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Jarod Here…Muraho (hello),
Wow. A couple of 8 hour plane rides and 7 vaccines later, we are in Rwanda. Yes, I know what you are thinking and in fact I was mistaken for a pin cushion. Sarah and I have been in Rwanda for a week now and this place is truly amazing. I will try and sum up the last week for you.
Let’s see…We spent two days in Philly for registration, staging and orientation, went to a real Philly cheese steak place, met the other 35 of us that we will be living with for the next 3 months, flew to Brussels Belgium, had a pancake, flew to Kigali Rwanda, loaded up our bazillion pounds of luggage and headed off to the center where we stayed for the weekend, went to the genocide memorial (wow, what a humbling experience), ate some rice and beans, took a cold bucket bath, threw a frisbee around in the court yard, played my guitar and was taught some African songs from one of my language trainers, slept under a mosquito net for the first time, visited a latrine, took a bus ride to Nyanza (where we are training for the next 10 weeks), watched Sarah scream like a little school girl when a lizard ran out of her closet, became famous the minute I arrived in Rwanda as almost every kid and even many adults follow me everywhere I go waving and peering at me as if I have fallen out of the sky right into the middle of their city and discovered that Kinyarwanda is probably the most difficult language in the world to learn. I am pretty sure it could be easier for me to catch a Polish humpback whale with a butterfly net than learn this language. But nonetheless, I WILL master the language of Kinyarwanda (it may just take me a couple of years).
Rwanda has been known as the land of a thousand hills and now I can see why (although I think there may be more like 1,403 hills but who’s counting). I have never seen so much green in my life. Everything is so lush and colorful. The rain is constant this time of year. The views are breathtaking. And the people, wow…they are absolutely amazing. They are such a beautiful people with the biggest smiles. Although they are quite reserved, one wave and a smile from us can bring a grin to their face bigger than Texas. I do have to say it will take a while to get used to the constant staring and the yelling of Muzungu (white person). Everyone here is so friendly and happy.
I have now seen with my own eyes the devastating effects of poverty, war and disease. These people truly have nothing but would give everything. Their joy and happiness is unparalleled and yet you wonder what do they really have to be so happy about? I gotta run but I hope you have enjoyed hearing about our experiences of Rwanda thus far. There will be many more to come. I miss you all.
Be blessed!
Jarod
3.09.2010
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
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
2.22.2010
it looks like we're leaving...on a jet plane
Jarod here...Well, the time has finally arrived. All the packing is done and the preparations are coming to an end. We leave bright and early at 6:00am in the morning. I am not sure how often we will be able to update this blog and get on facebook and all that other great jazz but we will try and keep you as up to date as possible.
I want to say thanks to all of you who came to the going away party and for any gifts you gave us. We love you all and will miss you very much. Feel free to send care packages (packed with lots of care). That would not upset me in anyway! Please keep us in your prayers as we leave on this journey into the unknown and the unfamiliar. Be blesses!
Until next time,
Rings in Rwanda
I want to say thanks to all of you who came to the going away party and for any gifts you gave us. We love you all and will miss you very much. Feel free to send care packages (packed with lots of care). That would not upset me in anyway! Please keep us in your prayers as we leave on this journey into the unknown and the unfamiliar. Be blesses!
Until next time,
Rings in Rwanda
2.06.2010
From Sea to Shining Sea
At this rate, I may be able to pack on some much needed weight before our departure on the 23rd where I am sure to have a very limited supply of protein or all meat in general for the next couple of years. Nonetheless, we are both very excited, anxious, nervous and every other kind of emotion you can imagine at this time. I think the last time I felt like this way was the day I married Sarah (the best day of my life by the way...might have just picked up some points there). It is hard to imagine leaving everything familiar to us behind for two years and exchanging it for something extremely unfamiliar. But, that is part of what makes it all so exciting and intriguing.
For all of you reading and following us, I hope you enjoy following the exciting journey that is ahead. I promise these blog entries will get more exciting once we arrive in Rwanda. Be blessed!
1.17.2010
ahh!
35 days. sarah here...feeling very overwhelmed. more than anything else. im overwhelmed. and i'm saying bye to my "babies" tomorrow. i don't care what anyone says...it's a big deal. at least to me anyway. deagan is 18 months. it's very unlikely he'll feel any true connection to me 3 years from now. that's hard. he's the most wonderful baby i've ever been around. laila and caden are just wonderful. i love them so much. i'm happy for what's to come. sad for what i'm leaving behind. blah blah. that's just my current mood. blah.
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny little matters in comparison to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson
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