came out too but ate in a hurry standing up. We had, I’m not exactly sure what we had but this was my guess, hot milk with flour and sugar? It was a thick milky sweet substance and very tasty. We also had rolls with our breakfast. Oh! And some fruit that I tried for the first time and had to fight down and hide my gagging. I’m not sure what it was, but the texture and the taste were just not for me!

After breakfast we all ran to brush our teeth and packed in the car. Bruce did his own thing, I think he walks to school or rides with friends, so It was just me, the girls and mom and dad. As we pulled out of the gate I was GLEAMING! Here it was, FINALLY, in the daylight. RWANDA! When I got in last night it was pitch black so all I could see were the stars and the many lights up on the hills. But here it was, staring me in the fact this morning, RWANDA! Oh, this country, I could go on and on and on about it’s beauty but you don’t have the time for that and I’d never be able to stop. It’s safe to say that pictures don’t even do this country justice. It’s just BREATH TAKING! As we drove down the roads I quickly remembered how much I take paved roads for granted. We bumped and jolted thee entire way to school. Driving by Chez Lando, the hotel we stayed at last year, and GISIMBA (the orphanage we volunteered at last year) along the way. I saw one of my babies getting on the back of a motor taxi to go to school and I couldn’t help but smile.

School is about a 15-20 minute car ride from home. We drove along and I couldn’t take my eyes off of the window.

We arrived at ESCAF, where my dad and mom work and where Siserra goes to school, Mom and Siserra got out and Jotham and I left to take Paula to school. I tried to get a quick glimpse of the children standing outside to see if I could see Deborah anywhere, no such luck.

We dropped Paula off at school and also picked up and dropped off some man that Jotham knew along the way. Then we headed back to ESCAF, the school where I will be completing my internship. Once we arrived the children were just walking to class, so Jotham gave me a quick tour of the grounds. He showed me the classrooms, (the school is an elementary school as we call it, a primary school as they call it, hosting grades P1-P6, the P stands for Primary) then he showed me the offices (where I met the secretaries, and the accountant! However, I already knew the accountant, she is my host mom!) And the restrooms. ESCAF is a Private primary school so the parents pay for everything; nothing is paid for by the government. Along those same lines, however, you must also know that to go to this PRIVATE primary school it is only (and I say only as a very, very fortunate- take things for granted, American) $60 to send a child to ESCAF for a semester, with an additional cost for new students - $10 for registration fees, $10 for uniform and $5 for Insurance (whatever that all entails, I’m not sure) Needless to say, If I limited eating out and getting coffee and unnecessary items, I could EASILY sponsor a child to attend ESCAF. Wow, I don’t even think a WEEK of DAYCARE in America costs $60. After the tour Jotham and I sat in the headmasters office and waited for him to arrive. I got to mess around on the computer for a bit while we waited and sent my parents a quick e-mail and by then the headmaster had finally arrived. Jotham introduced us and then he headed off to his office. The headmaster and I discussed my internship schedule and plans and discussed activities for my seven weeks at ESCAF. Then we went outside because we heard lots of children’s voices, It was RECESS! I used this time to my advantage looking around desperately for Deborah, I could not find her anywhere. I met two of the teachers and they were both VERY nice and friendly. One looked exactly like an African version of a friend back home! He was interested to know what I thought about Rwanda, the weather and the school. We talked briefly and then recess was over, he told me to wait and that he wanted to bring his class out to meet me. So I waited at the top of the hill with the head master and soon the whole school was running towards me. Every class came out to greet me, it was wonderful. The children laughed, smiled and waved while they hid behind their friends. I heard lots of screams of a MAZUNGU and yet I was still on the search for Deborah and then…AhA! I found Deborah’s older sister, Paskeline, when we made eye contact she looked as if she had seen a ghost. I could hear her gasp from about 20 feet away and she smiled and I gave her a big smile and wave, she looked around then and appeared frozen like she didn’t even know what to! It was neat to see a familiar face! I wanted to go run and hug her but the head master was trying to quit the group down. He made them line up and then the head master introduced me to the students and then they sang me greeting songs, traditional Rwandans songs (in Kinyarwanda) with traditional Rwandan dances. It was AMAZING. As I was scanning the group I saw my sister, Siserra, who I waved and smiled at and she did the same, she is such a sweetheart. After the songs I wanted to go to Paskeline, but again, the headmaster gave specific orders to go straight to class and we would meet me again Monday morning, he pulled me away and I knew I’d have to find Paskeline later to give her my hug. The headmaster and I met again in his office and planned more for my internship, and then I went into some of the classrooms to see their OLAC program. OLAC stands for One Laptop a Child, it’s a program they’ve just started in ESCAF implemented by a group of Americans. The Americans were still there helping the students learn the computers and today the students were giving presentations on their laptops. I got to go in and watch the presentations. It was wonderful to see these little children utilizing technology, and so well. What I REALLY want to talk about though, is what kinds of presentations I saw. I saw seven and eight year olds presenting about the importance of the environment and natural resources, I saw children presenting issues about the back effects of smoking, and most importantly, I saw LITTLE children presenting issues of HIV and AIDS. One little girl from P3- third grade, presented a story she illustrated on her laptop, it was about a boy and a girl. The boy was infected with AIDS but did not want to tell the girl because he wanted her to do bad things with him. He told her to come over one night and so she did, his parents were not home and he was trying to get her to do bad things with him. She did not want to do these bad things and had also remembered everything her parents had taught her about AIDS and HIV so she said, “NO!” (she shouted) and the girl went home and stayed alive. (gave me the chills when she said the finishing sentence, so simple, like she just went home and stayed alive...wow) The way she presented this story with such innocence made my eyes tear up in class. I felt sad that she even knew about boys and girls doing “bad things” I felt sad that she knew about HIV/AIDS so young and I felt sad that all of her peers were laughing at her story. But my feelings of sadness only lasted until I realized this was Africa, their biggest problem in regards to AIDS awareness and prevention is education!! And here is a little third grader who is already beyond educated about the issue, for her age, and is educating her peers, who knows how many lives she might save just by this third grade presentation on her donated lap top…but I do know she’s forever effected mine. After her presentation her teacher gave her huge praise, he praised her topic, praised her presentation and she was beyond impressed with herself. What an angel!

It’s eye opening how much your surroundings impact your growth. I didn’t know of HIV/AIDS until I was well into Junior High… but then again, I didn’t HAVE to know about it in order to survive. The only difference between me and that little third grade girl, I’m from America, this little girl... she is from Africa.