Merry Christmas from Rwanda! Hopefully this will be the last post I start off with an apology for how long its been since I’ve posted. Now that I’m moved in to my site, I think I’ll have more time to keep Rwandanights updated.
Big things have happened since my last post: I have been sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer and installed at the site where I’ll be working for my two years of service. Our swearing-in ceremony took place last Thursday at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Kigali. Six members of my training class were asked to give speeches in French, English, and Kinyarwanda- and I was asked to be one of the two giving the speech in Kinyarwanda. As it turns out, Rwandan film crews showed up and the ceremony was broadcast on national television and radio. I’ve had people recognize me from the news coverage since coming to my site. For those interested, my co-speaker in Kinyarwanda recorded our speech and put it up on youtube, for anyone interested, and I also have a link to an article in English written about the ceremony in the New Times here.
http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14841&article=48190\
Our site installations began the day after swear-in, but because there are 36 of us traveling to all corners of the country, installations were spread out over three days. I was installed on the final day, so I had a few days to relax in Kigali, spend time with friends I won’t see for 3 months, buy things for my house, and generally decompress after the break-neck pace of training. We even found a place in Kigali that sells bagels and cream cheese! As days passed, the Peace Corps hostel where we were staying got successively quieter until Sunday, when our last group was installed. Three of us, along with all our belongings, were fit into a Landcruiser-sized SUV, and we were on our way.
When I was dropped off that morning, my house was still being cleaned by the school’s staff, so I spent my first night in a guest house. Since I didn’t really want to unpack all of my stuff to get to my cooking gear, I decided I would survive the first night on peanut butter (from Kigali) and trailmix (from America- thanks Mom.) Luckily, I my school’s Director of Student Affairs invited me to a ceremony for his youngest child, who had been blessed at church that day, and food was served. Despite not having done much of anything that day, I was exhausted and went to bed early.
The next morning, I moved my things into my new house. The house is beautiful and spacious- there are three bedrooms along with a living/dining room, and an enclosed kitchen across a small breezeway and an indoor bathroom. I even have electricity and running water, which comes from a water-catchment tank hooked up to my roof. The administration tells me I will probably be having 1 or 2 Rwandan room mates, which is fine with me. It’s a little lonely around here at night, and I certainly don’t need a place this big to myself. So far, the place is entirely unfurnished with the exception of a large bed, small desk and desk chair provided by the school. One of the things I need to take care of this week is finding someone to build me some furniture. Until my students return in February, I don’t really have much to do. My main priority is community integration, which basically means walking around the community and introducing myself to people. I’ve gotten a pretty good start on this I think, since I visited a number of people in their homes last week (as per Rwandan culture.)
Celebrating Christmas here was a bit strange. I spent the 24th with my site mate, another PC Volunteer who arrived here in July. She is from Oregon, and is working as a health volunteer in the health center that is about a 20 minute walk from my house. Funny enough, she spent 3 months living in Tucson and working for Big Brothers, Big Sisters before coming to Rwanda. We cooked a big meal (canned ham from America, cooked with home-made teriyaki, peas and green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, and apple crumble) which was excellent, drank some hot cider (cider packets also from America) and watched Elf. While watching the movie with a Rwandan friend of my site-mate’s, I realized how difficult it would be to understand an American Christmas movie without any cultural context. An old bearded guy who flies around the world in one night and gives people presents? Sleigh pulled by large, flying, wingless mammals? Asides from all that, we even have farms that grow trees specifically so we can chop them down and put them in our houses for a few weeks before throwing them away. It all seems pretty crazy from a different perspective.
On Christmas day, I went to church, because that is what Rwandans do on Christmas. It was my first time in church at site (although I regularly attended church with my host family during training) and so I stood up and introduced myself to the congregation. I was greeted warmly, and many people came up to say hello to me after the service. Church is a very important part of the social life of Rwandan society, and I think I will try to attend services of each of the different denominations in my community as soon as possible. It is the single best way I can think of for my neighbors to start thinking of me as a member of the community, and not just some foreigner who happens to be living nearby. After church I went home and hung around the house for the evening, because I just didn’t have the energy to go and visit my neighbors. Luckily I got to talk to my sister, dad and grandmother though- so I got to spend a little bit of my Christmas with family! Tonight (the 26th) I am going to try to make matzoh ball soup for the 6th night of Hanukkah, and will invite my site mate.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Wonderful Winter holidays!
Fill me in on the denominations in your location. In my studies I just covered Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Would love to know about other African sects, etc.
Hi Martha- there are quite a few denominations here. Because of Belgian colonization, Rwanda was primarily Catholic. Catholicism is still the major denomination, but there are also Pentecostal, Adventist, Presbyterian, and Jehovah’s Witness communities and a sizable Muslim minority. I’m not sure of anything more specific, but I can ask some questions around my community if you’d like more specific information!