I wish I could carry stuff on my head.

Mwiriwe. Amakuru? Nimeza! Hello. How are you? I’m good! Sarah here…Rwanda. Wow. That’s about all there is too say. Wow. I really can’t even start to describe this place. There aren’t words….so if I don’t make sentences, please forgive me. I just have so much inside my head right now. Life is so completely different here. The stars are the brightest things I’ve seen in my life! At night, you can see the Milky Way so brightly that I almost feel like I’m closer to space here. It’s insane!

As Jarod mentioned…I am automatically famous the moment I walk outside of my house simply because I’m an umuzungu (a white person). My favorite moments have been so simple. This little boy, probably 3 or 4 walked with me the entire way from our training compound to my house. It’s about 15 minutes. It was the 2nd day we were here so I didn’t know anything but hello and how are you. He just held my hand and walked with me smiling the whole way. It’s not uncommon to see 2-5 years olds just walking around by themselves playing. The kids as well as adults just drop anything they are doing and immediately stare at you. All I then do is wave and say mwiriwe and they light up with a smile and a wave back! I was passing a group of kids walking on the street and one quickly poked me with one finger and then they all started laughing and running away. I’m sure he was screaming I just touched one in Kinyarwanda but it was the cutest thing! My host mom is already calling me her abana…child. They are so welcoming.

Things are definitely sooo different here. They do not have any importation laws regarding vehicles therefore literally every other vehicle the wheel is on the opposite side of the car. I have yet to see two vehicles driving in a row that both have the steering wheel on the right or left. It’s different! Every drink is warm. Glass bottled “fanta” is the BIG thing here. If you want to start a company or open up something I’ve heard paying in Fanta and Cola are the way to go. The tea and coffee are hot. The water is lukewarm. Unless of course, it’s on your body…and then it’s ice cold! I have yet to step foot inside a latrine. I am very afraid! Ha. Jarod said it was about the worst smell he’s ever experienced so…I’m holding out for a true emergency only experience.

We visited the Genocide last week. I’m not sure there is really anything an American can say about this. It’s awful. It’s devastating. It’s amazing how much Rwanda has recovered in 16 years. 16 short years and they are building. They are growing. They have hope. On the last Saturday of every month they have umuganda. It is a national volunteer day. Everyone is required to volunteer in the community by cleaning up the streets, building homes, tearing down homes, etc. Basically they do anything that is needed in the community. I think this is a holiday Americans could really learn something from. The WHOLE country volunteers. I love it!!

Life has definitely slowed. We are up everyday by 6:00. Even if I wanted to sleep later…I couldn’t. The roosters are crowing, the goats are baying, and the town people are talking. This morning (Saturday) I heard voices loudly talking and it was still dark. It kept getting louder and louder and finally we looked outside….HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of people were walking. Apparently every Saturday the school children run with the soldiers. The soldiers say a chant and the children repeat them. Update, they apparently do this on Sunday mornings too…So Tiffany, if you’re still having a hard time waking up early…move to Africa. You won’t have that problem too long.

In case you’re wondering…there are a few things I already miss. DR PEPPER! I feel very sad about that. I should have had more to drink before I left. Grilled cheese. Cheese quesadillas. Cereal. They put onions and tomatoes in everything. So just maybe I’ll lose some weight…but our medical officer (PCMO) said that in her 15 years as a PCMO….she has never seen 1 man gain and 1 woman lose. Women tend to gain 15+. So great!

So um last but certainly not least…um my hubby and I almost had our first Rwandan fight. He most graciously volunteered myself to sing at his host families church. That’s right. ME. Minute detail was that he was playing the guitar too but that didn’t matter because I’m the one who freaks out over stuff like that. So anyways…I asked his mom as best I could how many people were in their church. Her response was “many many.” So we arrive about 15 minutes early and there is about 150 people there…so we’re thinking no biggie. Well as we keep singing and singing and singing…about an hour and a half later I turn around and the entire church was completely filled. By entire church I mean every standing spot, every seat, every window…1500 ish Rwandans. That’s right. 1500ish. No joke! They put all the children in the front on the floor. They had probably 200 children aged 2-10 sitting dead silent for the entire FOUR hour service. Four hours. That’s right….four hours! They introduced us to the entire church and we sang. I pretty much wanted to murder my husband. So yay! Our first Rwandan church experience.

Well that’s all for now. I love you all and miss you. We can receive calls from you guys….hint hint. We have class from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. We usually are in our room by 8:30 till we go to sleep….so call us. The number is 078 555 3824. Ask our parents if you need help doing the international thing. Megan, I haven’t forgotten about that email. It’s just that we aren’t sure yet what we’ll want or need. We thought some things would be important but now aren’t sure. If you can figure out how to get warm water in a shower to us…or ice in a glass with dr pepper I’ll love you forever!!

We need your prayers! Always.

Be Blessed!!

Sarah