A chair is not a house, and a house is not a home

Guess what guys? We got one! We have a house in Kigali! I can tell you are as shocked as I am... It has been a very long and often frustrating process, but it looks like we finally have a place of our very own to live! And would you like to know how this came about? Well you're in luck – I'll tell ya right now, as it's a very interesting story.

Late last week, we set out once again to house-hunt, and see what we could find. The whole process took an entire day, and we still hadn't found anything. Many of the houses we saw were nice, and we considered taking them, but as soon as the landlord found out we were Americans, the prices sky-rocketed way out of our budget. This was annoying the first couple times it happened, but by the fifth time, we were pretty much steam-out-of-our-ears angry. It really was a type of prejudice that none of us had ever experienced first hand, and were having quite a hard time understanding how people could do that. By the end of the day, we still hadn't found a thing.The next day we went into town (where I bought some cool African cloth and had a skirt made, how indigenous am I??), and were walking around when we got a phone call from our wonderful headmaster Brian (who had been running around like a madman trying to find us a place to live, bless his lil heart) and found out there were 2 more houses we might be interested in that he was going to look at within the hour. He said he could go by himself and take pictures, so not everyone would have to go. Later that evening we all met up, and he showed us the pictures of the houses. They were both nice houses, and although neither really screamed perfection, they were perfectly acceptable, and we settled on one that was close to a missionary family we knew in Kigali. The down side would be that we couldn't move in until September 5th, a week after school started for us. We would have to mooch off some wonderful families until we could move in, and although these families are AMAZING, I'm sure having stranger houseguests for 2 weeks is no one's idea of a good time. None of us were overly thrilled, but we all were completely content, and just relieved to have finally found a house.

That is, until today.

Today, we found out that the landlord (surprise, surprise) had found out who we were, and increased the price by over $200/month. No thank you. We were all extremely frustrated at this point, and mere seconds from moving mattresses into our classrooms and putting up “God Bless This Home” signs. There really wasn't anything we could do, except pray. So that's what we did.

My roomies and I prayed for quite a while and began to feel so much more peaceful about the situation. We knew there was one more option for a house that we could look at that was still available, and while we weren't confident it would pull through, knew that whatever happened, God was in control.

We decided that instead of all of us going, just one should see it, and report back. The first grade teacher, Shannon, volunteered to go, so off she went. We are all so busy trying to get our classrooms ready for the year, we had plenty of stuff to do while she checked it out. When she returned, we all anxiously awaited her review. The tension in the air was thick, and the deafening silence before she began was thick with anticipation and shattered dreams (please note my sarcasm and overly dramatic sentiments here!)

But Shannon's huge grin told us it was good news. The house is only a seven minute drive from school, fully furnished, with rooms for all of us, and one to spare! Of course, we weren't sold yet, as we knew we'd heard this story before – the house is great, but the landlord is a Greedy Gus and wants as much moolah as he or she can get. So, then came the cool part. Once they had looked the house over, they (well, the real estate agent) called the landlord and told them we were interested. Now, this is usually the part where things get a lil' shady. But, thankfully, Someone was looking out for us :) The landlord is out of the country, so he's having a relative rent it for him. This relative happens to be the mom of several of the students at the school that all of us teachers happen to teach at! She was so sweet and sympathetic to our plight, and told us that she would not let anyone else look at the house if we wanted it, AND would call her relative and see if he would knock off $200/month of the rent!!!

Now how do you like them apples?!?

So, there ya have it. The landlord's relative is coming by the school tomorrow so we can sign the papers, and move in this weekend to our new house. Yet again, God is showing His power, and I will never ceased to be amazed by it.

We started our in-service this week, and working diligently in our classrooms to prepare for our students and the coming school year. It is quite the daunting task, and I have to admit, if I think about it too much, my hair will literally start to fall out by itself. But, I keep reminding myself that if I wasn't supposed to be here – I wouldn't be here. I am here for a purpose, and I truly could not be more thrilled about it.

I will write more soon about the school and my classroom (I love saying “my classroom”, I feel so grown up!) Love you all and keep in touch!

*My roommates and I are sure Dora the Explorer would have found us a house right away if she'd have been here. She can find anything!

Here I am baby, signed, sealed, delivered!

Well, here I am! This past week has been so surreal, it is unbelievable. It is simply too much to grasp that I actually live in AFRICA now. Boy-howdy, it's a doozy of a thing to grasp, I'll tell ya what!

I met up with many of the other new teachers at the airport in DC on Friday morning, and we all exchanged awkward, yet supremely excited, greetings and chatted non-stop about what we thought our new home might be like. It was so great to meet my new colleagues, and I can't wait to work with them this year! They all seem like completely amazing people!

We arrived on Saturday afternoon in the Kigali airport, after the longest flight none to man, to a wonderful welcome committee of various people affiliated with the school. I even met one of my future students!! We were taken to the hotel/apartments where we have been staying the past few days, and began to settle in. We were immediately impressed with the accommodations, but there were a few slight difficulties (no sheets/blankets on half the beds, no hot water in one of the bathrooms, dirty towels in the cupboards, only two working outlets, no “promised” Internet, and a broken lock on one of the outside doors), to which we were given the simple explanation “Hey, this is Africa!” Got it :)

We went to a local “Americanized” coffee shop that night, and to the Christ's Church Rwanda the next morning, despite our fabulous jet lag. The church service was wonderful, and we met soo many amazing and interesting people there! That afternoon, we all went house-hunting, but weren't incredibly impressed with the choices we were given. We were taken around by Brian Dolinger, our new headmaster, and the real estate agent, Dudu (yes, Dudu). The houses we were shown were insanely nice, and far more elegant than the average Rwandan home. As such, they were all crazy expensive, so we didn't settle on any of the ones shown.

That night, we hit the town, and went to this local restaurant that had a live jazz band. One of the musicians was a “mutual friend”, so we got to hear them play right up close. And wouldn't you know it? That Rwandan jazz band played some classic American tunes, including “ABC” by the Jackson 5, “Ain't No Sunshine” by Bill Withers (not James Taylor as one of the other teachers exclaimed :), and the hit “No Diggity” by Blackstreet circa 1998. Oh yes, 90's pop hits are international, as I should have known.

The next two days we were shown around Kigali. We got to set up bank accounts (a quick little 4 hour excursion), buy cell phones (Which you can call from America!! Ask me how!), and explore the busy life of downtown. The country is EXTREMELY densely populated (about 10 million people in a country the size of Maryland), the town is always hoppin', and there are always people everywhere! It was so fun to walk around and just be with the people! I love it!

Yesterday, we went first to the Genocide Memorial here in Kigali. This museum was one of the most amazing and heartbreaking places I've been too. The museum is full of some of the most moving exhibits I've ever seen, and was totally overwhelming. Outside are about 10 mass graves, where bodies of genocide victims lay who were never identified or claimed. Needless to say for those of you who know me, the tears were pretty incessant. I would highly recommend it to anyone who plans on visiting though (hint, hint!).

After that, we got to see some of the coolest organizations I've ever seen. One was an organization that trains Rwandan women in rural villages to make baskets and other crafts so that they can sell them to make money to support their families and villages. The baskets end up being sold all over the world, and bought by millions of people and companies (including Bono and Macy's). When we got there, we walked in to take a quick peek at the women making the baskets, but they invited us in, and a few of us ended up sitting down and helping them make some of the baskets! They were really sweet, and laughed a lot. At me or something else? Who knows! Kinyarwanda, the official language here is very, very complicated, and causes quite a few mis-communications, but hey, I'm here to learn, so I'll adapt!

After we left, we went to the headquarters of Cards From Africa (www.cardsfromafrica.com). This company gives child heads-of-households (usually orphans, many from the genocide, who have to take care of younger siblings instead of going to school) jobs making ADORABLE cards that can be shipped all over the world. They make everything from the paper to the cute little cut-out pictures. Not only are they given jobs in really good working conditions, the organization also provides spiritual and emotional support for the children and their families, which is highly needed. There are so many cool non-profits/N.G.O.'s like these here, and I hope I can get involved soon!

Today we went house shopping again, but still to no avail. We found a very nice one in a fun neighborhood not too far from the school that would give each of us that live there our own room, but as soon as we arrived and they saw a bunch of “muzungus” (white people/foreigners), the price sky-rocketed. So, I and my future roomies are asking for your prayers that we find the perfect place to live here in Kigali. I am completely confident that God will provide us with the most perfect place to live, but any extra words to the Big Guy would be appreciated!

Well, I could write forever about just the last few days, but since I'm pretty sure the only ones who read this far are my parents (Hi Mom and Dad!), I'll stop. I love and miss you all and would LOVE to hear from you!!! XOXO -Cady

Leavin' on a jet plane!

**This post was copied from a Word Document on a plane on August 14th :) **


Right now, I am sitting on a plane to Washington D.C., where after a measly 10 hour layover, I will board a plane to Ethiopia, and then on to Kigali, Rwanda. I am supposed to be in Kigali on Saturday the 16th in the afternoon, their time, but we'll see. We all know how airplanes are these days :) I said goodbye to family and friends this week, which seems a lot harder to do when you don't really know what lies ahead. I am much more “put together” when it comes to saying goodbye if I know for sure what's gonna come next. But since I don't, I wasn't. Put together, that is. I cried like a baby at the airport, and unfortunately, was still a trifle weepy when I boarded the plane, much to the discomfort of other passengers. Oh well, they can get over it. I'm much better now. I am trying to hold onto a child-like faith here, and give everything I have to God, since if it were any other way, I would totally lose it. I know I would not be here right now unless it was where He wanted me, so I my peace lies in that.

In DC, I get to see some “long lost friends”, hopefully, from high school, so I'm very excited about that too. My 10 hour layover is between the hours of 12 midnight and 10 am, making sight-seeing and really any activity a bit difficult. Luckily, Laura and Jared King are way too cool, and are sacrificing sleep and comfort to provide me with just a bit of company. Lucky me!

I'm not sure of the exact day I will start teaching, but it is roughly two weeks after I arrive in Kigali. Last I heard, I have 10 students in my class from 8 different countries!! I love it!!! I can not wait to meet them, and begin the year. Despite what the Cady from 4 months ago during student teaching might tell you, I really have been missing teaching the past few weeks, and am excited to be in a classroom again. One of my master teachers used a really cool curriculum using all cooperative learning called “Tribes” and I'm anxious to begin the same sort of thing in my own class. My suitcases were all significantly overweight, since I may have packed enough for an entire classroom, and then some.

Most of the other new teachers are all taking the same flight from DC tomorrow morning, so I am extremely excited to meet and get to know my new colleagues. I am even smiling as I write this just thinking about it! (Which may or may not be freaking out the passenger next to me)

Well, I should stop now. The man in front of me just leaned back in his chair and I can't really see the computer screen anymore. Love you all, and I hope to hear from you soon!!