The group in the beginning - Oct. 2011

Feb. 2012 - we've grown so much!

Hi all!  I just got back from Bible study - every Thursday I’ve been going to out in a nearby village, Kinigi, to meet with a women’s Bible study.  The group was started by Kortney and Natalie, two missionaries here.  Originally about 8 women came every week, but that number has now grown to around 20.  Kortney and Natalie also work with a group of about 10 women 3-4 times a week at their home.  The women make cards and bracelets, and sew.  This gives them an income doing an activity other than what they would normally be doing, such as breaking rocks into gravel (which is as hard as it sounds, and doesn’t pay much).  Being with the women is such a great experience - their joy is contagious, and a humbling reminder of all that we take for granted.  Plus, the women have the CUTEST kids.  I thought it was well past time to share the love!  (Thank you, Natalie, for the pictures!)

Gisenyi/Akagera pictures

Sunset on Lake Kivu

Hi all!  Here are some long overdue pictures of a trip I took to Gisenyi.  A friend and I rented bikes and took them on a trail that winds alongside Lake Kivu.  It was really beautiful, and we saw lots of kids along the way.  They all laughed at my Kinyarwanda, but I’m just going to pretend it’s because they were surprised at how good it was...

Kids beside the trail - so cute!

Fishermen in Gisenyi

I’m also posting some pictures of a trip I took with the Kings to Akagera Park in eastern Rwanda.  We (the Kings, Louise’s parents Bill and Lydia, and I) stayed in the lodge the first  night, then we met up with our cousins Sam and James to camp out the second night.  We saw a good bit of game - zebra, giraffes, topi, hippos, warthogs, and crocodiles, to name a few.  Hope y'all enjoy the pictures!  Will post again soon with updates on school, etc.

 

Buffalo 

Sunset at our campsite in Akagera

Merry Christmas to everyone from Rwanda!  Today has been soo busy - we opened stockings, had an early breakfast, and headed to the English service at church this morning.  Church was great – we sang “Joy to the World” twice!  It was quite a change from the Kinyarwanda service last night – I’m assuming we didn’t sing the same songs, though I would never have known if we did.  I understood maybe three words at the Kinyarwanda service, but the dancing definitely did not need translating.  Everyone was out in the aisles dancing and having a great time.  I have no idea how late the service went on, since we left at 9:30 pm, but I suspect it stretched on well after we left.

After church we had brunch and opened presents.  All the kids (and yes, I’m including myself in this) are currently admiring their loot.  I think the best present so far is the 3-foot-tall wooden zebra Lydia picked out for herself. - “Suzy” is presently beside the door giving everyone the evil eye.  We also put together a delicious dinner (I apparently have some latent culinary talent) and went for a walk.  Our cousin Sam and his girlfriend, Christine, came down from Kigali to eat and hang out.  It has been an awesome (and tiring, but isn’t Christmas always?) day!  I miss everyone so much, but I’m so blessed to be celebrating Christmas in Rwanda!  Happy holidays!!

XO,

Sara

I haven’t posted in a while, so this may turn into two entries (or just one that’s long and rambling). First, Excel School had their graduation a few weeks ago. It was great to see all the kids in their robes – they looked so adorable! The school marched around the block, and then the ceremony began. All in all, it lasted about 4 hours, and I got to wear a mushanana, a traditional Rwandese dress. I loved it, even though the skirt was about six inches too long and kept dragging in the dirt (sorry, Pam!). I stayed afterward to talk to the students’ parents and give out report cards, so by the time I got home, it was well after dark. It was a pretty tiring but great day!

P3 singing a song - there's Lydia in the front

With my class during their performance (they were great!)

With Pam, Excel's headmisstress

Some of the kids from my class with their diplomas

Lydia, Moses (the Kings’ Rwandan foster child), and I also dressed up for Halloween and went trick-or-treating at all the muzungu houses – about 10 houses in all. Lydia was Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Moses was a Chinese emperor, and I was a muzungutourist. Special thank-you to Lydia for pointing out that I wasn’t actually in costume, though I like to think I look alittle less ridiculous in my day-to-day life. Moses and Lydia got lots of candy, and Lydia is showing remarkable self-control by saving hers until Sara, Hannah, and Caleb, Jr. come home (at least, she says she is).

Eating at Virunga Lodge

Volcanoes at sunset

Kaile, the visiting medical resident, and me (Lake Rehonda in the background)

Last Sunday I went up to Virunga Lodge with a few people for the day, including the visiting medical resident, the veterinarian and intern with the Mountain Gorillas Veterinary Project, and a few other Americans. The view was, in a word, spectacular. From the lodge you can see six of the volcanoes that make up the Virunga Mountains (thank you, Wikipedia). A few of the six straddle the border of Rwanda and the DRC and Rwanda and Uganda. I’m thinking of climbing one of the smaller ones soon – some of them only take a few hours.

Other than that, things have been pretty quiet around here! Now that the Excel term is over, Lydia and I do homeschooling for a couple of hours in the morning and then usually go to the pool before lunch. Moses is learning to swim, but until he learns, he has a cute little green outfit that one of the cousins donated. We also play tennis when we can, and generally do one or two hours of schooling in the afternoon as well. I went to Kigali over the weekend, and I have to say, it really made me appreciate Musanze. I had a lot of fun and ate some great food, but I realized how accessible things in Musanze are. Everything is within walking distance, and it’s nice and cool here. That said, I think I have the best of both worlds – I can easily ride the bus to Kigali, but can get pretty much anything in Musanze.

So I think that about wraps it up -I promise I won’t take so long to post my next entry! Lydia and I are getting ready to visit the Catholic nuns next door, so my next post may come sooner rather than later...

View from the cottage in Mombasa

Hi all!  I just got back from vacation in Mombasa, Kenya, and let me tell you, it was awesome.  On the flight from Nairobi (where we met up with Sara, Hannah, and Caleb, Jr.) we flew right past Mt. Kilimanjaro, so I can now say I’ve seen the tallest mountain in the world – we’ll overlook the fact that it was from an airplane window.  The cottage where we stayed in Diani Beach (slightly south of Mombasa) was right on the ocean, so we had an incredible view of the beach.  The ocean itself was a little seaweed-y, but I think I’ve been spoiled by Pawleys.  However, we did go snorkeling in the barrier reef, and saw tons of fish, coral, and even a baby shark (from the safety of the boat, or I likely would’ve had a heart attack).  I got in some great reading time by the pool, and I like to think I got a little more tan.  My dad hit the nail on the head when he told me it sounded like I was not roughing it.  It was a great trip, but I’m glad to be back in Ruhengeri!

Unexpected visitors in Mombasa - there were monkeys everywhere!  These particular ones had just stolen our bread and were enjoying it out of our reach.

            As you all (hopefully) know, I’ve been teaching at Excel School in addition to homeschooling.  The schedule, now that we’ve finally nailed it down, has been: Lydia and I do homeschooling for an hour in the morning; she goes to school while I teach the kindergarten class, and then we do another couple of hours of homeschooling after lunch.  This plan has seemed to work pretty well, as the homeschooling doesn’t get too monotonous, but it can be tricky when the kids ask why I don’t stay with them the whole day.  It feels a bit like I’m cheating them by only coming for a few hours.  There are a few kids who need a lot of extra help with reading, so when the terms ends next week (so short!), I’m thinking the next term may be different.  I’d really like to work it out so that I can come in a few times a week to work with the children who need extra help – that way I can give them individual attention, which is a little difficult now.

Beautiful view of the volcanoes one morning

            My talking about the next school term has probably clued most people in that I’m thinking of staying longer.  I’m applying for my visa as soon as I get the necessary documents, but if it’s approved (fingers crossed), I’m not quite sure how long I’ll stay.  I only know that I love Ruhengeri and want to stay longer than the three months I’d originally planned.  Of course, I miss a lot about the US (Netflix comes to mind) and the people there, but Rwanda has been an amazing experience, and one that I’m not ready to cut short.

            I’m feeling like I’m starting to ramble, so I’ll end here.  Also, tomorrow is Lydia’s birthday, and something tells me I’ll need a lot of sleep to be in top form to chaperone a 9-year-old’s sleepover.  Wish me luck!

Hi all!  I’m now in my third week in Musanze, and people are continually asking me what my first impressions have been and what the biggest shock/surprise has been so far.  As for the first question, Rwanda is beautiful.  Breathtakingly so.  I flew into Kigali with another group from South Carolina (Pawleys Island, coincidentally) in the early evening last Friday.  Kigali is so gorgeous at nighttime – it’s built on a hill, so in the dark all you can  see is a rolling sea of lights.  I met up with my cousins, Caleb and Louise King, and their daughter Lydia, who I’m homeschooling, and spent Friday night with them in Kigali.  Saturday morning we arrived in Ruhengeri after a bumpy but beautiful car ride.  So my first impression of Rwanda was that it was incredibly gorgeous, and that impression has not proved wrong yet.  Tuesday we went for a hike to see the hydroelectric project Caleb is developing.  I’ve posted some pictures - it was great to be able to see the project coming along, and the view was pretty amazing.

                         

 

                
                 We also drove up to Volcanoes National Park, where the mountain gorillas live. We didn't see any gorillas but we did walk through the park. It was amazing to see the volcanoes - you can see them from Musanze, but they're even more incredible close up.

                                                                    
                                                                      
                                                                                                      Sabyinyo Volcano

As for the second question, the most shocking thing so far has been how decidedly un-shocking everything is.Of course, I get a lot of looks and have gotten used to hearing “Muzungu! Muzungu!” (white person) when I go out.But overall, the people have been incredibly friendly, and the culture shock has been minimal.It helps that many people have a better grasp of English than I do of Kinyarwanda and that I’m fortunate enough to be staying in a house with electricity, hot water (!), internet, and delicious food (prepared by the King’s cook, Beatrice, who is helping me with my Kinyarwanda).

I hope to have a little more news by my next post; I’m still getting settled in.  I've started homeschooling with Lydia, and am also teaching at the school down the street in the mornings.  But I think y’all will be happy to know (well, my mom will, anyway) that I haven’t had to use this suggested phrase from my guidebook: Mushobora guhagarika busi, nkeneye kuruka (Can you stop the bus, I think I need to vomit).