Beautiful Country

We took a drive through the country and I got to witness Rwanda's beauty first hand. Ok so pictures just do not do a justice but this place is gorgeous!

Beads

I got an opportunity to sit with a group of people from the church and learn from them. It is a group that was started by the church to help the members of the congregation that are affected by HIV/AIDS. They learn how to make beads (you know those fair trade ones) and sew to bring in an income for their families.

When I arrived they were grateful to have me. I do not know their language and did not know how to help with the beads but they were willing to teach me.

First thigns first...langugae...They taught me how to greet in Kinyarwanda. I am not sure if I was saying it correctly but I tried very hard and at least they understood me :)

One woman taught me how to make beads. She was patient through the language barrier and with my lack of small motor skills to make the bead tight like she could. By the end I almost go it. I did not make as many beads as she did but it was fun.

Needed a Jacket

Right now in Rwanda it is rainy season. That means it is about 80 degrees during the day but about a half hour before it rains the temperature drops, a breeze coems and then rain. It actaully gets cold. I put on a jacket! It rains for about 15 mintues andthen stays just a tad coolder for the rest of the day.

At night I seep with a comforter, liek a real blanket. I am sure it is different durign dry and hot season but I know during rainy season I need to carry a long sleeve shirt or a jacket with me at all times.

You never know when it will rain until it starts to cool off and then wind starts to blow. Once it starts raining the whole city pretty much stops until the rain stops.

A Taste of Rwanda

After being in Kigali (the capital city of Rwanda) for a day here are some observations:
It is gree, hilly and beautiful (pictures to come).
People are welcoming.
Everything, including internet and spell check all in French.
Therea re no animals running around the streets.
It is quiet and quit peaceful.
The city is very clean.
There are not many people selling thigns from bowls on to of their head.
They have cheese (for all of you that was apart of the Ghanaian adventure:))
Not everyone speaks English.
Peopel are very affectionare: hand holding, long hand shakes when greeting, and lots of hugs.

It might be my naive western midset but I assumed Ghana and Rwanda woudl be a little similar but let me tell you...it's not. There is a difference going from city to city in America; chicago to LA to Boston to Huston. Of course there is a difference from coutnry to country; Ghana to Rwanda.

Many adventures and learning to come.

In Rwanda

The travel time was a little longer than expected due to an extra lay over in Uganda but I made it to Rwanda.

I got a chance to get to know the missionary family that I am staying with today. Jen is the mom and Serge is her husband. They have three kids; Pricne (13), Isabella (4) and Beni (1.5).

Now for a good night sleep....

Heading to Rwanda

I am finally finished packing! I am heading to the airport at 3am on Monday March 14th.
Trip: Chicago to Washington DC to Ethiopia to Rwanda!
I will arrive in Rwanda at 3:30pm on Tuesday March 15th.

This is Rwanda. It is in East Africa. I will be staying in Kigali with a missionary family. Kigali is the capital city.
Rwanda is 7hrs ahead of Chicago time.

I am way excited!!

Master Packer

You would not know it by looking at me but I have become a great packer.

I asked the missionaries in Rwanda what I could bring to them from the US and the mom, Jen, gave me a pretty big list; brown sugar, some caned products, shoes, movies, books, contact solution, Easter candy, a few fun things for her kids. I got it all...

Today I pulled out my suitcase and started to pack well everything fit perfectly in my cool orange suitcase. I mean everything; Jen's whole list and all of my clothes, sandals and bug spray! Just call me a master packer.

Then I tried to list my cool orange suitcase...and well...I couldn't. I am guessing it weighted over 100lb. Needless to say I need to now unpack and pack everything in two suitcases. I hope my skills work when there are two suitcases...

We Graduated

I graduated from training! Whoa...that was a lot of information in a short amount of time. I learned so much and much more prepared than I did before.

Here is the class when the interns were with us.
In the middle is the coordinator of training. He was great!

Now I need to start getting ready for a short trip to Rwanda. I leave on March 14th! I am very excited.

Boy's Dorm at Wa Blind

I just got an email from one of the teachers at the Wa School for the Blind in Ghana. That is the school I taught at when I was in Ghana.

I found out that last night the boy's dorm burnt down. No one was hurt but I do not know how bad the damage is.

Here is a picture of the boy's dorm when I was there:

Please keep the school, teachers and all the students in your prayers.
If I get more news I will keep you posted but thank you for your prayers.

Language Training

I have been in language training for one week now and look what I have learned...
Korean!!
I am really learning linguistics which means, I am learning how to learn other languages. I am learning to listen for sounds that I did not know existed and moving my mouth/tongue in ways I did not think were possible. It feel a little silly and probably look and sound a little silly but it is very helpful!

I will have to learn Kinyarwanda when I move to Rwanda. One of the official languages in English but people only know it if they went to school.

I have been told I am doing great but the one sound I can not make is one of the basic sounds in Kinyarwanda... figures... but I will keep working on it!

Snow Day!!

We got so much snow!! It was awesome!

Can you find my car...?

It is the red bug :)

Even though all schools and most businesses were closed, we still had training. But afterwards we all played in the snow!

Karen, Gale, Katharine, Necia, Me, Ashley, Heather

It was great!

Roommates

Here at training we all live at the International Teams base. It is in Elgin, IL.

I am really enjoying living in community; it is like college again :)
I have three roommates: Gale, Karen, and Heather

They are great!

Karen is going to Uganda, Africa. Heather is going to Athens, Greece. Gale is still open as to where she is going.

It is so cool to hear every one's stories of where they have come from, how they got here and what they will be doing. God really uses each and every one of us and all of our skills, strengths, desires and even weaknesses. He is an awesome God!

Week One of Training

It was a great first week of training.

The days are jam packed, starting at 8am and finishing at 5pm (and then we have homework) with small breaks in the middle. It is a long time to sit in a classroom and learn but the information we are learning is great.

Here is everyone that I am in training with. We are all serving for two or more years.


This past week we focused on cultural difference. We learned more about our own American culture so that we will be aware of what is different and how to deal with it once we get to our destinations. The skills we learned on how to adapt to a different culture will come in handy.

There are four more weeks of training and I am excited to learn more!

Back to School...

The holiday season has come to a close and all of the college students have now gone back to school. It was nice to have everyone home for the holidays though.

I am kind of going back to school as well. On Saturday I leave for training with International Teams. Last week I was finally finish my online class. For the next month I will be living in Elgin, IL at the ITeams base and will be going through extensive cultural training.

I am pretty excited! I hope to learn how to adapt to a new culture quickly and much more.

Long Distance Phone Call

I was able to talk to Fuseini today!


He was one of my students at the Wa School for the Blind.

Fuseini told me how everyone was doing. Haruna and Issahaku are both in the vocational class. They are learning trades so they can support themselves. Everyone else; Ajara, Razak, Iddi, Ahabadeen, Rasheek, Patricia, Laticia, Mane, Jowa, Peter, Amina, Decimal; they are all doing good. Micheal, their homeroom teacher, now works at a different school.

They all graduate in 2014 and I hope to go see them walk.

He asked me to greet all of you so 'Hello' to everyone from Fuseini.

Your Culture

I just finished reading this book all about culture. It made it a little more easy to understand culture and knowing where people are coming from. The book over all theme put culture into two different categories; hot-culture and cold-culture.

Hot-Culture:
Relationship
Feel-good Atmosphere
Indirectly Answer Question
Group-Oriented Inclusive
Hospitality is spontaneous

Cold-Culture:
Task Oriented
Time and Efficiency is important
Direct, Short and to the point
Individualistic
Private
Schedule events and gathers

What type of culture do you come from?

(if you are from the northern part of America you are probably a cold-culture but if you are from the southern part of America you might be a hot-culture)

Snow!

Welcome December, Welcome Winter, Welcome Snow

It snowed today! I love snow!

It was the first snow fall of the season. I love snow! Ok, so I really do not like the cold but I love the snow. This year I am going to do every winter event I can think of: sledding, making a snowman, ice skating, make a snow fort, snowboarding, snow ball fight, shovel...

I am going to enjoy this winter because after this year I will not see snow for a while.

If you have any more ideas of winter fun let me know!

Troop Drama

(Emily knows the 'Maddy face' oh too well)

Emily and I got all dressed up and had a great night on the town. We went to see 'Jungle Book' as a play. It is a great movie and even better as a play. But what made the play were the actors.

The actors and actresses were adults with special needs. They all worked very hard memorizing their lines, songs, where they stand and when to move. All their practicing paid off; the play was a hit!

The set and costumes were made by volunteers and looked great on each actor. Here is a picture of them taking their final bow at the end of the play.

Reading....?

Can you believe it... I am reading!

To tell you the truth I went through high school without reading very many books; spark notes was a great invention. And then in college, I had a lot of friends... :)But now in the 'real' world I kind of have to read.

It is not exactly for fun. It's for training but I am actually doing the reading. I have about 7 books to read for homework. I may be reading because the books are not on spark notes, or because no one else is taking the class with me or because I like to keep busy or because I am really enjoy it or because I'm just growing up. Well what ever the reason, I am reading.

I read one book, listened to another and read/skimmed another. Ok so to you that may not be reading but for me that is reading :)

3 down... many more to go. I am determined to get through them all. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

'Grown Up' Doctor

It is that time of year again; the time of sharing and caring and being sick. There are few things my students like to share... but their cold, runny nose, cough, and flu they always love to pass along.

I tried hard to prevent it but it was bound to happen. I got sick. Usually I treat myself; taking cold medicine and sleep but not this time. This time I needed a doctor to take care of me.

This did not seem too bad at first. I loved my doctor; I had been going to her since I was a baby. She was patient and kind to me. She even gave me all my shots for Africa :) And let me tell you that was not an easy task (I am not a fan of needles)

Then remembered the promise my doctor made me, 'I could go to her until I graduated from college, then I needed to go to a 'grown up' doctor.'

Well, today was the big day... My doctor kept her end of the deal and now it was time to keep mine. I went to a 'grown up' doctor today! Even though I was a little nervous I knew I had to get medicine to get better.

Turns out this doctor was very nice. She practiced medicine overseas and was excited about me going to Africa. As we talked for a little bit she gave me some medicine to get over my sickness. Now I would not want to visit her all time, she was a great lady. And I am starting to feel better already.