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.cardsfrom
africa.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
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.cardsfrom
africa.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
3 comments:
ahh cady i'm so happy for you! it sounds like an amazing experience. best of luck with it all and i'm definitely thinking about you :)
love ya,
Julie
Just so you know now you can add your SLA to the people who are reading this! I am so excited for you and you are in my prayers =-) I can't wait to hear more!
CADY!!!! wow, im glad that you are almost settling in okay. just so you know, i will be reading this as well. and let me know how and when i can call you. or are you getting a skype-like deal? just let me know.
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