This morning I did the usual routine, washing and walking to school with Aline and Natete again. Then Brittany went to play with Claudine while I went to help some of the Mamas in the kitchen. I helped peel sweet potatoes and green bananas. We used these really big knifes, so I had to learn the right way to use it, and I got the hang of it pretty quick. When Brittany joined in later, she had a bit more trouble than I did because she had never done it before. It would have been so much quicker of we had peelers, but we have to do with what we have.
I really liked sitting down with the women in the kitchen. I think that they felt more comfortable talking among each other and asking me questions. I got to learn a lot about the Mamas' lives. I feel as though they have really accepted me, and they are all very patient with me. They ask me about the kind of food that I used to eat in Burundi, and they tell me that they will try to find it at the market and make it for me. They always point at food and tell me the name and ask me if I have had it in Burundi and if they have it in America. They were very surprised to hear that there were a lot of potatoes in America and it made me laugh. They told me that they only though that Americans ate fries and pasta.
A couple of times, they have made a small plate of food for me that we had talked about previously, and it really touched me. They would hand me the plate saying “like Burundi”. They are really nice to me and I am glad to have been able to connect to these women.
Another question that they seem to ask me over and over is if I am married and have any kids. One of the Mamas is only 24 and just had her second child. They did not believe me that I was going into my third year of university either. They think I am too young. One of the Mamas asked me if it was also tradition in America for the family of the bride to get cows when they got married, and I told them that no, it was not tradition, but that I was sure that my brothers in Burundi would appreciate some! I feel like I am learning as much as I am teaching. I have found a great way to ease back into my culture back because these women know all the songs and the stories that I used to hear as a child. They joke that I am like a kid because I get very excited when I hear a song or a story that I remember.
There is no water!!! Thankfully, there are three big tanks of reserved water, and so we have to get buckets and haul the water from the tanks to the kitchen and anywhere else where we need water. The buckets get heavy and tiring after carrying them for a while. This also happens frequently, especially since we are in the dry season, but Mama Arlene and the staff are always prepared and we also have water bottles. However, we cannot take showers because that would just be a waste of water, especially since we don't know how long we won't have water for...
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A Late Night & A Flying Light
I stayed up way too late last night. Meredith, Brittany and I just hung out and got to know each other. We realized how much we had in common and it was great to just talk to them. Both are really interesting, and I am quite happy that I have made two friends that share the same passions I do. By the way, Meredith is in the Peace Corps and lives two houses away. She just comes over a lot to take showers and use the Internet, which she does not have at her house. She is really fascinating and knows quite a bit of Kinyarwanda. She took three months of classes before coming here. The kids love her. She is of Chinese heritage, and the kids don't really know what to make of her and they either refer to her as “muzungu” or “la chinoise” (the Chinese). She is able to communicate with the kids pretty well and they all love her, she is great with them.
After Meredith went to her house, Brittany and I tried to stay up so that we could greet the new volunteer that was coming in at the airport at around 10:45. We stayed up until 12:40, but then we went to bed because we were too tired. At 5:00 in the morning I heard knocking on the front door and I went to open the front door, and it was the guards with suitcases. It figures that Andi's plane had been delayed for four hours in Nairobi. Her plane had landed at 4:00 AM instead of 10:45 PM. Mama Arlene had waited for her the whole time at the Kigali airport. Andi was exhausted and she went to bed, while Mama Arlene rested for 30 minutes and she was back up on her feet running the business as usual.
This afternoon, I taught the biggest Taekwondo class yet. There were easily 40 or more kids. A lot were from the neighborhood. We had a great time, and everything went better than usual. Brittany helped me out as much as she could, and class lasted for about three hours. At the end, we formed a really big circle, and the couple of students, who have taken martial arts before, did some demonstrations, which were really great. Of course they wanted me to perform and I made up a combination that ended up in splits. I found out later that I ripped my jeans and so now I only have one pair of jeans left! Brittany, Andi and Meredith made so much fun of me for it, and we had a good laugh about it throughout the night.
Right as we were about to go down for dinner, the kids started yelling and pointing at the sky, and I looked up and I saw the most amazing thing ever. I am not sure if it was a shooting star, a comet, or whatever, but it was very low in the sky and very bright. It was absolutely breathtaking and incredible! I really wish I knew what it was, because I have never seen anything like that before. According to Mama Arlene, it was too low in the sky to be a shooting star… but it was just amazing!
After that, we also found out that there was no electricity so we had to eat by candlelight. The kids were not fazed in the least by the lack of electricity because it is something that happens regularly.
When we were all walking back to our rooms, the sky looked so pure and clean and the stars were so bright! There was no electricity at all in the town so we had a perfect view without light pollution. I thought that the Iowa sky was amazing, but it doesn't even compare to here. It was as if an artist had painted the stars in gold on a black canvas.
After that, the girls and I hung out and we got to know Andi a bit better. She fits right in with the group. She is 21, from New Jersey, a fourth year at Vanderbilt, and easy to talk to.
After Meredith went to her house, Brittany and I tried to stay up so that we could greet the new volunteer that was coming in at the airport at around 10:45. We stayed up until 12:40, but then we went to bed because we were too tired. At 5:00 in the morning I heard knocking on the front door and I went to open the front door, and it was the guards with suitcases. It figures that Andi's plane had been delayed for four hours in Nairobi. Her plane had landed at 4:00 AM instead of 10:45 PM. Mama Arlene had waited for her the whole time at the Kigali airport. Andi was exhausted and she went to bed, while Mama Arlene rested for 30 minutes and she was back up on her feet running the business as usual.
This afternoon, I taught the biggest Taekwondo class yet. There were easily 40 or more kids. A lot were from the neighborhood. We had a great time, and everything went better than usual. Brittany helped me out as much as she could, and class lasted for about three hours. At the end, we formed a really big circle, and the couple of students, who have taken martial arts before, did some demonstrations, which were really great. Of course they wanted me to perform and I made up a combination that ended up in splits. I found out later that I ripped my jeans and so now I only have one pair of jeans left! Brittany, Andi and Meredith made so much fun of me for it, and we had a good laugh about it throughout the night.
Right as we were about to go down for dinner, the kids started yelling and pointing at the sky, and I looked up and I saw the most amazing thing ever. I am not sure if it was a shooting star, a comet, or whatever, but it was very low in the sky and very bright. It was absolutely breathtaking and incredible! I really wish I knew what it was, because I have never seen anything like that before. According to Mama Arlene, it was too low in the sky to be a shooting star… but it was just amazing!
After that, we also found out that there was no electricity so we had to eat by candlelight. The kids were not fazed in the least by the lack of electricity because it is something that happens regularly.
When we were all walking back to our rooms, the sky looked so pure and clean and the stars were so bright! There was no electricity at all in the town so we had a perfect view without light pollution. I thought that the Iowa sky was amazing, but it doesn't even compare to here. It was as if an artist had painted the stars in gold on a black canvas.
After that, the girls and I hung out and we got to know Andi a bit better. She fits right in with the group. She is 21, from New Jersey, a fourth year at Vanderbilt, and easy to talk to.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Learning In The Kitchen
My day started great. The shower water was hot the whole time! I have come to appreciate the simple things that make a lot of difference and that I used to take for granted just a couple of days ago.
Brittany and I went over to the girls’ house, and I showed Brittany how to wash them, apply lotion, and dress them. They all know how it is supposed to be done, so when we don't know what to do, we ask them, and they are very helpful and independent. We wash the girls from a basin, if they are lucky, the water might be a bit warm, otherwise the water is freezing. We wet, soap, and rinse them, and then they all stand around the basin so that everyone gets rinsed with clean water.
Even when the water is freezing cold, they never complain, and that makes our job easier. They are all very easy to take care of because they have never been exposed to anything else and they are not spoiled.
We walked the girls to school again, and Brittany came along. The other kids were starting at her, and saying “ Muzungu” but she didn't seem too fazed by that. She was just happy to be able to walk the girls the girls to school and see what the school looked like.
After we got back, Brittany took care of Claudine, and I went to help some of the Mamas with laundry. I did two basins full of clothes and my back was killing me. My hands were red from the scrubbing. I then went to go do my own laundry, and even though I didn't have much, it still took me a good hour and a half. I usually say that I have it easy in America but I never realized just how easy I had it. Two of the Mamas spend about three hours a day just doing laundry by hand. That is a lot of clothing considering that there are 40 kids at Urukundo. The three hours that they spend doing laundry could so easily be spend doing something else if we had washing machines. Not to mention that the work is absolutely backbreaking. For me, that was definitely a reality check, and made me really aware of what I have and don't have. Thank God that I brought very little clothes with me!
I later on went to help the Mamas with getting lunch ready. I want to learn how to cook the food that I eat, so that I can do it once I am back in Maryland and Iowa. I observed very carefully what they did and wrote down a couple of recipes. The Mamas were a bit surprise at my willingness to help clean and they kept asking me if I was tired and that it was ok for me to stop at any time. I don't think that they have had any volunteers help them with the cleaning and cooking the way I did.
It is important for me to be involved because this is something that I have missed out on, and I am desperately trying to make up for the time I lost. I talked to the Mamas, and I think they understood my need to learn and to feel like I was one of them. I could see that they made an effort to ask me about my past, about the food I remember, and try to teach me what they know. I am really grateful that they are so understanding, and that they see how excited I get when I rediscover something I have not seen since I was ten and five years old. For me, a lot of things are like relearning and rediscovering. It is great!
Brittany and I went over to the girls’ house, and I showed Brittany how to wash them, apply lotion, and dress them. They all know how it is supposed to be done, so when we don't know what to do, we ask them, and they are very helpful and independent. We wash the girls from a basin, if they are lucky, the water might be a bit warm, otherwise the water is freezing. We wet, soap, and rinse them, and then they all stand around the basin so that everyone gets rinsed with clean water.
Even when the water is freezing cold, they never complain, and that makes our job easier. They are all very easy to take care of because they have never been exposed to anything else and they are not spoiled.
We walked the girls to school again, and Brittany came along. The other kids were starting at her, and saying “ Muzungu” but she didn't seem too fazed by that. She was just happy to be able to walk the girls the girls to school and see what the school looked like.
After we got back, Brittany took care of Claudine, and I went to help some of the Mamas with laundry. I did two basins full of clothes and my back was killing me. My hands were red from the scrubbing. I then went to go do my own laundry, and even though I didn't have much, it still took me a good hour and a half. I usually say that I have it easy in America but I never realized just how easy I had it. Two of the Mamas spend about three hours a day just doing laundry by hand. That is a lot of clothing considering that there are 40 kids at Urukundo. The three hours that they spend doing laundry could so easily be spend doing something else if we had washing machines. Not to mention that the work is absolutely backbreaking. For me, that was definitely a reality check, and made me really aware of what I have and don't have. Thank God that I brought very little clothes with me!
I later on went to help the Mamas with getting lunch ready. I want to learn how to cook the food that I eat, so that I can do it once I am back in Maryland and Iowa. I observed very carefully what they did and wrote down a couple of recipes. The Mamas were a bit surprise at my willingness to help clean and they kept asking me if I was tired and that it was ok for me to stop at any time. I don't think that they have had any volunteers help them with the cleaning and cooking the way I did.
It is important for me to be involved because this is something that I have missed out on, and I am desperately trying to make up for the time I lost. I talked to the Mamas, and I think they understood my need to learn and to feel like I was one of them. I could see that they made an effort to ask me about my past, about the food I remember, and try to teach me what they know. I am really grateful that they are so understanding, and that they see how excited I get when I rediscover something I have not seen since I was ten and five years old. For me, a lot of things are like relearning and rediscovering. It is great!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Worship
It is tradition for everyone who stays in the guesthouse to eat breakfast together at 8:30. A good friend of Mama Arlene (who works in Kigali for the government and comes over to visit every weekend) made an omelet and it was delicious. We then headed over to the boys home for worship. The kids led it, and it was wonderful. They read verses from the bible (the message was working in unity), sang, and danced. Even Natete and Aline had their own little traditional dance, and they looked great doing it.
I later gave a Taekwondo lesson and Brittany joined in. The kids were helping her keep up and correcting her moves. They did great as usual.
I later gave a Taekwondo lesson and Brittany joined in. The kids were helping her keep up and correcting her moves. They did great as usual.
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