Bring on the rainforest!

Hello again everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful day. Oh and this is Papa Ring speaking by the way. So another week has passed by (so very fast) and things are still going great. It is hard to believe we have already been here for over a month.

Big news this week…we got our site placement. So, we now know where we will be living for the next two years. Sarah and I are really excited about our placement. I don’t think I am supposed to say exactly where we will be living but it is supposed to be pretty much in Nyungwe Forest National Park which is a beautiful rain forest. So I thought I would throw a few interesting facts in about the forest.

“Nyungwe National Forest is one of the most ancient forests in East and Central Africa and dates back to before the Ice Age. With a pre-historic atmosphere it is incredibly rich in bio-diversity. The forest supports over 250 different types of trees and shrubs and a vast range of flowering plants, amongst which are over 100 species of orchid and giant lobelia. Nyungwe also harbours 13 species of primates, these include chimpanzees and the handsome L’Hoest’s monkey with his flowering skirt and other species of monkeys. Several large mammals inhabit the forest including leopards, golden cats and bush pigs amongst others.” There are many more interesting facts about this magical forest. You can Google it if you want to know more.

Anyway, our future home is also only 5 or so miles from lake Kivu and we are situated pretty high in mountains where the temperature should be just perfect and the nights should be nice and cool.

We still do not know a whole bunch about the organization we are working with but I believe we will be doing various health education projects and community activities along with many other activities. We will be visiting our future home and community in a few days and we will see what our living conditions will be like and will also meet our counterparts, future co-workers and other community leaders. We are very excited! Stay tuned for new updates in a week or so.

I also realized I haven’t mentioned anything about our training staff and Peace Corps country leaders yet. I just want everyone back home to know that they are all amazing. We couldn’t have asked for a better staff. Our language instructors are more than patient with us as we struggle to learn this crazy difficult language. They shower us with Fantas often so don’t worry; I am getting a coke every now and then. They are fun to hang out with and make sure that we are always safe. Overall, they are altogether wonderful.

I would also like to give a few shout-outs to friends and family back home. To mom and dad (both sets)…We love you guys and as you already know we are being taken care of. To Phil, you need to start planning a visit sometime in the future. Just know you will have to overcome your biggest phobia…you can do it. Dustin, there had better be an extremely impressive man trip planned for when we get back home (you got two years). To Seth and Landon, I feel confident that my 68 will hold up for the next two years so I am not too worried about that. To Mark, I will do my best to implement an extreme flag football league here…might be a little tough though as I do not yet speak the language and Rwandans only know football as soccer. Mamaw and Papaw, just know we are safe and sound. Sarah and I feel just as safe if not safer here than at home. To the rest of my friends and family, we miss you all and hope life is treating you well. We will talk to you soon!

The Rings