It's funny how many times in Peace Corps you say, "...and I've never felt like that before!" Sometimes it's a great triumph where you've helped with something and seen an almost magical change or transformation, sometimes it's amoebas or dysentary.
Either way, it's always a new and exciting experience.
The other thing that's funny is all the experiences you have that are similar or the same as ones you've already had but the context is so different that it feels like something all new. Like a shower... I'm sure you've taken many a shower, or rather, I hope you've taken many a shower. But after you come in from a month of nothing but bucket baths (or sometimes, when we have no water, a baby wipe bath) a shower is the most wonderful thing you've ever experienced. You disentangle yourself from the web of people that you've somehow wedged into a small van that masquerades as public transportation and walk through the massive crowds. You inevitably muscle away from a few moto drivers yelling at you and the taxi driver invasions that accompany your exit and make your way onto the dirty street. You climb onto yet another bus and sit and sweat as you wait for it to fill up. You finally disentangle yourself (and your bag) a second time and start the walk down to the magical land of other Americans and lazy TV time and SHOWERS! You strip the clothes that you've probably worn 3 or 4 times so as not to have to carry as much, or wash as much. And then there's running water, AND you can adjust the temperature with the turn of a handle! No boiling, no mixing with cold water until you hope there's enough to bathe with and also at the appropriate temperature. It's a beautiful thing and a wonderous feeling! And then you're clean! What an amazing invention!!
Today it's raining like crazy. I love it, it means a quiet day and awesome nap time. It's also a natural shower, but I'll wait for the delightfully warm unnatural variety.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
the market...and friendly faces
For various reasons, it's my first full weekend at site in a bit and I'm quite excited for the slow pace. Somehow, this first trimester has already come and gone. We're already 1/4 of the way through this new year. As always, time is marching forward at a frightful pace. Unfortunately, for my current situation it still feels like it's stagnate. I'm still in the waiting and holding pattern I've been in for the past month, with no real idea when it will end. I suppose if I don't hear from Trinity in the next few weeks before the next trimester starts, I'll have to make my decision on imperfect information. At least now I'm okay with doing that.
On a brighter note, I love being at site through a weekend because it means I get to go to the market. It's funny because I have to prep myself and brace myself to go. I know there's gonna be double to triple the number of people running around town. They just come in for market day and they don't know me. They stare and call me muzungu. So I put up my guard for that. I've just embraced it as a part of my life. I don't like that I have to put up that guard, but it's makes the most sense. Otherwise, the laughing and pointing and staring does get to me. BUT the odd contrast is how much I love the other interactions I have at the market. I have my tomato lady and my pineapple lady and my Fanta dude. I have my Mama's in their shops for my other things. There's the one that I work with in the co-op who always throws in a couple of extra pieces of fruit even when I just come in to greet. These people don't know me per se, and you'll have to forgive me for not knowing their names, I feel like I'm at that awkward stage where it's too late to ask and everyone just calls everyone 'Mama' anyway. BUT they look at me with a face of recognition. They ask how my day is and always compliment me on my kinyarwanda. That look of recognition is huge when everyone is looking at you but doesn't know you. Back in the states, most of the time you don't look people you don't know in the eye and you try not to stare. That's not the case here, so when you get so many eyes looking at you, it's nice to see a friendly pair. It's nice to see a set that crinkles with a smile. They're not just looking at you, they're happy to see you.
On a brighter note, I love being at site through a weekend because it means I get to go to the market. It's funny because I have to prep myself and brace myself to go. I know there's gonna be double to triple the number of people running around town. They just come in for market day and they don't know me. They stare and call me muzungu. So I put up my guard for that. I've just embraced it as a part of my life. I don't like that I have to put up that guard, but it's makes the most sense. Otherwise, the laughing and pointing and staring does get to me. BUT the odd contrast is how much I love the other interactions I have at the market. I have my tomato lady and my pineapple lady and my Fanta dude. I have my Mama's in their shops for my other things. There's the one that I work with in the co-op who always throws in a couple of extra pieces of fruit even when I just come in to greet. These people don't know me per se, and you'll have to forgive me for not knowing their names, I feel like I'm at that awkward stage where it's too late to ask and everyone just calls everyone 'Mama' anyway. BUT they look at me with a face of recognition. They ask how my day is and always compliment me on my kinyarwanda. That look of recognition is huge when everyone is looking at you but doesn't know you. Back in the states, most of the time you don't look people you don't know in the eye and you try not to stare. That's not the case here, so when you get so many eyes looking at you, it's nice to see a friendly pair. It's nice to see a set that crinkles with a smile. They're not just looking at you, they're happy to see you.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Smiling...
This week has been a bit crazy with telling my old site I'm gonna leave and whatnot, but it's also been very gratifying and a great release. It's been nice to just get everything out there and let it all go. To take the weight off of my shoulders and say, "Hey, I appreciate all you've done for me and I care for you a lot, but it's just not working out." But don't worry, I told my old site, "I still wanna be friends!"
Then later this week, I responded to a call for volunteers to work with Operation Smile. For those who aren't int'l. dev. geeks, it's an organization operating in countries around the world to provide free surgeries for people (primarily children) with cleft lips and cleft palates. While many people may consider the surgery more cosmetic is amazing to see in a place like Rwanda how much the people afflicted with these sorts of maladies can be ostracized. There can also be various health problems associated with this affliction: breast feeding problems for infants, malnutrition for all, infectsion, etc. There are even women that have been left by their husbands and blamed for their child being born with a cleft lip or palate. The thing is, they don't even really know WHY the condition exists. In some areas it's more based on environmental factors. In certain regions in India, where they also send missions, tobacco use results in much higher rates, but in S. America, they've found it to be highly correlated with genetics than environmental factors. It's all very curious. BUT what is sure is the social effects of conditions like this are upsetting and easily remedied when people get the chance. The surgery for a cleft lip takes on average only about 45 minutes! 45 minutes could literally mean a different life for some children. Some children (though not many, luckily) are abandoned as a result. In short, I think that Operation Smile is doing great work... BUT there are some really huge realizations I've had from this experience.
One of them is not entirely new. My last post was a re-post on one of my friends reflections on the life of PCV and the life of the average Expat Aid Worker (EAW). While most was said in jest, this experience has reinforced a lot of the ideas that we joke about constantly. While volunteering with Op Smile, we had a lot of issues in our dealings with the other muzungus. Many things were just ignorance of the culture here. Things like dress code (there were KNEES and SHOULDERS everywhere!!) and eating/drinking in public were blatantly ignored even after we brought it up. Then there were so many logistical issues linked to working in Rwanda, that they didn't even begin to consider. It was very reassuring though because Peace Corps has proven to be a great start for a career in development because we did think about all those things, ways to avert problems and how to be sensitive to these people in Rwanda. We also saw how much it meant to these people to see us speaking in kinyarwanda and thinking about their needs. Granted, we've had the time to learn the language and the culture, but I do wish a BIT more effort had been made. They also have a lot of others concerns and demands on their time, but at least recognize that and put people in the planning process (like PCVs) to avert those problems. I STILL think they're a great organization that does great work but I think they could benefit from us PCVs a lot. I also think I'll totally be able to get a job after all this... so i got THAT going for me!
Then later this week, I responded to a call for volunteers to work with Operation Smile. For those who aren't int'l. dev. geeks, it's an organization operating in countries around the world to provide free surgeries for people (primarily children) with cleft lips and cleft palates. While many people may consider the surgery more cosmetic is amazing to see in a place like Rwanda how much the people afflicted with these sorts of maladies can be ostracized. There can also be various health problems associated with this affliction: breast feeding problems for infants, malnutrition for all, infectsion, etc. There are even women that have been left by their husbands and blamed for their child being born with a cleft lip or palate. The thing is, they don't even really know WHY the condition exists. In some areas it's more based on environmental factors. In certain regions in India, where they also send missions, tobacco use results in much higher rates, but in S. America, they've found it to be highly correlated with genetics than environmental factors. It's all very curious. BUT what is sure is the social effects of conditions like this are upsetting and easily remedied when people get the chance. The surgery for a cleft lip takes on average only about 45 minutes! 45 minutes could literally mean a different life for some children. Some children (though not many, luckily) are abandoned as a result. In short, I think that Operation Smile is doing great work... BUT there are some really huge realizations I've had from this experience.
One of them is not entirely new. My last post was a re-post on one of my friends reflections on the life of PCV and the life of the average Expat Aid Worker (EAW). While most was said in jest, this experience has reinforced a lot of the ideas that we joke about constantly. While volunteering with Op Smile, we had a lot of issues in our dealings with the other muzungus. Many things were just ignorance of the culture here. Things like dress code (there were KNEES and SHOULDERS everywhere!!) and eating/drinking in public were blatantly ignored even after we brought it up. Then there were so many logistical issues linked to working in Rwanda, that they didn't even begin to consider. It was very reassuring though because Peace Corps has proven to be a great start for a career in development because we did think about all those things, ways to avert problems and how to be sensitive to these people in Rwanda. We also saw how much it meant to these people to see us speaking in kinyarwanda and thinking about their needs. Granted, we've had the time to learn the language and the culture, but I do wish a BIT more effort had been made. They also have a lot of others concerns and demands on their time, but at least recognize that and put people in the planning process (like PCVs) to avert those problems. I STILL think they're a great organization that does great work but I think they could benefit from us PCVs a lot. I also think I'll totally be able to get a job after all this... so i got THAT going for me!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
a beautiful thing
So, I'd like to shamelessly plug my fellow PCVs blog, and this post in particular, as it's terribly funny! It's also another view on our lives.
Stuff Peace Corps Workers Like
Stuff Peace Corps Workers Like
Monday, March 5, 2012
A whole new world...
So I went from one corner of Rwanda to the other this past weekend, quite literally over the river and through the woods. (Nyungwe Forest Nat'l. Park to be exact) From the far Northeast to the absolute Southwest. It was such a beautiful and refreshing change of pace...complete with view of Lake Kivu and the Congo. I don't know if it's the forbidden-ness of it all or all the potential for good work to do there, but the Congo is like Neverland. (possibly complete with a disappearance). But in all seriousness, I liked the possibility and promise of it all. Long story short, there is a possibility on the table now of moving sites to this land of green and hills. There is truly a lot of potential at this new site. The volunteer that has been there is truly amazing. She has laid a lot of amazing groundwork and built a lot of relationships in her two years here. It'd be difficult to fill her shoes, but I also think she has created a lot of opportunities for me to come in and do great things. I have to figure out though now if I'm ready to start all over. New community, new living situation, new work. After all this time, am I ready to jump in a health center? What could I do for them there? Would it be enough to fulfill me? Would it fill all the holes I've felt in the past 8 months?
Also for the moment, grad school is still an option. There are many options. I still have to get in but if I do, things will be trickier. I just have to figure out which option will do the most for me in the year. It's only one year but it's seeming like one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I'm off now to brainstorm on how to navigate the meeting I'm having with my Peace Corps program manager to discuss this all.
Also for the moment, grad school is still an option. There are many options. I still have to get in but if I do, things will be trickier. I just have to figure out which option will do the most for me in the year. It's only one year but it's seeming like one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I'm off now to brainstorm on how to navigate the meeting I'm having with my Peace Corps program manager to discuss this all.
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