Parties, parties, and more parties!

Before I left Rwanda to return to the US for the holidays , my social calendar was quite booked with a number of parties going on around town. I hosted several of these parties at the Bridge2Rwanda house and attended many other “end of the year” parties at Sonrise. All my friends from home laughed and said I was the only person they knew who would move to the middle of Africa and host dinner parties:)

Here are pictures from a party I threw at the house for all of the Sonrise teachers to celebrate the end of the year.

Future senior class party! I gave my oldest students a party to celebrate the arrival their senior year. They loved having their own class party.

The students trying to teach me the traditional Rwandan dances... pretty much a lost cause!

Here is a video of the breakdance team's performance at a school party. Yes, they have a breakdance team:) Pretty impressive moves! Kind of makes me hurt just watching it.

My last hoorah in the village before I left, with the little kids trying to teach me the traditional dances. They were a little more on my level....but I still felt awkward and uncoordinated!

Dance like no one is watching...

This is a video of village children performing traditional Rwandan dances. I never get tired of seeing these kids sing and dance. And they love to put on a show! Ahhh....to dance with complete abandonment, to sing with hearts of pure joy...what freedom!

US Marines Adopt a Village...."MY" Village!

I have written several times about my beloved village, which I now claim as my own (my friend Tom claims as his own too, but we really share it). The faces of the children, the joy, the inspiration every time I enter this village overwhelms me. Although they have nothing, or what we view as nothing in our minds, they are the most content people I have ever met. I have truly come to cherish these joyous people and this beautiful place where they live, so much that I talk about it often among my friends in Rwanda and they all know about “my” village.

I have some friends in town who work for a NGO called Project Rwanda, which distributes coffee/cargo bikes throughout Rwanda. The US marines living at the US Embassy approached Project Rwanda with the idea of having a fundraiser to donate bicycles and “adopt a village”. Since my friends have heard me rant about my precious village so much, they suggested that the Marines should adopt this particular village. Of course, I agreed this was a brilliant idea.
To make the whole experience more meaningful, I took several of the US Marines to the village so they could witness firsthand the difference they would be making. We were even able to take one of my very special students to serve as interpreter for the occasion. The Marines instantly fell prey to the infectious laughter and joy of the children. Their hearts were immediately stolen by these people who seem to have some special secret to happiness in life that most people only wish they could find.

The next week, they hosted a huge fundraiser at the US Embassy to raise money to purchase the bicycles. Pretty much every American in Rwanda was there, along with many Rwandans. They ended up raising twice as much as they expected, and were able to buy 10 bicycles for the village. The impact that 10 cargo bicycles will make on this small, remote village will be immense. Living on top of a mountain, they must walk all the way to the bottom to the lake just to retrieve their water and then carry the heavy jugs all the way back to the top. They carry bundles of food on their head and walk two hours to get to the nearest market to sell their products. They have no efficient way of getting to a hospital if someone falls sick. This seemingly small contribution of 10 bicycles will make a HUGE impact on the lives of these people. “My” people.

I'm alive and well....

I apologize for the long period of time since I have posted anything. I am actually now at home in the US through the holidays, and my last few weeks in Rwanda were so busy I never found the time to make updates. However, I have some great stories to share from the last few weeks, so I will attempt to catch up while I am at home! And, no, I am not deathly ill from malaria..... some people have been very worried since that was my last post:) I warned you all I was new at this blogging thing.

Faithful Rwandans

I had my first rough patch here in Rwanda a few weeks ago….definitely a test! First I slipped on wet concrete while it was pouring down rain and injured my lower back. And then a couple of days later, I came down with malaria and was out for about a week. On top of my already painful back injury, malaria greatly affects the back and neck, so I was barely able to get out of bed for a few days. Although I was very ill, I never got the chance to get homesick and miss my “mama” because all of my faithful Rwandan friends were right there to take care of me. My housegirl, Jackie, would not leave my side and came in to cook for me every day to make sure that I was eating. She would tell me in a very stern voice “you not eat, you not my friend”. I barely had time to rest because of the teachers from Sonrise and my other friends in town calling to check on me. I literally had to turn away visitors so I could rest. I was quickly nursed back to health and definitely felt the love and loyalty of my friends here.

Stand-In Nieces and Nephews

If you know me at all, you know that I am absolutely crazy about my two nieces and one nephew. They definitely hold my heart in their hands and have been my only cause for even the slightest bit of homesickness (sorry Mom!). So, I have had to adopt some stand-ins here in Rwanda. I have this group of little ones, mostly who are children of the staff at school, who call me Auntie Anna. They can't understand a word I am saying, but they love me just like I am their own aunt:) Here are some pictures of my precious little ones…..I had to share their beautiful faces.











Here are twins Renee and Elena. Their father is the Assistant Chaplain at Sonrise. One or both of them come to sit on my lap every Sunday at church.









Sweet Lynette....her mom is a teacher at Sonrise.


More twins! Sonia and Dixon....they are the children of my housekeeper, Jackie. Sonia is still not quite sure about me, but Dixon loves me!

Article in The New Times

A couple weeks ago I was sitting in a restaurant and met the guy sitting next to me, who turned out to be a journalist for the main newspaper in Rwanda, The New Times. After talking with him for a while, he asked me to write an article for the paper about my perceptions as an American moving to Rwanda. I warned him that I was not even really an English teacher and certainly not a journalist. He encouraged me to write…so here it is. My first shot at journalism. I never dreamed I would come to Rwanda and end up writing for the national newspaper. My new "editor" has asked if I would write a weekly article. I don’t know if it will be weekly, but hopefully there will be more. Here is the article:

"Muraho! I arrived in Rwanda from the US about two months ago to teach Advanced English at Sonrise Secondary School in Musanze for the next year. My work was made possible through an organization called Bridge2Rwanda, an NGO which works to increase the overall economical and educational development in the country of Rwanda. Prior to my arrival, I researched the country by reading a stack of books, watching movies and receiving advice from people who have spent time here. These resources taught me about the history of the country and reconciliation efforts following the genocide, as well as the boom in economic development over the past few years under President Kagame’s leadership. Meeting a few Rwandans in the U.S. was especially helpful, as they gave me insight into the cultures, traditions, and overall lives of the people. However, I never fully understood the beauty and rarity of this country until I saw it for myself. I never understood the heart of the people until I became a part of their lives. I never comprehended the strength of this nation until I became immersed in it.

Upon my arrival, I simply absorbed the novel sights of the country: people walking and riding bikes along the road, the picturesque mountains, the women carrying babies on their backs and bundles or food on their head, children running barefoot carrying their water jugs and farms and huts dotting the many hills. I have come to fall in love with the faces of the people and the rich colors of the landscape. I am frequently greeted with the kind words “you are most welcome here” and believe these words are genuinely spoken. The people have welcomed me into their homes and taken me as part of their families. It is easy to forget that the color of my skin is different, although I am often reminded by the children yelling “muzungu!” as I pass. We may come from different places and have different experiences, but we are ultimately all the same traveling through this adventure called life.

Rwanda has so much to teach not only the world, but also individual lives of people in this world. I have been amazed by witnessing firsthand the capacity of the human heart for forgiveness and reconciliation. Rwandans have not forgotten their past but refuse to remain in it and strive to learn from it. There is a strength and determination here that I have rarely seen in my lifetime; a strength that is contagious and a determination that has no boundaries. I have come to realize that I have much more to learn from Rwanda than I could ever teach it. President Kagame once said that “Rwanda is a purpose-driven country”, and I am honored take part in this purpose. I love my own country and am proud to be from America, but I hope to take back lessons learned from Rwanda that will make my country a better place. One of my students told me he felt as though our lives were destined to cross, and I feel as though my life was destined to cross through the country of Rwanda. Rwanda will forever be a part of me."

Illegal Immigrant....Almost

This Sunday I had a visit from my village children again, and to save them a two hour walk, I give them the 25 minute car ride back to the bottom of the mountain where they live. On our way, we saw my friend Francis coming from Sonrise and stopped to pick him up to accompany us on our ride. Francis is a math teacher and the Discipline Master at Sonrise School and has become a very dear friend to me here in Rwanda. The road to this mountain is also the road to Uganda, and since Francis is from Uganda, he kept telling me “you are taking me home”. After we dropped the boys off, Francis said the border was only a short distance away. Since I had never seen the Ugandan border, we decided to continue on our way so that I could even just for a moment experience Francis’ homeland. However, we had no passports, no visas….nothing with us. Francis was sure that he could get us through to simply step foot on Ugandan soil, as he knew some of the border patrol.

When we arrive at the Rwandan border, we enter Immigration to talk with Francis’ friend, Jane. She let us past Immigration and told us next to talk to Border Patrol. We get permission from the Border Patrol Manager, but he says we have to park my car and go on foot, in the rain. Next we have to sweet talk security into actually letting us through the border. In between the border of Rwanda and Uganda is a distance of about 30 meters that is called No-Man’s Land because it belongs to neither country. We walk through No-Man’s Land and almost reach the Ugandan border, and then Francis has second thoughts. He knew he could get himself through without a passport, but he thought the Ugandan border patrol might try to bribe me because of the color of my skin. I concede and decide it probably wasn’t the smartest idea of my life….to try to illegally enter a country in Africa with no identification (my dad is getting a little worried reading this right now:). So we take some pictures in No-Man’s Land next to the Ugandan welcome sign, chat with some of Francis’ friends who were money exchangers, and safely head back home. Next time I attempt to enter Uganda, I will do it legally. But it made for an entertaining, random adventure nonetheless.

Francis and I in "No-Man's Land" at the Ugandan Border....with the welcome sign in the background, trying not to get arrested:)

Rwandans know how to party!

I was invited by the students to a party at Sonrise celebrating the fifth year anniversary of the Gospel Choir. The Gospel Choir is one of the choirs that sings in chapel and church every week at Sonrise High School, usually singing English songs. I went on a Saturday afternoon and was expecting to stay for a couple hours. What was I thinking? I forgot that nothing in Rwanda last only a couple of hours. Six hours later (literally), I emerged from the party…BUT I relished every second of it. It was a celebration of singing, dancing, and eating (and most of it was done in Kinyarwandan), all planned by the students. They do not have prom or homecoming, but every once in a while, they get the chance to celebrate something special. And celebrate is what they did. I was definitely underdressed in my jeans, as the students brought out their finest clothing, including stark white suits and long, flowing traditional Rwandan dresses. I hardly recognized them out of their usual school uniforms.

Here are some videos of the students singing and dancing. They definitely know how to praise Jesus here!

An Unwelcome Visitor

I had a little “visitor” last week, making itself at home in my kitchen and living room. There are very few things that instill fear in me. I have jumped out of an airplane at 20,000+ feet and moved to the middle of Africa by myself….but this little, tiny mouse caused a great amount of anxiety and stress for me. There are many visitors that I welcome….lizards, birds, an assortment of insects, malaria-infected mosquitos (okay, maybe not that)….but not that little mouse. I had never realized my phobia of mice before now, but I guess I have never had to share a house with one quite so brave. I found myself avoiding being in the house at all costs. As silly as it sounds, it was really the first time I have experienced fear since I got here. It was quite ridiculous now that I look back on it.

I put my guard Museveni on a mission. He got three traps to put around the house and checked them daily. He thoroughly got a kick out of my crazy antics about the stupid mouse. Museveni is very loyal and takes great care of me. He tried to assure me many times that the mouse could not actually hurt me. And finally, a few days after setting the traps, we caught the mouse. The little thing may have won the battle, but I won the war! (At least until the next one comes along.) Museveni was so excited about catching the mouse, I think because he knew it made me rest easier!

The good Lord taught me a little lesson about fear from this experience. The fact that I let something so tiny and insignificant instill worry and anxiety in me caused me to really think about fear. I am in the midst of a country and people who have experienced real fear….a fear that has justification. Everytime I would think about this, I re-evaluated my thoughts. However, the Lord did give me comfort, even in my trivial times of worry:)

Beach Vacation

Last week I adventured by myself to Gisenyi, a nearby lake-front “beach” town that I have been hearing about since I arrived in Rwanda. It was a national holiday in Rwanda, so school was out and I was needing to get out of town for the day to experience some new scenery. I decided that I would try out the public transportation system and ride the short one hour bus ride. I hopped on the Virunga Express bus fully expecting to be there in an hour; however, God has a sense of humor. On my first bus trip in Rwanda, the bus breaks down when we are about 10 miles outside of Gisenyi. While we are waiting, I attempt to talk to the boy sitting next to me who had very limited English. Since our conversation was limited, he decided that he would just draw me a picture instead. So he drew a flower in the back of my journal and wrote “its for your” ("for your" what?...not sure). I couldn’t help but laugh to myself as we finally realized the bus was not going to start, so we hopped off and stood stranded on the side of the road in the middle of Nowhere, Africa. Pretty soon, I have a crowd of about 20 town children standing around me just staring. They didn’t try to talk to me, they just stared at the “muzungu”. I love to watch the somber stares of the children break into smiles when I attempt my limited Kinyarwandan and ask them their names.
After about an hour, I manage to find the only person on the bus who spoke a little English, inquiring about how we were to keep traveling. Finally a small bus pulls up, and he tells me this might be our only hope if we want to get to town anytime soon. This was the kind of bus that I had seen and often laughed at riding down the road with about 30 Rwandans crammed into a space meant for about 8 people. They are literally stacked on top of one another. We hop into the crowded bus, with everyone getting a kick out of me being in the middle of the sardine packed vehicle. We kept pulling over to cram more people in, and I kept thinking there is no possible way more people can fit in this bus. Oh, but there is. They really thought it was amusing when I got my camera out and started taking pictures. This guy looks really amused, huh?

I finally arrive to Gisenyi and take a motorcycle taxi to the Serena Hotel, which is the only 5 star hotel in Rwanda. As I stepped onto the peaceful beach, I thought about the adventure of getting there and how I would not have had it any other way. After lunch, a massage, and meeting some very interesting travelers, I head back on an uneventful bus ride home.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

As promised, my four little village boys show up at Sonrise School bright and early on Sunday morning after their three hour walk down Virunga Mountain. They left their village at 6:00 in the morning to meet me at 9:00 after church at Sonrise. I was feeling a little pressure to show them a good time since they had journeyed so far. So I piled them in my car, went to the market to get some food and then brought them back to my house for the day. I could see their eyes widening as we pulled up to the gate, as I’m sure they have never been in a house this size. And their eyes really opened when we walked in the house and caught a glimpse of the television. I asked if they had ever watched a TV before, and two of the boys had not. So we turned on the television so they could experience a movie, but these usually active boys quickly got bored, especially since they couldn’t really follow what was being said. They head outside and find a skateboard, which they had never seen before, and were easily amused by pushing each other up and down the small sidewalk/drainage system around my house. Can't you see the pure bliss on their faces?
John Gaspar, Remember, John Rambert, and Elie....all cousins!

One of the boys’ older brothers showed up from his boarding school two hours away (I guess word had traveled that they were coming to a “muzungu’s” house), which was nice because he spoke good English and I had an interpreter for the rest of the afternoon. These hungry boys devoured the food I put before them, and I watched their eyes light up as I gave them each a Fanta. We spent the afternoon doing a Bible/English lesson, learning songs, and playing soccer. The boys spent most of the day at my house, and I dropped them off at the bottom of the mountain so they could make it back to the village before dark.

"Teacher" Anna.....teaching a bible lesson on the computer and teaching "Jesus Loves Me". Here is a video of the kids singing....please excuse the leader of the song and the poor videography! I gave them the words to the song and made them promise they would teach it to the other children in their village.

This was another one of those simple but incredibly rich days, where I am blessed far beyond my capacity for holding blessings. As I watched the smiles on their faces and the sparkles in their eyes, I came to appreciate the simplicity of life a little more.

A group shot with my visitors

The Simple Life

Last week, I had the most amazing day with my friend Tom Allen and several other visitors that were in town. We started off the day by visiting the Musanze Cave, which is a deep rocky cave outside of Musanze inhabiting millions of little bats, who did not seem too pleased with their visitors. We also had several little Rwandan “tour guides” who accompanied us along the way. The cave required pretty strenuous climbing over mounds of slippery rocks, and several of these boys were barefoot and had no light of their own to guide them. We saw bones in the crevices of the cave, which we presumed to be human remains from people hiding during the genocide.

Here is a picture of us with some of our "tour guides".

Coming out of the cave...

It is a great feeling when you walk into a remote village in the middle of Africa and all of the children come running towards you, yelling your name and greeting you with big hugs. It is kind of humorous because Virunga Lodge is an upscale African resort (that costs around $1000 per night) where we like to go for dinner, but our favorite part of going there is to visit the locals. I saw the same boys that had walked 3 hours to send me an email the previous week, and this time they tell me that they had walked the 3 hours (each way) again to come visit me at Sonrise on Sunday. I had no way of knowing these kids were coming, and they don’t really understand the concept that just because I work at Sonrise doesn’t mean that I am there all the time. Talk about feeling guilty! I promised these boys that if they came back this week, I would definitely be there.

We hike past the village for a couple hours all the way down the mountain to the lake, accompanied by about 30 kids. Tom pulls out his flashcards, and we have mini English and Math lessons on the side of the mountain while we are waiting for the boat to come take us across the lake.

The first boat we got in quickly filled up with water….we decided this probably wouldn’t be a good idea.

We pile on the next boat, along with my favorite boys, to go across the lake to visit a nearby island. Once we get to the island (which is really more like a small mountain), we hike all the way up and come across a mud hut school in session. This Primary school had no running water, no electricity, and only three teachers to teach all of the students. We go into the classroom and Tom performs a quick English lesson to a lot of really stunned students, who were shocked to see white skin in the middle of this remote island. Next we go into a home of one of the locals, and I look up to see probably about a hundred children trying to get a glimpse through the windows and doors. As is custom here, we are asked to say a blessing on the home before leaving. So we all gather around, hold hands, and Tom prays for this family and the rest of the village. Below is a picture of our new friends gathering on the bank to wave goodbye.

My sweet friend Elie....as he has told me several times, "I am so happy you are my friend."
The boat takes us back across the lake to Virunga mountain, and as we are getting closer, the mountain seems to be getting steeper and steeper. We literally hike straight up the mountain, in a single file line and on a barely-there path no wider than six inches. I am not afraid of heights, but there were several times which I looked down the steep mountainside and thought to myself….”if I even barely stumble, if I take one wrong step…..this could be very bad!” At one point I looked behind me to find a line of children winding around the path as far as my eyes could see. Whenever I started to think how exhausted I was, I just looked down at the little girl who was about two years old, barefoot, and not even at all affected….and re-evaluated my thoughts.

We end our day by eating at the wonderful Virunga Lodge and dining with some very interesting people who were staying at the lodge.

This was an amazing, exhausting, adventure-filled, unexpected day….but, then again, I have come to have no expectations about what my days will hold here in Rwanda. I must quote my friend Tom here, as he wrote on his blog about this very same day: “I strongly believe that we should live “intentionally”, and not simply “sleepwalk” through life. HOWEVER, I also believe that if we squeeze life too hard, insisting upon every last drop, we can choke it to death. Life is very good. The best of my life here in Rwanda is VERY simple. I feel very privileged and blessed.” Enjoy the simple things in life!