The Rwandaful Times, Vol 1, Issue 1

Has it really been a month since I’ve last written? My apologies for the brief hiatus and for those that have requested an update, I hope you like the new format. I think that somewhere between my writers block and the World Cup, I lost track of keeping notes and writing down my thoughts. I’ve realized though that my scattered ideas don’t always translate into a well written blog entry, so I’m introducing The Rwandaful Times as a happy medium. I figured I’d be able to touch on various areas of life here, while breaking from the traditional, coherent blog entry. I was going to announce it on ESPN “The Decision II” but thought this was a much better platform.

The Rwandaful Times

Local News:
Nyamagabe is receiving highly anticipated fiber optic cables, which will provide high-speed internet to the area. Despite the fact that that meant water was shut off in the region without warning, many people are excited for the opportunity to use high-speed internet. On what you might ask? Well that is to be determined. But hey, if that means I’ll be able to stream Seahawks highlights come this Fall, I’m not complaining. In the mean time, it’s providing jobs or at least paying lots of men with shovels that are struck with a confused look on their faces while staring at the red and yellow tubing.

International News:
Uganda has recently been added to our Peace Corps do not travel list which effectively means we cannot travel to 3 of the 4 surrounding countries. Good thing Tressa and I picked Tanzania/Zanzibar for our Christmas/New Years plans!

The 4th of July was celebrated in true Amerrrika fashion with hot dogs (yes they have them here), mustard (yes that can be shipped here), ketchup, and chips. Tressa and I invited some of our friends over for a 4th of July weekend which was a lot of fun. We all wore red, white and blue, sat up on my deck and cooked hot dogs over the kerosene stove while listening to music from home. It was refreshing and for a few fleeting moments, felt like we were sitting around a campfire back in the states.

Business:
We have moved past the Internal Saving and Lending Group (ISLG) assessment phase and have moved into the training (or in some cases re-training) phase. The typical day consists of arriving out in a village (usually at a school room or a local leader’s office) to greet roughly 60 farmers/merchants who have divided themselves into 3 ISLGs based on location, which is typically their village (umudugudu). Flavien who I mainly travel with now, outlines what ISLGs are, how they work and other big picture stuff. For the first few trainings, I’ve mainly played what I call the ‘motivational speaker’ role in which Flavien asks me to talk about benefits of ISLGs. Most of the time he just tells me when to start talking and will translate anything I need help with, which at this point, is still a lot of what I say. Unfortunately, discussing how and why to save the little money that many of these people earn was not in my Pre-Service Training Language classes. I’m confident that as time goes on however I’ll find my niche in these sessions. In fact, last week while attending a conference put on by CHF, we were taught new lessons in ISLG training, some of which Flavien and I both agreed would be great ways for me to be more involved in the trainings, while at the same time using Kinyarwanda.

Sports:
The World Cup has come and gone, and although Spain won, Rwandans stopped caring once Ghana lost to Uruguay. I’m sure this goes for most of the continent, as many countries seemed to suddenly become general “African” supporters once the Black Star nation was “their” only hope. I’ll have to admit that I was a bit happier after Ghana lost. Hearing Rwandans chant “Yes We Can” after Ghana beat the US struck a protective, patriotic cord with me that was somehow ameliorated with a Ghanaian loss. In the end, I’m very happy that Africans are proud to have hosted the World Cup (although it was SA) and am lucky to have been here while it was happening.

Home Life:
I’ve recently found that American English is a great bargaining tool and have since struck two important deals. First, I agreed to teach my neighbor Joseph in exchange for Kinyarwanda and French lessons twice a week. Second, I agreed to teach my neighbor’s cook Manzi in exchange for dinner most weeknights. It’s a win-win-win situation for all of us and one that I’m hoping can last awhile.…especially the dinner deal.