Wednesday, October 27, 2010

I made it!

I just wanted to let everyone know that i got here in one piece. I have since left Kigali for Nyanza, which is about 2 hours south of the capital. I have seen and learned a lot in the last week(my kinyarwanda is slowly improving) and now have a host family that I spend a lot of my free time with. I have to head back for tech training for teachers and then on to another 2 hours of language, but I will type something up and post it tomorrow. Internet is slow and I don't have a lot of free time, but I will keep you all updated as best I can!

my cell number is: 011250782707967

call me with skype if you can! im too poor of a peace corps volunteer to call the US :)

Friday, October 15, 2010

Four Days to Staging, Five to Departure, and Six until Rwanda

Hello All! So I've never done this blogging thing before, but I am hoping to make this the first of many posts to come over the next 27 months. As most of you know, I am moving to Rwanda next week to begin my two years (and 3 months) of service with the Peace Corps. This whole process started about a year ago, with me talking to a recruiter at Hopkins and trying to decide whether to apply or look for a "real" job. Since applying, I haven't looked back. From the interview last January (yeah, it took awhile for me to decide to submit my completed application), to my nomination in March and the HUGE packet of medical forms that came along with that, I was ecstatic to find out in August that I would be going to Rwanda.

Some of you know that Rwanda became a project of mine during my senior year at Hopkins. I started in the fall writing and presenting a final project on the role of women in Rwandan society for my Gender and Development class. During that time I fell upon an article about the genocide and the role of the French government, which then led to me choosing the relationship between France and Rwanda, and more specifically the French role in the civil war and eventual genocide, as the topic for my French thesis. While I spent hours and hours at the MSE and Cafe Q (for you non-Hopkins folk - the library and its cafe), Rwanda was added to my list of countries I hoped to some day visit; I never thought I would have the opportunity to live and work there, learning about the culture and history firsthand. I won't bore you all with the history of the country and all of that - go wikipedia it if you want a decent rundown. Just know, Rwanda experienced a horrible civil war and genocide in 1994 that resulted in the death of anywhere between 800,000 and one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The genocide undoubtedly continues to affect the Rwandan people and the country's development. I will be going to Rwanda as an English teacher, hoping to do my small part in helping the Rwandans further develop and improve their education system.

In 2008, Rwanda changed its language of instruction from French to English. Teachers were given 2-3 months to improve/learn English if they didn't already speak it. Since the transition was so rushed, many teachers have resorted back to teaching in French or Kinyarwanda, leaving students to attend classes taught in one to three languages. As a PC English teacher, I will be working within one community as a High School English teacher with about 200 students, as well as assisting the school and its teachers to improve their English instruction. The Peace Corps recommends that for the first year we focus on teaching students, while during the second year we should decrease our course load and work more with teachers on improving their English and instruction techniques. But even before I get to my site, I have 10 wks of intense training before I'm sworn in as a volunteer (right now I'm considered a trainee).

Right now I'm organizing and packing up my life into 2 checked bags and a carry-on. I have a flight out of Boston at 8 am on Tuesday, arriving in Philadelphia around 10 am for Staging, which starts at noon. Staging takes place the day before departure. All 70 of us volunteers will come together for a brief introduction to everything and we will officially register as trainees. on Wednesday we will all board buses for JFK airport in New York, where we will be boarding a 6:30 pm flight to Brussels. After arriving in Brussels, we have a brief layover and will then get on a flight straight to Kigali.

Upon arriving in Kigali, we will spend three days in the capital (attending more discussions and getting all of our shots) before heading to the PC training center in Nyanza. In Nyanza we will begin our 10 wks of training. We will be learning Kinyarwanda (expected to be close to advanced by the end), receiving cultural and TEFL training, and have a little bit of free time for field trips. Training will be 8-10 hrs a day, 6 days a week. We will be in houses with other trainees and about 4 trainers who will be on hand to help us adjust and practice Kinyarwanda. We will also have "resource families", who will be like host families except for we won't stay with them. That's about all I know for now and knowing the Peace Corps, I'll learn the rest as they see fit (read: last minute). Right now my biggest concern is organizing and packing up my life into 2 checked bags and a carry-on without going over the weight allotments for each bag.

So what do I expect the next two years to bring? I'm not sure yet, but I'll share with you a little bit of my motivation letter that I recently sent to the Peace Corps Rwanda Director:


Creating strong working relationships is always difficult, but I believe that as long as I integrate myself into the community, earn the respect of the locals, and respect their opinions, culture, and skills, my 27 months of service will be a success. I understand that the Peace Corps is far from an easy commitment, but I feel that my ability to handle difficult issues and tasks in a calm and level-headed manner, and my understanding that I am working as a representative to help develop a country and build stronger multicultural relationships, will help me become a great member of the Rwandan community. The expectations are high, but I do not see any unconquerable challenges as long as I approach Rwanda and its people the way I always do – with an open mind ready to learn as much from the locals as I hope they learn from me.
            Upon arriving in Rwanda for pre-service training, I hope to immediately begin adapting to local customs and learning the language, Kinyarwanda. I strongly believe that trust and integration are possible when there is a shared understanding of culture and language. I of course want to develop skills pertaining to my assignment as an English teacher, but the application of this knowledge is only possible once I learn enough about Rwandan culture to build a strong relationship with the community that I will eventually be placed in. I am also eager to learn more about the age/gender dynamic and how I, as a young recent college graduate, can help other teachers and provide constructive input without overstepping any cultural boundaries. I believe that I have developed a lot of the skills and knowledge necessary to be an effective teacher, but during pre-service training I need to learn and develop the cultural skills and understandings necessary to be an effective English Teacher and community member in Rwanda.

            I strongly believe that Peace Corps service is not something that ends after 27 months; it is an indefinite commitment to international development, collaboration, and mutual understanding. I know that the Peace Corps will provide me with a new lens to look at and approach difficult situations and problems with. I hope to be more humanitarian in my approach to work and day-to-day life, considering how my interactions with others can translate into a positive outcome for all.

With all of this said and shared, I think I'll end this post by saying how excited and nervous I am to begin this adventure. I don't think anyone ever expected that I'd be moving off to Africa for two years and "roughing it", but it's funny how things have changed. I went into college thinking that I'd be an investment banker or something that requires a suit, and now here I am with my hiking backpack, nalgene bottle, and head lamp heading to Rwanda. 

Expect to hear from me sometime before I leave Wednesday!