Uyu munsi nagiye kuri umukozi

(Today I went to the tailor. The bargaining was intense)

Dear blog,

I am attaching a first set of pictures from Rwanda if they will load. In order they are:

1. Most of the group at our country director’s house

2. Meeting our resource family’s for pre-service training

3. A stellar view at sunset

Things are on the upswing right now. All of us except our dear Elizabeth (we miss you!) made it through weeks 1-2, the hardest weeks of all. Already, language and technical classes are flying by. Kinyarwanda becomes more manageable as I use it more and more in the market, with my resource family and when greeting strangers. The signs and symptoms of culture shock that I was feeling so acutely at the beginning of the week, namely homesickness, lethargy, sickness, hostility towards my host country nation and the strong desire to be with other Americans, are simmering on the back burner for now. When they hit me and I feel inundated with pessimism, I just ride that emotional wave and indulge in those patterned behaviors. This helps them pass more quickly.

Yesterday, Nicole and I had a great adventure in the market. Thursday is market day and people come from all over because it is the cheapest market in the country. This brings the “amazungu” calls to an epidemic level but we were prepared. At one point, Nicole turned on the trail of children behind us and sternly stated in Kinyarwanda, “my name is not ‘white person’, my name is Nicole.” Floored ‘em. Another surprise we amazungus brought to the market was our newfound ability to bargain! We got our avocadoes down to 10 cents a piece. And our beautiful cloth to $8 for 4 yards. And our clothing down from 12,000 Rwandan francs to 6,000. Successful afternoon for the market goers.

My three roommates and I are getting along well and have started the nesting, teasing, etc. I flipped out at the unnecessary death of a praying mantis but besides that, all is well in the Kitchen House. Today I had an interview with the training director, who had some good feedback for me. He said the other language instructors had noticed that I do not pick favorites among them and I dress very well everyday. It is so important in Rwanda to do so. They also said the group needs me, which I appreciated. And lastly, I need to talk more. Heard that before… Tomorrow we go to Butare, a big university town, to visit a museum and memorial and to eat some different food. There are rumours of our site placements but we probably won’t go to our new sites until after Christmas.

Once again I have been drawn to a bike-loving country. I cannot wait to get a bike! So far, I have only seen men on bikes and they are often used as taxis. I’m going to plan a women’s bike trip across Rwanda sometime during our service. Lindsay, a fellow cyclist and Colorado native, suggested we do it as a fundraised for FAWE, an NGO that funds women’s education. Sounds great and many have expressed interest and support.

Thanks for reading.

Penny