Care Package

I just received my first care package since arriving to Rwanda and you can't imagine the smile on my face at the moment of receiving a well sized small box in brown paper. The care package was sent by my best and dearest friend Ilona back in Chicago and in addition to all the love packed in there, here what Ilona also included:

Latest season of Family Guy (perfect for those many quiet nights at site with no entertainment)
Gummy Warms
Neon Sour Gummy Warms
Sour Patch Kids
Life Savers Gummies (ok I've developed a strange craving for anything sweet the past couple of months here!! I use to never like sweets)
tic tac (5 of them)
Packets of Dentyne Ice gum and Trident!
Oral-B tooth brush
Mint Waxed floss
AfterBite itch relief (this will come in handy following all those malaria infested mosquito bites)
lip balm
band aid
Extra strength Tylenol
Antibacterial hand sanitizing spray (can't get enough of this with all the kids I come in contact with)

And of course a cute little note from Ilona... I love you girl :o)

p.s. I specially requested gummy bears and am attacking those right now. so gots to go.

CIAO

Week ONE!!

First week at mysite was eventful!! We got there on Saturday, April 18th. That day we met with our resource family over some Fanta (fanta is the general term for soft drinks here, you can ask for fanta coka, fanta sprite, or fanta orange). On Sunday, we had two guys help us clean the house (I share a two bedroom house with another volunteer). That day, we went to a baptism party for our host family's 10-months old daughter. On Monday, I started work with the NGO I'm assigned to, the Access Project. We accompanied our counterpart, Dr paul, on visits to several health centers as part of an audit review of the health insurance services in the district.

On Tuesday, I was interacting with some orphan kids at an orphanage adjacent to one of the district hospitals and of course all those kids had to cough in my face which left me sick and house bound for the rest of the week (I'm still trying to fully recover or "yashize" in kinyarwanda). Thursday night, we were invited out to dinner with the Chief Police Commander in our district and were accompanied by the mayor and other officials. Saturday, I worked on fixing my Peace Corps issued mountian bike and that night we went to visit another volunteer at a city nearby. We spent the night there and came back the next day in the afternoon.

Today, I'm back in the office and setting up a work plan for the week with more health center visits and assessments as well as interviewing for health insurance managers for the district...fun fun!!

At Site

Yesterday was my first day as a Peace Corps Volunteer working with the Access Project in the Northern Province. I’m placed at a small village about an hour away from the capital Kigali to the north with a population of about 19,000. The district here supports 2 district hospitals and 19 health centers, three of which I visited yesterday, as part of an audit round with the Mutuelle managers (Mutuelle, is the national health insurance provider in Rwanda).

The north is known for it’s high mountains and cold weather. In the background from my new house is Mount Kaboye (aver 8,000 ft high). My plan is to hike mount Kaboye’s peak which takes about 3 hours one way from the base.

Other attractions include the Gorilla National Part which is about 30 minutes away as well as the volcanoes (45 minutes away).

My village itself has little to offer other than the welcoming people and the beautiful nature. The market is open only 2 days a week and there’s only one decent restaurant on the main road, which turns into a truckers’ stop at night. There’re two or three other restaurants that I’m yet to visit.

Swearing-In Ceremony

Last week marked our transition from Peace Corps Trainees to Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs). On Wednesday, April 15th, 2009, 32 PCVs were sworn-in in a small ceremony hosted by the US Ambassador to Rwanda. Our group thus became the first PCVs to return to Rwanda in 15 years. The ceremony was attended by government officials, representatives from global NGOs and other local organizations, returning PCVs, as well as PC/Rwanda staff. The ceremony was also covered by members of the media on both TV and radio (a picture of me and other volunteers was on the cover of the local paper).

http://rwanda.usembassy.gov

The next day we were treated to a picnic on Lake Muhazi (about 1.5 hours east of Kigali) before we are dropped off at our sites. The picnic was a great stress relief and offered us a lot of fun activities starting with playing soccer and volleyball, to meat and fish brochettes, and finally with the US marine guards taking us water boarding on the lake.

Peace Corps Trainee to Peace Corps Volunteer

Tomorrow I, along with 31 other trainees, we get sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers. We spent the last 10 weeks in training. We trained in the language, kenyarwanda, cross culture and healthcare in Rwanda.

This week we're in the capital and preparing for the swearing-in ceremony, which will be held at the Ambassador's office. I'll be moving to my site this Sunday, which is really exciting. I'll be working with an NGO called Project Access. I'll be working with healthcare centers and hospitals on improving services. In addition I'll be working on other HIV/AIDS programs.

I'll write more in a future post. For now I'm looking forward to the swearing-in ceremony

Amahoro (peace)

Earthquake

So I experienced my first earthquake here in Rwanda (third in a life time)!! So the country of 1,000 hills were formed through a series of earthquakes that continue on regular bases. The earthquake registered 6.1 and was about 200 miles away. the quake was strong but short it lasted about 30 seconds. By the time I realized what was going on it had stopped. but it sure was interesting.

Kinyarwanda Vocabulary

Due to popular request here are some vocabulary for your reference. In general, kinyarwandan words end in e and is pronounced like in spanish (muramutse is muramutseh)

Murakaza Naza Welcome
Muraho Hello
Muramutse Good morning
Mwerewe (pronounced Merewe) Good afternoon
Bite se? (beates) What's up?
Beragenda? how's it going?
Murabeho Good bye

Yego Yes
Oya No

Sawa Ok

I'll continue to update this on regular bases but feel free to ask me